1. Senator Smith left the GOP at a time when we had a majority of two or three seats, so his leaving wouldn't change anything.
2. Senator Smith continued to caucus with the GOP so that even if the Senate had almost been tied, his leaving wouldn't have changed anything.
3. Senator Smith's voting record has been more consistently conservative and Republican than many others who are supposedly loyal party members. The wicked witches of Maine and the idiot from Rhode Island are the most obvious examples. Even when he was a nominal independent, I knew that I could count on Senator Smith's vote for what was best for America more often than I could one of these others.
4. When Senator Smith left the party, his complaint was that the party didn't stand for the great principles that it claimed. When Jeffords left the party, he attacked the very principles that have led most of us to join the GOP.
Equating Senator Smith with Jeffords just isn't right. I disagree with much of what Senator Smith has done, but he wants the best for America and generally understands the direction that we should be taking. Jeffords is just a typical liberal idiot who would destroy everything that makes this country great. That difference is good reason why Senator Smith deserved to retain his committee chair and Jeffords does not.
WFTR
Bill