So Many Republican Hypocrites, So Little Time

BuzzFlash GOP Hypocrite of the Week: Lincoln Chafee

Welcome back to the BuzzFlash.com GOP Hypocrite of the Week.

It's not easy being a Republican senator from a Democratic state like Rhode Island. Your constituents expect decency, honesty, common sense and honor. And being a member of the GOP Senate majority under Bill "Cat Killer" Frist -- who takes orders directly from the Busheviks -- that puts you at odds with all of these virtues.

Lincoln Chafee has tried to fashion himself as an idiosyncratic "moderate" Republican. But don't be fooled; he's not. Chafee follows the Bushevik party line and only votes against it when his vote won't count. Still, some pundits have tried to compare Chafee's record to Vermont's Independent Senator Jim Jeffords. But that would be like comparing Colonel Klink to Wesley Clark.

Lincoln's father, John, was one of the last of the true moderate Republicans. But then, John Chafee had a brain and integrity. His son doesn't.

The latest Lincoln Chafee betrayal is his decision to support John Bolton for U.S. Representative to the U.N., even though Bolton is opposed to the U.N., fired intelligence analysts because their findings of fact refuted his propaganda, and withheld vital information from superiors. Chafee's lame justification is that a president has a right to pick his appointees.

Isn't that same as saying, "We were just following orders."

What Chafee really hopes is that Rhode Islanders are dumb enough to accept this preposterous excuse for voting for the monstrous Bolton, because as Chafee surely knows, a vote against Bolton means Karl Rove will run a right wing freak Republican in the 2006 GOP senate primary and knock Chafee out of his cushy day job.

For cravenly supporting John Bolton, a man who dishonors the citizens of the United States, and justifying that support with cliched blather, Lincoln Chafee truly deserves recognition as BuzzFlash's GOP Hypocrite of the Week.

Until next week, remember our motto at BuzzFlash.com: So many Republican hypocrites, so little time.

Catch up with you soon.

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Afternote:

It should be noted that Chafee, on Tuesday afternoon, indicated that he was leaving open the possibility that he would "reconsider" his position on Bolton after GOP Senator Voinovich put him in the position of appearing to be a Bush lackey. That's because Voinovich, not Chafee, forced a delay in the confirmation vote. Even after the delay in the vote on Bolton, the Providence, Rhode Island newspaper noted: "Yesterday, Chafee said that ideally he would still like to support Mr. Bush. 'We [Republicans] are trying to support the president on this,' Chafee said." A Bushevik to the end.

"Chafee Says He'll Vote for Bolton as U.S. Envoy to UN," Bloomberg.com, April 19, 2005

"Sen. Lincoln Chafee, R-R.I., said after the hearing that he was happy the vote had been postponed. But he'd said earlier that he was inclined to vote for Mr. Bolton."
-- "Senatorial Courage," The Record (New Jersey), April 21, 2005

"Until the defection, by Senator George V. Voinovich of Ohio, the panel had appeared prepared to send the nomination to the Senate floor on a strict party-line vote. But Mr. Voinovich stunned other senators by announcing that more time was needed to explore accusations against Mr. Bolton.

'My conscience got me,' he said after the stormy two-hour session. He said he had gone to the meeting planning to vote for Mr. Bolton, but changed his mind after hearing the case against the nominee made by Senators Joseph R. Biden Jr. of Delaware and Christopher J. Dodd of Connecticut, both Democrats.'I wanted more information about this individual, and I didn't feel comfortable voting for him,' Mr. Voinovich said."
-- "Senate Panel Postpones Vote on U.N. Nominee," New York Times, April 20, 2005

BuzzFlash readers take note. Chafee was willing to vote for Bolton on Tuesday, but was prevented from doing so because of Voinovich's courage. That's the bottom line.