Douglas clears air on Jeffords [View All]

[fromVT]

http://www.reformer.com/Stories/0,1413,102~8860~2739981,00.html

Gov. James Douglas won't cross party lines to vote for an old friend next year -- independent Sen. James Jeffords, who abandoned the Republican Party in 2001.

"I'm a Republican," Douglas said Friday. "I've always voted for Republicans and certainly will in the future."

But Douglas, who raised eyebrows last month by saying he wouldn't leverage his political weight against Jeffords in November 2006, expressed disappointment in Jeffords for making him support a party without him.

{snip}

In a January interview, Jeffords said there were "no ifs, ands or buts" about him seeking re-election.

"All the rumors to the contrary ... are based on spurious information," he said.

Douglas, asked if he thought Jeffords might retire, said: "I don't think so. I take him at his word."