[NeoCaveman]

but he still sounds like a huge improvement over Chafee.

No doubt about that.

My support of Laffey though is very clear eyed: he'd be the most conservative senator from that region but that's about it, better than Snowe/Collins/Chafee.

And it's also support that knows that winning in November would be a long shot

[Badray]

Since Chafee ranks lower than some Dems, it wouldn't be much of a loss no matter what happens. There's more 'up' than 'down' to be had. You just might be surprised what happens.