Regarding Chafee: You Can't Touch This

According to the Projo, House Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev) is not all that optimistic about his party's chances of unseating Lincoln Chafee. He said "We'll have to look at it. But right now, you know . . ." Rhode Islanders love Lincoln Chafee for reasons I cannot understand. In a recent Zogby Poll, 46% of those polled said they would vote for Chafee over 'someone else' if the race was held today (only 25% said they would vote for 'someone else'). Given that both Democrats and Republicans have or are about to take shots at our junior Senator, those numbers are mindboggling! But maybe Rhode Islanders like Chafee because he votes his conscious (according to this same poll 79% believe he does) and doesn't beat to the drum of Republican brass. This has angered hardline Democrats and Republicans who would rather have someone more to the left or right than Chafee. Yet, Rhode Island residents have always been independent-voting for the people of the office versus the party label. I think that's a good thing and so here's a little word of advice for any would-be Chafee challenger-do not attack him saying he's a Bush-ite, that's false and you'll catch a beat down, nor try and say that he's too liberal-the state is probably slightly left of Chafee and this won't resonate with most voters. All in all, if anyone hopes to defeat Chafee in 2006, they will have to craft their message not as anti-Chafee but as pro-Me. They'll have to do what John Kerry was unable to do against a relatively unpopular George Bush. If not, can you say 2012?