Most annoying Liberal Republican: Lincoln Chafee

Look, the GOP is a big-tent party. In New England, Liberal Republicans are about the only ones you can actually find in office - due to the make-up of the voting population. Fine, at least they do less damage than Democrats. And very often, they'll come through for you when it counts. My Congresswoman - Nancy Johnson (CT-5) - is not an ideal representative as far as I'm concerned but she's a lot better than that follicly-challenged media-hound to the South, Chris Shays (CT-4).

Differences of opinion can give a party its strength - and lack of political diversity is one of the reasons the Democrats are becoming more and more isolated. But there are times when unity is critical.

Case in point. If there ever was a Republican Senator I would gladly lose a seat to be rid of it's the doofus to the East in Rhode Island, Lincoln Chafee. Appointed to the Senate when his father - John Chafee - kicked the bucket in 1999, this annoying little rich kid was elected in his own right in 2000 because of all the goodwill associated with daddy's good name. Now he's up for reelection in 2006, facing the challenge of living in one of the most solidly Blue States in the entire union.

Chafee is not just a Liberal. That's bad enough. But he persists in being a huge pain in the ass to the Bush administration and the rest of the GOP caucus at every turn. He may as well be a Democrat for all the crap Republicans have to put up with. And of course he was one of "gang of 14" who stabbed the Constitution in the back and threw a last-minute roadblock in front of an opportunity to finally give Bush's judicial nominees a fair up or down vote in the Senate.

Chafee doesn't want Bush campaigning for him, understandably. But he's more than willing to take money from the GOP Senatorial Committee for his reelection bid.

I say: Cut him off. He already has the advantage of incumbency. To me it's not worth the money that could be used for more important races. If Chafee is reelected, it'll be because the people of Rhode Island like him enough to send him back to Washington, not because he had enough money for tv ads. Let's be clear here. I'm not advocating running him out with a primary challenge, but let him sink or swim on his own. If he doesn't support his party, why should it support him? Republicans can afford to lose a seat that they can't count on anyway.

Posted by: Gary at 09:15 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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