"Come to think of it, since the "moderate to conservative" Laffey made a point that he was NOT conservative, why should the 'Pubbies care who wins this race? No matter how it goes, they end up with RINO or a Democrat."
Steve Laffey is by no means a RINO. He is anti-abortion, strongly supports tax cuts and opposes pork spending (he has received the endorsement of the economically conservative Club for Growth), strongly supports of the War on Terror, will fight for the confirmation of judicial conservatives and would be one of the most pro-Israel members of the U.S. Senate. While Laffey is not as conservative as I am (his economic message is too populist for my taste, he opposes drilling in ANWR and takes some other positions that make him more palatable to the heavily Democrat Rhode Island electorate), he is just about as conservative as one can be and still get elected and reelected mayor of overwhelmingly Democrat Cranston and have a chance of winning a Senate race in Rhode Island. If you're going to sit back and wait for a Mike Pence to be elected to the Senate in Rhode Island, you're going to be waiting a long time. In Rhode Island, Steve Laffey is as good as it gets. Besides, getting rid of the insufferable Lincoln Chafee should be reward enough for conservatives.