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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...

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." Chafee was appointed in 1999 after his father, Sen. John Chafee,...

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...

JEFFERSON CITY — Chris Koster, a Republican state senator and champion of stem cell research, is expected to announce today that he is switching to the Democratic Party. Koster, a candidate for attorney general next year, will hold news conferences in Columbia, Harrisonville and St. Louis. In a news release, he promised "a speech that may transform the political landscape of Missouri." Koster, of Harrisonville near Kansas City, resigned late Tuesday as chairman of the Senate Republican Caucus. His resignation letter, hand-delivered by Koster's secretary to the office of Senate President Pro Tem Mike Gibbons, gave no explanation. Koster's campaign...

It may seem like a quiet country where not much happens besides ice hockey, curling and beer drinking. But our neighbor to the north is proving to be quite the draw for thousands of disgruntled Americans. The number of U.S. citizens who moved to Canada last year hit a 30-year high, with a 20 percent increase over the previous year and almost double the number who moved in 2000. In 2006, 10,942 Americans went to Canada, compared with 9,262 in 2005 and 5,828 in 2000, according to a survey by the Association for Canadian Studies. Of course, those numbers are...

Who says the MSM only report bad news? An online ABC News story reports that emigration from the US to Canada has increased dramatically . . . and that the departees are largely liberals. Hollywood stars never get around to making good on their threats to leave. But many everyday liberal folks are carrying through on their plans. According to the article: The number of U.S. citizens who moved to Canada last year hit a 30-year high, with a 20 percent increase over the previous year and almost double the number who moved in 2000.The current increase is fueled largely...

JEFFERSON CITY — Chris Koster, a Republican state senator and champion of stem cell research, is expected to announce today that he is switching to the Democratic Party. Koster, a candidate for attorney general next year, will hold news conferences in Columbia, Harrisonville and St. Louis. In a news release, he promised "a speech that may transform the political landscape of Missouri." Koster, of Harrisonville near Kansas City, resigned late Tuesday as chairman of the Senate Republican Caucus. His resignation letter, hand-delivered by Koster's secretary to the office of Senate President Pro Tem Mike Gibbons, gave no explanation. < snip...

The 51-year-old Brazilian man came with plans to stay here for up to six years to save enough money to buy a house in Brazil, two cars for his daughters and secure a life back home. But after three years of calling Framingham home, the man has decided to go back to Brazil with only part of his dreams fulfilled mainly because, he said, living as an illegal immigrant doesn't pay off anymore. "It's not worth it," said the man, who doesn't want to be identified for fear of deportation. "It was good when I first got here, when the...

The 51-year-old Brazilian man came with plans to stay here for up to six years to save enough money to buy a house in Brazil, two cars for his daughters and secure a life back home. But after three years of calling Framingham home, the man has decided to go back to Brazil with only part of his dreams fulfilled mainly because, he said, living as an illegal immigrant doesn't pay off anymore. "It's not worth it," said the man, who doesn't want to be identified for fear of deportation. "It was good when I first got here, when the...

NEW YORK - New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg on Tuesday switched his party status from Republican to unaffiliated, a stunning move certain to be seen as a prelude to an independent presidential bid that would upend the 2008 race. The billionaire former CEO, who was a lifelong Democrat before he switched to the GOP for his first mayoral run, said the change in voter registration does not mean he is running for president. "Although my plans for the future haven't changed, I believe this brings my affiliation into alignment with how I have led and will continue to lead our...

About me: Lurker - since 1998 Member - since 1999 In self-imposed exile - since April 2007 The tone of the debate and the attacks on long-time fellow Freepers for the cardinal sin of daring to support Rudy Giuliani in early 2007 around here have really saddened me. Instead of fighting the enemy FR is now imposing an 'ideological purity' test on FR members. The well-oiled train has gone off the rails and Mr. Robinson risks becoming the next Joe Farah - a fellow who started a great website for conservative news and opinions, but who gradually drifted off to...

SEN. BIDEN SHOCK INTERVIEW: OBAMA FIRST 'CLEAN' BLACK IN MAINSTREAM... 'I mean, you got the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy'...

Illegal Immigrant Sues Radio Station For Following Law An illegal immigrant is suing a radio station because it abided by U.S. federal law in requiring her to provide a valid Social Security or tax identification number before giving her a prize she won in a contest. When the Mexican woman, living illegally in Chicago for 15 years, could not provide the proper documents, the station refused to giver her the prize. The woman had won a sports car previously owned by a popular Mexican singer and federal law requires the station to report the Social Security number of everyone who...

AFTER 12 years and three terms, Gov. Pataki leaves state government far worse then he found it: Albany is scarred by notorious dysfunction, afflicted with pervasive corruption and marked by a torpidity unprecedented in modern times. The state as a whole is also worse off - with a shrinking population, a collapsing industrial base, confiscatory property taxes and a tragic hemorrhaging of an upstate population once famous for its productivity. The sole bright spot - the explosive growth of the New York City economy and some of its suburbs - came despite Pataki's policies, and thanks to the inexorable Wall...

NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) - CBS News veteran Bob Schieffer wraps his 15-month run in the "CBS Evening News" anchor chair on Thursday, paving the way for Katie Couric's debut Tuesday. Schieffer recently spoke about Couric's prospects, his delayed retirement, a big regret, and his budding career as a songwriter. THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER: HOW DO YOU THINK KATIE'S GOING TO DO WHEN SHE TAKES OVER THE ANCHOR CHAIR NEXT WEEK? Bob Schieffer: Katie's got all the tools. I think she's going to do a terrific job. She clearly has an enormous following. She's going to bring some people into the...

Nebraska Democrats now have a Statehouse officeholder. State Auditor Kate Witek, a lifelong Republican who was GOP gubernatorial candidate Tom Osborne’s lieutenant governor running mate just three months ago, switched parties this week. The Democratic Party seemed more open to issues that concern her, Witek said, including “getting spending under control” and requiring more accountability in state government. Asked if she can be comfortable as a pro-life advocate in a party whose national platform is pro-choice, Witek pointed to Nelson, who is seeking re-election to the Senate this November. Nelson also is pro-life, she said, and doesn’t agree with his...

Delaware, Ohio--A central Ohio Episcopal priest has resigned his ordination to protest what he calls “pervasive homophobia” coming mostly from the church leadership in the third world. Former Rev. Paul Nicely issued a written statement July 25 saying, “I no longer in conscience can honor my vow as a priest to be subject to the authority of a church which persists in sanctioning bigotry and exclusion.” “There’s not much an individual can do,” Nicely said in a later interview. “There’s not much political influence for an individual, but I wanted to be expressive in my views on this.” Nicely, 80,...

Facing what recent polls show as a near-certain defeat at the hands of an anti-war challenger in his Connecticut's Democratic primary Tuesday, Sen. Joseph Lieberman joined his supporter New York Senator Hillary Clinton in calling on Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to resign. A Quinnipiac University poll last Thursday showed Lieberman lagging by a hefty 13 points, and most political analysts blame Lieberman's loss of support on his pro-Iraq war position. It wasn't the first time Lieberman has called for Rumsfeld's resignation. The New York Post recalled that in a 2003 interview on CBS News' "Face the Nation," the senator called...

Oklahoma City (AP) - The state Senate gained a Democrat and lost a Republican today. Senator Nancy Riley says she's switching from the Republican to the Democratic Party because the G-O-P is being taken over by the extreme right wing. Riley says she was completely ignored by the Republican caucus during this year's legislative session. She believes her treatment is because of her moderate views and because she's a woman. The move increases the Democrat's majority in the Senate to 26-to-22 and Riley is in the middle of her four-year term so she doesn't face re-election this year. Democratic Senator...