Chafee Shows His True Colors
Written by YellowJacket on November 9th, 2006Joe T, feel free to comment on how important having Chafee in the Senate with an R next to his name was after reading this:
PROVIDENCE, R.I. –Two days after losing a bid for a second term in an election seen as a referendum on President Bush and the Republican Party, Sen. Lincoln Chafee said he was unsure whether he’d remain a Republican.
“I haven’t made any decisions. I just haven’t even thought about where my place is,” Chafee said at a news conference Thursday when asked whether he would stick with the Republican Party or switch to be an independent or Democrat.
When asked if his comments meant he thought he might not belong in the Republican Party, he replied: “That’s fair.”
Chafee, 53, is the most liberal Republican in the Senate and was the sole Senate Republican to vote against the war in Iraq. That was not enough to save his seat against the winner, Democrat Sheldon Whitehouse, who shared many of Chafee’s views but was a member of the dominant party in a state where Democrats far outnumber Republicans.
When asked whether he felt that his loss may have helped the country by switching control of power in Congress, he replied: “To be honest, yes.”
So… does anybody want to debate me on the fact that had Chafee won, he would’ve pulled a Jeffords and joined the other two independents caucasing with the Dems in the Senate, thus giving them the majority that he feels they deserve?
Joe T, have at it buddy. I’m waiting to see how much you’re going to make me laugh. How does crow taste, by the way?
H/T to Redstate.
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If it hadn’t been for Mayor Laffey’s campaign, Chafee would not be nearly as antagonized as he was, and he *might* still be in the Senate.
Next let’s say Chafee votes for Republican committee assignments, a fair expectation: we have the Judiciary committee, voila.
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“. . . and he *might* still be in the Senate.”
As a Democrat, did you just read the article or not? He would have switched to give control to the Dems in a heart beat. The only reason he hasn’t in the past is because his treachery would have been pointless.
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I’m not defending Chafee’s duplicity. I’m saying Laffey didn’t help the situation and I’m also saying that Pat Toomey pissed away hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of his donors’ dollars on that race. Toomey has a talent for wasting is donors’ funds. We came just 7000 votes short of holding the Senate in Virginia and in Montana. Where was the Club’s money then?
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Um… maybe you don’t read the facts before you speak, but the Club also endorsed and pooled money to Allen in Virginia.
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Equally valid to comment #3 would be the assertion that the NRSC “pissed away” millions (yes millions) of dollars on Chafee that could have been spent on Montana (where they had a single ad buy in the closing week), Virginia, Maryland or Michigan.
The Club may have made life difficult for Chafee, but their job isn’t to maintain a Republican majority. On the other hand, the NRSC’s is. Libby Dole did a piss poor job recruiting candidates, and then funding them.
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Joe,
I’m of the persuation that competitive Primary elections are healthy. They force candidates to start early and hone their messages by practicing fellow Party members.
Two cases: I read somewhere that Laffey’s challenge forced Chafee to oil his campaign machine sooner and that his win gave him momentum and the ability to cast himself as a “moderate” (as nuanced as we all know that word to be).
Second case: Lynn Swann. I was sad when Bill Scranton dropped out not because I supported him but because I knew that it wouldn’t force Swann to articulate his message sooner and build the groundwork up for his campaign.
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Right but it’s the NRSC’s job to defend all Republican incumbents, especially when the primary challenger has been unequivocally written off for the general by most analysts.
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AHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!
My brain wants to throw up, listening to you. The primary helped Chafee more than it hurt him, it made him look more “independent”. Whitehouse is a corrupt and uninspiring fool, and Laffey would have had a better shot of beating him than ol’ man Linc had.
The NRSC’s job is to defend all incumbents? Bob Smith will be interested to hear the news.
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I’m believe the NRSC shouldn’t defend any incumbent during a Primary Election, but instead focus exclusively on the General Election. Otherwise, conservatives lose out to liberal incumbents, as was the case for Pat Toomey and Steve Laffey and many others.
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The NRSC in its own words, “The Committee was formed with the primary goal of supporting Republican candidates to the United States Senate by offering current and prospective candidates support in a number of ways.”
Nothing in that about supporting incumbent R candidates over primary R challengers. Just R candidates. There was no need for the NRSC to get involved in the primary races. It would have better served its constituency — Republican Senators interested in retaining their majority — by sitting them out or investing in unchallenged primary candidates like Mike Steele.
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Yeah, what business of the NRSC is it which candidate a state’s party puts forward? They only do it because it’s “The Club”, and if the natives get too restless then there are going to be a lot of shrunken heads on the barbecue by the time the sun comes back up.
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Let’s be fair here. Chafee’s made comments like that throughout his entire term in the Senate, and even at prime opportunities for him to have done so (i.e. when Jeffords jumped), he stayed Republican. I think the minimum standard should be refraining from criticizing him for saying that he doesn’t feel wanted by those who don’t want him (i.e. the coburn or bust crowd). It just feels like the proverbial “big tent” is shrinking fast.
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The problem is that any tent big enough to include a Lincoln Chafee is big enough for Hillary Clinton. In any case, I will at least agree that it’s academic since he’s no longer in the Senate.
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Let it be asked: how much suppot did the House Republican Campaign Committee (of Pennslvania) give to Mark Harris?
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lol I couldn’t even spell my own home state right, looks like the Framers and I have something in common.
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“It just feels like the proverbial “big tent” is shrinking fast.”
Having a big tent is fine, just so long as everyone who flocks under it understands the basic ideals of the Republican/Conservative Party. Limited Government and self determination are at the top of the list and people whose agenda is against this will find no shelter here.