Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME) said on MSNBC this afternoon that she has not been threatened with punishment by her party for voting with Democrats to pass the Senate Finance Committee's health care reform bill.
"No, they have never indicated that to me," she told Chris Matthews. "And I've had very constructive and positive conversations with Leader McConnell and others. I've never been threatened. I obviously know that they would have preferred that I voted otherwise. But I have no reason to believe the rumors that have been prevailing with respect to that. I obviously have to focus on what's right."
Matthews then suggested that she might be honored with a Profiles in Courage award from "the Kennedy organization up at Harvard."
Besides that comment about potential punishment from her party, Snowe didn't make much news in back-to-back interviews on CNN and MSNBC. The public option is still essentially a deal breaker for her -- "I would find that very difficult to support" -- and "it's hard to say" whether any other GOP senators might support health care reform on the Senate floor.

TPM Stories Now Surging on Digg.com

The Right Guy
October 14, 2009 6:39 PM
She may think they won't, but when the GOP get back in control in 2010, she's history and should be.
Reply | Flag Abuse
Are you sure this comment violates TPM's Terms of Service?
btbradley86
October 14, 2009 7:00 PM in reply to The Right Guy
I may be unhappy with her because she seems to be holding the issue hostage to her demands, but to proudly proclaim "she's history and should be" only illustrates why she is in the minority party. Republicans didnt loses the majority because of moderates, they lost because they isolated the moderates and independants. "We strayed from our principles"....is a very easy excuse for those trying to isolate the party further!
Reply | Flag Abuse
Are you sure this comment violates TPM's Terms of Service?
Pete Bilderback
October 14, 2009 7:28 PM in reply to The Right Guy
That's the spirit!
Reply | Flag Abuse
Are you sure this comment violates TPM's Terms of Service?
decisivemoment
October 14, 2009 8:17 PM
Of course she doesn't expect punishment. She's done them a huge favor, significantly watering down the Finance Committee proposal and creating a real risk that it won't end up any better than private coverage. The only way she gets the GOP into trouble on this is if Schumer and Leahy's attempt to remove the insurance antitrust exemption gathers steam. I'm not sure if Snowe thinks that strategically; unfortunately Reid does not either and I can easily see him running interference on Schumer and Leahy.
Reply | Flag Abuse
Are you sure this comment violates TPM's Terms of Service?
pablito
October 14, 2009 10:40 PM
She is the embodiment of a trojan horse throughout all of this. The GOP is more than happy with what she's done. Not to mention she has managed to make another relatively thinly populated state more relevant than it should be for a national discussion.
Reply | Flag Abuse
Are you sure this comment violates TPM's Terms of Service?
pablito
October 14, 2009 10:41 PM
Further, Mathews has really sucked on this issue. The guy gave props to Kent Conrad yesterday. Unbelievable.
Reply | Flag Abuse
Are you sure this comment violates TPM's Terms of Service?
billanthony
October 15, 2009 1:02 AM
She's going to turn out to be a hero to the GOP. With a seat at the table she'll soon be openly bragging to the faithful that she rose to history's calling in killing a public option, hence meaningful reform, ala Grassley's comments awhile back. In spite of this, Reid will fall all over himself praising her "bipartisanship". It's becoming a sick game.
Reply | Flag Abuse
Are you sure this comment violates TPM's Terms of Service?