Lincoln Chafee
| Lincoln Chafee | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
| U.S. Senator from Rhode Island From: November 2, 1999 – January 4, 2007 | |||
| Predecessor | John Chafee | ||
| Successor | Sheldon Whitehouse | ||
| Information | |||
| Party | Independent | ||
| Spouse(s) | Stephanie Chafee | ||
| Religion | Episcopalian | ||
Lincoln Davenport Chafee (born March 26, 1953) was a liberal RINO Senator from the state of Rhode Island (1999-2007). Chafee was appointed to the United States Senate in 1999 upon the death of his father, Senator John Chafee, and was elected to a full six-year term in 2000. Although he was a member of the Republican Party, Chafee recently switched his political affiliation to Independent. After winning a fierce Republican primary battle against conservative Mayor, Steven Laffey, Chafee lost his re-election bid in 2006 to Democrat, Sheldon Whitehouse, by a narrow margin. Chafee began serving as a visiting fellow at Brown University’s Watson Institute for International Studies in January 2007.[1] Chafee is an Independent candidate for Governor of Rhode Island in the 2010 election.
Political views
Before his defeat in his race to keep his senate seat, Chafee had a very liberal voting record and fell in line with the Democratic Party position on very many issues. Chafee strongly supports abortion. In May 2005, Chafee's senatorial reelection bid was endorsed by the traditionally Democratic-supporting NARAL Pro-Choice America.
In 2003 he was one of only three Republican Senators to oppose the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act. He was also the only Republican Senator to vote against President George W. Bush's Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito. While in the Senate, Chafee was the only Republican senator to have expressed support for same sex "marriage". When asked if he would support giving the death penalty to al Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden, his response was, "Rhode Island executed an innocent man, in the 18th century, and I'm against the death penalty." He has a record of being a tax and spend liberal. Chafee opposes eliminating the death tax and voted against both the tax cut bills of 2001 and 2003.
He was also the only Republican in the Senate to have voted against authorization of the use of force in Iraq. In the 2004 Presidential Election, he wrote-in former President George H.W. Bush instead of voting for the Republican candidate George W. Bush, and in 2008 endorsed Democrat candidate Barack Obama. There are some issues where Chafee is considered to be more conservative. He has expressed support for privatizing social security and has repeadetly voted for the U.S. Patriot act. Chafee is also a supporter of free trade.
External links
- 15 Facts about Lincoln Chafee by U.S. News & World Report
- 2006 Rhode Island Senate Candidate List from VIS
