The Difference Between Liberman And Chafee

There are a lot of people that think it is ok that Connecticut Democrats threw Sen. Joe Lieberman overboard last week based on one vote, for the war in Iraq, and supporting the president in the overall War Against Terror.
The fact that Sen. Lieberman is an Americans For Democratic Action lifetime 80 percent rating does not seem to matter.
Yet, the media is all but in bed with Rhode Island Sen. Lincoln Chafee and wondering why he has a serious Republican challenger in Cranston mayor Steve Laffey.
Records and general approach do matter and Sen. Chafee is the worst Republican in the senate.
According to the American Conservative Union, Sen. Chafee has a lifetime 37 percent rating. That is worse that moderate Republican Senators Olympia Snowe(50 percent) and Susan Collins(55 percent), both of Maine and Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Penn) at 45 percent.
What is more a test of party loyalty other than one vote or issue is the fact that in the 2004 presidential election, Sen. Chafee also bragged that he infact did not vote for President Bush, instead writing in former president George H. W. Bush's name.
Now, one does not doubt that Sen. Lieberman voted for John Kerry in 2004 and certainly for Vice-president Al Gore.
And the reward for overall party loyalty, an upstart Ned Lamont with the help of the radical lefty bloggers, beat Sen. Lieberman and want him to be stripped of all his committee posts.
So, back to Sen. Chafee.
The media is trying to paint Sen. Chafee as a "moderate" Republican who mostly votes with the party (see www.pasadenastarnews.com) Friday, August 11) when the opposite is true. Sen. Chaffee is so disloyal that he would essentially vote against President Bush in a close election in 2004. Infact, Rhode Island Republicans need to rid themselves of this Democrat lite and elect Steve Laffey.
Conventional wisdom is that Mr. Laffey would lose big and that Sen. Chaffee has at least a 50/50 chance at winning. Polls show both behind the presumptive Democratic nominee. If Mr. Laffee does win the Republican nomination, like the Democrats, Republicans will close ranks and deliver the money that Mr. Laffey needs to be competitive and potentially a winner.
Party loyalty does mean something. Sen. Lieberman has been a loyal Democrat and got thrown overboard by some radicalized Democratic primary voters. Sen. Chafee deserves to be thrown overboard for a Republican candidate that will at the very least support the president or presidential candidate for election.