>>Republican Senator Lincoln Chafee of RI looks very vulnerable. Story here.


(He's a RINO anyway, so good riddance, I say...)<<

I generally dislike the term RINO, as I see it applied top a lot of good Republicans who happen not to agree with the full Neocon agenda. So out of curiosity I went to look at Chafee's positions on the Project Vote Smart website.

I was shocked. Chafee isn't a RINO, he's something else entirely. He'd be too liberal for most people in the Democratic party. I know his family basically owns Rhode Island, but how on earth did he ever pass himself off as a Republican? On virtually every issue he runs counter to the traditions of the party - even the traditions of the liberal wing of the party which is home to people like Giuliani and Whitman. He's in favor of every spending issue, against every ownership initiative, against almost every tax cut, and seems to even be anti-gun. Why doesn't a real republican challenge him in the primary?

Dave

Rick Santorum is definitely beatable. He's not a moderate like Arlen Specter, who has his fair share of Democratic backers, including myself. He is the face of the new self-righteous Bible loving wing of the Republican Party. Joe Hoeffel and Bob Casey Jr (I think) are the 2 who will challenge him.

It will be really interesting to see if the Northeast will go mostly Democratic for Senators just as the South is going mostly Republican.

I haven't seen figures, but I wouldn't be surprised to see that the House is trending the same way. Of course, a New York Republican is a far cry from the Alabama GOP, just as some Georgia Democratics (wussup, Zell?) are fairly different from their San Francisco brethren.

The only thing bucking this trend, it seems, are governorships, which seem to be breaking fairly randomly as far as red and blue states are concerned.

Eric Berlin
Dumpster Bust: Miracles from Mind Trash

Dave Nalle: "Chafee isn't a RINO, he's something else entirely. He'd be too liberal for most people in the Democratic party. I know his family basically owns Rhode Island, but how on earth did he ever pass himself off as a Republican?"

True, Dave. Rhode Island has been interesting in terms of politics. Their Republicans historically are liberal than Democrats on many issues. The overwhelmingly Roman Catholic state has been a bastion for the Democrat Party since FDR with Church authorities in their back pockets.

RI has always had a colorful history including the fact that it has been viewed as a rogue state powered by the most corrupt of politicians. It's been that way since the mid 1600's. There are many reformers in RI but until the elderly population morphs into a majority of baby boomers there won't be real change in their system of politics.

Here's a bit of trivia - Rhode Island is the only state that never ratified the Constitution and every year they pass a bill in the legislature to reaffirm their right to leave the union at any time if they choose.

Dave

It would probably be cheaper for the Federal Government to throw them out of the Union and treat it as a foreign state.

I'm a liberal Democrat who found Clinton a bit too conservative, though I admired his ability to think on his feet. I've waited for Chafee to bolt the Republican party like Jeffords did. He's not the Liberal that you make him out to be. He votes the party line on judges.