The Jackass in the Elephant Suit

The newest National Review Online editorial, out yesterday, takes up the case against the most liberal Republican in Congress: Senator Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island. He is the lone Republican to oppose Justice Alito's confirmation to the SCOTUS, and he is an opponent of nearly every right-minded proposal in the legislature. He is a jackass in an elephant suit, a liberal Democrat disguised as a Republican.

There is hope, however, for the good people of Rhode Island. It comes in the form of Chafee's conservative 2006 primary opponent, Steven Laffey. Currently the mayor of Cranston, Rhode Island, Laffey is a "dyed in the wool" conservative who supports tax cuts and the war, is pro-life, and opposes corporate welfare. According to the NRO editorial, Laffey's only visible foible is to blast "Big Oil" is his early advertising campaigns. As they say, "it's difficult to be a Republican in Rhode Island." Ain't that the truth!

Laffey's underdog campaign is raising many eyebrows, but the MSM is being surprisingly hush-hush (given their propensity to blather on incessantly). Only the LA Times has any mention of Laffey's bid against Senator Chafee, and the article is from five months ago. The Wall Street Journal printed a commentary by Club for Growth president Pat Toomey in December, but since then there hasn't been a single mention of the campaign in major papers across the United States. (information from LexisNexis)

I hope to hear more about this campaign as the time to election day turns from months to weeks. Hopefully, there will be plenty of hype before then, but I'm not holding my breath. Interestingly enough, as a side note, the National Republican Senatorial Committee is supporting Chafee for whatever reason. Here is the video of their advertisement running in Rhode Island media markets.

The ad takes a swipe at Laffey regarding his views on the oil companies, but is this sole issue enough to overshadow Chafee's obviously left-wing agenda? I think not, and hopefully neither will the voters of Rhode Island come November.