Lincoln Chafee tells Roll Call ($) that the Republican party is pursuing a far right agenda that hurts its electoral prospects. I won't bore you with the details; you could probably write the story. Suffice it to say that he believes people don't care about flag burning, gay marriage, and illegal immigration enforcement. In his defense, that's probably largely true in Rhode Island. The amusing part to me is, his claim that he was always a loyal Republican:
Chafee, whom pundits were constantly monitoring to see if he would bolt the GOP, said he went out of his way to prove his party loyalty.
“I worked really hard at attending every Republican event,” Chafee said, noting he did not miss one of the traditional “Tuesday lunches” both parties hold in the Senate.
He frequented the less formal Thursday lunches as well. And he attended numerous social events, which were often organized by Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas).
“I was an active member of the caucus,” Chafee said.
He acknowledged how tough being a “team player” could be for him at times, but he said he was devoted to his affiliation.
“It was difficult believing in the things I consider traditional Republican values, such as environmental stewardship, fiscal discipline, helping the less fortunate; and it changed so drastically.
That's an interesting argument for someone who, as a sitting Republican Senator, endorsed John Kerry, and said that he might switch parties if George Bush was re-elected.
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