Credit where credit is due

I've been consistently (some might say increasingly) harsh toward Republicans at this site throughout its 14-month lifespan - and I'd venture to say that every ounce of criticism and indictment and plain old bile I've hurled at the GOP was exceedingly well-deserved.

But I'd be remiss if I didn't tip my hat to the lone "rationalist" in that lock-step Borg Collective which has been rotting our nation from within, an individual who, on Tuesday, truly came to symbolize the proverbial grain of wheat swept away with the chaff.

Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island.

Appointed to the Senate in 1999 to fill a vacancy created by the death of his father, and elected on his own in 2000, Mr. Chafee served only one term until his defeat earlier this week. But during that tumultuous term, he consistently broke ranks with the "rubber-stamp" majority, repeatedly putting country ahead of robotic party loyalty. Even a quick glance at his voting record speaks volumes about the man's integrity and ability to think independently.

Do I agree with all of the issues he supported? No. Chafee did, after all, vote "Yea" on the Patriot Act. Then again, so did every Democrat except the honorable Russ Feingold.

But the Rhode Island Republican voted against extending Bush's tax cuts. Against the confirmation of Samuel Alito. He stood alone within his party in opposing the Military Commissions Act - a noble claim that the pandering Democratic Senators from my state can't even make.

And he was the sole member of the GOP to vote against the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002.

The Senator has also consistently opposed the appointment of John Bolton to the U.N., as he did again just a few days ago. As BBC News reported yesterday:

President Bush has formally asked for Mr Bolton to be confirmed during the final session of the outgoing Senate.

But the senators who opposed Mr Bolton last time, including one Republican, are refusing to change their minds.

Lincoln Chafee, who was defeated by his Democrat rival in Rhode Island this week, said it would be illogical to change his stance at the last minute.

"The American people have spoken out against the president's agenda on a number of fronts, and presumably one of those fronts is on foreign policy," Mr Chafee said.

"And at this late stage in my term, I'm not going to endorse something the American people have spoken out against."

Too bad that Mr. Chafee isn't one of the Republicans who gets to stay in the 110th Congress - so long as any have to remain at all. Too bad the victorious party can't make a trade - you know, keep Chafee and dump Kyl or Stevens or Hatch or Cornyn or Inhofe instead.

Too bad the country has to lose the service of the one Conservative who seems to know what "bipartisan" really means.

Sure, I'm glad we Dems have taken back the Senate - and had Lincoln Chafee prevailed, that wouldn't be the case. But somehow it just doesn't seem fair (or in the nation's best interests) that the Ocean State Senator should be one of those targeted for unemployment.

We owe a debt of thanks to Mr. Chafee for the many times he's tried to slow down the Bush juggernaut, hand in hand with his colleagues across the aisle. That's just giving credit where credit is due - and the gentleman from Rhode Island would undoubtedly have been a good public servant to have around in the coming six years.

Maybe I'll write him and let him know. Maybe we all should, too.