Senator Olympia Snowe (Retired) and Texas Energy Tycoon Boone Pickens are Unlikely Bookend Pundits on Congressional Partisans

When Snowe-Pickens speak, maybe they'll draw a crowd!

Senator Olympia Snowe spoke with the Public Broadcasting Network (PBN) News Hour Judy Woodruff on April 2, about Congressional ineffectiveness, driven by partisanship.

"What is the purpose of public service? It's to solve problems for the people you represent...," Senator Olympia Snowe on April 2, 2013 News Hour.

(From the transcript) JUDY WOODRUFF: The past few years have seen more gridlock in Washington and politics nationally than at any other time in memory. From the fights over health care reform and the debt limit to the so-called fiscal cliff, the two parties have seemed like separate armed camps.  Is it possible for lawmakers to bridge the partisan divide?

Senator Snowe said, "....given the polarization that's occurred, and most exponentially over the last few years. It has truly gotten worse.  You could see the slow, steady erosion of what was happening and evolving. But it had clearly gotten worse to the point that we're no longer solving problems and most especially the big problems facing this country. So, I thought I could add my voice on the outside to encourage people to demand bipartisanship, to understand the value of bipartisanship and consensus-building in the political arena."

Move forward to the next day, on Wednesday morning's MSNBC Morning Joe with host Joe Scarborough:

....Texas energy czar Thomas Boone Pickens, Jr., known as T. Boone Pickens, spoke with brutal frankness about the "incompetent" US Congress. Pickens is an American business magnate and financier who chairs the hedge fund BP Capital Management."

Pickens is openly frustrated with the US Congress being unable to identify ways for the US to move forward with an energy policy using the nation's vast natural gas resources.  He called the Congress the largest group of incompetent people in the world. When pushed about whether or not there were any political leaders on the horizon who could offer the US a path of hope out of the incompetence, Pickens simply said, "...help me, you know politics better than I do...help me...."

A dedicated public servant like Senator Olympia Snowe is in agreement with Pickens, the rich and high profile energy advocate, about the same exact political dynamic.  Partisanship in Washington is dragging down our nation's ability to solve problems.

What Pickens fails to mention, however, is how the constituents of the elected Congressional representatives are driving this political divide.  Right wing voters want to support elected officials who will not compromise.  

Senator Snowe, on the other hand, addressed the constituent issue by suggesting changes in primary elections. She called for "open primaries" whereby  a broader spectrum of voters would elect candidates, as opposed to the current system where mostly ideological voters are driven to the primary process.

Snowe told Woodruff...."And what I have been saying in my speeches all over the country is that it's time for all of us to provide rewards for those who are willing to engage in bipartisanship and working across the political aisle and providing a political penalty for those who don't."

Snowe and Pickens may be unlikely allies in punditry, but amazing things can happen when polar opposites attract on the same political issues.  Imagine the power of a Snowe-Pickens "Fix Washington" stump speech campaign!  I suspect few people could resist the influence of these two successful and outspoken Americans, if they joined forces to remove obstructionists in Congress.  Let's hope Americans hear more from these two dedicated people as we look toward (sigh!) the 2014 elections.  

As fatigued as Americans are with Washington partisanship, we must gather the energy needed to oppose this divide.  Perhaps Snowe-Pickens can infuse their special brand of political oxygen into ventilating change in our flawed Democratic processes.

Maine's Dirigo Senator Snowe: Tributes and Opportunities

Maine is like one big small town, with about 1.3 million people spread out over an entire state, larger in size than all the other New England states put together.

That's why most Maine people are lucky enough to get to know our leaders, like Senator Olympia Snowe and others who are lined up to take her vote in the US Senate, now that she's decided to, sadly, step aside.

Maine's state motto, for those who are reading "from away" is the Latin for "I Lead". Senator Snowe was a leader for Maine, but her leaving the Senate also leads a list of capable others who want to take her place.

It's been my honor and privileged to know Senator Olympia Snowe, even before she was a US Senator.
In fact, my mother and Senator Snowe were pen pals for awhile during the 1980s. Senator Snowe graciously answered the letters my mother sent to her about issues relating to the elderly, Social Security and Medicare. During my work in public policy, my nursing colleagues and I could always count on Senator Snowe to meet with us personally, to listen attentively to our concerns about how she could help improve the quality of life for all Americans, especially for her constituents, the Maine citizens.

But now our Dirigo Senator made a decision to step aside because, she explains, the polarizing political climate in Washington DC does not go away after the campaign to win elections subsides.  She told a supportive audience in South Portland a few days ago that she has become discouraged because campaigning does not stop after the elections are over.  Working as a Senator for an 6 additional years, during another term,  was not how she wanted to  lead. To paraphrase those who know her, at the end of the day, she's a political giant who believes compromise is good for our nation.

Thank you Senator Snowe for your candor, your wonderful public service and dedication to the principals of excellent political leadership.

Of course, this wistful announcement creates opportunities for a line up of capable political leaders who aspire to fill Senator Snowe's role and her pivotal vote in the US Senate.  Republicans had come to depend on Senator Snowe for their head count votes, but now, she will almost certainly be replaced by a more moderate or even a Democratic party leader.

Although I'm certainly not a political fortune teller, knowing the candidates helps when thinking ahead to who might fill Senator Snowe's amazing legacy.  A focus on the line up includes but is certainly not limited to Congresswoman Chellie Pingree, a Democrat; former Governor John Baldacci a Democrat; gubernatorial candidate and Independent Eliot Cutler and former Maine Governor and Independent Angus King.

Although there are other names, my prediction is that the person elected to be the next and newest US Senator from Maine will be one of the above.

And the good news is this - any one of the capable leaders in my names list will serve Maine people well. Moreover, each one has already been thoroughly vetted through close and personal Maine elections.

We know our candidates!

But, the bad news, Senator Snowe's retirement notwithstanding, is that a grueling primary between these potential candidates could inflict completely unnecessary damage to these leaders, causing a political situation something like the muckraking going on with the US Republican presidential primaries.

Let's practice what we preach in Maine.  "Dirigo" means the candidates must put their personal egos aside and defer to the one among them who is best able to fulfill the state's motto.

Whoever political person is chosen - especially if it's one from my list, I wish them God speed and they will have my support.  This Senate election could be an example to America about how Maine pragmatically gets things done.