It really was not a surprise to me that Maine’s Senator, Olympia J. Snowe (Republican), announced that she would not run for reelection.  She first ventured to Washington in 1978 as a member of the U.S. House.  She won the Senate seat in 1994.   In 2006, Snowe was reelected with 74% of the vote.

Snowe, like many Americans, has grown tired of the polarizing place called the United States Congress.  Destroying people is considered a sport in Washington, D.C., so I really can’t blame her for getting out – and getting out on her own terms.

The Western Word ranked Snowe as the #9 in my list of the 10 Most Vulnerable Senators up for reelection in 2012, because the far-right members of her party wanted to replace her.

Her decision has given hope to the Democrats of capturing the seat.  Republicans now have to worry about holding on to it.Snowe is called a moderate – but I like to call people like her independent.  Moderates are frowned upon in today’s political world – and that is partly to blame for members of Congress having favorable ratings in the single digits.  With Snowe’s departure, coupled with Independent Democratic Senator Joe Lieberman’s decision to retire, I would not look for it to get better any time soon.

In 2009, Snowe kind of foreshadowed her decision when she said,

Ultimately, we’re heading to having the smallest political tent in history, the way events have been unfolding.  If the Republican Party fully intends to become a majority party in the future, it must move from the far right back toward the middle.

The Republicans have yet to get away from the far right.

When there was a close vote, Snowe was courted by both the right and the left – and that made watching the Senate interesting during her three terms. As the musical group Stealers Wheel sings, “Clowns to the left of me, Jokers to the right” Olympia Snowe was really stuck in the middle…

Follow Jack on Twitter @TheWesternWord.