Sen. Olympia Snowe calls contraception debate 'retro'

Retiring Republican Senator Olympia Snowe of Maine said on Monday night that she supports former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney (R) for president and that the current cultural argument over birth control is a "retro debate from the 1950s," according to a post at BuzzFeed.

Snowe was in New York City to accept a lifetime achievement award from the Women's Campaign Fund at a cocktail reception at the famous auction house Christie's. In her remarks to BuzzFeed, she praised Governor Romney as a pragmatic "problem-solver." She said, "That's certainly what he accomplished as Governor and I think he'll apply that as President of the United States."

When asked about the public debate currently raging over women, employers and birth control, Sen. Snowe confessed that she finds it astonishing that this battle has re-emerged in 2012. "It really is surprising because I feel like it's a retro debate that comes from the 1950's. It's sort of back to the future, isn't it?"

Snowe is not seeking reelection in 2012 after serving three terms in the U.S. Senate. She has long been seen as a voice of moderation in the Republican Party, a stance that has placed her increasingly at odds with a party that appears to be drifting further and further to the right.

As she accepted her reward, she said of her decision not to run in 2012, "When I think about where I stand today having made a very difficult decision, I think it's very important to make sure that we endorse bipartisanship."

Some have speculated that the Senator is retiring in an attempt to get ahead of an erupting scandal involving her and her husband, former Maine Governor "Jock" McKernan's involvement in the Education Management Corporation (EDMC), which runs several for-profit colleges.

EDMC has run afoul of the Justice Department and the U.S. Department of Education for violation of rules regarding payment to recruiters for aggressive enrollment of unqualified students, a practice known as "incentive compensation."

Snowe's current term ends on January 3, 2013.

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