I want Chafee to win the RI primary for the following reasons:
1. Chafee was one of the only senators with the balls to stand up against the war in Iraq.
2. Chafee is HEAVILY pro-environment.
3. Chafee opposed the ridiculous redistribution of wealth in the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy.
4. Chafee is against the permanent appointment of John Bolton.
More below...
I grew up in Cranston, RI, a town of approximately 70,00 people. I live there today, and know Steve Laffey (Daffy). He is an enormous asshole, to say the least.
- He campaigned for mayor claiming that he would lower property taxes. They are still the highest in the state.
- He attacked the local unions, complaining about their contracts. He specificaly attacked the crossing guards. But they had a CONTRACT, and his lawsuits did nothing but waste taxpayer money.
- He hasn't lowered taxes, even though the city is running a surplus.
- He has used whatever he can as a political strategy, despite frequent ridiculousness. For example, he taped city employees sleepingon the job, but did not expose them (or fire them) unitl and election year, several months after the incident.
Laffey is a textbook buttwipe, and I could never support him. This includes Republican primaries.
The bottom line is that I like Chafee, even though the pragmatic view (as an admitted Bush hater) is that Sheldon Whitehouse can beat Laffey and would have a close race against Chafee.
Chafee has guts... more so than Democrats like John Kerry, who voted for the war before he voted against it.
I understand that Democrats need to take control of Congress. But I like Chafee; he stands for a lot of the things I stand for. And the fact that most state Republicans hate Chafee makes me like him.
The Kos community needs to be less pragmatic and look at the policy positions and vots of all candidates.
Update: Does the Dialykos community want to be the left-wing version of Limbaugh/Hannity/Coulter/O'Reilly? Complaining that this is a "Democratic" webiste is not the path to elightenment. I AM A LIBERAL. Let's not turn this forum into a place for self affirmation; let's use it to have legitimate discussion. Please do not turn me way as I have most of the same beliefs as the community.