A G.O.P. Breed Loses Its Place in New England

From The New York Times:

It was a species as endemic to New England as craggy seascapes and creamy clam chowder: the moderate Yankee Republican.

Dignified in demeanor, independent in ideology and frequently blue in blood, they were politicians in the mold of Roosevelt and Rockefeller: socially tolerant, environmentally enthusiastic, people who liked government to keep its wallet close to its vest and its hands out of social issues like abortion and, in recent years, same-sex marriage.

But this election dealt the already-fading New England Republican an especially strong blow, one that some fear will increase the divide between the two parties nationally by removing a longstanding bridge between them.

Of 22 members of the newly elected House of Representatives from New England, only one is a Republican . . . .

In Rhode Island, exit polls gave Senator Lincoln Chafee, a popular moderate Republican from a long-admired political family, a 62 percent approval rating. But before they exited the polls, most voters rejected him, many feeling it was more important to give the Democrats a chance at controlling the Senate.

At their height, New England Republicans wielded powerful political influence, “dominating the Northeast at the turn of the 20th century, just as Democrats used to dominate the South,” . . . .
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For a great column by Senator Lincoln Chafee, see my 12-12-06 post entitled "'Holding to the Center, Losing My Seat,' by Rhode Island Republican Senator Lincoln D. Chafee."