Chafee Prevails in Rhode Island GOP Primary

Lincoln Chafee sits as a Republican in the US Senate representing Rhode Island, America’s smallest state. He has voted against the administration more than any other member of the GOP in the chamber. Yet, when his pro-Bush, anti-tax challenger lost the primary to the incumbent (54%-46%), the entire Republican Establishment breathed a sigh of relief. As Bob Schiffer of CBS News said, “the irony here is so thick you get it on your shoes.”

In New England, there is a much more thoughtful and humane Republican Party that there is in the old traitor states of the south or in the populist west. Senator Chafee is part of that “Rockefeller Republican” tradition, which in modern America is usually found within the Democratic Leadership Council that gave America Bill Clinton. The senator, for example, voted against the resolution to use force against Iraq, he put John Bolton’s latest confirmation hearing on hold because of “unanswered questions” about the man, and didn’t support Samuel Alito’s appointment to the Supreme Court. In 2004, he wrote in the first President Bush’s name rather than vote for the current President Bush.

Naturally, the rightists in the party weren’t happy and funded Cranston Mayor Steve Laffey to challenge the incumbent. Mr. Laffey received the backing of the Club for Growth, a body dedicated to cutting taxes, cutting taxes and then, cutting taxes. He also opposed the Senate’s immigration bill as too lenient, is unapologetically pro-life, backs bans on flag burning and supports Mr. Bush’s military adventure in Mesopotamia.

Yet the GOP machinery, led from Washington, supported Senator Chafee to the nth degree. Laura Bush turned up for him, and the ads that ran against Mayor Laffey were as savage as any attack on any Democrat. The reason was polling that showed Mr. Laffey losing the seat by a huge margin. The Democrats need to pick up 6 seats to take over the Senate, and Mr. Chafee’s seat is marginal. With Mr. Laffey as the candidate, the Republican powers that be figured the seat would switch.

Of course, it must have hurt like hell to campaign for Senator Chafee, who has already said he’d prefer the president stays away from here on out due to Mr. Bush’s poor approval ratings in Rhode Island. Yet, if the GOP has 50 Senate seats, with Vice President Cheney breaking any tie, the Senate Democrats will not have control of the chambers agenda and will not have subpoena power to investigate the last six years. In the end, the Republican Establishment threw away a candidate whose principles are those of Mr. Bush in favor of a bigger principle – retaining power.

© Copyright 2006 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Fedora Linux.

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