Lincoln Chafee Explores Presidential Run as a Democrat

[Capt. Obvious]

Source: New York Times

With no advance warning, the Democratic race for president got a surprise new contender on Thursday.

Lincoln Chafee, the former Rhode Island governor who has a strong relationship with President Obama, announced his news in a web video and in an interview with Rhode Island Public Radio.

In the video, Mr. Chafee says almost immediately that as a United States senator he voted against the Iraq war — something that Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton supported. It was a position that was used against Mrs. Clinton in the Democratic primary leading up to the 2008 election against Mr. Obama.

....

Unlike Jim Webb, the former Virginia senator, or Martin O’Malley, the former Maryland governor, both of whom have telegraphed their intentions to consider running for president for months, Mr. Chafee’s news caught political observers off guard.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2015/04/09/lincoln-chafee-explores-presidential-run-as-a-democrat/

---

Awesome. I liked Chafee.

[SoapBox]

1. Interesting.

...we need such options.

[IthinkThereforeIAM]

75. Very...

... interesting. First thought that came to mind with me. So I will second your comment!

[bigworld]

2. If Hillary's bid evaporates there needs to be an alternative waiting in the wings

Putting all our eggs in Hill's basket isn't wise planning.

[pscot]

28. When Hillary's bid evaporates.

[MBS]

52. . . .. n/t

[brooklynite]

66. How would her campaign "evaporate"?

Either she wins the Primary or she loses. If she loses, someone else in the Primary wins. There are already other people in the Primary.

[longship]

89. Or she decides not to run.

Still an option, albeit that looks slim at this time.


It is 19 months until the election. People need to breath freely for a while and settle down a bit and relax.

[mahina]

109. Martin O'Malley is pretty good. I like him.

http://martinomalley.com

Nobody's perfect- his videos really suck.

[truebrit71]

3. Works for me. More the merrier.

...

[progressoid]

4. Oh hell, why not.

Today's Democrats are yesterday's Republicans anyway.

[MisterP]

23. not at all true!

[progressoid]

61. Some of them admit it.

[rury]

5. As a Democrat who is no fan of Hillary

this is extremely good news. Look, I will vote for her in the general election if she's the nominee because I would not vote Republican if my life depended upon it. But in addition to not caring much for Hillary, I want an open primary with other alternatives besides the one who thinks "it's her turn." Even her fans should want her to be challenged just to keep her debating skills sharp and be toughened and battle-ready for the general election. The general election will not be a cakewalk for her regardless what the polls say now. I hope a few Democrats get in there and mix it up a little and give us a real contest. And Hillary need not ask me for any money. Her "hardworking white Americans" and PUMAS can finance her campaign.

[maddiemom]

63. Yes! I agree completely.

[erronis]

73. Also agree. I worry that she's not honing her skills much in the last few months

Other than a few photo-ops I haven't heard any substantive positions being put forward by her.

Maybe I'm not on her mailing lists (thank god) but it seems that she should be roiling the waters a bit by now.

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

108. Unlike Hillary, Chafee was one of the few to vote against Bush's Iraq blunder

which puts him at the top of my list.

"Centrist" and rightwing Dems like Hillary, Kerry, Edwards, etc thought that the war would be over with quick, and decided to ride the bandwagon and vote with the GOP for it, figuring it would benefit them later for White House runs.

It was folks like Wellstone, Kennedy, Byrd, Kennedy and Chafee who actually tried to stop the biggest foreign policy blunder in US history.

If he's in, I could easily back him.

Webb is a neo-Confederate, race-baiting weirdo who I can't trust. I don't think Bernie is running. Warren has made it clear she's not, though some can't take 'no' for answer.

O'Malley seems OK, but I need to learn more about him.

[susanna]

119. Right there with ya. n/t

[PassingFair]

6. At last, the ice may be breaking!

At least this will get the real issues out in the primaries!

[davidpdx]

110. Got to hope someone is going to challenge the anointed one

[Zorra]

7. Oh, great. A Democratic Prez candidate who was a Republican up until 2007,

became an Independent until 2013, when he became a Democrat.

What's wrong with this picture?

[msanthrope]

11. Ask Elizabeth Warren and Charlie Crist. nt

[Zorra]

21. Hillary Clinton was once a republican as well.

Warren was a republican for like 5 years, and left the republican party 20 yrs ago.

That said, she's not running for President, and if she was, I would favor Bernie Sanders over her for the nomination because Bernie has serious long term progressive cred.

Crist is not an acceptable candidate for me, period.

I would vote for Chafee for Senate if he was nominated as a Dem in my state, but will not vote for him in the General Election if he is nominated for president.

I don't much trust or like conservatives, and someone who spent the majority of their life as a member of the republican party is simply not qualified to be a Democratic candidate for President.

You have to be a shallow thinker and ethically corrupt to even consider being a member of the republican party, let alone actually be a republican.

The republican party stands for everything that is wrong with the world.

[msanthrope]

25. Good Lord--HRC was a Goldwater Girl before she could vote. Then she went to college and wised up.

Stop being defensive. It was a joke.

[Zorra]

34. I'm not being defensive. I'm being real. nt

[msanthrope]

36. Jokes....in short supply here.....

[Zorra]

45. Honestly, just seeing all the support here for Chafee right now makes me understand

exactly how conservative the Democratic party has become.

You may have been joking, but all this support for Chaffee in this thread is not a joke for me, it's downright frightening.

If Democrats nominate a lifelong republican for President, I'm outta here, forever.

[msanthrope]

46. Chafee isn't getting nominated. nt

[Zorra]

48. bless you! nt

[pnwmom]

71. Clinton has never voted Republican. She was in high school when her parents

supported Goldwater and she did too.

[PassingFair]

80. She was president of Wellesley College's Young Republicans in 1965

So I guess she's got presidential experience going for her.

[pnwmom]

84. If so, she was still too young to vote. OTOH, Dwight D. Eisenhower

was more liberal than many Dems today.

[PassingFair]

85. So is Lincoln Chafee.

[pnwmom]

86. He's less liberal than the Rockefeller-era Republicans Hillary supported

while at Wellesley, according to Wikipedia.

This was in the era when the term "liberal Republican" wasn't a contradiction in terms.

"In 1965, Rodham enrolled at Wellesley College, where she majored in political science.[18] During her first year, she served as president of the Wellesley Young Republicans;[19][20] with this Rockefeller Republican-oriented group,[21] she supported the elections of Mayor John Lindsay and Senator Edward Brooke."

[PassingFair]

87. In an era when the term "liberal Republican" doesn't EXIST...

Lincoln Chafee stood up and voted against the IWR.

[pnwmom]

92. Good for him. He also stood up for privatizing Social Security.

He's not a bad candidate but overall his record is less liberal than Hillary's.

http://www.ontheissues.org/Lincoln_Chafee.htm

http://www.ontheissues.org/Hillary_Clinton.htm

[cannabis_flower]

120. Really?

I voted for the first time when I was in college.

[pnwmom]

121. The age was 21. Her activities with the Young Republicans were as a freshman. nt

[Beacool]

122. Well, considering that she was only 17 years old at the time I wouldn't worry about it.

[karynnj]

17. What Bernie Sanders is not a Democrat now

I always respected him, though was happy we gained the seat in 2006. He really should have changed parties then. It will be interesting to see what he wants to run on.

Living in New England have learned that New England Republicans are - in general - nothing like regular Republicans. I think of Senator Jeffords , who after a long career as a Republican moved to be an Independent rather than a Democrat. But, his voting record looked more like that of a Democrat than a Republican.

I don't know enough about Chaffee to say that I will support him. but I will choose him over Webb. I remember in 2004, that Andre and Chris Heinz all spoke of being Democrats - and saying that the Republican party their father was a member of is not what the Republican party of 2004 was. (I also remember thinking then that if history were different and had the choice in 1992 have been John Heinz, who had been mentioned as a potential nominee in 1988, and Bill Clinton, I would have had a tough decision and might have made my first Republican vote for President. Heinz was one of the strongest people against the problems of the S&L scandal on the banking committee and he was very very good on the environment.)

As to Chaffee, this is interesting and out of the blue. It will be interesting to compare him to O'Malley, Sanders, and Clinton.

[Zorra]

32. The difference being, Bernie is a lifetime liberal, who is more Democratic than

every other Democrat in the Senate. If he becomes a Democrat, and runs for President, I know I can trust him because he has always been a solid player on my team.

Republicans don't do anything but terrible things to human beings and to the planet. You have to have a serious lack of personal ethics to even consider becoming a republican.

Name one even kind of decent thing republicans have done in the last 35 years.

[karynnj]

51. There was a time when there were Republican moderates and liberals

The parties were not always so polarized as they are now. There were plenty of people, with impeccable ethics who were Republicans in the 1960s and 1970s. Some of the WORST Republicans (Strom Thurmond and others) were Dixicrats before that. (Note that LBJ had 68 Democrats when he was working on the civil rights bill - yet he had a tough time getting a bill and he needed lots of Republicans.)

The opposition to the Vietnam War included Republicans - including Senator Case, who I did vote for. As to the planet, there were Republican conservationists - including Heinz, who was one of the other Senators who worked with Al Gore from the beginning on climate change. In fact, Heinz and Kerry jointly ran the 1990 Senate Earth Day.

I don't know he is to the left or right of Clinton -- and without looking at their positions, it is impossible to tell. He was always listed as a moderate.

[QuestionAlways]

29. I'm a lazy white guy who never changed my registration from Republican until 2007

although I had not voted that way for many, many years. I changed my registration because I wanted to be a part of history, and voted for Obama. There are many of us who are now what you would call "third way Democrats." We are centrists and make up the largest part of the electorate. No candidate can win without us.

[Zorra]

38. No candidate can win without liberals, either. The general difference being, no liberal would ever

vote for a republican.

[QuestionAlways]

57. Not true, Ike, Rockefeller, Chafee, and a number of other liberal Republicans

before the party went insane

[jeff47]

62. And if we were running campaigns 40 years ago, that might be a decent model to follow.

We aren't. The political landscape has drastically changed since Ike. Voters are not in 3 neat little left-center-right boxes.

[Zorra]

64. The fact that you consider these folks liberals is a perfect illustration of how far

Wall St has manipulated the Democratic party to the right.

[jeff47]

59. Actually....

We are centrists and make up the largest part of the electorate.

Actually, no. You don't. Because there is not one block of "centrists".

There are Democratic-leaning centrists and Republican-leaning centrists. When they vote, they always vote for that party. Centrists that actually cross party lines are <10% of the voters.

What happens is the Democratic-leaning centrists won't vote for a pseudo-Republican candidate running as a Democrat. They'll stay home. The mirror image happens on the right - a pseudo-Democrat won't get Republican-leaning centrist votes.

But that's a lot messier than many in the media want to deal with. Lumping all centrists into a single pile is a much easier narrative, especially on TV. And it dovetails nicely into the "both sides do it" bullshit.

[QuestionAlways]

88. According to Gallup

an average 43% of Americans identified politically as independents in 2014, Democrats hold a modest edge over Republicans in Party identification, 30% to 26%. When pressed, most independents will say they lean to one of the two major parties. For example, an average of 17% of Americans who initially identified as independents subsequently said they "leaned" Republican, 15% were independents who leaned Democratic, with the remaining 11% not expressing a leaning to either party. Since partisan leaners often share similar attitudes to those who identify with a party outright, the relative proportions of identifiers plus leaners gives a sense of the relative electoral strength of the two political parties. In 2014, an average 45% of Americans identified as Democrats or said they were Democratic-leaning independents, while 42% identified as Republicans or were Republican-leaning independents. With 13% being true independents who by their choices between parties determine who win elections. These voters, on the whole, do not follow politics closely and do not have a strong ideological foundation, so they tend to vote against something, as much as for something.

This would seem to bode well for any Democrat, but party identification does not tell the whole story , after all there are Liberal, Moderate, and Conservative Democrats. Where a voter falls on the political ideology spectrum is just as important, if not more so, in determining a person's vote.

Americans are more likely to identify as conservatives (38%) than as liberals (23%). But the conservative advantage is down to 15 percentage points as liberal identification has edged up. When Gallup began asking about ideological identification in 1992, an average 17% of Americans said they were liberal.

The rise in liberal identification has been accompanied by a decline in moderate identification. At 34% in 2013, it is the lowest Gallup has measured, and down nine points since 1992. Since 2009, conservatives have consistently been the largest U.S. ideological group. The percentage of conservatives has always far exceeded the percentage of liberals, by as much as 22 points in 1996.

Democrats are increasingly likely to Identify as Liberal. Currently, 43% of Democrats say they are liberal, a nearly 50% increase from 29% in 2000. Over the same period, the percentage of Democrats identifying as moderate is down to 36% from 44%, and conservative Democrat identification is down to 19% from 25%. These changes are a telling indicator of the shift in the Democratic Party, from a party that was more ideologically diverse to one that is increasingly dominated by those from the left end of the ideological spectrum.

In fact, the rise in liberal identification among all Americans is due exclusively to the changes among Democrats. Independents are no more likely now than in the past to describe their political views as liberal. The main change in independents' views is that they increasingly call themselves conservative. That could be related to recent developments in party identification, with fewer Americans now identifying as Republicans and more as independents. Thus, the change in independents' ideological preferences may be attributable to former Republicans, who are more likely to be politically conservative, now residing in the independent category.

Americans' political views are undergoing unmistakable change, contributing to greater political polarization in the country. Now, the plurality of Democrats consider themselves to be politically liberal, whereas a decade ago, Democrats were most likely to say they were moderate.

Meanwhile, Republicans, who have always been overwhelmingly conservative, have become increasingly so. One manifestation of that may have been a series of primary election challenges for long-serving GOP members of Congress by candidates aligned with the Tea Party movement.

These data confirm the tendency for Americans who identify with the two major parties to be more ideologically homogeneous than was the case in the past, a tendency that appears to be matched by the increasing polarization between Democratic and Republican members of Congress.

[jeff47]

90. That's a very long post to lump people together just as I explained.

Did you think quantity would somehow change that party-switching independents are exceedingly rare?

And does it occur to you that you can't just assign "independent" to the middle of the spectrum? Sanders is an independent, after all.

Also, does it occur to you that nearly everyone identifies their own political views as moderate? From Warren to Cruz.

[QuestionAlways]

93. Gallup is considered an authority on public opinion

And as he said

an average 45% of Americans identified as Democrats or said they were Democratic-leaning independents, while 42% identified as Republicans or were Republican-leaning independents. With 13% being true independents who by their choices between parties determine who win elections.

They are moderates as well as independents because

These voters, on the whole, do not follow politics closely and do not have a strong ideological foundation, so they tend to vote against something, as much as for something.

They are a different breed of voter then those found here at DU, who have a strong ideological foundation and do follow politics closely and like to discuss them. Yet, we are not the one's who determine who wins elections. It is those uninformed non-ideological moderate independents who we try to convince to vote our way that chose the winner of elections.

[Arkana]

70. Lincoln Chafee is less of a Republican than some Democrats.

He was the lone Republican to vote against the Iraq war resolution, something our "presumptive" nominee happily supported. The GOP abandoned him, and quite frankly, I'm more than happy to take on people like Chafee. He's a genuine Eisenhower Republican.

[LiberalElite]

111. maybe he's "evolving"? nt

[treestar]

124. What is wrong with seeing the light?

Isn't that what we ideally want?

[hack89]

8. Chafee is an idiot.

he was less then useless as RI governor.

[still_one]

10. in what way? Wasn't he against our invasion of Iraq?

[hack89]

13. You know he has never won an election as a Democrat?

He won a Senate term as a Republican and ran as an Independent when he won the governorship. He then became an Democrat but decide not to run for a second term because his approval ratings stank.

So for starters he is a political opportunist, regardless of what his thoughts were on the Iraq war.

As governor, he was seen as weak - he never stood up to the legislature and it is hard to point at an accomplishment that was purely his.

[still_one]

19. All politicians are political opportunists, except maybe Bernie Sanders, and Elizabeth Warren. My

question was where he stands on the issues.

All I know is that he is considered a liberal:

http://www.ontheissues.org/Lincoln_Chafee.htm

He has voted more like a Democrat, than some Democrats, especially the blue dogs

[hack89]

26. So leadership and executive skills are irrelevant?

one simply needs to believe the right things? By that standard anyone on DU is fit to be president.

Thanks but no thanks - I have higher standards.

[still_one]

30. Leadership? Ted Cruz has leadership qualities. If one is wrong on the issues, leadership becomes

tyrannical. If one is right on the issues, leadership is a synergy.

Your initial criticism was not on Chaffee's position, but simply that he is a political opportunist. that tells me nothing about him.

[merrily]

37. It's not either or. You can have good positions, but you need to be respected as a leader, too.

I can't see him winning a primary.

[still_one]

39. That is fine, but my point was you need to be right on the issues, and leadership, but being right

on the issues is more important if it is either/or

[merrily]

42. If it's either or, both are irrelevant

or moot, if you prefer that word. If you are not a good leader, either you don't get elected at all or you don't get your agenda through. If you are a good leader with lousy ideas, I hope to heaven you never get elected. It has to be both.

[still_one]

53. Then like you said if you can't get elected, it is a moot issue. I think the problem with Chaffee

will be more that he won't be able to accumulate enough to fund a campaign

[merrily]

56. That as well.

[hack89]

49. He was weak and ineffective in his one term as Governor

he smartly chose not to run for a second term because his approval ratings were so bad. The Democratic voters of Rhode Island gave him a thumbs down - it might be wise to consider that little nugget.

[still_one]

50. I wasn't advocating for or against him, except to the point that his voting record is quite

progressive

[hack89]

55. He does hold many progressive views. I was addressing his fitness to be President. nt

[cosmicone]

58. I think this is a clever scheme of the Clinton machine

to draw out moderate/liberal republicans and start them on voting democratic even before the GE.

Of all the qualities of Bill Clinton, I like his machiavellian side the best.

[KansDem]

24. He was the only Republican senator to vote against the invasion.

58% of Democratic senators (29 of 50) voted for the resolution. Those voting for the resolution are:
Sens. Lincoln (D-AR), Feinstein (D-CA), Dodd (D-CT), Lieberman (D-CT), Biden (D-DE), Carper (D-DE), Nelson (D-FL), Cleland (D-GA), Miller (D-GA), Bayh (D-IN), Harkin (D-IA), Breaux (D-LA), Mary Landrieu (D-LA), Kerry (D-MA), Carnahan (D-MO), Baucus (D-MT), Nelson (D-NE), Reid (D-NV), Torricelli (D-NJ), Clinton (D-NY), Schumer (D-NY), Edwards (D-NC), Dorgan (D-ND), Hollings (D-SC), Daschle (D-SD), Johnson (D-SD), Cantwell (D-WA), Rockefeller (D-WV), and Kohl (D-WI).

42% of Democratic senators (21 of 50) voted against the resolution. Those voting against the resolution are:
Sens. Boxer (D-CA), Graham (D-FL), Akaka (D-HI), Inouye (D-HI), Durbin (D-IL), Mikulski (D-MD), Sarbanes (D-MD), Kennedy (D-MA), Stabenow (D-MI), Levin (D-MI), Dayton (D-MN), Wellstone (D-MN), Corzine (D-NJ), Bingaman (D-NM), Conrad (D-ND), Wyden (D-OR), Reed (D-RI), Leahy (D-VT), Murray (D-WA), Byrd (D-WV), and Feingold (D-WI).

1 (2%) of 49 Republican senators voted against the resolution: Sen. Chafee (R-RI).
The only Independent senator voted against the resolution: Sen. Jeffords (I-VT)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iraq_Resolution

[still_one]

27. He has a very liberal voting record. Better than a lot of Democrats

[merrily]

40. I still miss Feingold.

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

99. Chafee was pro gun control

I'll stop right there as to why this poster is so riled up.

[hack89]

106. You know damn well that Dems in the RI legislature opposed Chafee's proposals

this is a state that respects gun rights.

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

113. And you know damn well the Dems in this state are puppets for ALEC

In addition to other special interests.

These are the same Dems who passed Voter ID bullshit.

[hack89]

116. They also passed marriage equality legislation.

so I take it you consider yourself the standard by which RI Democrats are judged. It must be exhilarating to occupy such an exalted place in life.

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

117. And Mattiello grouses about it to this day

Secretly telling people it was a waste of time....I know when he thinks he's in "polite company" and can spew his "moral" bullshit.

It's okay....Chafee was more progressive than any Democrat we'll have in that office again. And that's sad. Not for you of course.

[hack89]

118. Right. Nt

[msanthrope]

12. He's a good foil. nt

[hack89]

14. He has won elections as a Republican and an Independent. Going for the trifecta perhaps?

no - he is a rank political opportunist.

[msanthrope]

15. I suspect the former co-chair of the Obama re-election campaign is not working against

us.

[hack89]

16. You certainly do not want him as president

he was a weak and ineffective governor.

[msanthrope]

22. He is not an Executive. He is, however, a very smart political figure who will bring

much to the Democrats.

[hack89]

41. His success in RI was based on his father's name and reputation

Now there was a man fit to be president.

His son not so much. RI is a small state and being active in local politics, I have meet all major political figures many times. There is nothing special about Chafee - he comes across as a goofball in private settings. Jack Reed is the preeminent RI politician right now, followed by Whitehouse and Raimondo.

[msanthrope]

43. Linc was always more DC connected. He's got connections and influence there. He'll

do well for the Democrats. I don't think he thinks he can be President, either.

[elleng]

33. In what ways was he a weak and ineffective governor?

I'm largely not familiar with his record during those years.

[hack89]

44. He had absolutely no influence in the state house

and he basically rubber stamped what the legislature wanted. Now granted, historically the Speaker of the House has always been the most powerful politician in the state but Chafee did nothing to distinguish himself. And the fact that Chafee was a Republican before being elected as an Independent didn't help. There are certainly no accomplishments you can point at and say they happened only because he fought for them.

[PassingFair]

82. Yes, that's why he never went up against own party.

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

97. A lot of teabaggers here said that about him

Your slip is showing, Hack.

[hack89]

100. A lot of Dems in Rhode Island also said that about him

Can't help it if I don't like repukes turned independents turned Dems. Smacks of craven opportunism to me.

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

102. Did you like Frank Caprio when he told Obama to shove it?

I bet you did.

[hack89]

103. Can't stand Providence politicians

arrogant and corrupt. Had to hold my nose when I voted for him in 2010 but I will always vote for a Dem. I definitely voted for Magaziner last year.

Why are you turning a simple political disagreement into such a personal thing? Why is it so important that I must agree with you about Chafee?

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

104. Calling Chafee "an idiot" is a pretty low blow

And it's the type of shit John Depetro and his ilk pull. Governor Gump. It's teabag bullshit. Sorry if you don't like it, but most people have a more nuanced view of Chafee.

[hack89]

105. Then you hang out with a different group of Democrats than me

his extremely low voter approval ratings are a good indicator of what Dems in RI thought of him.

Have a good evening. I am done with your rudeness.

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

114. What RI Democrats DO you hang out with?

Jon Brien?

Next you'll say Gina's a Liz Warren liberal.

[hack89]

115. Dennis Canrio, John Edwards, Jim Sevaney.

Jack Reed knows me by name due to some campaign work I have done.

[treestar]

125. Are you from RI?

[hack89]

126. Yes. Nt

[riqster]

9. A primary season is good for the people and the party.

[jalan48]

18. Further proof that today's Democrats are mostly 70's and 80's Republicans.

[PoliticAverse]

20. NBC News version of the story...

http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/elections/lincoln-chafee-says-hes-exploring-2016-run-democrat-n338451

[merrily]

31. I can't see Chafee or Webb winning the primary.

[elleng]

35. This sounds good to me and,

among other things, he's laying out foreign policy as a major issue.

[rhett o rick]

47. I have mixed feelings. I am glad to have options other than HRC.

But this is just another indicator that the Democratic Party is shifting Right. We have the crazy-assed kooks running against the Conservative Party. We need progressives not more DINO's.

[brooklynite]

68. Here's a suggestion...Maybe liberals LIKE Hillary Clinton

...and maybe they're not running because they feel she'll represent their interests.

Latest Washington Post Democratic Primary poll (filtered for "liberals&quot

Q: (AMONG LEANED DEMOCRATS) If the 2016 Democratic presidential primary or caucus in your state were being held today, for whom would you vote?

Hillary Clinton 69%
Elizabeth Warren 16
Bernie Sanders 6
Joe Biden 5
Jim Webb 1
Martin O'Malley 1

Howard Dean: I'm Ready for Hillary

Al Franken: I'm Ready for Hillary

Elizabeth Warren: She's teriffic

[rhett o rick]

74. Seems the Corp-Media are onboard with HRC and we know how "liberal" they are.

[Freethinker65]

54. Veep? nt

[Proud Public Servant]

60. He's the only veep choice who would bring even less to the ticket

than O'Malley. Seriously, even a campaign team as tone-deaf as Hillary '08 would understand that a liberal Northeasterner from a state that's going to go Dem no matter what is not exactly a genius pick.

[vkkv]

65. He may be a thoughtful person, but he doesn't have it.

He's a weak character.

Can't think on his feet.

A wishy-washy guy.

[CTyankee]

112. Yup. I just saw him on Morning Joe. He seemed nice enough but really bland and

kinda stumbly when he was trying to make a point. Almost a little out of touch...mixed up his words...

I'm sure he's a nice man and his family is sure "old money." But he certainly didn't ring my bells today...

[shireen]

67. I wish there were more people running on the Dem side

But let's face it, Hillary Clinton has an enormous advantage and will suck up a lot of money. I've long come to terms with the fact that we'll never have a perfect candidate, so I don't have anything against her becoming president.

The other people running for president right now are effectively running to be her VP or for cabinet posts. She will need someone like Chafee or O'Malley to appeal to the more well-informed liberal wing of the party.

In an ideal world I'd want to see Sanders and Warren run the country. The realist in me knows it won't happen, but we should continue to fight for increasing their influence in Washington and encourage the emergence of similarly-minded young people into the political arena.

[Arkana]

69. Linc's popularity was shot to hell in Rhode Island;

I have trouble believing he'd last long on a national stage.

Shame, though. He's a genuinely good guy.

[elleng]

91. Why was his popularity 'shot to hell in Rhode Island?'

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

98. From day one, no one was on his side

I recall teabaggers showing up to his inauguration basically holding signs saying "65% of Rhode Island doesn't want you".

I voted for him. The other choices were a full blown right-winger and a Republican posing as a Democrat.

[elleng]

101. So his popularity wasn't shot to hell because of anything he did,

but rather, similar to Prez O, because many just didn't like him, eh?

[blackspade]

72. Um, No.

Not happening.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

76. why the past tense about your thoughts?

Should it not be, "I LIKE Chafee," or "I HEART Chafee?"

[Capt. Obvious]

78. Because he is no longer governor

[ChairmanAgnostic]

79. so that means you no longer like him now?

I don't mean to be pesky, but you did not qualify your prior statement about past feelings. It just seemed strange to mois.

[underpants]

77. Oh that would be entertaining

Lincoln, the only reason you got to be Senator was because you inherited the spot from your father.

[brooklynite]

81. Any candidate who can safely deliver the Electoral Votes of Rhode Island is good enough for me...

[olddots]

83. sometimes late learners become very educated .

I respect late learners and hope for more candidates .

[Blue_Tires]

94. I'd be behind this on his environmental record alone...

[bvar22]

95. Lincoln Chafee is a Republican.

Has he disavowed and apologized for helping the GOP for many years?

Has he publicly disavowed the Republican Platform?

Has he apologized for the mistakes he has made before he saw the light?

Will he adopt the foundational policies of FDR and the New Deal]?


...or is the Democratic Party just going to let him change the letter after his name so he can get elected, and as a result, move even further to The Conservative Right?

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

96. Linc is a good man, but not a politician

This is bizarre.

[moondust]

107. He was just on Lawrence O'Donnell's show.

He believes voting for the IWR should be a disqualifier for the Presidency whether it be Hillary, Kerry, or Biden. He also mentioned that on the same day Hillary voted for the IWR she voted against Carl Levin's amendment to slow down the rush to war.

He supports President Obama's approach to Iran, citing historical precedents in talks with China and Gorbachev "before the bullets fly."

[Beacool]

123. Well, he is a registered Democrats since 2013.

He's entitled to run.