Sen. Olympia Snowe may lose out on her shot at the top Republican seat on the Senate Commerce Committee if she votes for health care reform, committee members say.

The Hill is reporting that Republicans on the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee are threatening to vote against Snowe’s bid for the seat, about to be vacated by Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (Texas).

Democrats on the committee made the claims - allegedly telling a Hill reporter to “Wake up” when asked if Republicans would retaliate.

President Barack Obama has struggled to show any conservative support of his bill in the last week. Former Sen. Bob Dole even had his sound-byte removed from an ad the Administration was planning to show support.

A tally by The Washington Post found Snowe voted with the GOP 58.4 percent of the time on 308 votes this year, including on the $787 billion stimulus bill. Only her compatriot Maine Sen. Susan Collins (R) scored lower (58.1 percent).

MSNBC reports Snowe is the “cover the White House needs, NOT for bipartisanship, but for wooing Democrats like Ben Nelson and Tom Carper and Blanche Lincoln and Evan Bayh.”

They went on to point out that Baucus and the Democrats have given Snowe just about everything she asked for in wooing the centrist Republican from Maine.

George Stephanopoulos handicapped her vote here.

• YES: 45% — “Voting yes keeps Snowe at the table and keeps Dems from moving immediately to reconciliation.”
• NO: 40% — “Snowe is a Republican and she has to think about her base (Closed primaries in Maine).”
• PASS: 15% — “The best way to keep your options open is to keep your options open.”

Tags: George Setphanopoulos, MSNBC, Olympia Snowe, The Hill

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