Oh Goody...

Lincoln Chafee wins in the primary: With a big boost from his party’s conservative leaders in Washington, Rhode Island’s Sen. Lincoln Chafee, the most liberal of the Senate’s 55 Republicans, fought off a challenge from self-styled populist Steve Laffey Tuesday to win his party’s nomination.

Chafee won about 53 percent of the vote, with a more than 4,000-vote margin of victory.

I understand the concept of 'Party', but shoving Chafee out the door from a national standpoint is a net positive for Republicans. Leaving him in place to vote with Senate Democrats on major issues is the same as a Democratic pick up. Why the national apparatus wouldn't support the concervative Laffey eludes me.