Washed-up Former Senator Leaves the GOP

One of the few bright spots on election night 2006 was the defeat of Senator Lincoln Chafee (RINO-RI). The former senator has now made it official and left the GOP:

Former Sen. Lincoln Chafee said he has left the Republican Party because the national GOP has drifted too far from him on critical issues, including the war in Iraq, the economy and the environment.

"It's not my party anymore," Chafee, who represented Rhode Island from 1999 until 2007, told The Providence Journal in an article published Saturday.

Chafee said he is now an unaffiliated voter after leaving the GOP "in June or July."

He said he made the move because "I want my affiliation to accurately reflect my status."

Apparently there is no "Pariah" party for Chafee to join.

The GOP poured tons of money and effort into getting this guy reelected and basically ignored the conservative Steve Laffey who ran against him in the primary. Laffey had this to say about Chafee's departure from the GOP (from The Corner):

I always expected him to leave the Republican Party—the only question was when. It is still hard to understand why the National Republican Party leaders didn't comprehend that, or couldn't see it coming. And then you have to wonder again why they spent so much time and effort on someone who was going to desert them anyway.

People have asked me if I feel vindicated. I feel sad. I just wish he had been honest with himself, the voters of Rhode Island, his supporters and especially all the donors across this great country of ours.

Had Chafee won reeelection it wouldn't have surprised me a bit if Chafee had waited a few months and then switched to the Dems much like Jim Jeffords did in 2001. He hadn't voted with the GOP on any of the big issues for some time and had become an obstacle to the conservative cause.