McConnell: Much Love for Olympia Snowe, but no Comment on Ensign

ABC’s Z. Byron Wolf reports:

The New York Times' in-depth and troubling allegations that Sen. John Ensign may have violated lobbying rules by helping setup the staffer he cuckolded a lobbying job and then pushing for the interests of the former staffer's new clients brought this reaction from the Senate Minority Leader at a press conference with reporters:

"I don't have any observations to make," said Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky. He wouldn't say if there should be an ethics investigation into Ensign's activity.

Ensign has raised his profile in recent weeks after admitting to the affair and resigning from a leadership post earlier in the year. And he was vocal at the Finance Committee markup of the health reform legislation, even late last night after the article was published on the Times' website.

But McConnell strongly embraced Sen. Olympia Snowe, the only Republican still mentioned as a possible "aye" vote for health care reform.

He called her a "close friend" and a "valued member of the caucus" and said the would "continue to play an important role in the debate."

This begs some question of where Snowe is leaning on health reform. She was obviously agitated at times with Democrats on the Senate Finance Committee during their two-week markup of health reform legislation, for cutting off debate on some amendments and rejecting a proposal to post legislative language for the bill online at least 72 hours before a vote.

"What's the rush?" she said several times.

Snowe also voted with Republicans on nearly every amendment offered at the markup.

What's more, she had planned to offer an amendment for a public health insurance option that would be "triggered" if after a set amount of time there was not enough competition in a state's insurance market. Democrats have entertained the idea in large part to  mollify Snowe.

But she withheld the amendment and it's unclear if she'll offer it on the Senate floor.

And that brings us back to McConnell, who pointed out today that Democrats again have 60 votes when everyone is present.

"They ought to be able to do anything they want to," he said at today's press conference.

And this also the reason Republican leaders (there are some plans offered by back-bench Republicans) have not coalesced around their own wholesale health reform proposal.

"We're not in the majority," McConnell said today. "The majority has the responsibility to present and we have the responsibility to amend," he said.