Behind his back, GOP staffers call the junior senator from Rhode Island the “Missing Linc,” a pun on his name, an attack on his intellect–but an accurate summary of his pivotal role. The GOP “enjoys” a 51-48-1 edge in the Senate, giving inordinate clout to a tiny band of self-described “centrists” that includes Chafee, McCain and Maine’s Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins. They’ve all spoken out against Bush’s new tax bill, and Chafee is the first Republican to have introduced a competing measure, which would freeze the top tax rate at 38.6 percent. He opposes the president on just about everything else, from abortion (he supports it) to Iraq (he was the only Republican to vote against the war resolution in the Senate).
Given his position on the fault line of politics, Chafee could be a central player, in on every deal. But he refuses to take part in the Washington game. Last year White House emissaries–including Vice President Dick Cheney–asked if there was some favor they could do for him or for Rhode Island to win his tax vote. The answer was no. “I just can’t trade my vote,” he said. “It’s a dangerous path to go down.” In the capital, this is seen as a sign of stupidity–or at least malpractice.
But Chafee’s aura of obtuseness is deceiving–because it’s deliberate. It shields him from the derision of his fellow Republicans. It allows him to avoid debates over supply-side economics, which he doesn’t believe in, preferring the ancient doctrine of New England thrift that he learned as a man of inherited wealth and as mayor of a small city in Rhode Island. His father was a senator before him (“He was a deficit hawk, too”). He hails from one of his state’s oldest, richest families. Yet his unassuming manner–and Democratic voting record–makes him popular at home. “People see him as a folksy, down to earth, judicious guy,” says Darrell West, a political scientist at Brown University.
The White House strategy for dealing with Chafee is to be careful. Don’t threaten, don’t antagonize. Chafee doesn’t ask for much, but don’t go out of your way to deny him. When Democrats were wooing Sen. Jim Jeffords away from the GOP last year, Chafee was next on their list. “I’m a proud Republican,” said Chafee, adding that he helped raise money for Senate candidates nationwide last year. Still, Chafee doesn’t mind talking about switching. Asked if the Democrats’ evangelist, Harry Reid, was in touch with him last week, Chafee answered, “You bet.” Then he added: “Harry is a good man, gentlemanly and friendly. I enjoy talking to him.” A pure courtesy, empty of political meaning? Lincoln Chafee doesn’t mind if you think so.
