Oh, Rhode Island! Democrats for Chafee!?!?

Today, Rhode Island news outlets are reporting that an important Democrat has announced that she has placed her full support behind... Republican Lincoln Chafee!

I offer this story tonight on dailyKos not so much because I think this endorsement is extremely significant (I don't), I merely offer it as a cautionary tale for those who assume that Sheldon Whitehouse's victory in Rhode Island is assured once that giant Democratic electorate comes home. Here, it's never that simple.

Let me explain.

First, the news as reported by Steven Peoples on Providence Journal's Political Scene Blog

PROVIDENCE -- Three-time Democratic gubernatorial hopeful Myrth York endorsed U.S. Sen. Lincoln Chafee today, telling a horde of media gathered at an afternoon press conference that Chafee would be the first Republican she voted for in a federal election in 40 years.

"I cannot imagine voting for any other Republican than Lincoln Chafee," she said today. "What I know is I want Lincoln Chafee in Washington for the next six years representing me...Senator Chafee brings a unique perspective on how to solve problems and work together."

York is the second political figure with strong ties to the Democratic Party to endorse Chafee in recent weeks. The first was former U.S. Attorney Margaret Curran, an appointee of former President Bill Clinton. Curran sat next to Chafee at a recent press conference similar to today's in the same downtown restaurant, Federal Reserve.

The average reader in Little Rhody may well question some of Myrth York's motives, if they recall her contentious primary with Sheldon Whitehouse before her defeat by our current Republican governor, Donald Carcieri. She assures the reporter that this is not her motive, rather it is about the issue of character.

My larger point is not so much what Myrth York has done as it is about the way Rhode Island politics work. In this state, politics is sport and politics is personal.

As a sport, any Rhode Islander who cares about a neighborhood (that is to say, almost every one of us) has a political opinion. As Sheldon Whitehouse said in a recent NPR interview, one can walk from one end of this state to the other by stepping on yard signs and your feet will never touch the ground. The local dialect even has a unique phrase for political fundraisers: "having a time," as in :"Are ya goin'? Linc's havin' a time at the Federal Reserve [restaurant]." If you want to find a place where politics is entertainment, this would be it. And what is sporting entertainment without a good conflict, after all? The harder the better!

This sporting aspect has a little understood but extremely important counterbalance: the personal aspect of our state's political landscape. The state is not really that small in terms of population - by density, we are second only to New Jersey. This relative lack of elbow room means we run into each other a great deal. People know Lincoln Chafee and like him. They knew his father. I don't mean they recognize John Chafee as a former senator, I mean they feel they know him. I sang at the man's funeral, for heaven's sake. The Chafee farm is just down the road a bit from my house.

Therein lies the difficulty for the average Rhode Island voter. They understand the implications of Senate control, but they are torn by their loyalty for their dear, principled Senator with character. In one thousand square miles, they know there is a good chance they will run into him at some point. They will be thinking about what they will say to him (it is never a question that they will have to say something - this is a verbal place!).

It is this personal aspect of the politics of our beloved State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations that makes me a little concerned when I hear overly confident predictions for next Tuesday. No matter how much the polls say Sheldon Whitehouse is ahead, no matter how Democratic our state is, I have no doubt that when voters put the pen to the opti-scan ballot, they will have their own personal remembrance, anecdote, recollection that will come to them.

I am very grateful Sheldon Whitehouse is doing so well. I believe my fellow residents will do the right thing in the end. I just wanted to explain why it might not come easily.

•  Someone suggested a while back

  that I might help them understand our brand of New England politics in a diary. I hope this helps, and I hope other current residents will chime in if I am making any mistakes!

  by vox humana on Thu Nov 02, 2006 at 07:47:07 PM PDT

  •  No, this is sound advice.

    We shouldn't take any race for granted, no matter how up in the polls the Dem is.

    Your point is well taken--Chafee is well liked and respected by alot of folks on both sides of the political fence.

    Sounds like the 3-time gubernatorial candidate is a sore loser.

    by Pager on Thu Nov 02, 2006 at 07:50:39 PM PDT

  •  live blog formatting

    Could you please revise the table formatting in your live blog?

     I can't parse it as is.  

    I have a template you can use if you would like.  

    Thanks!

    by jotter on Mon Nov 06, 2006 at 04:30:37 PM PDT

  •  in case you want to make the change

    Here is code that I can parse.

    <table border="1">
    <tr><td colspan="3"><strong>RI-SEN - 0% reporting</strong></td></tr>
    <tr><td>Lincoln Chafee (R-Inc)</td><td> 0 </td><td> 0% </td></tr>
    <tr><td>Sheldon Whitehouse (D)</td><td> 0 </td><td> 0% </td></tr>
    </table>

    <p>
    <table border="1">
    <tr><td colspan="3"><strong>RI-GOV - 0% reporting</strong></td></tr>
    <tr><td>Don Carcieri (R-Inc)</td><td> 0 </td> <td> 0% </td></tr>
    <tr><td>Charles Fogarty (D)</td><td> 0 </td> <td> 0% </td></tr>
    </table>

    <p>
    <table border="1">
    <tr><td colspan="3"> <strong>MA-GOV - 0% reporting</strong></td></tr>
    <tr><td>Deval Patrick (D)</td> <td> 0 </td> <td> 0% </td></tr></tr>
    <tr><td>Kerry Healey (R)</td> <td> 0 </td> <td> 0% </td></tr>
    </table>

    by jotter on Mon Nov 06, 2006 at 05:19:29 PM PDT

•  Is she related to GW Lieberman?

  by shpilk on Thu Nov 02, 2006 at 07:48:38 PM PDT

  •  No, but it is a bit of a stunner.

    Clearly, this leans to the "personal" side of our political scene. If I were to worry about anything, I would worry about supporters of Myrth York (I was one last election) who might harbor the same resentment as she seems to, and who might just take the invitation her endorsement implies.

    It would be very much like any player heading to another team. Are the local loyalties with the team or the player? The jury's out....

    by vox humana on Thu Nov 02, 2006 at 07:52:06 PM PDT

•  is whitehouse making it clear

  that the chance for a  democratic senate is gone  if chafee is re-elected.

  by JOEL1954 on Thu Nov 02, 2006 at 07:53:15 PM PDT

  •  Yes, he is.

    It is a very effective point here. Both he and the national party are hitting this hard, and it resonates. That is why Lincoln Chafee's most recent ad assures the people who have told him they like him but feel they must send a message to GWB that he has always stood up to the President.

    His most recent postcard, by the way, did not even mention the Republican Party anywhere.

    by vox humana on Thu Nov 02, 2006 at 07:55:16 PM PDT

•  Myrth York should shut up

  She blew not one, not two, but THREE gubernatorial races.  She is exlempifies the Democratic loser archtype.  You know some of these guys may not be all that bad, perhaps Chaffee isn't, but we don't live in a VACUUM!!  

  I don't know why there are so many Democrats working to ensure that we have a Republican Senate.  Between the Dems in Maryland and Rhode Island and all these other blue states.  They really frost me.  Oh well, this is why we have the netroots.  We're going to triumph in spite of the Myrth Yorks and the Wayne Curry's of the world.  

  by SoCalLiberal on Thu Nov 02, 2006 at 07:55:03 PM PDT

•  York is a three time loser

  She ran for Governor in 1994, 1998, and 2002. Each of those times she lost to Lincoln Almond and Don Carcieri. She's better because she couldn't win.

  by jiacinto on Thu Nov 02, 2006 at 07:55:53 PM PDT

  •  That's right.

    I get the impression that this last time was particularly personal... maybe the bitter primary helped contribute to her final defeat?

    I think Margaret Curran's Chafee endorsement is a little more worrisome in some ways. Good thing not many know who she is!

    by vox humana on Thu Nov 02, 2006 at 07:57:39 PM PDT

•  Man, so opposite of Virginia

  Much of the south seems to almost work the other way around.  Opposing parties and their members are often seen here as not just opponents, but as enemy camps in a war.  There is a strong pressure to pick sides, and once you do you instantly make many friends and enemies.  Switching parties can often lead to your being disowned, if not in legal fact, then at least for most practical purposes.

  Maybe it's because in the south the germ of the GOP began in the mountains, where holdout unionists sometimes conducted guerilla campaigns against the Democratic-leaning lowlands.  The pressure to pick a side was strong, and even now independents are scarcer here than in any other region of the country.  It's why the south had the fewest Perot supporters in '92.  Down here, once you pick a side, 38% is against you no matter what you do or say.  To say that party is important would not do it justice.

  I guess that's why it's hard for me to grasp the Rhode Island situation.  When you think of politics as war by more civil means, defection takes on a literal edge that I guess it doesn't have up there.

  by Harkov311 on Thu Nov 02, 2006 at 08:13:57 PM PDT

  •  Exactly!

    I haven't lived in the "real" South (one side of the family comes from the Ozarks area of Southern Illinois), but I have lived in Illinois, Michigan, Colorado and Montana. The situation here is truly unique.

    A television station recently had a story of a man who was voting for Whitehouse but had to come up to Chafee outside a grocery store and tell him all about how he had come across Chafee's father naked in a locker room once. "He was a hell of a guy." Chafee's reply was as gracious as one could expect in such a circumstance, "Yeah, those things happen in locker rooms."

    by vox humana on Thu Nov 02, 2006 at 08:20:01 PM PDT

•  'Democrats for Chafee' is probably

  York and two of her buddies sitting around sharing a bag of Cheetos and counting down the minutes until USA Network shows "Elf."  I wouldn't get too fired up over this one, though I'm no expert at all on RI politics.

  by Black Max on Thu Nov 02, 2006 at 08:19:19 PM PDT

  •  You're right, of course.

    This is my fault for burying the true point of this story past the endorsement. I meant it to explain the RI mindset overall - not just Myrth York's betrayal.

    by vox humana on Thu Nov 02, 2006 at 08:21:17 PM PDT

•  In CT

  there is also "Republicans for Lamont".  I saw an ad in the Hartford Courant the other day.  I hadn't heard anything of it before that.

  So I guess it goes both ways... maybe?

  by HeedTheMessenger on Thu Nov 02, 2006 at 08:33:52 PM PDT

•  So who did she vote for

  in 1994 and 2000? If she voted for Chafee in 1994 or 2000, then she had no business running for Governor in 1994 or 2002.

  If she voted for Chafee's Democratic opponents in 1994 and 2000, then why the hell is she switching? What makes Chafee better, suddenly, in 2006?

  Seems to me she's a faux Dem politician or a faux Dem politician. Regular Dem voters, unlike her, have more understandable reasons for supporting Chafee. I'm glad most of them seem to realize that, independent as he sometimes is, Chafee helps Bush too much.

  by sardonyx on Thu Nov 02, 2006 at 08:46:28 PM PDT

•  Chafee is to Lieberman...

  Chafee (R) in RI or Lieberman (D) in CT? If given a choice between Chafee staying and Lamont winning over Lieberman, I'll take the Lamont victory.

  by turning blue on Thu Nov 02, 2006 at 09:18:28 PM PDT

•  Look, Chafee will lose, but

  It will be like kicking an old uncle out of the family homestead.  Yes, people in New England actually care about their communities and families a great deal, so this is like a divorce.  The same reason that Ted Kennedy gets 75% of the vote in his reelection battles.  

  What I see in several Blue northeastern states is realignment similar to what happened in 2000-2004 in the Southern States.  This time around it should take RI, and in the next 10 years will probably take Susan Collin's seat & Olympia Snowe's seat.  The region is just not able to handle the religious right version of the Republican party, although they are still very conservative in general.

  by letsbepragmatic on Thu Nov 02, 2006 at 10:34:26 PM PDT