Lincoln Chafee's Revanchist Run for the White House

During an appearance  on CNN's State of the Nation, former Senator and Governor Lincoln Chafee (R, I, D-RI) launched himself into the fight for the Democrat nomination to deny former First Lady/ Senator/ Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (D-AR, NY) a simple coronation. It seems that former Governor Charlie Crist (R, I, D-FL) was unwilling to play the part of a foil.  It should be noted that
 Chafee somewhat walked back his announcement during the show, noting that he only opened an exploratory committee, but that is merely  a pro forma legal nicety.

Cynical political animals wonder what propels a backbench politico into a Sissiphian contest with a prominent and well funded candidate.  Unlike former Senator Jim Webb (R, D-VA), Chafee is not hawking a current book to bolster his contender image.  Nor is Chafee likely to secure a spot as a Hillary 2016 Drug Czar.   Chafee's quixotic campaign seems to be driven by revanchism over Iraq.



While Senator Webb gained some notoriety during his time on Capitol Hill for sponsoring a bill to cut off funding for the War in Iraq, then Senator Lincoln Chafee voted against it as a Republican in 2002; whereas Senator Hillary Clinton voted for the war.

 Progressives may pine for Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) to throw her headdress into the ring, the Bay State junior Senator has declined to do so.  That leaves Senator Bernie Sanders (D-VT) potentially holding the progressive standard. But the 73 year old socialist Senator is not seen as a serious contender to quash the coronation.

So Lincoln Chafe's revaunchist run may have him serve as the  anti-war challenger to force Hillary to run to the left before she pivots to the center for the general election. It is questionable an anti-war animus will be a uniting force among Democrat voters, particularly if President Obama feels compelled to send combat troops to a trouble zone before the July 2016 Philadelphia convention.

Despite the slim chances that Chafee has of securing the nomination, at least his inchoate campaign is more substantive that the Hillary 2016 listening tour road trip to Iowa in the "Scooby" Mystery Machine.