Many Rhode Island voters would probably shy away from a politician who supports "BIZARRE!" projects like spending tax dollars on foam panels to soundproof his office. At least that's what the National Republican Senatorial Committee counted on as it funded ads intended to undermine Cranston Mayor Stephen Laffey's bid for the U.S. Senate, spending nearly $150,000 on a campaign that attacks the Republican's credentials and record.
Laffey announced in September that he would challenge incumbent Sen. Lincoln Chafee '75 in the Republican primary. Since then, the NRSC, chaired by Sen. Elizabeth Dole, R-N.C., has jumped to Chafee's aid by keeping anti-Laffey ads on the air in Rhode Island for most of October.
The most recent ad chronicles "the strange adventures of Steve Laffey" and accuses the candidate of raising taxes for two consecutive years, giving Cranston the highest property taxes in Rhode Island. The ad's two-week run, funded entirely by the NRSC, ended this past weekend.
Laffey told The Herald he views the ads as a last-ditch effort to divert attention from Chafee's own tax record and "wasteful pork spending" on government projects. He added that he hopes Rhode Island voters will see past the NRSC's negative campaign tactics.
"They obviously have nothing positive to say," Laffey said of the NRSC. "They're attacking a fellow Republican."
Dan Ronayne, press secretary for the NRSC, said the ads were an attempt to dispel the notion that Laffey is "some sort of champion of tax relief when his record certainly runs counter to that."
The NRSC "wanted to get the facts out there," Ronayne said. "We had an opponent ... who was misrepresenting himself to the voters of Rhode Island."
Ian Lang, a Chafee spokesman, said the incumbent's campaign does not fund the ads and has no influence on their content.
"They are totally separate" from the campaign's own efforts, Lang said. "This is by the NRSC. We don't talk to them regarding these ads, nor can we by law."
But Laffey said the ads "effectively are coming from Linc Chafee," adding that "it's really sad to watch Senator Chafee hide behind the national Republicans." Laffey urged Chafee to denounce the ads, though he said he doubts that Chafee will ultimately take a stand against them.
"He's just getting some free money. He's sold himself out to these people," Laffey said. "If he wanted to speak out against them he could, but he doesn't speak out against much."
The NRSC has spent money in Rhode Island before, supporting then-state Treasurer Nancy Mayer in her 1996 Senate bid against then-U.S. Rep. Jack Reed, a Democrat.
The ads "weren't particularly effective," according to Darrell West, professor of political science and director of the Taubman Center for Public Policy. "But Jack Reed was very popular and he had a big lead going into the general election."
West said he could not remember a time when the NRSC stepped in before a primary in Rhode Island, though "if they anticipate it being a competitive race they are willing to drop a lot of money" in support of Chafee's re-election.
"Their goal is to frame Laffey in negative terms before Laffey can define himself," a tactic that partially explains why the NRSC funded ads so long before the primary, West said.
However, the ads could potentially damage Chafee's image if voters begin to associate the incumbent with negative campaigning, though West said this risk is somewhat mitigated by Laffey's own penchant for personal attacks.
"Laffey has already made a number of negative attacks on Senator Chafee, so I don't think people are going to view him as blameless," West said.
If the Chafee campaign wrote and funded the ads, they "would certainly be less negative," West said.
Patricia Morgan, chair of the Rhode Island Republican Party, said she hopes the ads do not prove to be a divisive factor among state Republicans.
"You know my concern is that I want my party to stay together," Morgan said. "I know that Republicans are going to choose one or the other, but I don't want them to forget that the thing that binds us all is that we are Republicans. When the primary is over, I want all of us to come back together and beat Democrats."
Morgan agreed that the tone and content of the ads would likely be less combative if they came from Chafee's campaign.
"Right now, I think the senator would want to talk about his record and his accomplishments," she said. "Right now, the NRSC ads are not focused on Chafee at all."
Larry Sabato, director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia, agreed that the NRSC's efforts will likely bolster Chafee's re-election chances.
"The NRSC is clearly trying to define Laffey early, and to define him in such a way that some of his natural conservative base will be unable to back him," Sabato wrote in an e-mail to The Herald.
"That's smart. Even in liberal Rhode Island, the GOP electorate is generally conservative. So Chafee has to get some conservative votes to secure renomination," he wrote.
By portraying Chafee as the only Republican candidate who can realistically hold national office in Rhode Island, the NRSC hopes to soften conservative opposition generated by Chafee's moderate voting record, Sabato wrote.
Laffey said the NRSC's willingness to step in and attack a fellow Republican demonstrates "why the national Republican party is losing popularity."
But Sabato indicated that the NRSC's efforts are not particularly uncommon.
"A generation ago, party committees never became involved in intra-party primary battles," Sabato wrote. "Today, both national parties regard the old policy as a luxury they can no longer afford. They must get involved in some contests to prevent the party from being saddled with an unelectable November candidate."
Morgan said she is "not at all" surprised by the NRSC's investment in Chafee's re-election campaign.
"They want to see him prevail in the fall elections," she said. "They want him back."
