Lincoln Chafee in CNN 2015 Democratic primary debate

On Corporations: I voted for Glass-Steagall, but I had just arrived in Senate

Q: You have attacked Secretary Clinton for being too close to Wall Street banks. In 1999 you voted for the very bill that made banks bigger.

CHAFEE: The Glass-Steagall was my very first vote, I'd just arrived, my dad had died in office, I was appointed to the office, it was my very first vote.

Q: Are you saying you didn't know what you were voting for?

CHAFEE: I'd just arrived at the Senate. I think we'd get some takeovers, and that was one. It was my very first vote, and it was 92-5.

Q: Well, what does that say about you that you're casting a vote for something you weren't really sure about?

CHAFEE: I think you're being a little rough. I'd just arrived at the United States Senate. I'd been mayor of my city. My dad had died. I'd been appointed by the governor. It was the first vote and it was 90-5, because it was a conference report.

Source: 2015 CNN Democratic primary debate in Las Vegas Oct 13, 2015

On Gun Control: My "F" rating from NRA means I vote for common sense

Q: You have an "F" rating from the NRA.

CHAFEE: I have a good record of voting for gun commonsense safety legislation, but the reality is, despite these tragedies that happen time and time again, when legislators step up to pass commonsense gun safety legislation, the gun lobby moves in and tells the people they're coming to take away your guns. I would bring the gun lobby in and say we've got to change this.

Source: 2015 CNN Democratic primary debate in Las Vegas Oct 13, 2015

On Homeland Security: PATRIOT Act was 99-1, including me, but reform it now

Q: You and Hillary Clinton both voted for the Patriot Act which created the NSA surveillance program. You've emphasized civil liberties, privacy during your campaign. Aren't these two things in conflict?

CHAFEE: No, that was a 99-to-1 vote for the PATRIOT Act, and it was seen as at the time modernizing our ability to do what we've always done to tap phones which always required a warrant. And I voted for that.

Q: Do you regret that vote?

CHAFEE: No, no. As long as you're getting a warrant, I believe that under the Fourth Amendment, you should be able to do surveillance, but you need a warrant. That's what the Fourth Amendment says. And in the Patriot Act, section 215 started to get broadened too far. So I would be in favor of addressing and reforming section 215 of the Patriot Act.

Q: Secretary Clinton, do you regret your vote on the Patriot Act?

CLINTON: No, I don't. I think that it was necessary to make sure that we were able after 9/11 to put in place the security that we needed.

Source: 2015 CNN Democratic primary debate in Las Vegas Oct 13, 2015

On Homeland Security: Bring home Snowden; he showed government illegalities

Q: Is Edward Snowden [the federal employee who released thousands of NSA documents] a traitor or a hero?

CHAFEE: No, I would bring him home. The courts have ruled that what he did was say the American government was acting illegally.

Q: Bring him home, no jail time?

CHAFEE: What Snowden did showed that the American government was acting illegally for the 4th Amendment. So I would bring him home.

CLINTON: He broke the laws of the US.

O'MALLEY: Snowden put a lot of Americans' lives at risk.

Source: 2015 CNN Democratic primary debate in Las Vegas Oct 13, 2015

On Jobs: Rhode Island had 2nd best job growth under my watch

As governor, I came in at the depths of the recession and we turned my state around. Rhode Island had the biggest drop of the unemployment rate over my four budgets of all but one state. It happens to be Nevada, where we're having this debate.

As we look to the future, I want to address the income inequality, close the gap between the haves and the have-nots. I want to address climate change, a real threat to our planet. And I believe in prosperity through peace. I want to end these wars.

Source: 2015 CNN Democratic primary debate in Las Vegas Oct 13, 2015

On Principles & Values: I've been a mayor, a Senator, & a Governor--with no scandals

Not only will Americans be electing a new president next year, we also will be electing a world leader. Voters should assess the candidate's experience, character and vision for the future as they make this important decision.

I'm the only one running for president that has been a mayor, a United States senator, and a governor. As mayor, I brought labor peace to my city and kept taxes down. I was reelected three times. As a senator, I earned a reputation for courageous votes against the Bush-Cheney tax cuts the favored the wealthy, against the tragedy of the Iraq war, for environmental stewardship, for protection of our civil liberties. I served on the Foreign Relations Committee and I chaired the Middle East Subcommittee for four years

I'm very proud that over my almost 30 years of public service, I have had no scandals. I've always been honest. I have the courage to take the long-term view, and I've shown good judgment. I have high ethical standards.

Source: 2015 CNN Democratic primary debate in Las Vegas Oct 13, 2015

On Principles & Values: I'm a block of granite on the issues, but not on party

Q: You've been a Democrat for little more than two years. Why should voters trust you won't change again?

CHAFEE: You're looking at a block of granite when it comes to the issues. I have not changed on the issues. I was a liberal Republican, then an independent, and now I'm a Democrat. But I have not changed on the issues. Whether it's the environment, a woman's right to choose, gay marriage, fiscal responsibility, aversion to foreign entanglements, using government to help the less fortunate.

Source: 2015 CNN Democratic primary debate in Las Vegas Oct 13, 2015

On Tax Reform: Repeal Bush tax cuts that favor wealthy

Let me talk about income inequality. We've had a lot of talk, but no one is saying how we're going to fix it. It started with the Bush tax cuts that favored the wealthy. So let's go back to the tax code. 0.6 percent of Americans are at the top echelon. That's less than 1 percent. But they generate 30 percent of the revenue. And they're doing fine. I'm saying let's have another tier and put that back into the tax bracket. And that will generate $42 billion. And then we can help the middle class. Source: 2015 CNN Democratic primary debate in Las Vegas Oct 13, 2015

On War & Peace: There was no real evidence of WMDs in Iraq before invasion

CHAFEE: If you're looking ahead, and you're looking at someone who made that poor decision in 2002 to go into Iraq when there was no real evidence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, I know because I did my homework, and, so, that's an indication of how someone will perform in the future. And that's what's important.

Q: He's questioning your judgment.

CLINTON: I recall very well being on a debate stage about 25 times with then Senator Obama, debating this very issue. After the election, he asked me to become Secretary of State. He valued my judgment, and I spent a lot of time with him in the Situation Room.

Source: 2015 CNN Democratic primary debate in Las Vegas Oct 13, 2015

On War & Peace: Iran nuclear deal

WEBB: The third [strategic failing of recent administrations] was the recent deal allowing Iran to move forward and eventually acquire a nuclear weapon.

CHAFEE: I have to answer one thing that Senator Webb said about the Iran deal. He said that because of the Iran deal, Russia came in. That's not true, Senator Webb. I respect your foreign policy chops. But Russia is aligned with Iran and with Assad and the Alawite Shias in Syria. So that Iran deal did not allow Russia to come in.

WEBB: I believe that the signal that we sent to the region when the Iran nuclear deal was concluded was that we are accepting Iran's greater position on this very important balance of power, among our greatest ally Israel, and I think it encouraged the acts that we've seen in the past several weeks.

Source: 2015 CNN Democratic primary debate in Las Vegas Oct 13, 2015

On War & Peace: American credibility suffered because of Iraqi WMD lies

We have to repair American credibility after we told the world that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction, which he didn't. So there's an issue of American credibility out there. We have repair work to be done. I think we need someone that has the best in ethical standards as our next president. Source: 2015 CNN Democratic primary debate in Las Vegas Oct 13, 2015

On War & Peace: We need a new paradigm to stop these Mideast wars

We've got to stop these wars. You have to have a new dynamic, a new paradigm. We just spent a half-billion dollars arming and training soldiers, the rebel soldiers in Syria. They quickly join the other side. We just bombed a hospital. We've had drone strikes that hit civilian weddings. So I would change how we--our approach to the Middle East. We need a new paradigm in the Middle East. Source: 2015 CNN Democratic primary debate in Las Vegas Oct 13, 2015

On War & Peace: I never believed Saddam had WMDs

What I'm most proud of is my judgment, particularly in the Iraq war vote. There was a lot of political pressure, public pressure. But I did my homework and I did not believe that the evidence was there that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction. And we live now with the consequences. I'm running for president to end the wars. I want to be the peacemaker. I am a proven peacemaker. Source: 2015 CNN Democratic primary debate in Las Vegas Oct 13, 2015

The above quotations are from CNN Democratic primary debate Five candidates in Las Vegas, October 13, 2015. Click here for main summary page. Click here for a profile of Lincoln Chafee. Click here for Lincoln Chafee on all issues.
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Page last updated: Dec 07, 2018