Chafee: Reid Sounded Out Joining Democrats

[Moloch]

WASHINGTON - Republican Sen. Lincoln Chafee (news, bio, voting record) of Rhode Island, a moderate often at odds with GOP conservatives, disclosed Wednesday that the leader of Senate Democrats sounded him out about switching parties in the aftermath of President Bush (news - web sites)'s re-election.

Chafee said he rebuffed the offer from Sen. Harry Reid (news, bio, voting record) of Nevada in a follow-up phone conversation the same day, adding that Reid offered "no deal or anything like that" as an incentive to cross the political aisle.

"We had a brief conversation, just hello," Chafee said in an interview. He publicly flirted with leaving the GOP in the days before and immediately after the election, but has since affirmed he will not switch.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=536&ncid=536&e=6&u=/ap/20041117/ap_on_go_co/chafee_gop

[JohnKleeb]

1. He did the same thing to Jeffords successfully

I am telling you, this ability to "work across the aisle" may work for us.

[JI7]

2. i think if Chafee's switch would have done same thing as Jeffords

in turning over control to the democrats he would have done it. but the fact is as long as we are the minority party, Reid doesn't have much to offer for a switch.

i actually would rather like chafee staying a republican and going after bush as a republican.

[othermeans]

3. This is the part where they eat their young! nt

[artfan]

4. In the long run it would be very bad

for Chafee to swithch parties. As a Republican his seat is safe for him to keep for years and his voting record and views are much more liberal than even some dems. If he switches I am sure that the major of Cranston (Laffy) will run for the seat he has higher asperations and is growing more popular because he is a shameless grandstander. Laffy would be a disaster and he could win against a Democratic Chafee.