If you haven’t noticed, Lincoln Chafee was running for president. You may have also noticed that on Friday morning, he officially dropped out of the race. His announcement marks the end of his four and a half month campaign, despite never polling above 2 percent nationally.

While I do not mean to belittle Lincoln Chafee–a distinguished politician who has been a Mayor, Governor, and Senator for the state of Rhode Island–nearly all of the evidence and discussion about his presidential bid has led to everyone asking why he ran in the first place. During his career, Chafee was a vocal opponent to the Iraq War and was the only Republican in the Senate to vote against the use of force in the Iraq War (Chafee later switched to the Democratic Party in May 2013). But despite his record, his presidential campaign has been arguably the most underwhelming part of the 2016 primary race.

While Chafee’s campaign may have felt like it was over before it started, he officially  fell into obscurity during the Democratic debate. In the debate, Chafee launched a thinly veiled jab at Hillary Clinton, saying that the United States need to restore American credibility with the world and that the next president needs the best ethical standards. His affront was relatively bold–especially considering no one else on the stage was that willing to confront her–but when moderator Anderson Cooper asked if Clinton wanted to respond, she merely said “no.” That was that. No one pushed back; no one was outraged that Hillary Clinton didn’t have to answer a nearly direct challenge from another candidate.

When a longshot candidate announces his campaign to be president, many wonder if he is in the race to talk about the issues and force the other candidates to do so as well rather than actually get elected. But after the first Democratic debate, Lincoln Chafee couldn’t even do that much.

By most accounts, Chafee had a weak debate performance even if you don’t factor in his inability to engage Hillary Clinton. But it didn’t end there; in an interview with Wolf Blitzer on CNN the next day Blitzer all but asked him to end his campaign right then and there.

Chafee’s campaign officially began back in June, and since then he has largely failed to generate attention. Foreign policy was one of his primary focal points, using the phrase “Prosperity Through Peace” as a major campaign tagline. He presented himself as an alternative to the more hawkish Republican party and Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton. Arguably the highlight of his announcement speech was a call for the United States to switch to the metric system. While that might actually not be the worst idea, having it as a pillar of your presidential platform is questionable. I don’t know about you, but when someone says we need to change our measurement system, I don’t reach for my wallet to donate to their campaign.

Chafee’s polling remained steady since the beginning of his campaign, fluctuating between 0 and 2 percent. Yes–there have been several polls in which none of the respondents said that they would vote for Lincoln Chafee. At one point, Conan O’Brian took it upon himself to simply try and get Chafee up to 1 percent.

Money has also been a significant problem for Chafee. NPR recently took a look at all of Chafee’s major campaign donors–there are 10 of them. In total, he raised about $15,000. In fairness to Chafee, he did raise nearly $4,000 from donors whose names do not need to be disclosed because they gave less than $200 each, but still. For some comparison, Bernie Sanders has raised over $41 million from over 65,000 donors.

From the start of his campaign, it has been hard for anyone to really understand why Chafee was running in the first place. While he focused largely on his anti-war views, he was not unique in that respect. Bernie Sanders also opposed the war in Iraq and generally does not support the use of force abroad unless it is absolutely necessary. Chafee also trumpeted his integrity. He has often said, “I am very proud that over my almost 30 years of public service I have had no scandals.” While integrity is certainly something that people should look for in a candidate, it is not the only thing. Most people want someone they can trust, but who also has good ideas and a strong vision for the future–a combination that Lincoln Chafee never quite seemed to communicate.

Kevin Rizzo

Kevin Rizzo is the Crime in America Editor at Law Street Media. An Ohio Native, the George Washington University graduate is a founding member of the company. Contact Kevin at krizzo@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Making Sense of Lincoln Chafee’s Bizarre Campaign appeared first on Law Street.

Last night was a big evening for “Saturday Night Live.” Tracy Morgan came back to host for the first time since he was in a serious car accident last summer. But even that celebration was overshadowed by another reappearance–Larry David, a former cast member writer for SNL. David played presidential hopeful and Independent Senator Bernie Sanders, showcasing a resemblance that has had many clamoring for David to play Sanders since he started making waves in the Democratic polls.

David was joined by Kate McKinnon, reprising her role as Hillary Clinton. Lincoln Chaffee was played by Kyle Mooney, Taran Killam was Martin O’Malley, and Jon Rudnitsky was the debate moderator, Anderson Cooper. Alec Baldwin, an SNL regular, also showed up to play Jim Webb.

Showing that the best comedy comes from real life, SNL used some of the actual lines from the Democratic debate, including when Sanders informed Clinton that everyone was tired of hearing about her “damn emails.” SNL also incorporated when Clinton decided not to respond to Chafee’s claims that her ethics could use some work with a simple “no.” Some of the satirical lines were also brilliant, including David’s tirade about Super PACs. David, as Sanders, said:

I don’t have a Super PAC, I don’t have a backpack. I carry my stuff around loose in my arms like a professor between classes. I own one pair of underwear. That’s it! Some of these billionaires, they have three, four pairs. And I don’t have a dryer! I have to put my clothes on the radiator. So who do you want as president? One of these Washington insiders, or a guy who has one pair of clean underwear that he dries on a radiator?

David’s similar features, as well as his pretty accurate Brooklyn accent, were a dead ringer for Sanders. Certainly the internet thinks so, as the clip quickly went viral.

Larry David as Bernie Sanders is the Tina Fey as Sarah Palin of this election cycle. #SNL

— Michael Calia (@Michael_Calia) October 18, 2015

 

Larry David is Bernie Sanders on #SNL. As was foretold by the seers of old.

— Matt Fowler (@TheMattFowler) October 18, 2015

As the 2016 primaries continue to (slowly) heat up, there will be a lot of fantastic satirical skits. But SNL just set a very, very high bar.

Anneliese Mahoney

Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Late Night Political Clip Win: Larry David is the Perfect Bernie Sanders appeared first on Law Street.

Last night was the first Democratic debate of the 2016 primary elections. Unlike the Republican field, which had to be split into two parts in order to accommodate the insanely large group, the Democrats have a small collection of political veterans vying for the nomination. There’s Hillary Clinton, the frontrunner; Bernie Sanders, the surprise challenger; Martin O’Malley, the other normal candidate that everyone keeps forgetting; Lincoln Chaffee, the weird metric system guy from Rhode Island; and Jim Webb, who probably exists.

In a lot of ways the Democratic debate felt a little flat, and a little too early. While there were some really great moments of legitimate and important discourse, the Democratic field is just a bit more subdued and unified on a lot of key issues than its Republican foil. But, that didn’t keep some funny, wtf, and badass moments from sticking out. In fact, here are the top five moments from last night’s Democratic debate.

Best Shot on Donald Trump: Martin O’Malley

Donald Trump, the inexplicable Republican frontrunner, received a pretty sharp jab from O’Malley, who called Trump “that carnival barker in the Republican party…”

Given the flashiness and “look-at-me” attitude that Trump has used to gain supporters, this classification isn’t that far off, and made a powerful point about his attitude toward immigrants.

Best One Word Answer: Hillary Clinton

It wasn’t surprising, but one of the biggest criticisms against Hillary Clinton to stick so far–the kerfuffle over her emails while she was Secretary of State–was a point of contention at last night’s debate. Lincoln Chaffee made a not-so-veiled reference to the email scandal, saying “I think we need somebody with the best and ethical standards as our next president. That’s how I feel.” Clinton was asked if she wanted to respond, and her answer was short, sweet, and made it clear she was tired of political grandstanding over the issue: “No.”

Second Most Uncomfortable Moment: Lincoln Chafee and Anderson Cooper

Cooper, who was by all accounts, a strong and fair moderator, went after Lincoln Chafee on his earliest Senate vote–the Glass-Steagall Act. Chafee gave a weird answer: it was his first vote after being appointed to his recently deceased father’s spot. Cooper followed up–asking if he wasn’t defending his vote because he was saying he didn’t understand what he was voting for. That led to really awkward exchange, that certainly could have been handled better by Chafee.

It also wasn’t the only moment where Chafee struggled to defend his record as a Senator–questions about his vote for the Patriot Act also seemingly tripped him up.

Most Uncomfortable Moment: Jim Webb’s Enemy

Jim Webb, who served during the Vietnam War, was asked what enemy he’s the most proud to have made. While his competition gave fun predictable answers such as Republicans and the NRA, Webb focused on his military experience, saying the enemy he’s most proud of making was “enemy soldier that threw the grenade that wounded me, but he’s not around right now to talk to.” While Webb was an incredibly impressive and heroic soldier, sans important context and with awkward delivery, the entire thing came across very strangely.

Best Moment Overall: Bernie Sanders and Clinton’s Emails

Sanders said exactly what we were all thinking the umpteenth time that Hillary’s emails came up last night: enough is enough. It’s time to talk about the real issues. And he was damn right.

Anneliese Mahoney

Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Top 5 Moments From the First Democratic Debate appeared first on Law Street.

This election season has been one of the most controversial and surprising in recent history, as many unqualified candidates with slim chances have entered the race. There’s billionaires, CEOs, brain surgeons, and former governors all battling for the nominations.  With 20 or so candidates currently in the race for the White House, there have been some bizarre and hilarious comments. From campaign ads to presidential announcements, these are the ten weirdest quotes from the presidential hopefuls so far.

10. In Bobby Jindal’s campaign ad, he tells his children that they are the first to know that he will be running for president and they are not allowed to tell their friends. He offers them a reward if they can refrain from telling their friends, saying: “Maybe if you behave you might get a chance to go back to Iowa.”

Obviously Iowa is more of a party place than I knew. IOWA! IOWA!

9. In an exclusive interview with CNN in Iowa, Hilary Clinton was asked about her response to people who don’t believe she is a trustworthy candidate. The Hillz responded: “People should and do trust me.”

But what she forgot is that people shouldn’t and don’t trust her.

 8. In his presidential announcement, Lincoln Chafee stated he was a farrier after college–which is a craftsman that puts shoes on horses. He then followed that statement by saying: “After college I worked on the horse race track for 7 years.”

Last time I checked, horse knowledge wasn’t a requirement to be president.

7. In a similar vein, during his presidential announcement, Rick Perry shared his childhood stories about his life growing up in rural Texas and his attendance at Texas A&M. He then talked about his studies in college, stating, “I got my degree in Animal Science from Texas A&M.”

America: Rick Perry is highly qualified and begging for your votes.

6.  Mr. Trump, one of the most surprising candidates of this year, finally entered the race on June 16 after weeks of speculation. While his campaign speech was poorly written, and he was likely unprepared, he stunned the American people with his absurd comments about Mexican immigrants. Following those comments, he stated that he was using his own money to run and he did not need lobbyist or PAC money saying, “I’m really rich.”

If only this were a legitimate requirement for being president, the Donald might have a chance.

5. In a campaign ad, Rick Perry stated a number of reasons why he is the best choice for president. His campaign ad strives to display Rick’s life as a public servant, showing pictures from when he served in the military and from when he was governor of Texas. He closed his campaign ad by saying, “we must do right and risk the consequences.”

Not even your custom rap-country theme song can get you out of this one, Rick.

4. In his presidential announcement, Lincoln Chafee said he had a bold, worldly idea, stating: “Let’s join the rest of the world and go metric.”

Lincoln, you have officially blown my mind…and not in a good way.

3. Once again, Mr. Perry has earned a spot on this list. His campaign ad focuses on all the positive things he has done for the people of Texas and America. However, in 2014 Rick Perry was indicted for abusing his power as governor as well as coercion of a public servant. Despite the indictment, he claims he is innocent and stated in a campaign ad, “We need a president who has done the right things.”

Does being indicted for abusing your power as governor count as “doing the right thing?”

2. One of the most recent candidates to enter the race was Chris Christie, who launched his bid for the White House two weeks ago. Christie centered his presidential announcement around his blunt and truthful personality. He stated that the current politicians in Washington are lying and stealing from the American people and this must be stopped. He stated:

“The horse is out of the barn and we gotta get it back in.”

But the real question, Mr. Christie, is who let the dogs out?

1.  Mr. Trump, of course, takes the number one spot. After his presidential announcement, he did his first interview with Bill O’Reilly. In the interview, Mr. O’Reilly asked Mr. Trump a series of questions known as the “lightning round” on the show. This round consisted of answering questions about how Mr. Trump would handle different situations as president. When asked how he would handle ISIL, he stated he would “hit them so hard your head would spin.” He then followed up that statement by saying, “There’s nobody bigger or better at the military than I am.”

Except for maybe the approximate three million people that actually serve in the military, Mr. Trump.

There you have it–those are the weirdest quotes in the presidential race so far. But with so many faces in the crowd, there are sure to be more.

Jennie Burger

Jennie Burger is a member of the University of Oklahoma Class of 2016 and a Law Street Media Fellow for the Summer of 2015. Contact Jennie at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Say What? Top Ten Weirdest Quotes from the Presidential Hopefuls So Far appeared first on Law Street.

Former Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chafee formally announced his run for the Democratic presidential bid on Wednesday, June 3. Chafee joins a few other declared Democratic presidential candidates, with Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton garnering the most support thus far at 12.8 percent and 61.2 percent respectively. Given Chafee’s relative obscurity, however, he seems to be a bit of a long shot candidate.

Chafee’s moment of glory mainly comes from his work with Obama. Obama helped Chafee win the governorship in 2010 and then Chafee became one of Obama’s strongest supporters during his reelection campaign in 2012. Chafee seems to be mimicking some of Obama’s actions in the Democratic primary, especially Obama’s tactic of attacking the Iraq War vote to defeat Clinton in the 2008 race. Obama opposed the Iraq war from the beginning and in the 2008 Democratic presidential race, he persistently attacked Clinton for her decisions regarding the Iraq war. This attack point helped Obama defeat Clinton, and Chafee appears to be capitalizing on the same thing. He has launched his campaign with a focus on his dissenting vote in the Senate regarding the Iraq War in 2002. Chafee is using this to separate himself from Clinton, which is not an awful tactic considering that it’s a weak spot for the Democratic frontrunner.

In this aspect, Chafee joins O’Malley in being the only other Democratic presidential candidate to play a little dirty instead of focusing on the issues and policy reforms. Which, considering neither Clinton nor Sanders has resorted to the same kind of tactics, could backfire for Chafee immediately.

According to Chafee’s website, his four main platform points are an aversion to foreign entanglements, building a strong middle class, improving environmental stewardship, and the protection of personal liberties. Chafee’s past is actually most interesting aspect of his presidential bid–he entered politics as a Republican and then became an independent until he joined the Democratic Party in 2013. But Chafee is not at all worried with how his party-switching history will affect his popularity in the primary. In fact, his response to this concern was:

I have not changed. My old liberal Republican stand on the issues does line up with the Democratic Party—women’s reproductive freedoms, support for working families. I have a 30-year record.

Another notable aspect of Chafee’s presidential bid is his insistence on switching the United States to the metric system. His reasoning for doing so is to become “an internationalist country.” He believes that by switching to the metric system, among other moves, the United States will be giving a symbolic message to the rest of the world that it is ready to integrate into the world system instead of taking a unilateral approach to foreign policy.

Chafee’s run is undoubtably a long shot. But the same buzz surrounded Bernie Sanders when he first announced, and he is the only Democratic candidate who has threatened Clinton’s standing, even if only marginally so. Chafee seems focused on his role as the underdog and feels America has a particularly soft spot for that kind of status. But the problem is that both O’Malley and to a lesser extend, Sanders, have been running on a similar platform. So the Democratic presidential bid is turning into a contest between the established Clinton dynasty, a progressive-socialist independent Sanders, little known O’Malley, and now Chafee, the new underdog.

Sarina Neote

Sarina Neote is a member of the American University Class of 2017. Contact Sarina at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

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