RMSP Executive Director Urges Club For Growth to Stick to Its Litmus Test and Oppose Cranston Mayor Who Raised Taxes 18 to 30 Percent His First Year in Office 

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Republican Main Street Partnership today blasted the apparent primary challenge of Rhode Island Senator Lincoln Chafee (R-RI) by Cranston Mayor Stephen Laffey as “another attempt to split the GOP and waste valuable party time and money from extremist candidate who would lose Rhode Island’s Republican Senate seat to a Democrat.” 

“The Club for Growth should be willing to join us in defeating Mayor Laffey and supporting RMSP’s incumbent Senator Lincoln Chafee in the Rhode Island primary and general elections,” said Sarah Chamberlain Resnick, Executive Director of RMSP. 

“One of Laffey’s first acts as Mayor of Cranston two and one half years ago was to slap a 13% supplemental property tax increase on Rhode Island homeowners,” insisted Chamberlain Resnick. “It immediately cost owners of a $150,000 home an extra $490 / year in property taxes.”  

“The Club for Growth and Pat Toomey made ‘tax hikes vs. tax cuts’ their litmus test for support of any candidate nationwide. They ought to stand by that creed,” said Chamberlain Resnick as she challenged Toomey and his Club to oppose Laffey and support Senator Chafee.

Over the past three years, Laffey has been described in news stories by AP and local papers in his hometown area as “rude, nakedly ambitious, out for himself, and so in love with the spotlight that his ego gets in the way of effective government.”   He tried to slash safety programs in both the fire department and the school system, both acclaimed to be among the best in the state, if not the country.  His fellow Council Members took him to court for wasting taxpayer money on outside lawyers. Chamberlain Resnick asked, “Will Pat Toomey oppose Congressional candidates with that kind of reputation and who have blatantly raised taxes against his own Club for Growth creed? I would hope so.” 

            RMSP’s Executive Director added that,” A GOP primary in Rhode Island could cost the party millions of dollars, money that could be and should be spent fighting off Democrats anxious to win back control of the U.S. Senate. And, Rhode Island political experts have already predicted if Laffey were to run next November, he would be soundly defeated by a Democrat.” 

The Republican Main Street Partnership is an organization of centrist Republicans who are economic conservatives and take a pragmatic, common-sense approach to social issues. RMSP is the largest organization of elected Republican moderates in the nation, with over 60 members in the U.S. House and Senate. For more information on RMSP, visit our website at www.republicanmainstreet.org