R.I. delegation speaks out on Rumsfeld resignation
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November 8, 2006 ArchivesNovember 8
U.S. Senator-elect Sheldon Whitehouse, U.S. Sen. Jack Reed, and Reps. James Langevin and Patrick Kennedy -- all Rhode Island Democrats -- spoke out today on the resignation of Donald Rumsfeld as secretary of defense. Both Whitehouse and Langevin had called for Republican Rumsfeld's resignation in recent months. Whitehouse: “Voters in Rhode Island and across the country sent a clear signal yesterday that we are ready for a new direction and a change in Washington. Secretary Rumsfeld’s resignation is the first step toward a new course in Iraq. "The mismanagement and failures of the war in Iraq demand significant accountability, and it’s my hope that in the coming months a new Democratic Senate will work to hold this administration accountable for the disastrous conduct of this war.” Reed (in a Washington press conference): "I think Secretary Rumsfeld's departure must be followed with a change of policy. And I would look forward to reviewing the recommendation of the president, Bob Gates. I've had the occasion to work with Bob Gates informally, and I'm very impressed with his ability and his judgment. And I'll stop there. "I've gotten to know him over the last several years and he strikes me as someone who's a pragmatist. He strikes me also as somebody who will listen, particularly to the uniformed services. And I think, in that respect, he will be a very pleasant change from Secretary Rumsfeld." Langevin: "The resignation of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is a positive development, and I am pleased that he and President Bush have at last heeded the calls of so many Americans, including my own, for a new direction and fresh leadership at the Pentagon. "However, this change in leadership does not change the mistakes and miscalculations made over the last four years in the lead-up to and prosecution of the war in Iraq. Secretary Rumsfeld was a key architect of the war in Iraq, and he has mismanaged it from the start. Instead of enhancing our national security as he promised, the conflict has led to an overstretched military, frayed alliances, and an apparent civil war in an important global region." Kennedy: "It is good news for the country that President Bush is accepting yesterday's election as the vote of no confidence that it clearly was and is firing Secretary Rumsfeld. Democrats - and increasingly Republicans - have been arguing for months and years that we should not stay the course on a failing policy in Iraq. The American people obviously agree. "I hope that this step marks more than the beginning of a more sensible strategy in Iraq that is more responsive to the realities on the ground. I hope it also represents an acknowledgment that it's in the best interests of the American people for Republicans and Democrats to work together to tackle America's challenges. For too long the president has disparaged and impugned those who disagree with him. Perhaps the election, and today's announcement that he is replacing Secretary Rumsfeld, will be the beginning of a new spirit of cooperation. Americans certainly deserve that much." -- With reports from John E. Mulligan, Journal Washington bureau Your turn: React to Rumsfeld's departure 
PROVIDENCE -- In his lone scheduled public appearance today, U.S. Senator-elect Sheldon Whitehouse addressed the media for the first time since ousting Republican incumbent Lincoln Chafee. "I’ve always liked and admired the Chafee family," Whitehouse said. "Linc tried the best he could to carry on that tradition in a very different toxic environment [than that of his father and former senator, the late John H. Chafee]." "I think the fact that the Democrats have now some power will help purge that environment and help get some clear air down there." Is Whitehouse worried that the Democratic House of Representatives (and the possibility of a Democratic Senate) might cause gridlock between the Republican administration? "When you have different views, you're more likely to work toward a common solution," he said. "It's when you have an absolute monopoly on power... that you get this terrible partisanship." "I think we’ll have a much better environment with divided power again in Washington." Audio: Listen to Whitehouse at the Arcade (MP3 format, 2 mins., 31 secs). Also of note: Before Whitehouse arrived at the Arcade this afternoon, Chafee's brother, Zechariah, strolled by the group of media waiting for the senator-elect. Zechariah, like many of the lunch-time customers at the Arcade today, didn't know that Whitehouse was on his way in. -- projo.com staff writer Steve Peoples
PROVIDENCE -- Democrat Sheldon Whitehouse, who spent a campaign tapping into voter dissatisfaction with the Bush White House and the war in Iraq, has won his battle for the U.S. Senate, toppling popular liberal Republican Lincoln Chafee, whose family has held the seat for three decades. With 100 percent of precincts reporting and absentee ballots counted, Whitehouse was seen with 53.5 percent, or 205,274 votes, to Chafee's 46.5 percent, or 178,548 votes. "You believed in me and I will never ever forget that," Whitehouse told a horde of supporters at the Providence Biltmore hotel tonight. The crowd packed into the vast 17th floor ballroom to cheer their candidate, the first person to oust an incumbent U.S. senator in Rhode Island in 70 years. "I intend to go down to Washington and work my heart out for you every day," he said. Later, when asked how he would influence the national political landscape if Democrats don't regain the Senate majority, Whitehouse said, "Every step closer certainly helps in bringing some balance to Washington." As of 12:15 a.m., Democrats had regained three of the six seats needed for a Senate majority. The mood at the Biltmore was electric. Some people waited nearly a half hour for an elevator to the 17th floor before Whitehouse took the stage. And the ballroom was so crowded during Whitehouse's address that it was difficult to move. In his 10-minute speech, which was broadcast nationally, Whitehouse thanked Chafee -- who initially inherited his Senate seat from his late father, U.S. Sen. John H. Chafee -- for "a long and proud legacy of public service in Rhode Island." 
Journal photo / Gretchen Ertl Chafee gives his concession speech at the Crowne Plaza hotel in Warwick.
Rhode Island voters have not tossed a sitting senator since 1936, when Democrat Theodore Francis Green defeated Republican Jesse Metcalf. The crowd thinned noticably after Whitehouse left the stage. But a small group of teens remained in the center of the room. "I'm waiting for my uncle to come," said 17-year-old Patrick Fogarty, the nephew of Lt. Gov. Charles Fogarty. He was surrounded by nearly a dozen of his young cousins, most from Glocester. "I'm just really nervous," the young Fogarty said. The governor's race was too close to call until about 12:30 a.m. But GOP Governor Carcieri held off a strong challenge from Democrat Fogarty by about 8,000 votes. Carcieri's victory was the only one for Republicans in statewide races. -- projo.com staff writer Steve Peoples
In the one of the closest statewide elections of the night, Governor Carcieri turned back a challenge from Democrat Charles Fogarty by about 8,000 votes. The final vote was: Carcieri 197,016; Republican Carcieri held a 6,400 vote lead over the lieutenant governor when elections officials started counting the 14,000 absentee ballots. The governor waited for that count before addressing his supporters at the Crowne Plaza hotel in Warwick. But Fogarty would have had to get 10,000 of the 14,000 absentee votes to overtake the governor. He didn't. The Board of Elections announced at 12:30 this morning that Carcieri added more than 1,000 votes to his lead. Carcieri was noticably tired when he made his victory speech at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Warwick at nearly 1 a.m. "My name is Don Carcieri and I'm still your governor," he said to his cheering supporters. "I had a half-hour speech, but I don't know about you, but I'm pretty tired." Fogarty conceded defeat at the Providence Biltmore hotel. "I made a prediction that the numbers were going to be 51 to 49 [percent], but I had the numbers a little backwards," Fogarty said. Here's how the election went tonight: At 12:27, with the absentee votes counted
At 10:49, with 547 precincts At 10:41, with 537 precincts At 10:38, with 513 precincts At 10:36, with 503 precincts At 10:26, with 476 precincts At 10:23, with 469 precincts At 10:20, with 458 precincts
At 10:14, with 427 precincts At 10:12, with 408 precincts At 10:07, with 377 precincts At 10:04, with 368 precincts At 9:59, with 344 precincts At 9:56, with 332 precincts At 9:51, with 294 precincts
At 9:42, with 155 precincts At 9:37, with 155 precincts At 9:35, with 110 precincts At 9:30, with 62 precincts At 9:25, with 26 precincts 9:22 p.m., with 7 precincts
Question 1 lost by a huge margin of 241,578 to 141,526.
With all 565 precincts reporting at 11:58 p.m. 231,982 rejecting
wrote, nice blog. good photo.... Read the rest, write another...
Sheldon Whitehouse ended up posting a 26,000-vote victory over Sen. Lincoln Chafee.
At 11:58 with all 565 precincts counted At 11:30 with 557 precincts
At 10:51 with 548 precincts At 10:47 with 546 precincts At 10:40 with 537 precincts At 10:36 with 506 precincts At 10:34 with 500 precincts At 10:27 with 477 precincts At 10:25 with 475 precincts At 10:22 with 461precincts
At 10:15 with 437 precincts At 10:13 with 418 precincts At 10:06 with 375 precincts At 10:02 with 353 precincts At 9:57 with 338 precincts At 9:55 with 318 precincts Chafee 107,680 At 9:48 with 284 precincts Chafee 94,966 At 9:44 with 248 precincts Chafee 82,965 At 9:43 with 219 precincts Chafee 73,238 At 9:36 with 128 precincts Chafee 39,434 At 9:33 with 95 precincts Chafee 26,926 At 9:27 with 36 precincts Chafee 9,314
Chafee 743
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