Chafee says he'll stay Republican

[seraph]

Thought we had a chance with this one.


WASHINGTON -- Sen. Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island, who flirted with changing political parties in the wake of President Bush's re-election, said today he will stay in the Republican Party, where he can best serve his Ocean State constituents.


"My Republican colleagues have let me know that they want me in their caucus," said Chafee. "They value the voice I bring and they have made it very clear to me that they respect and want that voice to be heard."


He added that he will be able to serve the state better as a member of the political party that controls Congress and the White House.


Chafee, who is part of a well-known Republican family but often votes with the Democrats, had said he would consider switching party affiliation if Bush were re-elected.


http://www.projo.com/digitalbulletin/content/projo-20041108-lchafee.39dcd2cd.html

[pinerow]

1. He will be the conscience of the party

nt

[pk_du]

3. You dont need a conscience .....

when you believe 51% is a mandate

[seraph]

9. I can't figure it out either

Chafee got the big shaft during the rnc in NYC.

They hate his ass.

[baldguy]

34. Since when has a Republican listened to his conscience?

[DBoon]

37. Republicans need a conscience

like a fish needs a bicycle

[greenman3610]

2. what is it with these people?

there's something so terrifying that gets said to these
people that within days of any stray remark or
comment there is a complete and abject turnaround...

[Freddie Stubbs]

20. He didn't want to be in the minority party in the Senate

Not a big surprise.

[goobergunch]

31. Aye

He can probably serve us better by being a moderate Republican voice then being another member of the minority.

Think about why the Republicans weren't angry about Zell Miller staying a Democrat. Although it's not as blatant, the same principle applies.

[Malva Zebrina]

4. and I would not hang any hopes on Snowe and Collins either

there has been a lot bandied about that these two moderates will abandon their party. Never happen so do not count on them either.

[peterh]

13. Nope…no hopes…

Like Chafee said and I think the others would concur, it’s really about serving your state…..and with one party in control, pork trumps conscience……

[Crunchy Frog]

5. Boy is he ever naive.

They'll send him to the slaughter just as soon as it suits their purposes.

[seraph]

6. This cuts both ways

Chafee is almost always against boosh.

But, he will most certainly face a primary challenge from one of the very few radikals here in RI.

Stupid move on his part I think.

[hughee99]

14. I don't think he'll lose to a radikal, though

The repukes can bring up a candidate from Texas (no offense to Texans) for all it will matter. Chafee's beliefs (despite being a repuke) accurately reflect the voters. I don't believe a more conservative candidate would beat him in a primary. As far as switching parties goes, Jeffords tried it, and it got him what he wanted at the moment (I think it was dairy subsidies), but now he's worse off than he would have been. It's partly because he didn't switch to the Dems (and remained independent), but it's also because the makeup of the Senate has changed, and his vote is no longer as valuable to either party. Unless we're able to get 5 of them to switch parties, I don't think we'll get any.

[wryter2000]

7. Well, shoot

Aw heck. Well, we need all the decent Republicans we can get.

[cali]

8. We need to send them packing

Fuck 'em. By staying in a party that gladly supports such freaks as DeMint and Coburn, they are supporting a litany of evils. Snowe and Chafee need to go.

[Crunchy Frog]

11. They will go.

The repubs are going to finally finish purging their party of all moderate elements. Those guys are all slated for the chopping block. I don't think we should be happy to see the death of the last vestiges of moderation in the puke party.

[cali]

17. I wish I could agree with you

but moderates no longer have a place in the republican party, particularly moderate republicans from solidly blue states. The way I feel now is; let their extremism be front and center. The sooner Americans grasp how truly radical these folks are, the better.

[Bush was AWOL]

42. I agree. It's time to take the Republicans approach

and target west coast and Northeast Republicans in the Senate.

Moderate or not, we should target these candidates in upcoming races and replace them with Democrats.

Chafee, may be a moderate Republican, but I'd take a Northeastern Democrat in the Senate over a Moderate Republican any day.

[West Coast Democrat]

10. Perhaps he has a plan....

Let's see.

[Emboldened Chimp]

12. Well, that settles it...let's work on ousting this asshole

I don't care if he votes on our side or not, he's still a republican. We need to control the Senate, therefore we need to work on getting Dem elected to that seat.

[Hotdiggitydog]

18. We need to dedicate our efforts into getting rid of the more nuttier

rethugs. Chaffee would switch if the senate were 50-50. He isn't the problem.

[JudyM]

24. I agree. Chafee's dad was a rethug senator who enacted great legislation

He was a big supporter of the environment and worked well with our side of the aisle, generally. I say let em stock their entire party with moderates.

[Hotdiggitydog]

39. The party label isn't as important as the policy...

I always associate "Democrat" with policy that supports the average Joe, but I don't really give a crap whether the policy comes from a Republican or a Democrat, just so long as it is solid policy for the middle and lower class masses.

At this point, I'd call it a victory if we could sufficiently moderate the republican party. America is not ready for the extreme left wing any more than we are ready for the extreme right wing.

[Bush was AWOL]

43. Exactly! Time to go after Northeastern and West Coast Republicans

[Demeter]

15. More Fool He

Supporting a homocidal, warmongering maniac and stupid, greedy, economic idiot and an anti-American fascist does not serve the best interests of his constituents.

[Leilani]

19. Where does it say he supports Bush?

He says he'll stay a Republican, but he didn't vote for Bush.

And Chafee is far from facism; he voted against the war, while Kerry & Edwards voted for it.

[Demeter]

26. He Gives Bush Countenance

or in more blunt terms: he gives Bush cover. But Chaffee will have no power, no ability to effect policy. Don't believe me? Watch for 18 months; no , just 8 ought to do it. the writing will be on the wall for all to read.

[mike from ri]

38. he refused to vote for W

cast a write in vot for Geo. H.W. Bush (bush the elder)

[shawn703]

16. He would have switched if it put him with the majority party

Now that it doesn't he's not that interested in the idea.

[AG78]

21. I need to read slower

"where he can best serve his Ocean State constituents"

When I first read that, I thought it said Oceania.

[Davion]

22. Don't forget that as long as you MIGHT switch parties

Both sides, particularly yours, bend over backwards to do whatever will keep you (within reason, of course).

But once you bolt to the other side, you're nothing but the newest kid in the caucus, and there's no going back. You got some concessions, but that will pass, where as you could have milked the speculation indefinitely.

[BeyondGeography]

23. He'll still be voting with us mostly

Although it would have been nice to have the seat.

[Daisey Mae]

25. He will help us

[ramapo]

27. Nobody has the guts to switch to the Dem column

or maybe the good sense if they value their job.

So many have gone the other way...good riddance to many of them but still it would be a morale booster to have a high profile switch.

[flaminbats]

28. Chafee has no desire to run for President in 2008..

this only makes it official.

[THUNDER HANDS]

29. hey, he made an oath to his dad

To be a Republican. The guy has principles the likes of which his GOP colleagues could only wish for.

I respect the guy, even if I disagree with his decision.

[JohnKleeb]

30. his father was a great guy too

[Proud liberal Kat]

32. I have a great deal of respect for Chafee

and I am a Rhode Islander.

He voted against IWR, he voted against the tax cuts.

He is a man of principle and I have been proud to call him my Senator even though he is a Republican

[roguevalley]

33. he's a pug. they can't be trusted. It only took me 51 years to feel

this way. Fuck the pugs.

[mike from ri]

35. he will never become a dem

local dems here in ri are not an idealistic bunch; old-line hacks really.

i see him being thrown out by his own party in a primary tho.

[PROGRESSIVE1]

36. In 2006, Lincoln Chaffee is the Democratic Party's TOP TARGET!

[PurityOfEssence]

40. Ann and Hope would be proud

I'm sure Collings and Snowe will remain true to the party long after acid rain has dissolved their state, too.

What DOES matter? Is the party of rectitude even a whiff of its oft-proclaimed, yet never demonstrated former self?

Propriety will be the death of us, and the pallbearers still ache for some kind of sanctification; may they burn publicly and live a long sentient life of retirement knowing their complicity.

[deadparrot]

41. He might be more valuable on the inside...

especially when all hell breaks loose, as I'm sure it will in time.

[antonialee839]

44. Gee, what a surprise!

You know, I'm really sick of these people. Sometimes I think they are worse than the total wingnuts.

[MADem]

45. LINC made the CORRECT CALL

The only reason he would have swapped is to GIVE THE MAJORITY TO THE DEMS. Think about it--if he switches now, HE LOSES HIS COMMITTEE ASSIGNMENTS (and I think he is on INTEL)...ya think the Dems are gonna give him anything? Too many people are OWED, and have waited in line for those slots. Someone would have to be screwed out of a good assignment if he demanded a trade like Jumping Jim Jeffords did (he wanted in on Education committees, that's his particular thing--some long waiting Dem got screwed to give him the seat he wanted). As it is now, it's like having a spare Dem on every committee and subcommittee he is on.

Sometimes, you have to say 'fuck principle' and do what will HELP the cause. Right now, as a Republican, he can hector them from the inside, he can shame them in the media, he can tell them to go Cheney themselves and they can't do crap about it, he can vote with us in committee, he can vote with us and the other MODS from the GOP on brutal, blood sport issues, and he can BE EFFECTIVE. As a new Dem, or an independent, he'd be last in line for anything.

There's no INCENTIVE to go, and a shitload of incentive to stay--by staying, he has more clout to advance our agenda. He makes NO secret of how he feels, and how he votes--and the voters LIKE him for it.

Linc is a GOOD GUY. His heart is in the right place, and he is thinking intelligently in his decision to stay GOP. Now, if four GOP senators from states with Dem governors suddenly dropped dead or resigned due to a sex scandal, he might change his mind. But right now, we do NOT have a majority, and it is doubtful that Cheney will need to be casting too many tiebreaking votes for the next two years.

[QC]

46. CAN WE STOP KISSING HIS ASS NOW???

For years now, otherwise sensible Democrats have been caught up in a schoolgirl crush where this guy is concerned. Over and over we've heard about how sensible and honest and just gosh-darned wonderful he is.

"oh," they tell us, their eyes all dewy, "he's not really a Republican. He's not like the others. There's no way Lincoln would ever let us down. He's too dreamy for that!"

Well, for all the talk from him and his fans about how moderate and sensible he is, he has chosen to take the side of evil. Yes, he voted against some of Bush's more outrageously stupid proposals, but by caucusing with the Republicans he adds to their majority, and by going before the cameras and playing the sensible moderate he gives cover to the real power in that party, the ones who are neither sensible nor moderate.

As far as I'm concerned, he's as much a part of the problem at Tom DeLay.

[MADem]

50. HUH????

Dreamy???

The rep that kid has had for YEARS isn't that he is wonderful OR dreamy...it's that he is a bit of a lightweight in the brains department, but a good guy whose heart is generally in the right place, and who listens to his constituency.

He got the seat because his daddy croaked, he has a lot of name recognition, and the voters like the way he votes. He has good constituent services, a legacy of his papa, and his staff is very good at keeping their fingers on the pulse of that rather small state.

But dreamy??? Goofy, more like. Not all that bright....cheerful, peppy....but not an intellectual icon by any stretch.

Of course, when you consider who occupies the White House, by comparison, he has as much gravitas as John Fucking Adams!!!

[genius]

47. It wouldn't help if he switched and he's lose key positons

I'm sure, if it changed the control, he would switch.

[AndyTiedye]

48. Jeffords Didn't Jump Right Away Either

He waited until Booosh went a little too far.
Might be the same here, though he might want to coordinate it
with a few friends there.

How many need to jump ship to give us back the Senate?

[MADem]

51. FIVE, SIX if you want to nail the Cheney vote

Cheney has the tiebreaker. You need five for 50-50, so we need six to make Dickhead irrelevant.

It ain't happening until 06. And it will only happen if WE define MORALS (taking care of the poor and sick, lifting people up instead of putting them down, not invading countries, being tolerant of others, etc.) and not allow the GOP to say that moral behavior consists of lying about who you are, being judgmental, accruing lucre, invading countries, refusing to care for the sick and poor, and denying people the right to live in real freedom.

If we define morals, again, and again, and again, and again, and relate our issues to the MORAL thing to do, we will win. These people in Red State Jesusland are apparently STUPID--you have to tell them, then tell them what you told them, then tell them again.

We have two years to pound that message out. In the meantime, Linc is better off where he is.

[JI7]

49. it's better he remain a Republican

unless the senate was close enough that it could turn control over to the democrats, there isn't much point in switching.

and in fact it's better to read about how "republican senator" opposes bush or criticizes him on something than to read a democrat did it since it can be blown off by many as regular partisan differences.