Snowe: 'maverick' fighting for results

WASHINGTON, April 12 (UPI) -- When asked in a Senate corridor to explain why the president of Maine's National Rifle Association affiliate said she'd lost touch with the people of Maine for advocating campaign finance reform, Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, cringed. She squinted her eyes and tightened the muscles in her face as if she had eaten something bitter. The expression contrasted her gold, two-piece suit, pearls, and black hair pulled back behind her head.

"How can the people of Maine not want campaign finance reform when they voted for the Maine Clean Elections Act?" asked Snowe. The Clean Elections Act is a Maine law designed to lower election contributions and promote disclosure of campaign contributors.

In a recent interview, Snowe said her decisions reflect what Mainers want -- or at least what most Mainers want. She said she joined politics in order to vie for policies that benefit her state, a practice that she calls rare these days on Capitol Hill.

Snowe has shown that positioning herself in the middle has its perks. With the Senate divided by one person, Snowe -- considered a moderate Republican -- holds a key vote on many issues because her positions can't necessarily be categorized as strictly Republican or Democratic. Her swing vote makes her stand out and gives her considerable clout as a possible dealmaker -- or breaker -- on controversial legislation.

Some pundits said Snowe's positioning shows just how in touch with Mainers Snowe really is.

"She consistently has positioned herself to be a swing-vote. Maine voters eat that up," said Doug Hodgekin, a political science professor at Bates College in Lewiston, Maine. She sets herself apart from the Senate leadership, and Maine voters "like this maverick independence."

Much like the political make-up of the Congress right now, there is a closely divided political environment in Maine. And just like in Congress, the Independents are the decision-makers -- Maine has two moderate Republican senators, two Democratic representatives and an Independent governor. Maine also boasted the nation's highest voting percentage for Independent candidate Ross Perot in presidential elections: 30 percent in 1992 and 14 percent in 1996.

"Independents are obviously predominating now. In Maine, there are pockets that are truly Republican, and in southern Maine -- the Portland area -- you have predominantly Democratic," Snowe said. "America is ... pretty much divided politically, and that's reflected in the division of government."

"In the last election (the presidential election 2000), a majority of Americans were identifying themselves as Independents. So you see that that really does beg for more centrists in the political process."

With such a divided Congress, passing bills becomes difficult. Snowe said this slump in legislative results conflicts with her political philosophy: "To try to reach a bottom line and achieve results."

Snowe said good policy is sacrificed by political posturing for future elections. "What has happened is that there is so much polarization that the only interest in generating a position is so that you can make a point in the next election. I think that's just tragic." Snowe said.

Some Mainers, however, accuse Snowe of doing exactly that: positioning herself without actually planning to follow through.

Rick McCarthy, a legislative staffer for Maine Senate President Mike Michaud, a Democrat, said that Snowe supports certain "issues of the day" to position herself favorably without any real intention of pushing legislation through.

He cited a 1996 school construction recreation bill that she sponsored; Mainers supported the bill, but Snowe's provisions didn't attract enough consent from the Senate, so the bill didn't pass.

"Snowe isn't scrutinized enough so people can differentiate between political posturing and real progress," McCarthy said.

"To the contrary," said Snowe, "I would have to say, that in most of the positions that I take, by in large, I think the majority of Maine people would support me. I wouldn't be in office for as long as I have been had I not been in tune with the people of Maine."

Snowe insists that she stays very much in touch with Mainers -- through numerous e-mail messages, phone calls and discussions at the grocery store or in the airport on her weekly flights back to her home state, where she can "breath the fresh air" and spend time with her husband, former Maine Gov. John McKernan, in Auburn.

"And if I'm wondering about an issue, I can also seek out people who represent different groups, like the AARP. If I wanted to get their views, especially if I'm working on prescription drugs or Medicare modernization, I certainly would want to get their views if I wanted to get a quick snapshot of 'What do ya think?'" Snow said.

Snowe, 55, is rounding off her 24th year in Congress. She worked as a representative for Maine's very rural second district before Mainers elected her Senator in 1994. Prior to Congress, she worked in both houses of the Maine legislature through most of the 1970s, which, she said, "etched" her "get things done" legislative approach.

Nevertheless, some groups say that Snowe is not in touch with here state.

"They're disgusted with a lot of things," said Jeff Weinstein, president of the Pine State and Rifle Association, an NRA affiliate in Maine. "There's a sense that the government is becoming very burdensome." Weinstein said Snowe is not in touch with that point of view.

The NRA's Maine affiliate is generally considered a major constituency during election time.

The NRA disapproves of parts of the campaign finance reform bill supported by Snowe, which ban "sham" advertisements 60 days before an general election and paid for by undisclosed contributions. The NRA, along with some labor groups and the Christian Coalition, say this provision infringes upon their First Amendment rights.

"On several occasions Snowe has gone against the will of the people," Weinstein said. "This (provision) is one of them."

With a giggle, Snowe dismissed the accusation without slashing back. "I understand why the leader of the NRA would express that concern," Snow said. "But that is not the case."

Some people say Snowe has never considered the NRA in her decision-making process.

"She's never had the NRA endorsement or the AFL-CIO endorsement," said Sandy Maisel, a government professor at Colby College, located in Waterville, Maine. Maisel said Snowe voted for campaign finance reform without strongly considering the approval of these advocacy groups. And by crossing these groups, Maisel quipped, "her popularity may drop from 82 to 81 percent."

On the other hand, Dwaine Bickford, director of the Maine Republican Party, argued that a high approval rating indicates that Snowe represents groups opposed to campaign finance reform.

"How did she get elected with 70 percent of the vote without representing all those groups?" Bickford asked rhetorically. "Overall, she tries to represent all the people of Maine."

By this logic, labor groups, typically Democratic voters, are also part of Snowe's constituency.

Snowe agreed. "They haven't necessarily been the people who endorse a Republican candidate, but I've had actually great support from labor, from rank and file in the past," Snowe said. "I would certainly welcome their views and solicit their views on a variety of issues because they do play a key role in Maine."

Snowe manages to satisfy her voters enough so that they have elected her for a second term in the Senate with almost landslide results -- 69 percent in 2000.

Snowe said she doesn't consider herself a maverick. A maverick implies resistance from the leadership, but Snowe said she advocates programs that benefit her state. Her decisions derive not from political positioning, but from a philosophy that beacons problem solving.

"I don't specifically embrace something because it is a consensus. I embrace it because it makes a great deal of sense," Snowe said.

Snowe said that she makes decisions in the interest of accomplishing results. As a result, her decisions "run contrary" to the leadership, and she finds herself "swimming upstream often times."

"Things aren't getting done," said Snowe. She mentioned a recent meeting with the Centrist Coalition, of which she is ranking Republican. Snowe and Chairman John Breaux, D-La., sat down with their moderate Republican and Democratic colleagues "because there's a couple things we can work on across party lines to get beyond this" legislative slump.

Snowe said the Republican leadership realizes that she votes differently. "Even people in my own party wonder, 'Well, where do you come from if you're not the right or the left.' People like to compartmentalize," Snowe said.

But Snowe said she takes positions according to issues that affect Maine, as opposed to taking a straight ideological position on every issue. "I'm not ideological at all," Snowe said.

"But I do embrace a certain philosophy about government, and that's what make me a Republican and not a Democrat. I believe in the individual opportunity, the personal freedom, but at the same time understanding -- a proper role for the government to play in society, in particular helping those who are not in a position to help themselves."