The ‘Other’ Maine Senator Unmoved By Snowe’s Vote, Centrists Vie For Influence
Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, has not been swayed by the vote to pass health reform out of the Finance Committee cast by her fellow Maine senator, Olympia Snowe, who was the only Republican to support the measure, though Collins seemed unlikely to stand in the way Roll Call reports.
"Collins, weeks after Obama was inaugurated, was one of only three Congressional Republicans to support the president's $787 billion economic stimulus package. But on health care reform, the former state insurance regulator has so far resisted appeals from Obama and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) to come aboard. And, in so doing, Collins has taken a different tack than fellow centrist and Maine Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe" (Drucker, 10/21).
Other centrists are elbowing for position in the health care fight, Roll Call reports in a second story. "Snowe began working closely with Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) this week, and the two met jointly with Reid on Monday and convened a group of six centrists - including fellow GOP moderate Sen. Susan Collins (Maine) - Tuesday afternoon to talk about health care" (Pierce, 10/21).