Who Is Lincoln Chafee and Why Can’t He Be President?

While giving a speech at George Mason University, Lincoln Chafee formally announced his candidacy for the 2016 Democratic nomination for president.

At this point, two questions are most likely swirling in your head. The first, and very valid question, is probably, ‘who is Lincoln Chafee?’ The second question may be something along the lines of, ‘why is Chafee running as a Democrat? Isn’t he supposed to be a Republican?’

For starters, let’s briefly get to know Lincoln. Hailing from a family of politicians, Lincoln was destined to represent Rhode Island; his great-great-grandfather was the Republican governor of Rhode Island. His father served as the state’s governor, and eventually its Senator until his death in 1999, when Lincoln was appointed to the vacated seat.

Tasked with filling his father’s shoes, Chafee was elected to maintain his post as a Republican senator for Rhode Island. Serving as a Republican Senator for eight years, he was constantly pegged as the most liberal Republican in the Senate, with his voting record falling left of even some Democrats.

Interestingly enough, Lincoln followed his father’s footsteps in this respect. Of John Chafee, President Clinton said in an obituary that, “He embodied the decent center. For him, civility was not simply a matter of personal manners. He believed it was essential to the preservation of our democratic system.”

After falling to a Democrat in 2007, Chafee left the Republican Party to become an independent, and as such was elected the 74th governor of Rhode Island. In 2013, while still governor, Chafee once again changed his political affiliation, this time pledging allegiance to the Democrats.

While Chafee has only officially been a Democrat since 2013, his policies have clearly fallen on the left of center for a while now. Chafee is pro-choice, in favor of same-sex marriage, the estate tax and levying taxes for higher income earners. He is also a proponent of raising the minimum wage while he is staunchly against Arctic oil drilling and the death penalty. Interestingly enough, Chafee was also the only Republican Senator to vote against the Iraq war.

In that vein, it should be noted that, as a Republican in 2004, rather than voting for George W. Bush, Chafee instead wrote in the name of his father, clearly outlining his disapproval of the later Bush president.

So, while the first two questions posed at the outset have been answered, you are probably asking yourself, ‘Should I vote for this guy?’

Via Flickr/SAVE THE BAY

Well, probably not. Aside from an uncommanding aura at a podium, Chafee simply is not the type of candidate either party needs. Despite being a token progressive, Chafee has separated himself from competitors like Martin O’Malley and Bernie Sanders in a unique way. Rather than attacking mainstream media issues, Chafee has spoken out on some eclectic topics, the most notable being American units of measurement.

Chafee has made the point that it is beyond time for the United States to change to the metric system, citing the fact that Ronald Reagan was also in favor of this shift. Despite the fact that Reagan was actually firmly against metrication, there is clearly a larger issue here. Why is a shift from feet to meters a staple of a presidential platform? While this may be a publicity move to distinguish Chafee from his competitors, it simply makes him look imbecilic.

So, while Hilary is slowly losing her stranglehold over the Democratic nomination, Chafee will not be the one to take advantage because he lacks name recognition, funding and a presidential personality.

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)