Sen. Olympia Snowe, by casting her vote in favor of the Senate Finance committee version of health care (insurance) reform, has well and truly committed herself to whatever bill the Democrats may choose to pass. She may protest that 'her vote today is her vote today,' but the internal logic of her own assertions will drive her to embrace (drum roll, please) the public option.

Sen Snowe cannot unring the bell of her claims that 'when history calls, history calls,' and that this is a matter of national 'urgency,' without looking either foolish or petty and petulant. Economists may argue that we should let go of 'sunk costs,' but in real life, that's not such an easy thing to do.

In this case, Sen. Snowe's sunk cost is her vote in favor. But she faces some real barriers, both internally and externally, to reversing her choice to throw in her lot with the Democrats. The internal barrier is the sense of shame she would feel, if, after saying that this is a matter of great national importance, she turns around and votes, "NO," on the final bill, thus looking like a spoiled child who threw a fit when she didn't get her way. Moreover, she would be returning to the Republican party leadership with her tail between her legs... and so she would be ceding a large measure of self-respect.

The external barriers are being supplied as we speak by the wingnut right, one of whom has suggested that those who disagree with Sen. Snowe's position send her bags of rock salt so that "Snowe can be melted away." On the one hand, this is typical juvenile antics. On the other hand, however, there is an undercurrent of malevolence here which cannot be ignored. While wishing someone dead is nowhere near as bad as taking steps to kill that person, sending a white powdery substance to a US Senator echoes the anthrax that was mailed to several Senators post 9/11. Juvenile antics can turn deadly, especially when unhinged minds hear the repeated message that those with whom you disagree politically are fair game for elimination from the planet.

If this sort of intimidation tactic were meant to get Sen. Snowe to abandon her position, I would venture a safe bet that this will only further harden her commitment to the course she has set. And now that her Maine colleague has suggested she is inclined to support health care (insurance) reform, Sen. Snowe's resolve is likely strengthened.

With the Maine moderate Republicans on board, the arguments of conservative Democrats, that there's not enough support for major reform, crumbles. They, too, are now on the hook for whatever comes out of the House and Senate. Indeed, the momentum has shifted dramatically that the final bill will include the public option. (That thing the MSM villagers have repeatedly told us is dead). After all, the three House committee versions and the Senate HELP committee version include it, so the pressure is on to move in that direction.