Radical extremists looking to oust incumbent senator

[LTR]

Pot, meet kettle:

Fresh off their first victory over a Republican incumbent, GOP conservatives seeking party purity on taxes and spending are focused on ousting moderate Republican Sen. Lincoln Chafee (news, bio, voting record) of Rhode Island.

The Club for Growth and its 36,000 members spent around $1 million to help challenger Tim Walberg unseat first-term Rep. Joe Schwarz in Michigan's Republican primary on Tuesday. The win came despite Schwarz's support from President Bush and the National Rifle Association.

Since its inception in 1999, the group has spent millions to help dozens of conservative Republicans win seats in Congress — often at the expense of more moderate party members. The Club's president, former Rep. Pat Toomey (news, bio, voting record), nearly defeated Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter (news, bio, voting record) in 2004.

This year, the group's top priority is defeating Chafee, who angered many Republicans by voting against President Bush's tax cuts and then casting a write-in vote for the president's father in the last election. The Club has helped Cranston, R.I., Mayor Stephen Laffey raise hundreds of thousands of dollars to unseat Chafee, and polls show the two Republicans running even a month before the Sept. 12 primary.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060812/ap_on_el_se/republican_infighting

[godhatesrepublicans]

1. Anyone here from RI? will this backfire on the Repubs?

I mean, it's a New England state, that region isn't as nuts as the deep south. A moderate Dem would beat a rabid Repub I'd think. Or has N.E. changed that much since I left in 88?

[JohMunich99]

2. No no no

Chafee is the Republicans only hope to hold onto the seat. Read the article further and you will see that. The Club for Growth doesn't really care about that though because as they see it "A Democratic Senator would be about as bad as Chafee so we might as well see if our conversative Republican can win". Chafee votes with Republicans more often than not though (and will vote for a Republican Senate majority leader) so this argument is pretty stupid. Chafee is no where near Zell Miller when it comes to changing from the party. The difference between Lamont and the Club for Growth is that Lamont actually has a good chance (would have an even better chance if Loserman weren't running) whereas the conversative Republican would get his ass handed to him.

[Fountain79]

3. I wonder why Fox news isn't covering this...

:sarcasm:

[LTR]

4. Ahh, somebody gets the irony in my post!

:toast:

The Republicans have been taken over by radical fringe extremists!