Defeat of Laffey was a Defeat for Conservatives

Sep 13, 2006- Submitted By:   Senate Race, President Bush, political strategery, conservatism

Victory for Chaffee is a Victory for the RINOs

From The Hill:

Centrist Sen. Lincoln Chafee (R-R.I.) withstood a heated primary challenge on Tuesday from conservative Cranston Mayor Stephen Laffey, winning 54 percent to 46 percent thanks to record turnout spurred by a national party-led get out the vote effort.

Chafee's win was in part due to the support of the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) and the White House despite a track record of bucking his party and President Bush. The more than 63,000 voters who turned out trumped the prior record of 45,000.

Laffey was backed by the conservative Club for Growth and made a name for himself as a brash and energetic campaigner who surprised many by making it a race against Chafee, the son of the late Sen. John Chafee (R-R.I.) who took his father's seat in 1999. The NRSC indicated last week that it wouldn't support Laffey if he won the primary, citing polls showed Laffey 30 points behind Whitehouse in the general election. Chafee has polled neck and neck with the Democrat.

The Rhode Island Senate primary captured the most attention this week after the NRSC hammered Laffey with millions of dollars of negative ads. Laffey's loss is a defeat for the Club for Growth, which backed his candidacy and had won a victory last month when it helped defeat incumbent GOP Rep. Joe Schwarz ( Mich.).

"Chafee's independent, honest leadership drove historic turnout and clearly shows he's in a great position to win in November," said Sen. Elizabeth Dole (R-N.C.), chairwoman of the NRSC.

Not surprisingly, Democrats read the tea leaves differently.

"When Chafee can barely win his own primary, you know he'll have trouble in the general election," said Sen. Charles Schumer, chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.

This is what we can expect from the Republican Party, if you get too conservative expect to see the RNC pull out all of the stops�and derail your effort making sure the party“boy” gets elected. We saw�this between Pierce and DeWhine. Had the RNC (and Bush) not gotten involved with our election DeWhine most assuredly would not be the Republican candidate for the Senate.

This doesn’t say much for the norms of the Republican Party; willing to elect leftist under the republican banner!

 

3 Comments

  1. Anonymous said,

    Wrote on September 15, 2006 @ 3:38 pm

    Good post.

  2. Joe C. said,

    Wrote on September 16, 2006 @ 6:46 am

    Does anyone doubt that this will backfire like Arlen Specter did?� I think this increases the likelihood that the Republicans lose the seat- either in the election or in a "Jumpin' Jim" Jeffords maneuver later. I think those RI Democrats that usually vote for Chafee are going to come home in order to completely screw the Republicans because they want the majority, too.

  3. Anonymous said,

    Wrote on September 16, 2006 @ 7:49 am

    “Jumpin ‘Jim’”? Where do you come up with this stuff, Joe?
    Qui se soucie ? Si les conservateurs laissent tomber la boule ils devraient �tre remplac�s.

    FEED ME JOE! GIVE ME MORE MONEY!

    IBKB

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