Former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is winning the headlines as she gets ready to officially announce a presidential bid on Sunday, but another Democrat tested the presidential waters this week and he might remind Florida voters of a certain politician from the Sunshine State.
Former U.S. Sen. and Gov. Lincoln Chafee, D-R.I., announced on Thursday that he was considering entering the Democratic presidential primaries. Chafee was not on the radar screen of most observers and pundits.
Today I am excited to announce my 2016 presidential exploratory committee, Chafee posted on Twitter on Thursday.
On a Web video at his site, Chafee noted that his wide range of experience will prove helpful if he decides to opt for the presidency.
"Americans want safety, stability and sustainability, Chafee says in the video. We will need fresh ideas and the most skillful diplomacy in dealing with this ever-changing world.
Throughout my career, as mayor, governor, and U.S. senator, I exercised good judgment on a wide range of high-pressure decisions, decisions that require level-headedness and careful foresight, Chafee adds.
Taking a page from Barack Obamas successful 2008 gameplan, Chafee went after Clinton for backing military action against Iraq, telling the Washington Post that she made a huge mistake that should prevent her from sitting in the Oval Office. Chafee, then a Republican, was the only senator from the GOP ranks to vote against authorizing action against Iraq in 2003.
"I don't think anybody should be president of the United States that made that mistake," Chafee told the Washington Post. "It's a huge mistake and we live with broad, broad ramifications today -- of instability, not only in the Middle East but far beyond, and the loss of American credibility. There were no weapons of mass destruction."
The son of veteran Rhode Island Republican John Chafee who served six years as governor of the Ocean State during the 1960s before sitting in the Nixon Cabinet as secretary of the Navy and almost a quarter century in the U.S. Senate, Lincoln Chafee, then the mayor of Warwick, was named to the Senate after his fathers death in 1999. Chafee proved one of the most liberal Republicans in the Senate, breaking with his party on abortion and foreign policy. In the 2004 election cycle, Chafee even considered taking on President George W. Bush in the primaries.
In 2006, Chafee faced a conservative primary challenge from Cranston Mayor Steve Laffey. Chafee held on, winning by an unimpressive 53 percent to 47 percent margin, thanks in part to voters outside the Republican ranks. Democrat Sheldon Whitehouse defeated Chafee in the 2006 general election.
Chafee left the GOP in 2007 to become an independent and threw his support behind Barack Obama in February 2008. Obama repaid that support in 2010 when Chafee, still an independent, ran for governor in Rhode Island. While Obama did not back Chafee, he did not endorse the Democrat in the race, either.
He drifted left as governor, opposing school choice and charter schools and going out of his way to separate church and state, even referring to the Rhode Island State Houses Christmas tree as a holiday tree. With his popularity dropping, Chafee joined the Democrats in 2013 but scuttled his efforts to run for a second term.
Chafees political career is somewhat reminiscent of former Gov. Charlie Crist, D-Fla., entering politics as a Republican but eventually leaving the GOP to run with no party affiliation before joining the Democrats. After being caught by Marco Rubio in the U.S. Senate primary in 2010, Crist abandoned the GOP to continue his campaign with no party affiliation. Backing Obama for a second term, Crist joined the Democrats after the 2012 election. Crist ran again for governor in 2014, this time as a Democrat, but came up short against Gov. Rick Scott.
But there are major differences between Crist and Chafee. The Rhode Island politician never presented himself as a conservative, either in Warwick or winning a Senate term in his own right in 2000. Chafee also had success outside the major parties, winning the 2010 gubernatorial election even as Crist was blown out by Rubio in that same election.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or follow him on Twitter: @KevinDerbySSN
