The Providence Journal reports that Lincoln Chaffee quietly left the Republican Party in June or July:
Chafee said he disaffiliated with the party he had helped lead, and his father had led before him, because the national Republican Party has gone too far away from his stance on too many critical issues, from war to economics to the environment.
“It’s not my party any more,” he said.
Chafee’s departure is another step in the waning of the strain of moderate Republicanism that was once a winning political philosophy from Rhode Island and Connecticut to the Canadian border. For the first time since the Civil War, the six New England states combined now have only one Republican U.S. House member, Connecticut’s Christopher Shays.
Chafee said he disaffiliated from the party “in June or July,” making him an unaffiliated voter. He did so quietly, and until yesterday, he said, “No one’s asked me about it.” He said he made the move because “I want my affiliation to accurately reflect my status.”
“There’s been a gradual depravation of … the issues the party should be strong on,” and the direction of the national party, he said.
The report lists several areas in which Chafee has disagreed with Republican policies. He was the only Republican to oppose the Iraq War Resolution. He has criticized Republicans for making tax cuts without accompanying spending cuts to offset the lost revenue, creating “permanent deficits.” Chafee objected to the “starve the beast” philosophy for undermining social programs which benefit the middle class. He also opposed drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
While I wish there were more such reasonable people fighting to take back control of the Republican Party from the extremists who control it, it is understandable that Chafee would no longer find the party to be acceptable. It is a shame that he couldn’t bring himself to leave the Republican Party until after the 2006 elections. If he had been willing to change parties before the election he probably could have kept his Senate seat.
