Here's the data from the RI Sec. of State searchable voter registration list website:

--------------------------

LINCOLN D CHAFEE

* Date of birth: 03/26/1953
* Residence:
366 VICTORY HWY
EXETER, RI 02822
* Gender: M

VOTER STATUS - [View election history]

* Current status: Active
* Eligibility date: 03/16/2006

PARTY INFORMATION

* Current party: Unaffiliated
* Effective date for voting as affiliated: 10/08/2007
----------------------------

The effective date suggests that he just switched his affiliation very recently.

I'll be your third confirmation then. I was told that he filed the paperwork around July 10-12. Since there is a 90 day period until disaffiliation becomes "official," that does leave an effective date of Oct. 8th for it.

Well, I guess the cat's out of the bag. I and a small handful of party people have known about this since Thursday, when it was inadvertantly discovered by a good Republican checking on something related. We were trying to hold it close to the vest until it became more useful for us to use it. However, it apparently got mentioned this morning at a GOP event, and some individuals took the ball and ran with it.

Chafee is definitely listed on the most recent version of the statewide voter registration list as "unaffiliated" (though in an ironic twist, his wife Stephanie is still listed as a "Republican," even though it was she who was actively courting Democrats to vote for her husband in the Senate primary last year). One may also find it interesting that Linc is still listed at the Exeter address, while his wife is listed at their new Providence address.

We were (and still are) planning to have someone go down to the Board of Canvassers office in Exeter on Monday to get a copy of the actual voter registration form -- which is public record -- just to insure (as unlikely as it is) that this isn't just some massive clerical mistake.

"RINO has left the building"

He must have when known Laffey's book would come out and planned accordingly!

Could this be Chafee's well-documented need for attention - which is almost always displayed in a psychiatrically-diagnosable passive/aggressive manner?

The obvious takeaway from this move: Chafee knows deep in his traitorous heart that he stands no chance against Laffey in any GOP primary held in Rhode Island. As we all know, without the 5-10k votes delivered for him by national GOP machinations, Chafee would have handily lost the Senate GOP primary.

Who with any credibility is manning the fort at the RI Republican party now? Not that Chafee had much, anyway, but at least he was a former Mayor and Senator. The party must turn to Laffey for leadership. Years too late...but at least it will finally happen.

Civil war buffs can equate Laffey's inevitable RI GOP ascension to the resolute U.S. Grant's taking over leadership of the Federal forces from the the irresolute McCellan. If it happened two years earlier, the war would have ended in short order, saving hundreds of thousands of lives.

Laffey's impact as Governor would be measurable in hundreds of million of dollars. It would be a travesty if he doesn't run. He must.

The strong initial reception for Laffey's book is telling. America's voters indeed stand ready to clean out all fiscally irresponsible and disingenuous Republicans.

We are headed for years of stagflation; please refer to "easy" Al Greenspan's latest literary effort for confirmation.

A period of stagflation calls for leaders with longstanding demonstrable experience at cutting costs and attracting new business. Consequently, fiscal issues will almost surely dominate the next RI Gubernatorial race. Steve Laffey has already branded this issue and his book will only further cement his status.

I hope the door hit Chafee on the way out. It was probably a barn door, because revisiting that horseshoeing career of his looks like an excellent move for him. Hopefully in Canada, just like before..

He must have when known Laffey's book would come out and planned accordingly!

Could this be Chafee's well-documented need for attention - which is almost always displayed in a psychiatrically-diagnosable passive/aggressive manner?

The obvious takeaway from this move: Chafee knows deep in his traitorous heart that he stands no chance against Laffey in any GOP primary held in Rhode Island. As we all know, without the 5-10k votes delivered for him by national GOP machinations, Chafee would have handily lost the Senate GOP primary.

Who with any credibility is manning the fort at the RI Republican party now? Not that Chafee had much, anyway, but at least he was a former Mayor and Senator. The party must turn to Laffey for leadership. Years too late...but at least it will finally happen.

Civil war buffs can equate Laffey's inevitable RI GOP ascension to the resolute U.S. Grant's taking over leadership of the Federal forces from the the irresolute McCellan. If it happened two years earlier, the war would have ended in short order, saving hundreds of thousands of lives.

Laffey's impact as Governor would be measurable in hundreds of million of dollars. It would be a travesty if he doesn't run. He must.

The strong initial reception for Laffey's book is telling. America's voters indeed stand ready to clean out all fiscally irresponsible and disingenuous Republicans.

We are headed for years of stagflation; please refer to "easy" Al Greenspan's latest literary effort for confirmation.

A period of stagflation calls for leaders with longstanding demonstrable experience at cutting costs and attracting new business. Consequently, fiscal issues will almost surely dominate the next RI Gubernatorial race. Steve Laffey has already branded this issue and his book will only further cement his status.

I hope the door hit Chafee on the way out. It was probably a barn door, because revisiting that horseshoeing career of his looks like an excellent move for him. Hopefully in Canada, just like before..

Hopefully, this means he will run for Mayor and not Governor. We need to start uniting behind Laffey now. He is the only viable candidate desite his obvious flaws and meglomania.

I was under the impression that Chafee left the Republican party a loooong time ago. Know what I mean, nudge, nudge, say no more!

Chafee is an independant?

Is that supposed to be news?

WAKE UP PEOPLE.

We knew this ten years ago. Now it’s official. BIG DEAL!

Chafee is done in RI. I'll say it now and repeat it after any election, for any office, Chafee runs for that is state wide or higher. He's a loser.

Stay out of politics Linc. Stick to what you do best, whatever that is.

J Mahn

"He must have when known Laffey's book would come out and planned accordingly!"

That thought actually occurred to me initially, too, since the date of the book release has been known for some time now -- except for one itsy bitsy thing that should be completely obvious to all -- he's really not that smart or cunning to have planned it out like that.

My guess is that it was something that he's been mulling over (read: obsessing and procrastinating -- kind of like the Alito vote) for months; happened to have some time on his hands to do it one day this summer and just did it spontaneously; and finally, probably thought that it would happen quietly, without anyone taking notice.

The only reason that it was discovered in the first place, was that we were trying to determine if he had changed his voting address to Providence yet, since he's rumored as a possible candidate for mayor there in 2010.

PS For the record, if he were to run for mayor there, I could support him. Virtually anything is a step up there!

Wow. He finally left. I thought it was going to happen last summer instead of this summer....oh well.

I wish he had left back in 2006 instead of saying he was a Republican and causing the natinal gop to waste money on him, and fooling Republicans here to vote for him on the basis he had the best chance of holding the seat for the republicans.

Well at least Chafee is being honest with himself now.

Now we can all move on.

Speaking of moving on....

Last summer I started not feeling well as I saw how the Chafee-Laffey race was going. On primary night when Laffey lost, you guessed it, I had the BIG ONE...I could hear Elizabeth's voice. Luckily, the docs pulled me through, but told me to rest. Well, when I saw Chafee had left the GOP, I called the doc and he said ok post one more time...so here is my last post.

When you see an old red pick up on the street somewhere, I hope you have a laugh when you think of this old junkman.

Now I can go back to dancing with my son Lamont to funk hits - something which we did this morning once I saw the ProJo story about Chafee.

Oz -

Did Chafee ever return all those expensive tools he borrowed from you? He may have given them to Fred Sanford by mistake, as Fred's truck seems to be riding a little lower these days.

Linc left the GOP because he realized it left him.

No Rhody, Chafee has always been off from the GOP = It really was a matter of when not if, and now we know.

Bountyhunter, those weren't oz's tools, they were mine! I got'm back, but I had to go get'm myself.

signing off.

beep beep!

"Linc left the GOP because he realized it left him."

Er, it left him in about 1980 ... he just didn't realize it until now. He's never been "quick" with stuff like that.

If he is interested, Linc Chafee just became an electable independent candidate for Governor in 2010 (with apologies to my friend Bob Healey, who has already declared for the seat).

Isn't Jack Reed up for reelection next year? But Linc Chafee presumably wouldn't need to move to Providence for that race.

So ... Providence's 2010 mayoral race, made a little easier because Cicilline will be running for Governor. (Shudder.)

I thought selling the Bambino to the Yankees would have been the biggest mistake of my life. But volunteering for Chafee in 2000 is by far my biggest. At least I got 100 large for Ruth.

Oh, and in case you hadn't figured it out...

beep beep!