I am not sure how many of you will care about this one. Linc Chafee was a Senator from Rhode Island who lost a chance for reelection in 2006 as many Republicans were being swept out of Congress in a drive to remove support for the Shrub. In 1999, he accepted his father John Chafee's seat. John was a former governor of Rhode Island, and both of them were pretty liberal/moderate Republicans of the type that many refer to as "Rockefeller Republicans." They are more traditional Republicans that are not all that concerned about conservative views of social issues. Instead the support small government, fiscal responsibility, protecting the environment, etc.

This book focuses primarily on his time in federal government and how over the years he has become disenchanted with his party because of its inability to do anything butt kowtow to the Bush Administration. He is also discusted with the Democrats for their unwillingness to fully stand up, either.

He pretty much takes the reader through the events that make up the time he spent in Washington with a bit of an overview of what he took away from being the mayor of Warwick, RI, and what that taught him about governing.

Chafee and his father were always pretty well respected her in RI, which is probably surprising since the Republicans in general are on life support most of the time and we regularly have the poorest view of President Bush and his administration in comparison of state views. There is a pretty good chance that he lost his seat because people wanted to take a stab at Bush.

I do wonder how much Chafee exaggerates his influence in Washington. There is no question that he was a thorn in the side of the Shrub (ironic, eh?) and his underlings. In 2004, Chafee refused to vote for Bush, and he was not about to choose the Democratic candidate so he wrote in Bush, Sr.'s name. He was outspoken and was one of the reasons why Bush was unable to get Senate approval to send Bolton to the UN, an institution he did everything but spit upon. He also was the only Republican and one of the few of any viewpoint to vote against he war in Iraq as well as the appointment of Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court.

To give you an idea of his views, I (Yes, Mr. Liberal) actually voted for him when he ran in 2000. I did vote against him in 2006, but that was for the reason already mentioned rather than loving the Democratic candidate. Sheldon Whitehouse is a borderline Republican who has turned into a wuss (*cough* lapdog!) since heading to Congress.

There are a number of rumors swirling that he might run for Governor or mayor of Providence in 2010. It will be curious to see what happens to him.

As he talks about the future of the Republican Party, he does see a shift happening. Actually he believes there might be a strong third party forming in the near future because the Dems and Repubs are being pulled to the extreme ends. I am sorta fine with that for the Dems, but he says that this is creating a moderate vacuum in the center that will have to be filled to meet the demands of the majority of Americans. He also thinks it will hurt the Dems more.

I am not sure that I agree with that, but I do see the Republican Party splitting along the traditional views of the party and the new leadership, which is made up of neo-cons. I don't see those kinds of divisions in the Democratic Party. Even with Clinton and Obama, they are not really all that ideologically different. That is why they highlighted personality and work style differences. Only the future will tell.

Anyway, if you are looking at someone to place a target and tear down the Bush Administration, this is not a bad book for you.