Lincoln Chafee, the only independent Governor and former Republican Senator, will be attending the Democratic National Convention next month. As reported by WPRI, Chafee will be in Charlotte to nominate President Obama for a second term. Chafee has a complex political history, and after leaving the GOP, served as a national co-chair of Obama's re-election campaign.
Chafee, who was first introduced to politics by his father in 1964, left the Republican party in 2004, after attending his last Republican National Convention. Politico reports that while his appearance won't be a surprise, Democrats will take advantage of his independence from the two parties:
But you can bet that as a prominent ex-Republican, Democrats will be hyping Chafee’s appearance as evidence of their claims that Obama has sought to work across party lines but the GOP has taken a hard turn to the right.
Does Chafee's attendance at the DNC reflect the president's efforts to work across party lines?