Congress isn't 'working out issues anymore,' Snowe said. | REUTERS Snowe: Parties in a 'parallel universe'

Sen. Olympia Snowe, a moderate Republican known for reaching across the aisle who announced yesterday she would not run for re-election, said on Wednesday that “political paralysis” reigns in Washington and warned that the two parties are “working in a parallel universe.”

The Maine Senator told MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell in her first interview after her surprise announcement on Tuesday that she made the “very difficult” decision not to pursue a fourth term after her 65th birthday. Congress has become too dysfunctional, she said, and she plans in her next career to “give voice to the frustrations” within the political system.


“We’re not working out issues anymore,” Snowe said. “We’re working in a parallel universe with competing proposals.”

Snowe said it has become “very, very difficult to resolve major issues” in Congress and she ultimately decided that serving another six-year term would not be the most effective way to effect change.

“I made the decision not to run for re-election in the United States Senate and to pursue other opportunities outside the Senate that perhaps I can give voice to the frustrations that, you know, exist with the political system here in Washington, where it’s dysfunctional and political paralysis has overtaken the environment to the detriment to the good of the country,” Snowe said

Snowe said she was not ready to endorse anyone for president, but told Mitchell the Republican Party needs to “move forward in a united fashion.”

“We have to work together. Within our party, hopefully we can move forward in a united fashion,” she said. “We’re stronger united than we are divided, that’s for sure.”

As for her future, Snowe remained vague about what she would pursue, but said she would continue to give “voice” to people’s frustrations with Congress.

“In looking forward, I’m going to be, you know, this is a new chapter in my life. I decided that if I was going to do something different, it had to be at this moment in time. So I’m going to be giving my voice to what should change here in the United States Senate, and in congress, to get things done for the American people,” she said.

This article tagged under: Olympia Snowe