Maine’s two senators are usually regarded as among the most liberal members of their party. But, when it comes to fiscal restraint, they are apparently among the most conservative.

Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins broke ranks with their Republican colleagues last week by voting for a requirement that any new federal spending be offset by tax increases or spending cuts.

The vote was as close as a vote can be, 50 for the measure (mostly Democrats) and 50 against (all Republicans).

We are, unfortunately, stuck in fiscal gridlock. With mid-term elections looming, Republicans have no interest in raising taxes to cover the ballooning federal deficit, nor do they want to cut popular spending programs.

The tie vote came as a prelude to another vote scheduled for this week to raise the nation’s debt limit by $781 billion to $8.2 trillion.

That’s a lot of red ink, more than any of us can comprehend. We hope Maine’s senators will continue drawing attention to the outrageous growth of the federal government and federal spending.