Chafee may not vote for Bush

[Nym90]

GOP Sen. Won't Commit to Voting for Bush

By BROOKE DONALD, Associated Press Writer

PROVIDENCE, R.I. - Republican Sen. Lincoln Chafee said Monday he plans to support his party in November but may write in a candidate instead of voting for President Bush.

The Rhode Island lawmaker, known for moderate views that often run counter to the Bush administration, said he was going to vote for a member of his party even though he disagrees with the president on many issues.


"I'm a Republican," said Chafee, who was appointed to the Senate in November 1999 to fill the seat when his father, John, died.


Chafee also said that Democratic Sen. John Kerry's lead in Rhode Island is so commanding, according to polls, that his vote won't affect the outcome.


"Practically, I come from Rhode Island. I hear Kerry's got 70 percent or so," he said. Asked if that meant he thought his vote didn't count, Chafee replied, "Yes."


Chafee was responding to questions from southern New England reporters and editors meeting at The Providence Journal for a workshop on environmental policies and their effect on the election.


Chafee has opposed the administration's push to drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and has criticized Bush's handling of the postwar reconstruction of Iraq. He was the only Republican senator to vote against the October 2002 resolution that gave Bush the authority to invade Iraq.


The Republican said the party's direction in the future will determine his political career as well. He said he's "not OK" with the conservative platform from the Republican convention, but would not say if he'd consider switching parties in his next election in 2006.


"It wasn't that long ago that moderates had more of a voice," Chafee said. "It's a cycle that I hope will come back."

[WalterMitty]

chafee is a good man.  

i dont know why the dems love mccain so much  chafee votes with the dems more than mccain...and he is just a much better person overall.

[Horus]

I like Chafee and McCain. Chafee is a good man, and I'd happily vote for him if I lived in Rhode Island.

[zachman]

Has Jim Jeffords made an endorsements or has he just sat quiet and fearful at Bush after he left the Republican Party.

[A18]

What's up with all these moderates not liking Bush? Can anyone name me an extreme thing the guy has done?

[Defarge]

I like Chafee

[Nym90]

What's up with all these moderates not liking Bush? Can anyone name me an extreme thing the guy has done?

If you had actually read the article, you would have seen that Chafee opposes drilling in ANWR and also opposed the war in Iraq, as well as the President's handling of the reconstruction.

He is also, I'm pretty sure, a bit more liberal than Bush on social issues. I believe he voted against Bush's tax cuts as well.

[YRABNNRM]

Chafee's still cool in my book...

[© tweed]

Why is this newsworthy?

Upwards of 30% of Rhode Island Republicans probably vote Democratic in national elections.  Chafee is one of them.

I doubt he will vote for Bush, I doubt he voted for Bush in 2000, I doubt he voted for Dole, etc.  I realyl don't care.

What he should do is switch parties to shift the balance of power.

[Nym90]

Why is this newsworthy?

Upwards of 30% of Rhode Island Republicans probably vote Democratic in national elections.  Chafee is one of them.

I doubt he will vote for Bush, I doubt he voted for Bush in 2000, I doubt he voted for Dole, etc.  I realyl don't care.

What he should do is switch parties to shift the balance of power.

It's not a surprise really, though the fact that Chafee would admit it is perhaps somewhat of one.

[dougrhess]

There are several republican moderate senators that could form a block and vote with Dems to get one of their own to be the senate leader. Not sure why they haven't done that.

[MODU]

Chafee making grounds for a 2008 Presidential run?    

I give him credit for not sticking with party lines.  Just like Zell Miller.  Partisan short-sightedness hurts us more than helps.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

What's up with all these moderates not liking Bush? Can anyone name me an extreme thing the guy has done?

He invaded Iraq and botched it.  It would be one thing if Bush and Rumsfeld had had the patience to make the proper preparations before we invaded (and by that I mean had an extra 100,000 troops ready to secure the territory we took.)

[Democratic Hawk]

I don't know much about Chafee. Is he a moderate  Republican?

Dave

[Wakie]

What's up with all these moderates not liking Bush? Can anyone name me an extreme thing the guy has done?

*Revoked rules that reduced the acceptable levels of arsenic in drinking water.

*Ended rules that would have strengthened the government's ability to deny contracts to companies that violated workplace safety, environmental and other federal laws.

*Rescinded a proposal to increase public access to information about the potential consequences resulting from chemical plant accidents.

*Reduced by 86 percent the Community Access Program for public hospitals, clinics and providers of care for people without insurance.

*Suspended rules that would require hardrock miners to clean up sites on Western public lands.

*Pulled out of the 1972 ABM treaty and the 1997 Kyoto global warming agreement.

*Cut a program to provide childcare to low-income families as they move from welfare to work.

*Cut a program that provided prescription contraceptive coverage to federal employees (though it still pays for Viagra).

*Closed the White House Office for Women's Health Initiatives and Outreach.

*Gutted the White House AIDS Office.

*Renegotiated the free trade agreement with Jordan to eliminate workers' rights and safeguards for the environment.

*Announced the federal government will no longer seek guidance from The American Bar Association in recommendations for the federal judiciary Appointments.

*Held up federal funding for stem cell research projects.

*Proposed a $2 trillion tax cut, of which 1/2 went go to the wealthiest 1% of Americans, at a time when he was running up nondefense/non-homeland security spending (and when we are at war).

*Signed a bill making it harder for poor and middle-class Americans to file for bankruptcy, even in the case of daunting medical bills.

*Canceled 2004 deadline for automakers to develop prototype high mileage cars.

*Earmarked $4 million in new federal grant money for HIV and drug abuse prevention programs to go only to religious groups and not secular equivalents.

*In a moment of idiotic machismo while our soldiers are in the hotbed of hate goaded our enemies on with the "bring it on" comment.

Do you want me to keep going?

[Democratic Hawk]

Thanks for enlightening me about Bush's presidency, Wakie.

Dave

[Keystone Phil]

I hope someone challenges him in the GOP nomination in 2006. Maybe Governor Carcieri? He has to be more conservative than Chafee.

Also, check out Politics1.com for a story titled "Will Chafee Do a Jeffords Next Year?" I always had a feeling that if it became 50-50 again, Chafee would consider a change party registration.

[AuH2O]

Chafee can go  himself