PROVIDENCE -- Sen. Lincoln Chafee, a staunch critic of the Bush
administration, told a group of reporters and editorial writers this
morning that he planned to vote Republican in November -- but would
consider writing in a candidate instead of voting for President Bush.
Speaking at a seminar on environmental policies and their effect on the
election, the GOP senator from Rhode Island said he would vote with his
party, even though he disagreed with the president on numerous key
issues, because Rhode Island was expected to vote overwhelming for the
Democratic challenger, Sen. John Kerry of neighboring Massachusetts. As
a result, his vote for the GOP would have no impact on the outcome of
the race.
Asked by a reporter if his statement meant he thought his vote would not
count, Chafee simply answered: "Yes."
Chafee later said he would consider writing in a candidate for
president, but that he had not made up his mind whose name he would put
on the ballot.
Chafee's comments are a departure from his earlier statement at the the
time of the GOP National Convention in New York earlier this month, when
he said that he would support the Republicans in November. At the time,
Chafee said he would not be campaigning for the president, but he did
not indicate whether he would vote for him.
Chafee was responding today to questions from southern New England
reporters and editors gathered at The Providence Journal for the
University of Rhode Island's Metcalf Institute for Marine and
Environmental Reporting.
Chafee has consistently voted against the White House on most
environmental issues. He's voted against drilling in the Arctic National
Wildlife Refuge, for raising fuel emission standards on cars and light
trucks, and for toughening pollution controls on factories. Kerry, the
junior senator from Massachusetts, also has voted contrary to the
administration on those issues.
The liberal Republican, who first took over his seat after his father,
Sen John H. Chafee, died in 1999, has become known for bucking the
administration.
He was the only Republican to vote against the White House war
resolution in October 2002 leading up to the invasion of Iraq. He has
broken with Bush on other major issues, the tax cuts that have triggered
federal deficits and social issues ranging from abortion and gay
marriage to stem-cell research.
Chafee wouldn't speculate on whom he may choose - if not Bush - to
support in November, dismissing a reporter's question about Arizona Sen.
John McCain's chances of getting his vote.
"I'm not sure I like his position on the war," Chafee replied. McCain
has been campaigning for Bush.
-- With Associated Press reports
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