Ex-Republican Chafee considers voting for Obama in R.I. primary

[NYCGirl]

He's already left the party — he'd be more than welcome in ours!

http://www.projo.com/news/politics/content/chafee_vote_02-08-08_A88UCGM_v13.37f3a0e.html

Driven by his strong opposition to the war in Iraq, former Republican U.S. Sen. Lincoln Chafee may do something radical, at least for him: cast a vote in a Democratic primary.

Chafee, who lost his reelection race in 2006, left the GOP last summer and joined the ranks of Rhode Island’s unaffiliated voters, who can participate in either party’s primary on March 4.

In his deliberative manner, the former senator says he is considering a vote for Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, who opposed the Iraq war from the beginning.

“It’s a big decision to go into the Democratic primary,” Chafee said in an interview yesterday.

-snipped-

In his upcoming book, Against the Tide , Chafee excoriates congressional Democrats who voted in 2002 to give President Bush the authority to invade Iraq.

He writes: “Being wrong about sending Americans to kill and be killed, maim and be maimed, is not like making a punctuation mistake in a highway bill.” Some leading Democrats “argue that the president duped them into war, but getting duped does not exactly recommend their leadership. Helping a rogue president start an unnecessary war should be a career-ending lapse of judgment.”

[HeraldSquare212]

1. He also said, a respected Dem senator told him that Dems were voting for the war

because they were afraid it would be a overly quickly and gas would become cheap. So not only are they craven and self-serving, they are just plain dumb. Obama said before the war that it would last a long time.

[Bread and Circus]

16. Yep. Obama was about as prophetic on this as one could be.

[Barack_America]

2. I have tremendous respect for Chafee...

I never understood why he kept that "R" by his name for so long. He is welcome in this party, as far as I am concerned.

[bdamomma]

10. hmmm....Lincoln the repig party is not the same party that his dad

belonged too, welcome to the light!!! you may come in.

[ZinZen]

17. I think he kept the R because

it was in the family. Wasn't his dad a legislator or Senator?

[Blue_Tires]

18. yeah, his dad was a well-known republican senator

of course back then, a new england republican could be more liberal than many of the dems we have now

[gaspee]

3. I plan on buying his book

It should be interesting. He was the mayor of my city before he was appointed to his father's Senate seat.

I like him on a lot of issues - except economic ones. He's pretty close to me on social and environmental issues.

I probably would have voted for him if the Senate weren't at stake.

He has integrity and compassion.

In his book, he says the people of RI were right to look at the big picture and vote for the D.

BTW, he supports full equality for us LGBTQ Americans.

[bdamomma]

11. how is the wave in RI regarding who are people going for Clinton or Obama

I wish RI'ers would give some fresh blood a chance.

[gaspee]

13. Don't know

But The Clintons have a lot of friends here and come here quite often.

I'm voting Edwards - or that was my plan before it started to look like our primary is going to matter.

[bdamomma]

19. I am voting for Edwards too.

he got 450,000 votes on Super Tuesday.

[COFoothills]

4. Not surprising

Chafee is good peeps. A true moderate and adherent of the Third Way.

[Norwood]

5. I have always had a lot of respect for Chafee

I would be thrilled to see him join our ranks

[AtomicKitten]

6. I agree wholeheartedly with Chafee on this:

“I find it surprising now, in 2008, how many Democrats are running for president after shirking their constitutional duty to check and balance this president. Being wrong about sending Americans to kill and be killed, maim and be maimed, is not like making a punctuation mistake in a highway bill.

“They argue that the president duped them into war, but getting duped does not exactly recommend their leadership. Helping a rogue president start an unnecessary war should be a career-ending lapse of judgment.”

* Lincoln Chafee

[mckeown1128]

7. We should give him LIEberman's delagate vote....

No, I am joking. But I do like Chafee.

[calico1]

8. If he had switched over to Indy

he may not have lost his seat.

[gaspee]

9. Make that

If he switched over to Indy, he would NOT have lost his seat. Hell, I would have voted for him and I'm about as left wing as you can get. Everyone I know (and RI is a very small place) kind of shook their heads and said, "I wish I could vote for Chafee but as long as he's an R, I can't."

He so would have won if he left the republican party. Too bad, he's a really good guy. I'm not a huge fan of Whitehouse's but he seems to be doing well for a Freshman Senator from the smallest state in the country.

[calico1]

15. A read a while back (while he was still in the Senate)

that he felt he couldn't leave the party because he felt that would be being disloyal to his father. I also had read that he had had a few meetings and talks with former Sen. Jeffords so he was at least thinking about it. Must have been quite troubling for him.

[bdamomma]

12. but his seat was taken over by a fighter, Sheldon Whitehouse!!!

[Renew Deal]

14. I agree

If he switched to Dem, he'd still be the Senator.

[moondust]

20. Exactly right.

Something is really screwed up when one of the few people to understand the gravity of the matter and care enough to get it right loses his job.

[miceelf]

21. Gotta say

He showed far more courage than most congressional Dems did with regard to Iraq.

He had more to lose than they did and he still voted no. They had less to lose and still voted yes.

[Adelante]

22. I would be proud to have this vote for Obama

:patriot: