Primarily, the concern is that Kaine is about as far-from progressive as anyone could imagine. Virginia's top state-based blog, "Raising Kaine" helped elect Kaine Governor. Today, here's what they write about him, in a post titled, "Won't Get Kained Again":
Three years into the Kaine Administration, Virginia Progressives stand aghast at what it has become. From his repeal of the estate tax to his abandoned plan for universal Pre-K, to his opposition to embryonic stem cells, from his failed transportation plans to cozy relationship to Dominion Power and his reprehensible support of the Wise Coal Plant, the Kaine administration has fulfilled our every early fear and never failed to disappoint progressive Virginia.
Wow. I mean, I don't want anything to do with Kaine. Nothing. I hope he isn't really considered on the ticket, and his name is being thrown out there to "feed the beast" of the media for another wek or so. Because someone who opposed stem cell research, supports the construction of coal plants, and apparently has no record of success on any public policy issue should not be our VP.
With a mindset that Kaine is little more than a 21st century Joe Lieberman, I decided to go back and watch his speech at the Texas Democratic Party Convention in early June. After watching it, I came away thinking one predominant thing:
Tim Kaine is a perfect stump candidate for Vice President. Here's why:
He perfectly compliments the stateman-like persona of Obama's public speaking without even drawing a real comparison. He's young, exciting, and enthusiastic. He doesn't mind yelling -- but does so in a way that really fired me up. And while he's great on message, his oratory skills leave a lot to be desired. His repetitions were rather drawn out and forced, so while I liked what he was saying, I wasn't impressed with how he was speaking -- instead, I just felt fired up. Which is what you want from a stump candidate for Vice President -- especially a plain-spoken one that can go into the Appalachia country where Clinton outperformed Obama.
"Andando Con La Gente!" For about a minute (go to the 2:45 mark of the video) Kaine slips into perfect Spanish. It sounds authentic (re: not forced), he's comfortable in the language, and he weaves into it seamlessly. A stump candidate that can call up Spanish phrases at a moment's notice is impressive.
He speaks passionately about the importance of down-ballot races. Everyone thinks, "Kaine on the ticket helps Obama in Virginia." That may be true, but the more important piece is that Virginia on the ticket helps Obama in other conservative states. The Virginia story (Mark Warner, Kaine, and Jim Webb) is incredibly encouraging for red-staters like Texas, Montana, Idaho, etc.
As a stump candidate for Vice President, Kaine would be expected to be a huge partisan -- but he can avoid his bad history on policy issues (he'll just be repeating Obama's, and unfortunately no one ever scrutinizes the Vice Presidential candidates that much) and just talk about winning down-ballot races. Then, every speech he gives in Obama's "50-state strategy" becomes a speech where he shows how passionate he is about down-ballot races. Obama appears in swing states, Kaine in likely McCain states, but either way, an audience feels good when they leave
Remember -- I started watching this video not liking Kaine. I already didn't like him because he (and his staff) were surprisingly and unnecessarily pushy backstage at the TDP convention (where I was volunteering). After reading about his policies, I liked him even less. Suffice to say, I'm really, really unexcited about any prospects of him as Vice President.
But if the only measuring stick is, "how good of a stump candidate for Vice President" would Kaine be, I'd have to say excellent. He can speak in Spanish, delivers red-meat to the base without becoming too partisan or overshadowing Obama, and can honestly tell a real-life story of flipping conservative states red-to-blue.
He's one of the worst choices for anyone who cares about policy, but is a damn good choice for anyone who only cares about politics.
Given how well he compliments Obama on the campaign trail, progressive Democrats are going to have to work extra hard if we don't want Kaine and his long list of terrible, terrible policies as a Vice Presidential candidate.
