In this Jan. 8, 2010 photo, Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, laughs during an interview with the Associated Press, in Portland, Maine. Snowe, who has served 33 years in Congress, released a statement Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2012 saying that she will not run for re-election.
Robert F. Bukaty, Associated Press
PORTLAND, Maine — Republican Olympia Snowe of Maine is taking jab at political extremes in announcing her decision to leave the U.S. Senate, saying she's frustrated by "my-way-or-the-highway" ideologies.
It's a concern she's voiced for years.
She said in April 2009 while discussing being one of a shrinking number of Senate Republicans that it's not healthy having parties with "polar opposite views without that bridge that you need to build consensus."
When U.S. Senator Arlen Spector defected to the Democrats later that month, she said the GOP tent was becoming too small and that Republicans needed to shift to the middle to "become a majority party in the future."
Snowe served 33 years in Congress including three terms in the Senate. Her departure, announced Tuesday, gives Democrats new hope of taking her seat.
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To JWB 7:03 a.m.
That Snowe was not a "Republican team player" is a very good thing. It means she put the welfare of the United States and its people first, and political games second. Good for her -- that's what the country More..
One more sane and rational Republican -- one who put the welfare of the country over party gamesmanship -- has left the fray. The country is poorer with her exit. We need more like her
She was not a Republican team player and made some bad decisions in the past. Even though she is a Senator for Maine and the Republican Party, her decisions made a significant impact for the Republican Party nationally. May she have a good More..