Day Three: Laffey Successfully Battles Laryngitis to Criticize Fellow Republicans Only to Lose Voice Again When Pressed on Stem Cell Research

Day Three - Laffey successfully battles laryngitis to criticize fellow Republicans only to lose voice again when pressed on stem cell research

Day three and Steve Laffey continues to remain mute on the issue of stem cell research. While media reports show Mr. Laffey remains undecided on this important issue, he was able to break his silence to criticize fellow Republican, Elizabeth Dole, chairwoman of the Republican Senatorial Committee and former Secretary of Labor and Transportation. In an article in the New York Times, Mr. Laffey appeared to find his voice long enough to question Senator Dole's commitment to growing the Republican party.

"It is astonishing that Mr. Laffey does not feel a need to respond to the question of whether or not he supports this extremely important scientific research. How can he simply say he is undecided," said U.S. Senator Lincoln Chafee. "Now more than ever, we need men and women who are willing to tackle the big issues, not fair-weather opportunists who formulate their positions based on the latest polls."

"I am surprised that Mr. Laffey would only break his silence to criticize a fellow Republican," continued Chafee. "It is ironic that Mr. Laffey would question Senator Dole's commitment to growing the Republican party when he is engaged in a primary with the only Republican member of Rhode Island's federal delegation. Mr. Laffey has every right to run in a primary against me, but I do not think he should make the head scratching claim that he only did so to grow the party. If he were truly interested in growing our party, he could have run for any number of offices, including the congressional seat in the second district where the incumbent Democrat is unopposed."

"It seems Mr. Laffey's case of laryngitis isn't so serious that he couldn't take a few potshots at loyal Republicans," said Ian Lang, Chafee Campaign Manager. "I just wish he would get his voice back long enough to let Rhode Islanders know if he supports giving scientists the tools they need to try to find a cure for diseases such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's. Perhaps Mr. Laffey's pollsters or his special interest backers, the Club for Growth, will be able to help him come up with an answer to this question."

http://www.chafeeforsenate.com/vw_news.aspx?id=310