Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) in talks with Dems about Government Health Care Takeover

These last couple of stories that I have linked to indicate that the probability of the government health care takeover getting passed is pretty high this year. This story is pretty worrisome.

Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) said Friday that she has been in conversation with Democrats and Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus about a way forward on health care reform.

"I have talked with several of my Democratic colleagues, including the chairman of the Finance Committee, just sorting through these issues, and the process, and what will unfold," Snowe told Andrea Mitchell on MSNBC Friday afternoon. "Hopefully, [Democrats] will take measure of what needs to happen now, build some support, those things can happen so that it's not [so] breathtakingly expansive that [it] creates consternation by the American people at a time will can ill-afford intrinsic costs."

But Snowe made it very clear she could not support any form of a bill that came through the reconciliation process—a legislative move she called "wrong and untenable."

Instead, Snowe believes Congress could pass a scaled-back version of insurance reform based on measures that would aid small business, a policy stance she has held since the summer with she voted in favor of the bill that came through the Finance Committee.

"I hope they reject the reconciliation route. I think that would be wrong and untenable," Snowe said. "There are things in the bill that could be supported regarding small business that I have worked with Sen. Durbin, Sen. Lincoln, and the small business community... some tax incentives, allowing plans to be purchased across state lines—that would all be invaluable to small business who are undeniably facing a crisis with health care cost." . . .