Former Republican Lincoln Chafee Enters 2016 Presidential Race As A Democrat

Lincoln Chafee, who held office as a Republican senator and served as a governor as an independent, has announced his candidacy for president in 2016, CNN reported. He made his announcement on Wednesday in a speech at the George Mason Center for Politics and Foreign Relations in Arlington, Virginia, as reported Fox News. Chafee said about his bid for the White House in 2016:

“I enjoy challenges and certainly we have many facing America. Today, I am formally entering the race for the Democratic nomination for president,”

Some though do not see what qualifications Chafee has to run for the highest office in the United States. Former political aide to Chafee, Mike Trainor, said about his chances in a national election,

“He’s not done anything other than posture on some issues… The question he’s going to have to answer is what credible indications can he give that he is at all ready to run a national campaign.”

Chafee is running on the Iraq War, a war that he voted against when he was a senator. As a Republican, he was the only one to vote against the Iraq War. Hillary Clinton though voted for the war in 2003. Chafee said in an interview with CNN that he feels Clinton’s vote for the Iraq War should disqualify her from the presidency, as reported by the Inquisitr. Chafee said about the his thoughts on the Iraq War,

“Considering the premise for invading Iraq was based on falsehoods and considering the ramifications we live with now from that mistake, I would argue that anybody who voted for the Iraq War should not be president and certainly should not be leading the Democratic Party,”

Chafee has made other comments on international issues, yet not as pressing as the conflicts the United States might be involved in. Chafee has also suggested that the United States take up the metric system, saying:

“Earlier I said, ‘Let’s be bold.’ Here’s a bold embrace of internationalism, let’s join the rest of the world and go metric. I happened to live in Canada as they completed the process. Believe me it is easy. It doesn’t take before thirty-four degrees is hot. Only Myanmar, Liberia and the United States aren’t metric and it will help our economy!”

Clinton is currently the frontrunner, and Chafee has a tough campaign ahead, receiving less than one percent in a poll taken in May. Chafee’s next trip will be to New Hampshire to begin the next phase of his campaign for the White House in 2016.

[Photo credit: Flickr]