Fighting for Common Ground

July 8, 2013
After four decades as a legislator, Snowe (R-ME) presents a strong case for the trouble with the current Congress: a lack of civility. A well-known consensus builder who made a career of reaching across the aisle, Senator Snowe was discouraged by the intolerance she witnessed at the 2012 Republican convention in Maine and the inertia of the 112th Congress. With campaign attack ads and bloggers lowering the political tone, the lifelong Republican chose to quit government and work as a "catalyst for change" outside the Beltway. A daughter of Greek immigrants, orphaned by age nine, and widowed at 26, Snowe overcame Dickensian odds in her rise to political prominence. In 1973 the people of Auburn, Maine, elected her to carry the mantle of her first husband, Rep. Peter Snowe, after his tragic, fatal car crash. Snowe identifies Congressional procedures and campaign finance as key areas requiring an immediate overhaul. Among the reforms she proposes is "No Budget, No Pay", which would dock salaries for senators unless they approve a budget. Her newly formed Olympia's List seeks to erode partisanship by supporting candidates committed to getting results through compromise and raising the standards of civility not just in D.C., but across a nation where rudeness rules.

May 1, 2013
Known for working across party lines in her 18 years in the U.S. Senate, Republican Snowe, from Maine, felt driven from the legislative body by acrimonious partisanship and declined to run for reelection in 2012. But she hasn't abandoned politics. In this heartfelt call to action, she details the cost to the American public of a Congress so polarized that it passes record low numbers of laws and can't agree on a budget. Snowe offers an insider's view of how Congress came to be so dysfunctional, including a behind-the-scenes look at her role in working with both sides to get President Obama's health-care bill passed. She recounts her personal history of losing both parents when a child, widowhood at 26 that led to taking her husband's state legislative seat, later marriage to John McKernan, who would be elected governor of Maine as she pursued politics into the Senate. Snowe offers a passionate plea to Americans to insist on changes in the Senate, including filibuster reform, biennial budgeting, and a five-day workweek for Congress.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)