If I were a GOP Senate Majority Leader and I had a good 5-6 seat majority, I would expell Chafee from the caucus. I would then hold a press conference to say "we welcome all points of view in our party, but we cannot have someone openly floating the idea of switching parties. Politics is a team sport. We can't throw the ball to someone who may rip off his or her jersey and put the other team's jersey on. So it is with heavy heart that I, with the support of the majority of my GOP colleagues am expelling Lincoln Chafee from the GOP caucus."
It's not that extreme, the dems did it to Traficant (long before his legal troubles) because he said he supported Hastert for speaker.
It's high time we learned that we cant meet our enemies head on by taking the higher road.