Brian Duff interviewed by MPBN for a story on Senator Olympia Snowe's call for a balanced budget amendment

Brian Duff, Ph.D., associate professor of political science, was interviewed by Maine Public Broadcasting for a July 7, 2011 story on Maine Sen. Olympia Snowe's decision to join GOP conservatives in a call for a constitutional amendment requiring a federal balance budget.

"You know, Olympia Snowe is a savvy politician, she knows she's going to get a challenge from the right during this primary and she's looking for opportunities to shore up her reputation on the right," Duff told MPBN.

Conversely, Duff says, Senate Republicans needed Snowe to come out in strong support of the measure.

"She is someone that people know to be reasonable, that people think of as responsible," he says. "And I think the Republican party needs Olympia Snowe as much for proposals like this as much as Olympia Snowe needs Jim DeMint in terms of thinking about electoral politics here in Maine."

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