On the Record with Lincoln Chafee
by John Taraborelli

Recently, PM had the chance to sit down with former Senator Lincoln Chafee for an extended interview. He discussed his departure from the Republican Party, the politics of the Bush years, and the 2008 election. What follows is an excerpt in which he discusses the current state of his former party. The full interview can be found in our February issue.

What resemblance does the Republican Party you left bear to the one you joined as a young man?

The big change that I witnessed is of course the southern Democratic states-the Solid South, which was completely Democratic and would never elect someone from the party of Lincoln-changed. Back in the old days it was the party of Lincoln. That was the worst thing you could ever say in the South. Now it's solidly Republican. That's the biggest change that's happened to the party. Now our leadership positions in the Senate are southerners. Trent Lott from Mississippi. Bill Frist from Tennessee. Mitch McConnell from Kentucky. The agenda is coming from the southern Republicans.

The changes in the South started with Goldwater, when Lyndon Johnson supported the Civil Rights Act back in the 60s. The Republicans said, "Here's our chance. The Democratic Party's promoting civil rights." That's when it started to change-back in the 60s, 70s, and took off in the 90s with collective health care and gays in the military.'04 was the final sweep of the red brush across the south. All five open Senate seats that had been Democratic went Republican. It's almost solid Republicans now across the south.

In this era, especially the last seven years, has the party lost its way from the ideals that attracted you?

Yes. There are different ideals that I care about. I care about the environment. I care about using the tools of government to help the less fortunate. I believe in fiscal conservatism and being very careful with the taxpayer's dollar. I believe in fear of foreign entanglements. On all of those issues, (the Republican Party) is the opposite of what I believe in. There is an aversion to enacting clean water and air laws. There's obviously an adventurism overseas. There's an absolute breaking of the dam of fiscal restraint.

There are many traditional, conservative Republicans that are dismayed by the short-term nature of the George W. Bush-Karl Rove way of thinking: just move the ball down the goal line day by day, and don't be concerned about the long term ramifications.

The thinking in the party has become monolithic. That helps it and hurts it. Like you say, every day they move the ball down the line, but in the long run, what is the damage to the party? Is it irreparable?

The damage is going to be lasting. There's no fiscal restraint. Homeland Security, a huge new bureaucracy formed. There's a new addition to Medicare, the prescription drug benefit. This is Republicans. And then, of course, regime change in a foreign country that's going to take us years to extricate ourselves from. I think the ramifications are going to be very, very deep.