Olimpia Snowe , profile in cowardice

Moderate Republicans aren't like moderate Democrats - well, they are in one way, they both vote with the Republicans. They differ in that moderate Democrats have backbone, and they'll screw their own party every chance they can get. To wit: Joe Lieberman. To wit: Blue Dogs. Moderate Republicans, on the other hand, like to pretend that they're uncomfortable with their party's conservative wing, but when push comes to shove, they rarely buck the party leadership. Olympia Snowe is one such example. Likable enough, by all accounts, but seriously spineless. Snowe seems to be backing the backdoor effort to kill the public option in health care with some sort of so-called trigger.