Bush has lost the GOP moderates
Sen. Chafee: I May Switch if GOP Regains Control
The GOP's chances of regaining majority status in the U.S. Senate dimmed considerably Tuesday morning when Sen. Lincoln Chafee publicly threatened to jump ship if Republicans pick up another Senate seat.
In an interview with the Providence Journal's Neil Downing, the Rhode Island Republican revealed he's considering torpedoing his own party's prospects.
Says Downing:
"On Sunday's Channel 12 News Makers, [Chafee] said [Vermont Sen. James] Jeffords' defection enables Democrats to 'slow down' some of the more conservative initiatives of the Bush administration. He seemed to say he might jump ship if [New Jersey Sen. Robert] Torricelli had to leave and Republican Trent Lott re-emerged as majority leader."
On Monday, Downing caught up with Chafee and asked him point-blank: "Are you saying that you're not thinking of bolting now, but if the Republicans somehow get back the majority, you're going to start thinking about it again?"
"Yes," the Rhode Island Republican warned, adding that he was "genuinely dismayed" by the direction of the party under President Bush and conservatives in Congress.
GOP faithful have pinned their hopes on reports that Torricelli's indictment on corruption charges is imminent, an event that could force him to step down. New Jersey's GOP governor, Donald DeFrancesco, has already vowed to replace Torricelli with a Republican, making Lott Senate Majority Leader once again.
Chafee told Downing that he came perilously close to bolting the party before Jeffords made the first move. But now, with Democrats already in control, his defection wouldn't decide the balance of power and so the pressure is off.
Chafee says that for the time being, he's "holding his breath" to see if he can get the GOP to tone down its conservatism. |
