On The Issues: Lincoln Chafee

Politics are confusing.

With a playing field this big, it’s hard to know where each of the 2016 presidential candidates stands on the issues.

But the choices these rich old people make directly impact the country we live in, so it’s important to be informed about who you’ll vote for when the election rolls around in November of 2016.

That’s where we come in.

No frills, no bias and no bullshit. Just the issues and where each candidate stands.

Lincoln Chafee’s Platform

EXPERIENCE: Former mayor of Warwick City, Rhode Island; former Senator for Rhode Island; former governor of Rhode Island

ECONOMY
-Supports raising the minimum wage
-Wants to lower tax rates and end deductions
-Wants to limit the estate tax
-Strongly supports the Trans-Pacific Partnership treaty

GOVERNMENT SIZE
-Supports limited government surveillance but wants to enforce strong limits
-Believes in federal government role in education (No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 worth trying but needs to be fixed)

OBAMACARE
-Strong supporter of Obamacare
-Wants to push towards universal health insurance coverage

FOREIGN POLICY
-Only Republican Senator to vote against the Iraq War
-Supports forging stronger alliances (including with Russia) to deal with threats
-Opposes open-ended military action
-Advocates containment strategy, like the Gulf War
-Supports two-state solution for Israel and Palestine
-Supports normalization of relations with Cuba

IMMIGRATION
-Wants to offer path to citizenship for illegal immigrants
-Pushed for in-state tuition
-Believes the federal government, not state, should enforce immigration laws

SOCIAL ISSUES
-Believes abortion rights and access should be left open to women

SAME-SEX MARRIAGE
-As a Republican Senator, Chafee advocated leaving same-sex marriage to the states but did support legalization
-Since his transition to the Democrats, he supports full national legalization and legalized it in Rhode Island as governor

CLIMATE CHANGE
-Blocked efforts to expand oil drilling in wildlife refuges
-Supports reductions in air pollution from industry
-No stance on the Keystone XL Pipeline but believes in expanded energy infrastructure that is mindful of the environment

GUN RIGHTS
-Supports some gun control laws

MARIJUANA
-Supports decriminalization of small amounts
-Wants to wait and see how Colorado progresses with legalization

CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM
-No recent statements but does support more rehabilitation efforts
-Shows a willingness to seek alternatives to the War on Drugs

To read up on other presidential hopefuls’  stances on the issues, click here.

Featured photo courtesy of: govexec 

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