If Lincoln Chafee thought that he would win votes from the far left for his decision to vote against Alito, he is sadly mistaken. This is one reaction over at Kos to his vote for cloture but against Alito.

Chafee to NARAL: Screw You

Those aren't his exact words of course, but that will be the effect of Lincoln Chafee's vote for cloture. After voting for John Roberts, Chafee reassured a anxious NARAL by declaring "I'm reliably pro-choice." But Chafee appears to be reliably pro-choice only when it suits his role as a "moderate." When push comes to shove--when women's right may truly hang in the balance, Chafee has proved that the only choice he truly respects is his choice to obey the Republican leadership.

They're already trying to marshal forces to defeat Chafee in the Fall. Here is one place where conservatives and liberals can agree. None of us like Chafee's wishy-washy, public agonizing over every controversial vote. I don't understand why the man even wants to consider himself a Republican unless it is that he enjoys the publicity he gets every time he opposes the GOP on some issue. If he were just another lefty New England senator, would any one care one jot about him? Face it, how many of you out there know anything about the other senator from Rhode Island? Being the contrary Republican senator is Lincoln Chafee's one claim to fame.