My column at Down East this week is about why Snowe will stick with her party, despite Democratic hopes (and overtures).

I also enjoyed this response, from an anonymous commenter:

Unlike Sen. Specter, Sen. Snowe has always been a Republican. And let's not forget that the senator's husband is a Republican. The senator has been a steadfast member of the party from Augusta to Washington, from majority to minority. Although the churlish right wing of the party, which is under the misimpression that it gets to decide who's a Republican, disagrees, the letters "G-O-P" are in Olympia Snowe's DNA. Despite the meanness and name-calling of certain inflexible zealots, the senator is doing just fine. She's got the office and they don't, and she doesn't need to switch parties.