Republican U.S. Sen. Lincoln Chafee said he would not rule out eventually joining a vote to censure President Bush over domestic spying, though he said such a penalty would be "drastic."Chafee long ago gave up any hope of winning conservative Republican votes in his upcoming primary, but certainly joining the censure resolution would guarantee the loss of all conservatives and likely many moderates. He'd be a hero to the lefties, but they don't vote in the GOP primary.
Chafee said he did not currently support the proposal by Sen. Russell Feingold, D-Wis., to formally censure Bush for authorizing the wiretapping program.
"Everything should occur in steps," Chafee told The Providence Journal.
But he agreed that the wiretapping program, part of a broader war on terrorism, was illegal and said he welcomed the public debate prompted by Feingold's censure resolution.
"You just don't hear it -- any outrage, or questioning of it, or even support," Chafee said.
Asked if he might ultimately support a censure vote, Chafee replied, "I know you want me to go there." But he did not directly answer the question, the Journal said.
Chafee, whose voting record often strays from that of fellow Republicans, is in the midst of a re-election campaign. He faces a challenge in the Republican primary from Mayor Stephen Laffey.
In a statement issued Wednesday, Laffey said it was "a very bad idea to censure the president over a policy dispute."
The other downside to Chafee joining the resolution is the fact that the media would immediately brand it a "bipartisan" resolution, even though only 3 Dems and 1 Republican would have anything to do with it. To those folks who aren't paying attention, it would appear that there was much more widespread support for the silly effort by Feingold.
As Hugh suggests, support Steve Laffey.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment