AP: Chafee may leave Republican Party

The Associated Press is reporting that Republican R.I. Senator Lincoln Chafee, who just lost in the midterm elections, is considering options:

On Thursday, he was asked whether he would stick with the Republican Party or become an independent or Democrat.

"I haven't made any decisions. I just haven't even thought about where my place is," Chafee said at a news conference. When pressed on whether his comments indicated he might leave the GOP, he replied: "That's fair."

This could be quite an interesting development. Stay tuned.

•  Tip Jar

  For those who feel like it...

  by fredfish on Thu Nov 09, 2006 at 06:18:20 PM PDT

•  geez

  why'd he wait until now?

  still, I think I should leave the GOP.  Can't figure out why anyone wouldn't leave those punks.

  by seamus on Thu Nov 09, 2006 at 06:18:23 PM PDT

•  smart move

  If I were a GOPer, I would want to remove that stigma from myself as soon as possible.

  Of course I, being smart, would have done it long ago.

  :)

  by theyrereal on Thu Nov 09, 2006 at 06:23:45 PM PDT

  •  Every time I see your username

    I wonder about them.

    by PoorLonelyChild on Thu Nov 09, 2006 at 06:37:18 PM PDT

    •  you poor lonely child

      ;-)

      by Trix on Thu Nov 09, 2006 at 06:41:09 PM PDT

      •  Trix

        With so many new users, it might be time for me to post one of those name diaries again.

        by Carnacki on Thu Nov 09, 2006 at 07:07:03 PM PDT

        •  sounds good to me :)

          on a tangentially (if even) related note, Slashdot's growth caused some problems today...

          Last night we crossed over 16,777,216 comments in the database. The wise amongst you might note that this number is 2^24, or in MySQLese an unsigned mediumint. Unfortunately, like 5 years ago we changed our primary keys in the comment table to unsigned int (32 bits, or 4.1 billion) but neglected to change the index that handles parents. We're awesome! Fixing is a simple ALTER TABLE statement... but on a table that is 16 million rows long, our system will take 3+ hours to do it, during which time there can be no posting. So today, we're disabling threading and will enable it again later tonight. Sorry for the inconvenience. We shall flog ourselves appropriately.

          by Trix on Thu Nov 09, 2006 at 07:12:29 PM PDT

        •  My user name

          comes from the animated Christmas special, Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol.

          by PoorLonelyChild on Thu Nov 09, 2006 at 08:06:04 PM PDT

      •  If I have to bear this cross

        at least I could get one that lifts and separates.

        by PoorLonelyChild on Thu Nov 09, 2006 at 07:49:36 PM PDT

    •  I'm a guy

      and my wife started this account with this username.  She gave it up and I took it over.

      Hate to disappoint and all ......

      I guess it could refer to my nutsack.

      by theyrereal on Thu Nov 09, 2006 at 08:27:21 PM PDT

      •  I think I'd rather

        correspond with your wife, if you don't mind.

        by PoorLonelyChild on Thu Nov 09, 2006 at 08:31:45 PM PDT

•  Too Little, Too Late

  Like Bush who should have cut Rummy loose last week, Chaffee just couldn't believe it would happen, apparently!

  If they could have seen it coming two careers could have been, er, salvaged.

  by InquisitiveRaven on Thu Nov 09, 2006 at 06:30:37 PM PDT

•  I Figured if He Won He Would Switch Parties

  He didn't fit in the Republican Party and he was a popular Candidate but the Party wasn't popular in RI.  He should have switched earlier.

  by R2 on Thu Nov 09, 2006 at 06:31:37 PM PDT

  •  Chafee's not known for his sharp political savvy

    by Nathaniel Ament Stone on Thu Nov 09, 2006 at 08:28:31 PM PDT

    •  Indeed

      That's why the funny thing is that two days after being ousted from the US Senate, told AP that the country is probably better off that he lost his seat because it gave the Democrats control of the body and that he was considering switching parties or becoming an Independent, as he said that it was "fair" to say as a centrist he feels he "does not belong" in the GOP ...

      Sigh why didn't he thnk of this earlier...

      by Frederik on Fri Nov 10, 2006 at 12:32:25 AM PDT

•  Good, but even better...

  Let's see how many moderate Repubs that will actually be in congress next session we can get to jump ship and join the new Democratic Majority.

  by bluejeandem on Thu Nov 09, 2006 at 06:32:08 PM PDT

•  stay

  I voted for 'become an independent' but I changed my mind - I think he should remain a republican and force the party to come back to him.  Now, I don't know why it matters at this point anyway since he just lost...is he considering running for another office?

  by AKTup on Thu Nov 09, 2006 at 06:32:56 PM PDT

  •  Yeah... who cares?

    Does the AP care if I switch parties?  He won't be a politician in two more months.  What does it matter if he changes his voter registration.  Ordinary citizens do it all the time.

    by TheC on Thu Nov 09, 2006 at 06:38:36 PM PDT

    •  I thought so at first

      But even if he is around for only a few months, his switch might make it easier for some other moderate Republicans in the Senate or House to make the move.

      by Numerian on Thu Nov 09, 2006 at 08:37:58 PM PDT

•  ya know

  this guy would have not flipped if he'd won another term.  for years he refused to change parties.  he just lost with nothin more to lose while making this statement now. lordy.

  by greenbpt on Thu Nov 09, 2006 at 06:34:49 PM PDT

•  If he had annnounced couple of months ago

  that he would do become an independent and caucus with Dems, he would have won.
  But he didn't know then that Dems would take over the Senate.  

  Now he is turncoat, after the fact.  
  I don't trust him any more.
  Linc - vote against Bolton and then go away.

  by ecoast on Thu Nov 09, 2006 at 06:36:36 PM PDT

  •  If he had, he couldn't have stopped Bolton today

    Check the diaries.

    He is a man of courage, actually concerned that our votes counted, even before they make the switch official in January.

    by Cream City on Thu Nov 09, 2006 at 06:54:59 PM PDT

•  I don't get it.

  Why would he want to leave now? He's just been voted out of office!

  If it was principle, he would have switched before the election.

  If it was vengeance, he would have switched after the primary, a la Lieberman.

  If it was pragmatism, he wouldn't switch at all, because he's out of there in two months.

  So what gives, anyway? Is this just Chafee responding to Rush Limbaugh (i.e. "Yeah, I'm as tired of carrying water for him as he is for me")?

  by tjekanefir on Thu Nov 09, 2006 at 06:37:17 PM PDT

  •  my take is that...

    he'll switch if he feels the lame duck Congress is not acting in line with the will of the voters (i.e., if they try to pass bills like the one granting retroactive immunity for the eavesdropping).

    by Trix on Thu Nov 09, 2006 at 06:40:29 PM PDT

    •  and one more thing...

      the fact that Chafee would have nothing to gain by switching parties would make it even more symbolically powerful.

      by Trix on Thu Nov 09, 2006 at 06:53:35 PM PDT

•  day late, one senate seat short

  while i empathize with chafee's sadness over losing the seat his family held for 30 years, he has had ample opportunity and ample justification to consider and/or actually change his party affiliation.  strikes me a bit persnickety and a little bratty that it would take him LOSING his senate seat to fianlly jettison him out of his own torpor and admit that the reublican party he thought he was a member of is not what exists right now and that the current version of the republican party does not want or respect him.  he is a good man, a principled man, but in this instance, he waited until a decision was made for him before he made a decison for himself.  and that's ultimately what is most sad here, for me.

  _______________

  it's their screen name because they couldn't figure out how to spell "moran."

  -9.75 (e), -7.18 (s)

  by dadanation on Thu Nov 09, 2006 at 06:40:39 PM PDT

•  I think he is referring to what he will do

  after he leaves the Senate.  He is still a young man and he is not dead.  He may run for political office or accept political appointments in the future.  

  by PK399 on Thu Nov 09, 2006 at 06:44:29 PM PDT

•  Chafee is just an all around

  ...good guy, whether Republican or Democrat.  He's a Prius driving, choice supporting, war critiizing gentleman, and the country will be the poor for it if he leaves public life.

  Yes, we need Whitehouse to win and he did and that's good.  But I would like to see more of Lincoln Chafee.

  by bodiddley on Thu Nov 09, 2006 at 06:50:06 PM PDT

  •  Choice-supporting?

    He voted for Janice Rodgers-Brown and for cloture, if not approval, of every other judge of significance.

    by BlueEngineerInOhio on Thu Nov 09, 2006 at 07:05:21 PM PDT

•  He can earn Good Karma by whacking Bolton

  He has a chance before he leaves the Senate to kill Bolton's chances of a legitimate appointment.

  If you want to join the good guys, Linc, you have to kill one of the bad guys.

  by Bush Bites on Thu Nov 09, 2006 at 06:57:36 PM PDT

•  I think Chafee was...

  itching to change parties and make a statement especially in 2002 or 2004 if the Senate was tied. We just didnt do our part to make those margins close enough.

  by pharoah on Thu Nov 09, 2006 at 07:01:00 PM PDT

•  I didn't realise this was happening,

  but a short while ago, I emailed Senator Chafee and commended him for being an honest, courageous man and a true Patriot. I asked him to join the people's party, the Democrats.
  Only now did I come across this article. I truly am honored and proud to be a Democrat. Apparantly, they can see the real good in people.

  by Tannen on Thu Nov 09, 2006 at 07:05:08 PM PDT

•  Become a Democrat and...

  Run for Governor...That would be good for the people of RI

  by dvogel001 on Thu Nov 09, 2006 at 07:07:57 PM PDT

•  How about

  Become a Democrat, wait for the next Dem President to pick Jack Reed for Sec of Defense, then run against whatever GOPer Carcieri puts in the seat.  Chafee would completely obliderate anybody in that race as a Dem.

  by PaulVA on Thu Nov 09, 2006 at 07:16:20 PM PDT

•  Can't help but smile

  I knew the voters were trending to independent, but now it seems like maybe the politicians are too!

  by Free Spirit on Thu Nov 09, 2006 at 07:18:20 PM PDT

•  Show the man some love....

  From what little I've seen of him, he seems like the sort we might want to quietly offer a spot in the party.  I mean come on.... what place is there for a decent human being in the Republican party?  

  Besides Party Whipping Boy that is?

  by Corwin Weber on Thu Nov 09, 2006 at 08:38:53 PM PDT

•  If he had done it 6 months ago

  he'd be a Senator still. Too little, too late. Sorry Linc-boy.

  by pucklady on Thu Nov 09, 2006 at 09:56:48 PM PDT