As reported by WPRO’s Lori Johnson, Sen. Lincoln Chafee will vote against Judge Alito. He cited concerns about Judge Alito’s stance on wiretapping and executive power and secondarily about Judge Alito’s stance on abortion. More to come…
UPDATE: My quick take is that, while Sen. Chafee seems to have indeed voted his conscience, there can be no doubt that a general election political calculation has also been made. That’s fine. I disagree with his reasoning and also wonder why he didn’t have such fits of conscience when it came to voting for Justice Roberts. Perhaps justifying this vote with some purported belief that Judge Alito would give the Executive too much power is his “out.” Nonetheless, I wonder how the President feels about his support for Sen. Chafee, now?