Dems eye GOP Sen. Snowe a Maine senator for a Health Vote

Washington, - Ms. Snowe and two Republican colleagues, Senators Charles Grassley of Iowa and Michael Enzi of Wyoming, have been privately negotiating a health care plan with three Democratic members of the Senate Finance Committee in what has become known as the Group of Six. But Mr. Grassley and Mr. Enzi have, during the August recess, become increasingly at odds with Democratic approaches to health care.

Ms. Snowe says she wants the public to understand that there is a serious problem, that the health care system is in crisis and that even people who are happy with their current coverage will not stay content for long, given rapidly rising costs and steadily shrinking benefits.
All of this means that Ms. Snowe, a senior member of the Finance Committee with a longtime interest in health policy, is the chief Democratic target. It is hardly the first time Democrats have turned to Ms. Snowe for help.

Ms. Snowe has backed Democratic budget plans opposed by most of her party. She has balked at some tax cuts, pushed for more attention to rising federal deficits and generally shown a willingness to split from Republicans on issues where she sees more common ground with Democrats. “She has courage, real courage,” said Senator Kent Conrad of North Dakota, one of the Finance Committee Democrats in the Group of Six who, as chairman of the Budget Committee, has also worked with Ms. Snowe on fiscal issues.

I only wonder now will she be the only vote they really need to make this healthcare reform bill come into reality?