in the upcoming primary . . . Chafee's defeat, and the emergence of a pro-Bush conservative could open the way for the Democratic challenger to tap into the extreme unpopularity of Bush in the state (22% approval in Rhode Island)
Club: Chafee worth beatingThe Republican advocacy group Club for Growth unveils a new attack ad as it continues its drumbeat for challenger Stephen P. Laffey.Thursday, August 17, 2006
BY MARK ARSENAULT
Journal Staff Writer
With barnyard sound effects and toe-tapping music reminiscent of The Beverly Hillbillies, the conservative Club for Growth is attacking U.S. Sen. Lincoln D. Chafee in a new television advertisement that paints the Republican incumbent as "just another tax-and-spend politician."
The Club for Growth, an influential anti-tax organization that can steer millions of dollars into political races nationwide, supports Stephen P. Laffey, the two-term Cranston mayor who is challenging Chafee in the Sept. 12 GOP primary.
The Club is a Republican advocacy group, and it's taking a calculated risk in backing a challenger against a sitting Republican U.S. senator in one of the most Democratic states in the nation. "There are risks to this race," the Club says in an endorsement of Laffey on its Web site. "Probably, there are more risks than any other recommendation we will make for 2006."
One risk is that a battered Chafee could survive the primary but lose the seat to a Democrat in November.
The Republican who prevails next month will probably face Democrat Sheldon Whitehouse in the general election. The former U.S. Attorney and state attorney general is expected to defeat businessman Carl Sheeler, a political newcomer, in the Democratic primary. Without a well-financed primary opponent pounding him over the air, Whitehouse has enjoyed a summer of building his image through issue ads that play off dissatisfaction with Washington and the Bush administration. (President Bush is more unpopular here than in any other state; a SurveyUSA poll released Tuesday puts the president's job approval at 22 percent in Rhode Island.)
full report:
http://www.projo.com/news/content/projo_20060817_ad17.32bbd58.html