Rock salt blizzard slams Snowe after health vote

Rock salt blizzard slams Snowe after health vote


Conservative blogger’s protest weighs 115 pounds
By Kase Wickman
Boston University Washington News Service

WASHINGTON — One week after lending her vote of support to the Senate Finance Committee’s health care reform bill, Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, has gained countless column inches of newspaper exposure and at least 115 pounds of rock salt.

Though the analysis and recaps were inevitable, the influx of rock salt came as a surprise to the senator’s staff, who said they received a bundled UPS shipment of 23 5-pound bags of salt to Snowe’s Portland office.

Popular conservative blog RedState sparked the makeshift protest with a post a week ago. In a play on Snowe’s name, Erick Erickson, managing editor of the site and author of the post, wrote, “What melts snow? Rock salt,” and urged readers to send just that as a sign of disapproval.

Erickson did not respond to a request for comment, though he did post a RedState entry titled “RedState Readers Stimulate the Economy” Monday night, citing a Wall Street Journal blog post saying that 240 bags of rock salt had been shipped to Snowe’s Maine office by a company called Ron’s Home and Hardware.

Snowe’s press representative, however, said Tuesday only 23 bags had arrived, and that they had been shipped by AG Lock and Hardware, an ACE Hardware outlet in Brooklyn, N.Y. All rock salt that the office receives will be donated to Preble Street Resource Center, a homeless shelter and soup kitchen in Portland, the spokeswoman said.

Chris Martin, the manager of the Brooklyn store, said he had not heard about the protest and could not comment on shipments the store had made.

Denny and Kathy’s Superstore, the vendor listed on the Amazon.com page Erickson linked to, did not respond to a request for comment.

Sen. Snowe, for her part, was unfazed by the white crystalline substance that found its way to her Maine office.

“Everyone has their own prerogative,” she said. “I have a job to do, and I choose to focus on doing that job.”

Snowe said that she had not seen any rock salt in any of her offices.

Though the shipments have failed to make any impact on the senator, ripples are being felt in the liberal blogosphere, where authors say that the makeshift protest is absurd.

James Dustin Baker, in his blog, Georgia Liberal, called the mailings “what has to be the dumbest protest against a member of their own party.”

“Republicans, especially moderate Republicans, should be happy that a senator on their side ... is willing to reach across the aisle,” Baker wrote in an e-mail message. “If the Republican Party does not open up to diverse ideas, they may see more senators, such as Sen. Arlen Specter from Pennsylvania, leaving the party.”

Jim Newell, an editor at Wonkette, a satirical political blog, said that the shipments could actually have a positive impact on Snowe.

“Sending bags of rock salt to Maine before the terrible winter — or has it already started? — is about as nice a gesture RedState could have offered to Olympia Snowe,” Newell said. “So, no, it is not an effective form of protest, just more harmless Internet comedy awkwardly manifesting itself in the real world.”

A review on the product page for Rebel Rock Salt, which Erickson linked to in his original RedState post as an easy way to ship the salt, well summarizes the liberal response to the protest.

The anonymous reviewer rated the salt three stars out of five, and wrote: “This product is very effective for melting ice (though potassium chloride is more effective still) on driveways and sidewalks. It is, however, singularly ineffective as a vehicle for expressing political disapproval.”

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59 comments on this item

Electra don`t you dare say that, Electra I told you no, Electra there I told you not to do it.

OK honey, I`ll be good for know.

Good Nite

sounds like somebody needs to send this to sat night live, they.d have a field day with this one folks lol

I guess I don't have the vaunted liberal sense of humor; I think it's pretty funny!

Years ago there were campaign signs with a drawing of a snowplow and the words Snowe Removal in Progress.

Yes Snowe Removal in Progress would be an excellent idea

She says she has a job to do, well we the voters have a job to do.

10-4 she has been there long enough she has lost sight of the fact she works for us. Wehn her staff was contacted about support on something in the once great stae of Maine I was told and I quote "Senator Snowe has more important items on the Federal level to worry about, Contact your State Representative". Un-Quote

She has lost my support and I firmly feel it is time for New Blood.

Her last words will be "Let them eat ice cream."

Don't forget Susan Collins. They both should go for there last stupid vote on the bail outs. When the people get big bonuses with the tax payers money that saved their jobs. I would bet that the money they got bonuses on was for the money they made in forgien investments not in jobs for Americians.

Spiro T. Agnew: "Three things have been difficult to tame: the oceans, fools and women. We may soon be able to tame the oceans; fools and women will take a little longer."

Yup. Brilliant Repugnant strategists. Rock salt. First they vote for their candidates, then they whine when they don't conform precisely to whatever the cause du jour is of the teabagger town meeting disrupter crowd. And Sprio T. Agnew, one of your "best", managed to skate on the bribery charge, but he was the beginning of the end of the completely corrupt Nixon white house. Don't get me wrong - there's a bunch of democrats just as bad, but the Republicans seem to want to corner the market on condescension and "i know what's best for you" while seemingly claiming to want more government. Not my grandfather's republican party. Just as tax and spendy as the democrats on the WRONG issues.

Senator Snowe should dance with the ones who brought her. When you leave the dance with someone else.. your not going to get a free ride again.

Next time Myopia reaches across the aisle (notice the reaching only goes one way), I wish the democrats would keep her. In fact I'd willingly pay a ransom if they would!

I'm no fan of Snowe, but sending rock salt to people in Maine as a protest is idiotic.

If anyone want's to protest this comment, you should punish me by sending a few cords of seasoned hardwood.

Where does melted Snowe go? Anywhere we want to her to go.

I read somewhere that if we didn`t have Sen Snowe or Sen Collins, we would not have any senior Senators that help Maine to get a piece of the Federal Pork.

Our new Senators would have to start from a Office in the basement.

Where your office is located in the food chain, is the way the old system is right now. That is the office that you get when you care more about special interest groups, then you do about the interest of Maine Citizens.

I want Maine to have two Senators that want just the opposite. Two Senators that point out to us all the greed and corruption that is going on. Point out all the game playing that is going on. I want two Senators who know, that if they are honest and take care of the citizens of Maine that Maine would be proud of them and take of them, no matter where there office was located.

I feel the whole Country is feed up and and there will be lots of new elected officials in Maine and Washington.

Can you imagine THAT!!!!!

And what a crapy job she is doing.... I thought she was supposed to speak for the people of Maine not just her own opinion. I can't wait until 2012 when we can kiss her goodbye....

I think this is great, but as you can see it did't bother her one bit. as long as she get her big check and her cadillac ins. she is set for life. The ones paying it is the ones hurting.

Sounds like a teenage prank to me. But what else can you expect from a group of this immaturity?

Oh darn, we were going to send her coats turned inside out (turncoat, get it) but the rock salt beat us to it.

I found it to be odd...

but I expect nothing less from the lunatic fringe

Yes, the voters do have a job to do. Vote for people that actually care about the average hard working voter that is being squashed, manipulated and robbed by corporate America.

I love how the conservative 2% lunatic fringe here think they represent the State and are suddenly going to turn out Sen Snowe when she routinely wins with a 70% margin. Go buy more salt you blind, insurance company manipulable, sheep.

What Maine needs is a quality opponent to Senator Snow in the 2012 GOP Primary. It would be nice to have Republican win the Republican nomination for U.S. Senator!

der. get a hobby people.

Republicans, your sun is setting: to quote Dylan, "Your old road is rapidly fading. Please get out of the new one if you can't lend a hand for the times they are a-changing." Many of the posters here seem to think it is some sort of virtue to obstruct movement on an issue and offer nothing to replace the broken systrem we now have. I applaud Snowe for working to improve things. She's not a traitor, she is a worker. Thank god there's one from the Party of No that is putting people first. I say if you have nothing to offer, then step aside and let someone in there who is trying to accomplish something other than the entrenched interests of insurance companies.

Good to see a Dylan quote in the comments this morning.

another sign that the GOP has no good ideas.

Great! Maybe we will each get a bag of Rock Salt prior to winter. Forty Years ago it was a 5lb block of cheese from the government prior to winter and now directly from "The Senator" Rock Salt

Sprinkling slugs with salt works great for protecting your garden next spring.

Slugs and right-wing authoritarians have the same constituency.

Salt is essential in innumerable recipes -- Snowe can add a dash here and there to bring the National Health Reform movement forward to the public option. Things are looking good, real good now. Snowe is in the kitchen and taking part and the nation is progressing...finally...after eight long years down in the unlite mines of conservative behavior.

WOW, Kase Wickman......a story about rock salt....and you followed the story with no less than 8 contacts/follow-ups/requests for comments....

great journalism.......

hey Kase, there's this group called ACORN......

Letterreader..nicely said.....its your comments that encourage and inspire republicans to continue to say no to people who want to take all of our money and replace it with the gov't....

i gotta go.....my kids & I need to read....

On 10/21/09 at 7:52 AM, PollyGraf wrote:

Next time Myopia reaches across the aisle (notice the reaching only goes one way), I wish the democrats would keep her. In fact I'd willingly pay a ransom if they would!

I was so blown away by PollyGraf's comment about the beneficent, bipartisan efforts of the GOP that I must ask the question (I'm just not sure which one of two ways to phrase it):

1.) What color is the sky on your planet, Poly?

2.) Are you sniffing glue, sister?

The willful blindness of some folks astonishes me, but in the words of Frank Zappa, "Nitrogen is not the most plentiful element in the universe; stupidity is."

Well ahg703, considering the fact that it's the democrats and independents who are voting her in, you can bet we ARE gonna keep her. She is a REAL republican. You conservatives go right ahead and pick you a new candidate and run against her in a primary, see what happens. After she wipes the floor with ya, (because you're anything but a majority) she'll wipe the floor with whoever challenges her. It's the coalition, stupid!

would be nice to have some any sort of republican respresentative in washington from maine...snowe and collins have ruin the republican party in maine

Well, there are real issues with this bill, and I am pro national health insurance. First, not one Senator or Representative has read the whole 1000+ pages. They are going to vote on something they don't know the whole story on. The bill is changing before it is even printed. While a Democrat, I have to agree with the Republicans on this one. SLOW DOWN. Get it right! The movement has started to finally get health care reform. Any bill that has 1000 pages for health care is full of a lot of regulations that are going to cost money to implement.....I repeat regulations, not the actual delivery of health care. If 70 cents on the dollar goes to regulation, that leaves only 30 cents to acutally use for health care.

Ok..maybe Im really numb, but I dont get what rock salt has to do with healthcare? Could someone explain for me?? Thanks!

With any luck however you vote her in next time it will not be as a Republican.

If the independants and the Dems are who is voting for her and she gets in under one of those titles at least then she got their honestly.

She won't get my vote as a Republican again, so if she needs us to beat whomever has the "D" on their name next time she won't be back.

Or maybe you really believe that all the Dems in this State vote for this Republican?

Maybe we will get to see.

amanda1982, the same thing tea bags have to do with taxation *with* representation.

When are you people ever going to Wake Up to the fact that there is no difference in either party.

My prediction still stands. Both sides do not want anything to pass just like the Clintons Plan. Why, because special interest controls them all. And they can just continue to abuse us with maybe a few regulations thrown at them. They will find away around them just like always. Wake Up.

If nothing passes the Insurance and Pharm Corps. are going to go along like nothing happened.

If the house pland should pass it is nothing other then our very own version of Dirigo. How`s is that working out.

Why don`t you ask Sen Snowe what plan she thought was best for us until the special interest got a hold of her and that would include the democratic party. If she runs again, she is no dummy, she has gotten the message that she can`t run on the Republican ticket so why not switch sides.

Just ask her what she got from the Fed Democratic Party to back her.

A great Senator does not change her mind on what is best for us, unless her personel special interest are overriding out speciial interest.

If you want to know what she thought the plan was just google Single Payer Pland and look around on the site for organizations that support it.

Go Ahead I dare you to find out more about what you are talking about.

If you are so Polorized that you are Paralized, don`t expect any healthcare plan that is on the table now to help you pay for it.

Or what LilMikey? You are going to run against her? Be in the 30% that votes against her? Why not write her a letter without name calling so that she'll think you have some sense and offer a legitimate concern or option for her to consider.

Howz about all the hillbillies on here, whining about politics in Maine, move south? Try Mississippi out - I hear the schools stink (no book 'larnin), blacks and gays aren't welcome in many parts, and there are trailers as far as the eye can see...you guys and gals would fit right in.

slm414......oh..but I HAVE written to sen snowe, and with dignity if I may add...and have voiced my concerns and if you don't happen to like my comment....too bad! And if I feel Hugo Obama is leading this country like Hugo Chavez is leading his, just in a different manner of doing it, and you don't like it...that's also too bad! And you know something slm414...I AM A DEMOCRAT and as I said, like snowe! Because I do consider her a moderate, not a nutcase for the right nor a nutcase for the liberal socialis left. If you don't like hearing that not everyone is blinded by what is taking place and don't like it...once again..too bad! Maybe you should run since you seem to have so much "sense". Better yet, take your blinders off and look around, read, don't listen to oreilly or oberlman..do some homework. Now go play with kids your own age and stop trying to bother people.

Sounds like Snowe won't be in the forcast next election!!!!!

rock salt melts cars. It is a bigger subject than health care. How bout the people send bags of rusty parts to both politicians. To hell with the rock salt silliness...and then, they'll respond with shipments of rustoleum, and then, because rustoleum doesnlt work unless it is 90 degrees outside, we send bags of snow, and they send rock salt again..oh man it never ends.

he,he......whoever thought of this is pretty clever.....a protest with a sense of humor...and many comments are entertaining as well......thanks for the chuckels

doesn't matter what party you belong to...when human beings are suffering, the bucks have to stop somewhere. main street clearly is not a stop on the american leaders' agenda. these aren't silly little trivial issues and concerns people have. we're all paying the price (and our children -if there's anything left of this ravaged planet) for their joyride! when will any of them ever really care about our needs...seriously folks? why is it o.k. that tons of good american hard working taxpaying people and families are forced into joblessness, homeless, hunger while the the billions are funneled into war, the banks, auto makers , you name it, what about the people!?!?!?! this is so criminal. it's never gonna change- obama's so busy celebrating the american life with pro basketball players, gymnasts, and race car drivers..oohh- parked right in front of the white house, impressive- it's amazing he had time to figure out how to impoverish the people and make his buddies super rich at the same time.. couldn't have done it with outchya olympia.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWP2b70MmUw

I love how when a politician break with party lines to vote with your side, then it is "brave and admirable" and when they break with your side it is "betrayal." Let me know when we're done putting Snowe through the same wringer Lieberman went through. Yawn.

Yes remove all of the Snowe in Maine what an idea

"...quality opponent to Senator Snow in the 2012 GOP Primary..." Where are you going to find one. Only Republicans run in the Republican primary. Maybe Les Otten will run after he loses the Governorship. He's great at doing what Republicans do best - ruin economies.

ahg703 12:07PM -- Yes, we should all listen to Frank Zappa. Geez, what dumb comment.

PollyGraf -- ahgh is willfully blind and astonishes me. You go, Polly! You are entilted to your opinion regardless of how ahg feels or is that AHHHHG!

Snowe is a Democratic clunker with a Republican hood ornament

Wow...those who "hate" Republicans are so tolerant, understanding and compassionate. I get it now. The Republicans are stupid, condescending jerks who only care about money. Those of us who agree with them are sheep. Whew! Glad we got that straight, otherwise I'd have to turn to FOX or my heroes Rush, Sean and Glen....

Come on, let's get out of the sandbox. Can't we have a debate with some civility and a vernacular that extends beyond the reach of a playground? State your case, state it passionately and effectively but please leave the stereotypes at home. Most of us are in the middle. It's why Snowe wins with such big margins. She's trying to do what is right. I disagree with her committee vote. I don't want to see this important legislation fast tracked just to get it done. I want it done right. If a public option is so great, why hasn't Dirigo worked in Maine? That was a dismal failure, but born from good and noble intentions. Let's not make the same mistake twice simply to hurry up so that people won't remember what happened when the mid terms roll around.

All loyal Republicans should vote for Leonard Lemming, who has already announced that he will challenge Olympia in the 2012 GOP primary. Leonard is a faithful listener of Rush Limbaugh and Glen Beck. Fox News in on the TV in his household 24 hours a day. There could be no better candidate to lead the Republicans into the 2012 general election than Mr. Lemming.

I have to admit this is quite funny

HAHAHAHA, you Rightwing Republican Redneck Mainers voted for that hag! Now take your clam chowdah, lobster, or whatever the hell else you eat up in that poor, overweight, hole in the wall state, and LIKE IT!! haaaaaaa haaaaaa!! Now the people wining and crying, ask yourself "are you poor?" "are you overweight?" Hmmmm??

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