It’s Lincoln Chafee, who served as a far-left “Republican” senator until 2007 and then became an Independent to run for Rhode Island governor. He won based upon name recognition and is now setting about to continue attacking conservatives.

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.”

No more wasting taxpayer resources by taking part in for-profit, ratings-driving programming! Thank you, Governor Chafee! See, this isn’t about trying to undermine the more conservative talk radio by denying it access to officials. No sirree, it’s about not helping for-profit, ratings-driven programming.

What’s that?

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

Ah, I see. So we won’t “waste” taxpayer dollars on for-profit, ratings-driven program anymore — when it comes to talk radio. But we’ll continue “wasting” taxpayer dollars when it comes to for-profit, ratings-driven television programming. Because that’s more appropriate, or something.

A couple of differences between talk radio and local news segments: 1) Local television tends to be more acceptable for people like Chafee (read: more liberal); and 2) You don’t have back-and-forth dialogue with average citizens through local television segments.

But I’m sure Chafee’s selective opposition to helping for-profit, ratings-driven programming has absolutely nothing to do with either reason.