David Waldman sees it in the range of possibilities:

As Marcy Wheeler theorized in an e-mail exchange, so long as the Senate side dynamics still appear to revolve around Olympia Snowe (R-ME). Snowe’s both pro-choice and an opponent of the public option. So it makes for a great play: win Snowe’s support, win the thanks of progressives who are at least picking up hints about the removal of the Stupak language in conference, and be rid of the public option and the nascent but pesky progressive bloc that had begun to coalesce around it.

Sen. Olympia Snowe [R, ME] has a zero percent rating from the National Right to Life Committee, meaning she is about as pro-choice as the most pro-choice Democrat in Congress. And we’ve known all along that she is staunchly opposed to any variation of the public option beyond her “trigger” proposal to set up public plans in states that don’t achieve a certain “affordability” threshold. But I wonder if new polling that shows Snowe getting crushed against a generic Republican in the 2012 primary by a 59% – 31% margin will ultimately dissuade her from looking for a way to cast a vote for the Democrats’ health care bill.

Btw, I highly recommend Waldman’s whole post on the health care fight so far, and what to watch going forward. He makes a strong case that the progressive position in the health care bill has been defended much better by netroots activists than it has by the traditional, insider advocacy groups

Article Tags: Abortion Health Care Stupak Amendment Public Option Olympia Snowe