Free Republic

PROVIDENCE – Monday was a day for gay and lesbian Rhode Islanders to whoop and cheer. They were cheering for Gov. Lincoln Chafee, who signed an executive order requiring the state to officially recognize the same-sex unions of couples who were married elsewhere but live here. At several points during his announcement, Chafee made it clear that he wants his action to be one step toward allowing full gay marriage rights in Rhode Island. “Are we overdue or what?” he asked the friendly audience. “The home of Roger Williams? C’mon, let’s go.” Several hands went up when the governor asked...

I’m not sure why ex-Senator and current Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chafee keeps getting elected, but I’m quite sure he offends me. I truly can’t stand seeing his face, and you don’t have to ask why. You see, that’s the way offensiveness is: It’s completely subjective and not constrained by rhyme or reason. Along with a lot of other people, however, I now certainly have one very logical reason to chafe at Chafee: His decision to call the 17-foot-tall blue spruce Christmas tree in his state capitol’s rotunda a “holiday tree” despite opposition from residents and lawmakers. This, mind you,...

PROVIDENCE, R.I. - Carolers singing "O Christmas Tree" crashed Rhode Island's Statehouse tree lighting on Tuesday after Gov. Lincoln Chafee unwrapped a holiday hubbub by calling the 17-foot spruce a "holiday" tree. Chafee insisted his word choice was inclusive and in keeping with Rhode Island's founding as a sanctuary for religious diversity. But his seasonal semantics incensed some lawmakers, the Roman Catholic Church and thousands of people who called his office to complain that the independent governor was trying to secularize Christmas. "He's trying to put our religion down," said Ken Schiano of Cranston, who came to the tree lighting...

A battle is brewing in Rhode Island and you can weigh in with other Americans to stop this War on Christmas! November 30, 2011 Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chafee does not like a Christmas tree being called a Christmas tree. So he is changing it. According to FoxNews, Gov. Chafee has said the Christmas tree in the State House Rotunda in Providence, as of this year, will be called a "holiday" tree.

(NewsCore) - A Rhode Island lawmaker is calling Gov. Lincoln Chafee "Governor Grinch" for defying politicians and deciding that the state would have a "holiday tree" instead of a "Christmas tree." The governor defended his decision by arguing that it is in keeping with the state's founding in 1636 by religious dissident Roger Williams as a haven for tolerance -- where government and religion were kept separate. Chafee, an independent, said in a statement issued Tuesday that his stand was a continuation of past practice, "and does not represent a change of course on my part." But Rep. Doreen Costa,...

R.I. Gov. Lincoln Chafee says former Mass. Gov. Mitt Romney is “a completely different person” as a presidential candidate than the man who was once a fellow member of the Republican Party’s moderate wing in the Northeast.“It’s the same thing I saw with John McCain, and I saw with George Pataki and with Rudy Giuliani,” Chafee told WPRI.com during an interview at his office Wednesday. Referencing a speech on foreign policy Romney gave last week at The Citadel, Chafee said: “The appeal you have to make to the Republican primary audience – that’s just alien to what’s in our best...

by John HillStand With Arizona Over 500 people turned out for a protest against R.I. Gov. Lincoln Chafee's support for in-state tuition for illegal aliens - which was implemented with a lawless decree by Chafee's education "czars" when he failed to get the Legislature to pass the outrageous bill. Local media hailed the "unusually large turnout for a weeknight" at the the State House in Providence, which included many Stand With Arizona activists, along with members of Rhode Island for Immigration Law Enforcement, and average citizens furious at the Obama-style bypassing of elected officials on behalf of illegal aliens....

EVENT: JOIN R.I. LEGISLATORS AND PROTEST THE LAWLESS DECREE OF SUBSIDIZED TUITION FOR ILLEGAL ALIENS BY GOV. CHAFEE'S UNELECTED 'BOARD OF GOVERNORS'WHO: SWA Activists from RI, CT and MA - and ALL SWA'ers to call, fax or email. 6 Rhode Island Representatives and Senators will be attending the protest and holding a press conference (see below).WHERE: Rhode Island State House (Smith St. Side). Providence, R.I.WHEN: Wed., Oct 5th, 2011, 5:00 P.M. NOTE: SWA will be providing signs for you to print out (if you need them please email us at act@standwitharizona.com). Otherwise please bring your own (non-political) signs against in-state...

Less than a week after New York became the nation's sixth state to legalize same-sex marriage, Rhode Island state lawmakers on Wednesday voted in favor of a bill that permits civil unions between gay and lesbian couples. The measure, which passed the state Senate by a count of 21-16, is widely seen as a compromise intended to provide same-same couples with added rights and benefits, while also preventing an expanded legal definition of marriage. The legislation, which passed overwhelmingly in the state's lower house on May 19, affords same-sex couples a host of new state tax breaks, health-care benefits and...

It wasn't long ago that the conservative, free-market Club for Growth was viewed by a swath of Republicans as a furtive, well-heeled enemy whose efforts to purge moderates from the GOP had to be thwarted. The club and its agenda are "not representative of the Republican Party," the director of the Republican Main Street Partnership, a group of moderate GOP congressional members, once said, adding: "We raise money on a daily basis to defeat them." When asked this week about the Republican animus the group faced in the recent past, Club for Growth executive director David Keating replied: "That sounds...

When talk radio hosts use harshly divisive language, "The advertisers should shut them down," Governor Lincoln Chafee said this morning. Chafee said the solution to the vitriolic rhetoric -- which some have linked to the shooting of U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords over the weekend -- is for people to stop paying for it, including not buying books from people who use such language. Chafee made his comments in response to reporters' questions after a meeting on health care. He noted that he had been a target of violence-tinged criticism himself. In 2006, conservative commentator Ann Coulter wrote a column, "They...

PROVIDENCE — No one is likely to confuse new Governor Chafee with his Republican predecessor, Donald L. Carcieri, and now here’s another way to tell them apart: Chafee doesn’t plan to spend his own time on talk radio, and he intends to ban state employees from spending their state work time talking on talk radio, which was Carcieri’s favorite medium and an integral part of his communications operation. Spokesman Michael Trainor said a directive will go out over the next day or so that reflects that new policy. He said the policy emanates from a belief that talk radio is...

On Wednesday, newly installed Rhode Island governor, Lincoln Chafee rescinded an executive order put in place by his predecessor, Gov. Donald Carcieri which ordered state agencies and their vendors to use the E-verify system to screen-out illegal aliens for employment. Gov. Chafee also ordered the Rhode Island State Police to stop participating in the federal 287(g) program which allowed them direct access to an immigration database when they suspect an arrestee to be in the country illegally. The program has proven very successful in identifying and reporting illegal aliens to federal authorities. Immediately after signing the order, Chafee said: “My...

In an election cycle that has Democratic candidates running as far as they can from an unpopular president, Rhode Island's Democratic gubernatorial candidate made a sure to go viral comment today when he didn't get President Barack Obama's endorsement. Democrat Frank Caprio told a local radio station, "He can take his endorsement and really shove it" and went on to criticize Mr. Obama for ignoring Rhode Island's recent floods and "treating us like an ATM machine." So was this a real snub of a fellow Democrat or a well-orchestrated plan to help both Mr. Caprio and the president?

PROVIDENCE, R.I. - The Democratic candidate for Rhode Island governor is telling President Barack Obama to "shove it" after learning Obama would not endorse him. Frank Caprio's campaign last week said he would welcome Obama's endorsement. But on Monday, the same day Obama is set to visit Rhode Island and a day after the White House said Obama would not endorse anyone, Caprio told WPRO-AM that Obama can "take his endorsement and shove it."...

Former Senator Lincoln Chafee remains the leader in the race to be Rhode Island’s next governor, with State Treasurer Frank Caprio the strongest Democrat in the contest for now. A new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of likely voters in Rhode Island shows Chafee, who is running as an independent, earning 39% support to Caprio’s 28%. Likely Republican nominee John Robitaille picks up 22% of the vote, with 11% more undecided. Chafee pulls 37% of the vote if state Attorney General Patrick Lynch is the Democrat in the race. Robitaille is in second with 26% support, and Lynch runs third with...

Providence, R.I. (AP) -- Both Democrats running for governor and former Sen. Lincoln Chafee, an independent candidate, will publicly pledge to sign a gay marriage bill if elected, gay rights activists said Monday. Attorney General Patrick Lynch and General Treasurer Frank Caprio, the Democrats, and Chafee have been invited to make their promise public at a Statehouse rally scheduled for March 3, said Kathy Kushnir, executive director of Marriage Equality Rhode Island. Republican John Robitaille has not responded to an invitation from Marriage Equality, and he did not return a call from The Associated Press seeking comment. Robitaille opposes gay...

(CNN) - Lincoln Chafee Monday will formally announce his bid for Rhode Island governor Monday. The former Republican senator-turned-independent will officially jump into the race at an event in Warwick, where he once served as mayor. The 56 year old Chafee lost his U.S. senate seat in 2006 to Democrat Sheldon Whitehouse after a bitter Republican primary battle against Stephen Laffey. Chafee eventually left the GOP and is now an independent.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Former Sen. Lincoln Chafee created a committee on Monday to explore a run for governor next year as an independent candidate after leaving the Republican Party, his first formal move to enter the race.

The cameras focused on a tearful Jesse Jackson, and the reporters seemed more interested in talking to Spike Lee, Brad Pitt and Oprah. But at Chicago’s Grant Park, when President-elect Barack Obama declared “Change has come to America,” there was another face in the crowd that Rhode Islanders would have recognized. Former U.S. Sen. Lincoln D. Chafee, the Republican-turned-independent who campaigned for Obama, was about 20 feet from the side of the stage. Chafee and his wife, Stephanie, waved to Obama’s brother-in-law, Craig Robinson, and his wife and two children. The Robinsons, who were on stage with Obama, used to...

WBBM 780 - Chicago's #1 source for local news, traffic and weather Posted: Thursday, 11 September 2008 2:02PM Former GOP Sen. Lincoln Chafee: Sarah Palin a 'Cocky Whacko' PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) -- Former Rhode Island Republican Sen. Lincoln Chafee has called vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin a "cocky whacko" and said her selection as John McCain's running mate has energized supporters of Democrat Barack Obama. Chafee left the Republican Party last year after losing his bid for re-election and now supports Obama. He told an audience Tuesday at the New America Foundation in Washington the Alaska governor has revived a...

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (Sept. 11) - Former Rhode Island Republican Sen. Lincoln Chafee has called vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin a "cocky wacko" and said her selection as John McCain's running mate has energized supporters of Democrat Barack Obama. Chafee left the Republican Party last year after losing his bid for re-election and now supports Obama. He told an audience Tuesday at the New America Foundation in Washington that the Alaska governor has revived a "lackluster McCain candidacy." "They've just thrown this firestorm, this tornado, into the whole presidential election," Chafee said in response to an audience member's question about whether...

PROVIDENCE, R.I. - Former Rhode Island Republican Sen. Lincoln Chafee has called vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin a "cocky wacko" and said her selection as John McCain's running mate has energized supporters of Democrat Barack Obama. Chafee left the Republican Party last year after losing his bid for re-election and now supports Obama. He told an audience Tuesday at the New America Foundation in Washington that the Alaska governor has revived a "lackluster McCain candidacy."

So much for a respite from personal attacks in the presidential race. Former Senator Lincoln Chafee, the Rhode Island Republican who is backing Democrat Barack Obama, today stood by his remarks calling Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin a "cocky wacko." Chafee told an audience Tuesday at the New America Foundation in Washington that Palin has revived a "lackluster McCain candidacy," calling her surprise selection "this firestorm, this tornado, into the whole presidential election." Responding to an audience member's question, he said her speech at the Republican National Convention had also energized Obama supporters. "People were coming into my office,...

Two news items that really ought to run together: August 13, Providence Journal: Ex-Sen. Chafee joins Republicans for Obama August 13, Gothamist: Actor Ed Asner, former Dallas Cowboy Mark Stepnoski, and formerly famous hip hop group Arrested Development are leading a petition drive to get a referendum on New York City’s November ballot that would establish a new 9/11 investigation. If the group, called 911 Truth, can collect 30,000 signatures before September 4th, the City Council will be required to consider the measure, which calls for an investigative panel with subpoena authority. Former Senator Mike Gravel (who would join the...

Former Republican Sen. Lincoln Chafee is endorsing Democratic Sen. Barack Obama. The Rhode Islander told The Associated Press he is endorsing Obama in a conference call Thursday. Chafee left the Republican Party last year and became an independent. He was one of the Senate's most liberal Republicans before he lost his seat in 2006 to Democrat Sheldon Whitehouse.

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) was close to leaving the Republican Party in 2001, weeks before then-Sen. Jim Jeffords (Vt.) famously announced his decision to become an Independent, according to former Democratic lawmakers who say they were involved in the discussions. In interviews with The Hill this month, former Sen. Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) and ex-Rep. Tom Downey (D-N.Y.) said there were nearly two months of talks with the maverick lawmaker following an approach by John Weaver, McCain’s chief political strategist. Democrats had contacted Jeffords and then-Sen. Lincoln Chafee (R-R.I.) in the early months of 2001 about switching parties, but in McCain’s...

Democrats say McCain nearly abandoned GOP By Bob Cusack Posted: 03/28/07 07:39 PM [ET] Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) was close to leaving the Republican Party in 2001, weeks before then-Sen. Jim Jeffords (Vt.) famously announced his decision to become an Independent, according to former Democratic lawmakers who say they were involved in the discussions. In interviews with The Hill this month, former Sen. Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) and ex-Rep. Tom Downey (D-N.Y.) said there were nearly two months of talks with the maverick lawmaker following an approach by John Weaver, McCain’s chief political strategist. Democrats had contacted Jeffords and then-Sen. Lincoln...

Lincoln Chafee may be out of politics, but he's still making political news. Last month it was reported that Chafee had bolted the Republican party. This weekend on a local talk show in Rhode Island, Chafee ruled out endorsing any likely Republican nominee. When asked about supporting a Democrat, Chafee hedged, but then added that if he did endorse a Democrat it would not be Hillary Clinton. Chafee said Clinton, and others who voted in favor of the Iraq war were "disqualified" to lead the country. The whole exchange looked like it could very well be a preview of an...

Lincoln Chafee, the man who less than a year ago served as the Republican Senator from Rhode Island, is apparently no longer a Republican today. That’s right, he recently dropped his affiliation with the party to become an independent. “It’s not my party anymore,” he says. “Anymore?” When exactly was it ever your party? It is extremely tempting to point at Chafee’s official change of affiliation and remind President Bush, Karl Rove and the rest of the Republican establishment just how wrong they were. You see, although they all knew how liberal Chafee was, they poured money, effort and endorsements...

Chafee quietly quits the GOP 01:00 AM EDT on Sunday, September 16, 2007 By Bruce Landis Journal Staff Writer PROVIDENCE — Lincoln D. Chafee, who lost his Senate seat in the wave of anti-Republican sentiment in last November’s election, said yesterday that he has left the party. 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...

Chafee no longer a Republican Former Repubican Sen. Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island, who lost his seat in last year’s Democratic congressional wave, announced that he has left the Republican Party, according to the Providence Journal. “It’s not my party any more,” he said. In his seven-year tenure in the Senate, Chafee frequently split from his party on key legislation. He opposed the war in Iraq, voted with Democrats on estate tax and HMO regulation legislation and refused to support the confirmation of U.N. Ambassador John Bolton. In the past, Chafee had insisted that he would remain in the Republican...

I learned today Former Republican United States Rhode Island Senator Lincoln D.Chafee changed his affiliation to Unaffiliated as a voter in Exeter*, where he is now registered, the change I recall took place on July 10TH. His wife, Stephanie is registered in Providence as a Republican*. The Senator is a former Exeter resident and Warwick Mayor and City Councilman. What is amazing is the media has NOT picked this up yet and it happened several weeks ago! Ironically former Cranston Mayor Steve Laffey still maintains his GOP interest and was at the South County Republican Breakfast were I learned this...

The Brody File is in constant research mode. For all you Fred Thompson fans out there, grab a seat. Pause your TIVO episodes of Law and Order. Put on hold those portraits you've ordered of Fred Thompson and Ronald Reagan side by side in your living room. I've discovered that when socially liberal bad boy Republican Senator Lincoln Chafee was running for re-election in 2006, Fred Thompson campaigned for him and came to his defense. Here's the money quote: "There are a lot of reasons I support Linc. We agree on most issues, disagree on some. Obviously, keeping control of...

Hello everybody! It's me, former Senator Lincoln Chafee here. After I lost my re-election, I realized that it was because a lot of you people don't really understand what conservatism is all about -- and it's not your fault that you don't get it. After all, it's men like me who've actually been in government and had experience, who have a responsibility to teach everyone else about governing -- but we haven't lived up to our obligations. In the interim, hucksters like the former owner of this blog and Rush Limbaugh have stepped into the gap and filled your heads...

Chafee provided concrete accounts of what and where the Bush administration went wrong. He added that while in each case, the administration's rhetoric on the subject had been laudable, the government failed to act on its rhetoric. “Has this been a deliberate deception?” he asked.

Ousted Republican Sen. Lincoln Chafee criticized President George W. Bush's handling of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, saying the president was bowing to a faction of evangelical Christians who oppose a Palestinian state. "The religious thing is driving the foreign policy here," Chafee said following a speech at Brown University in which he questioned whether the president's past comments pushing for peace were sincere. Chafee, who served on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, lost his seat in November as Democrats swept into power in Congress. He landed a job at Brown's Watson Institute for International Studies following his loss to Democrat...

WASHINGTON - Senate Democrats working with a well-known Republican war critic are developing a resolution declaring that President Bush's troop build up in Iraq "is not in the national interest," said people familiar with the document. The resolution also would put the Senate on record as saying the U.S. commitment in Iraq "can only be sustained" with popular support among the American public and in Congress, according to officials who are knowledgeable about the draft. These officials would speak only on grounds of anonymity because the drafting is still under way. Sen. Chuck Hagel (news, bio, voting record), a Nebraska...

It’s official: John Bolton has been sacrificed. The question is, how far will the dagger plunge into the back of America’s foreign policy interests? President Bush has accepted Bolton’s resignation after the recess-appointed UN ambassador was unable to secure a vote in the Senate. The Left, led by a vindictive Lincoln Chafee eager to get back at the president he blames for his much-deserved defeat, refused to bring the Bolton nomination to the floor. Unlike the first stormy Bolton hearing, there was little question he would have been confirmed this time. In April 2005, it seemed unlikely Bolton could be...

"[C]utting down the man who was our best chance to reform the U.N. has nothing to do with the popular will -- and everything to do with [Senator Lincoln] Chafee getting the satisfaction of stabbing President Bush and the GOP one last time." -- Investors Business Daily, November 13, 2006 -- RINO Senator Lincoln Chafee -- sullen and pouting because the voters in his state just kicked him out of office -- has announced he intends YET AGAIN to block the nomination of John Bolton as our U.N. ambassador. In fact, the Rhode Island RINO made his intentions known within...

Holding to the Center, Losing My Seat By Lincoln D, Chafee LAST Tuesday, I was one of the many moderate Republican casualties of the anti-Bush virulence that swept the country. Despite my having voted against the Iraq war resolution, my reputation for independence, the editorial endorsement of virtually every newspaper in my state, and a job approval rating of 63 percent, I did not win. Why? Back in December 2000, after one of the closest elections in our nation’s history, Vice President-elect Dick Cheney was the guest at a weekly lunch meeting of a small group of centrist Republicans. Senators...

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Sen. Lincoln Chafee said his knees buckled when he walked into his polling place Tuesday morning and saw that voters were given a prominently displayed option of casting votes along a straight-party line. "It was so easy to just go against the Republicans and fill in that Democrat. It was so easy," Chafee said Thursday in a post-mortem dissection of his loss to Democrat Sheldon Whitehouse. Voters in Rhode Island did exactly that on Tuesday, filling in Democrats in large numbers and sweeping the Republican Chafee from office as part of a fierce backlash that uprooted GOP...

ROVIDENCE, R.I. - Two days after losing a bid for a second term, Sen. Lincoln Chafee (news, bio, voting record) said he was unsure whether he would remain a Republican. Chafee lost to Democrat Sheldon Whitehouse in a race seen as a referendum on President Bush and the GOP. On Thursday, he was asked whether he would stick with the Republican Party or become an independent or Democrat. "I haven't made any decisions. I just haven't even thought about where my place is,".......

(2006-11-10) — Rhode Island Sen. Lincoln Chafee said today he may leave the Republican party, and is also considering ending his stormy marriage with pop star Britney Spears. “I have been a faithful member of my party, just as I’ve been true to Britney for all these years,” said Sen. Chafee. “But I feel we’ve grown apart. I’ve stuck to the Republican principles of larger government, less aggressive national defense and moral flexibility, but the the party has been co-opted by ideologues who have taken it in a new direction.” The dual announcements shocked both the political and entertainment worlds...

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- This is probably not what President Bush had in mind when he stressed bipartisanship after the Democratic Party's midterm elections sweep. A key Senate Republican has joined Democrats in opposing one of Bush's initiatives for the lame-duck Congress: John Bolton's nomination as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. With leaders from both parties promising a new bipartisan Washington, Bush began efforts to get two of his most controversial decisions approved before the Democrats take over. . . . . But Republican Sen. Lincoln Chafee, who was defeated in this week's election, said he would block Bolton's nomination....

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) - Two days after losing a bid for a second term, Sen. Lincoln Chafee said he was unsure whether he would remain a Republican. Chafee lost to Democrat Sheldon Whitehouse in a race seen as a referendum on President Bush and the GOP. On Thursday, he was asked whether he would stick with the Republican Party or become an independent or Democrat. ``I haven't made any decisions. I just haven't even thought about where my place is,'' Chafee said at a news conference. When pressed on whether his comments indicated he might leave the GOP, he replied:...

PROVIDENCE, R.I. - Two days after losing a bid for a second term, Sen. Lincoln Chafee (news, bio, voting record) said he was unsure whether he would remain a Republican. Chafee lost to Democrat Sheldon Whitehouse in a race seen as a referendum on President Bush and the GOP. On Thursday, he was asked whether he would stick with the Republican Party or become an independent or Democrat. "I haven't made any decisions. I just haven't even thought about where my place is," Chafee said at a news conference. When pressed on whether his comments indicated he might leave the...

WASHINGTON (AP) - Prospects for extending John Bolton's job as U.N. ambassador essentially died Thursday as Democrats and a pivotal Republican said they would continue to oppose the nomination. It was another blow to President Bush two days after Democrats triumphed in elections that will give them control of Congress next year. On Wednesday, Bush had announced that Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, a polarizing figure and face of the Iraq war, would step down.On Thursday the White House resubmitted Bolton's nomination to the Senate, where the appointment has languished for more than a year. Bush appointed him to the...

Well, this would just make tomorrow night so, so special...from The Plank: I have a friend in Rhode Island—a Democrat torn between his affections for Lincoln Chafee and his desire to make Harry Reid majority leader. Over the weekend, my friend attended a Chafee event and cornered the senator. Now, my friend doesn't have a personal relationship with Chafee, but he put the question bluntly to him: Why should I stick with you in a race with so many national implications? Chafee pulled my friend aside, lowered his voice, and told him that he might not be a Republican for...

Three-time Democratic gubernatorial candidate Myrth York has endorsed Republican incumbent Senator Lincoln Chafee's bid for reelection. Declaring that she places greater value on the character of the candidate than on party, she says Chafee most closely represents her values on issues ranging from opposition to the war in Iraq to the environment to personal freedoms.