IS HE STILL AROUND? – AT 8:39 P.M. ET:  Lincoln Chafee was once a Republican senator from Rhode Island, sliding into office on the back of his father, John Chafee, who'd been a senator from the same state.

Chafee's time in the Senate consisted mostly of trying to prove that he really wasn't a Republican after all.  When he was defeated for reelection he left the Republican Party.

Now, incredibly, Chafee has reinvented himself and has been elected governor of Rhode Island.  When will they ever learn?  And Chafee's brilliant, deeply thought-out reaction to the Arizona killings?  Here is a great mind at work:

PROVIDENCE — No one is likely to confuse new Governor Chafee with his Republican predecessor, Donald L. Carcieri, and now here’s another way to tell them apart:

Chafee doesn’t plan to spend his own time on talk radio, and he intends to ban state employees from spending their state work time talking on talk radio, which was Carcieri’s favorite medium and an integral part of his communications operation.

Spokesman Michael Trainor said a directive will go out over the next day or so that reflects that new policy.

He said the policy emanates from a belief that talk radio is essentially “ratings-driven, for-profit programming,” and “we don’t think it is appropriate to use taxpayer resources” in the form of state employee work time to “support for-profit, ratings-driven programming.”

Trainor said the new governor will continue to talk to the news reporters for the local radio stations, and the nonprofit local NPR affiliate.

Reached Monday night, WHJJ’s program director, Bill George, said he was curious about the explanation for Chafee’s singling out talk shows since “most media outlets, whether news or opinion, are profit-making entities.”

He said he hopes to have a conversation with Chafee in the next few days in the hope that he can change the governor’s mind.

COMMENT:  The idea that the governor has a mind is itself questionable.  This is one of those knee-jerk reactions to all the hysteria about talk radio causing the Arizona shootings.  The governor should cancel the directive and let each state executive decide for himself or herself which news outlet is worthy of an appearance.

January 11, 2011