I'm still voting for her-- but don't expect me to be enthused with this VP pick

[Sylvarose]

Sorry...I think once again this is a play it safe move and snubbing the liberal base. She had options. Again, don't get me wrong, I'm still voting for her, but I'm not going to be posting happy flappy posts about how excited I am about this ticket.

Hillary made her pick. She wants me to get excited about it...her campaign's got a lot of work to do.

SR

[Squinch]

1. .

[fun n serious]

2. I'm excited.

He's a good man. Very good man.

[stopbush]

3. Why don't you read up on Kaine? He has done a lot of

exceptional work over the years.

He's a great choice.

[timlot]

7. I really wish folk would read up on him too.

If experience and resume stand for anything. He is more than qualified for the position.

[Sylvarose]

16. Like I said

The campaign has work to do. I'll be sure to read up on him and to pay close attention to his speech at the DNC.

Again, my vote has not changed, but my enthusiasm has definitely taken a hit and I know I'm not the only one.

[stopbush]

27. Er, I think the campaign just did the work.

[nolabear]

28. I've been doing that. I like what I'm reading!

And I wanted Elizabeth Warren. But this is a fine unifying step.

[NBachers]

66. Yup- I've changed my mind, and now I really like Tim Kaine and think he was a great choice.

[k8conant]

77. Unifying?

I don't understand how.

[pkdu]

79. With "Still Sanders" in your tagline....its not surprising you dont understand. nt

[onehandle]

4. Whatever. nt

[ismnotwasm]

5. Ok.

[Big Blue Marble]

6. I am excited!

They have great chemistry. Just wait until next week, you may feel better.

[MBS]

14. " " " " " n/t

[leftofcool]

8. You really should read his resume.

[MBS]

12. + 1000 n/t

[obamanut2012]

32. And Anne Holton's

She will be a great campaigner, too.

[MoonRiver]

9. I doubt she is terribly concerned.

But your concern is noted.

[Joe the Revelator]

10. Tim Kaine is going to impress you

Not with his speeches or his looks or whatever, but with his actions and his convictions, which I think you are going to find to me much more liberal than you believe based on the current talking points.

[one_voice]

13. I don't want to make a mistake here..

but weren't you a Bernie person? Not real thrilled with Hillary?

If so, does this pick make you a little more comfortable with Hillary?

[Joe the Revelator]

20. Because I worked for Tim Kaine, I've been around Tim Kaine, I've been following his career for 20

years. When I wanted inspiration trying to turn VA Blue in the aughts, I didn't turn to Mark Warner, he is a great man and politician, but no liberal, I turned to Tim Kaine. The man was the most liberal local politician i could find in my state in 2001.

[Sylvarose]

24. Thank you

That's reassuring. I'm sure I'll be reading about him a lot in the next few days and will of course be watching for his speech next week.

[one_voice]

25. Thanks for the insight.

I'm not particularly thrilled with the pick but I'm going to give him a chance.

A lot of people weren't thrilled with Biden and look how well that turned out. Like peanut butter and jelly!

[Sylvarose]

34. That's a little funny to me :)

I was somebody who was on the Biden train from the begining. I loved Joe from the get go. Still do.

[pnwmom]

56. You didn't care about how Biden mishandled the Anita Hill hearings? n/t

[Sylvarose]

61. That was bothersome...I won't lie

...but in truth I didn't remember him from those hearings as much as I did Orrin Hatch. I was really young back then.

[auntpurl]

89. That's a perfect analogy right there.

There are things I find "bothersome" about Senator Kaine too. His past iffy-ness on abortion and gay rights. But he's evolving, as human beings do (I've never understood why that was a bad word), and he strikes me as a fundamentally decent person who wants to do the right thing. Comparing that to the hateful thugs on the other side, I think we could use as much of that as possible on our ticket, along with Hillary who I also believe is a dedicated public servant who wants to improve people's lives. I am looking forward to learning more about him.

[TDale313]

57. Actually very good to hear.

Thanks for this. It does make me feel more comfortable with the choice.

[Sylvarose]

23. I was a Bernie supporter but had no problem switching to Hillary

I still don't. Hillary may not have everything I want in a candidate position wise but she's smart, experienced, one hell of a political fighter, and extremely capable of being Predsident. Plus she will always be closer to my political leanings than anyone on the right.

Having said that, doesn't mean I have to pretend to be enthused about something I'm not.

[one_voice]

26. Good points..

I was originally an O'Malley supporter. But always said I'd vote for the eventual nominee.

[CentralMass]

63. He seems like a a good man and Democrat but also is

Pro: TPP/free trade, Big Coal, fracking, off shore drilling , bank deregulation, and arguably anti-union with with support of right to work policies.

So I guess there are democrats that might find these stances appealing.not in my zip code, but it's possible.

[Joe the Revelator]

65. He's already on record saying that he will line himself with HRC and the platform when it comes to

TPP. I have no idea what you are talking about when you say he is antiunion.

[CentralMass]

69. That would be due to his support of Virginia's Right To Work policies.

Clearly he wasn't chosen to pull in Bernie Sanders supporters. It would seem he would shore up support in the mid-Atlantic states and draw in Republicans that can't stomach Trump.

[auntpurl]

90. Mid-Atlantic, Rust Belt, and the South.

A lot of people don't realise how southern parts of Virginia still are. He won the governorship and the Senate race there. He knows how to talk to a lot of different kinds of people and be successful. That can only be a good thing.

[uponit7771]

11. He's a strong progressive... I don't expect some to like him. 😂

[Doctor Jack]

15. Not the perfect progressive but pretty good none the less

Nothing in his views or record are overly concerning to me. We aren't 100% aligned but then again, I'm not sure any elected democratic is "perfect" for me. I love Obama and Biden but even they don't share 100% of my views. Such is the nature of a democracy.

[uponit7771]

18. Right ...he's soldier enough

[MyNameGoesHere]

17. He beat George "macaca" Allen that's a good reason

To like Kaine. Hell that had me whopping and hollering when it happened.
He also shoved it to turd blossoms $ 700k he spent in Virginia. That's always nice.

[yardwork]

19. I don't feel snubbed. I like this choice. We have to win.

[MohRokTah]

21. Your concern concerning this concern is concerning. eom

[rateyes]

31. How many times are you gonna use that stupid line?

It's not funny.

[MohRokTah]

37. That's concerning. eom

[NBachers]

67. Time to retire that one.

[MohRokTah]

70. That's concerning. eom

[NBachers]

72. That's really clever. It was really clever every time you used it. It will be really clever the

next time you use it. Do it many more times!

[MohRokTah]

73. Doesn't concern me.

[B Calm]

22. My feelings too!

[Her Sister]

29. I am enthused, ready & raring to go! Smart choice!

Two adults that are smart ~and ready for day 1!

[obamanut2012]

30. It's good to be concerned

[hamsterjill]

39. I have some of the same disappointments.

I think it would have been exciting to have a ticket that really, really broke tradition. I don't feel this was the year to be safe.

That said, I'll give Kaine a chance and try to have an open mind.

[KMOD]

40. She always said she wanted someone who

was ready, day one.

Tim Kaine fits the bill.

He's 58. That's hardly old.

[Glitterati]

43. And Warren, Castro, Booker, Perez all wouldn't?

Puuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuulease!

Any ONE of those would have been a better pick.

[DemonGoddess]

91. She always said that her pick was being based

on who was ready to GOVERN from day 1 WITH her. That's experience that Tim Kaine has in spades, that the other prospects did not.

[GulfCoast66]

45. Well

As a pasty old white guy, perhaps I should alert on you for smearing a fellow DU'er...

Just kidding of course. I do not alert. But pasty white guys are still by far the largest male demographic in this country. And not all Democratic Party voters, or sometime Democratic party voters, are comfortable with being called socialist. In fact most are not and will reject the term.

And are you saying that pasty white guys, no matter their resume, history and morals should be rejected because the are, well, pasty white guys?

Please expound on your thoughts. I am curious.

PS. I would have been totally fine with Warren, but think it would have made winning the GE harder, if not impossible. Sanders as VP would insure a loss. And I like him.

[Glitterati]

46. Alert away

if that's the only way you know how to deal with someone who disagrees with you.

I think I made myself abundantly clear.

[GulfCoast66]

54. I am pretty sure that my post made it clear

I do not alert.

And I notice you did not respond to a single point I made.

The only objections you made to her choice was his race, age and gender. If you want me to copy and paste your entire post I will, but I think that would be rather pedantic.


So is there anything about her selection besides his race, age and gender that bothers you?

[StevieM]

47. I think she picked the person she wanted to govern with. And she hasn't pulled up any ladders

just because she didn't pick a Latino.

And I say this as someone who desperately wanted her to pick Xavier Becerra.

[Grey Lemercier]

59. "This pick was a chickenshit move" ....... is not this a bit extreme??

Kaine is a superb pick, me will help with Virginia, with men (yes they do vote), and also with moderates like me. I am thrilled with it.

[MichiganVote]

35. In over 230 years, 9 VP's have taken over the office of the presidency

upon the death or removal of the president. 4 of the 9 have been due to presidential assassinations. I don't know that anyone has been "enthused" about the presidential replacement. In one week only, there have been several calls from US politicians to murder Hillary Clinton. Not to mention the crazies out there who are daily decimating people in other countries as well as our own.

With as many as 4 upcoming SC nominees, terrorism and what all, please tell me you are thinking beyond the economy, beyond right to life issues or beyond gun rights.

We all must have a VP who has executive experience, foreign service and is an enthusiastic supporter of the Democratic nominee. We have some grave national and foreign problems that one liberal voice alone cannot handle. We are not living in a single issue world.

Get the fuck over it.

[Sylvarose]

38. Ok I don't know what your gender is...

...but don't ever friggin tell me to put reproductive rights to the back burner. A woman's right to have fundamental control over her own body is something I do not take lightly.

I'm not necessarily a single issue voter, but you'd better be a damed fucking impressive all around candidate for me to vote for you if you are at all against a woman having agency over her own body.

I know Hillary supports a woman's reproductive rights. Tim Kaine Seems to have a mixed bag on his stance but I haven't yet read he's advocated over turning Roe V Wade.

I don't know what other assumptions you care to make about me but you can "fucking get over it."

[hamsterjill]

41. +1000!!!!!!

n/t

[MichiganVote]

44. So get some education,

Tim Kaine is a practicing Catholic. As such, he is personally opposed to abortion. While he is reported to be committed to the broader tenets of Roe v Wade, including a woman's right to choose, he supports restrictions on certain types of abortion, specifically parental consent laws and "informed consent" practices.

None of these have been supported by the Supreme Court. Its possible, that in unlikely scenario that he became prez., he could appoint SC justices who follow his point of view. However, the more likely scenario with the T presidency, all SC appointments would be completely anti-Roe v. Wade.

My gender and that of anyone else is completely immaterial to the issue of Tim Kaine as VP.

[Sylvarose]

48. Informed consent laws

....oh so what are you telling me he is one of those legislatures who think women aren't smart enough to make their own decisions? That they need to wait 24 or 48 hours to think about it? Or you know, that they need to the invasive ultrasound prior to an abortion (whether they want/need it or not). That's not inspiring any confidence.

Yes, a Trump Presidency would be truly horrific for women's rights. But I already stated I wasn't voting for him.

You were the one that brought insulting language and made personal assumptions about me.

But that's all right. It's gotten me to jumpstart my reading on Tim Kaine early and his stance on reproductive rights is a mixed bag. Hope Hillary is ready to address that because I guarantee that's going to an issue for some. It may not stop them from voting for her but if she wants them to have her back she better be guaranteeing her VP is in line on this issue.

[farmboy]

52. Please tell me Kaine hasn't supported mandatory ultrasounds before a legal abortion? Say it ain't so

Is that what you are suggesting in your post?

[Sylvarose]

58. Not that I've read

One article from slate seemed to try and tie his informed consent laws to Virginia's ultrasound law but it wasn't clear to me how so I'm not going to lay that at his feet. The title of the article is "By Picking Anti-Abortion Tim Kaine, Hillary Is Testing Feminists' Loyalty". I'm not sure it's the most objective.

Other articles are painting him more of a mixed bag.

[pnwmom]

53. NARAL and Planned Parenthood give him top ratings, and they know what his record is.

He has personal beliefs as a Catholic that he believes should remain personal. He has explicitly said that he thinks the government should stay out of these decisions, and that's how he's voted.



http://www.ontheissues.org/Senate/Tim_Kaine.htm#Civil_Rights

I strongly support the right of women to make their own health and reproductive decisions and, for that reason, will oppose efforts to weaken or subvert the basic holding of Roe v. Wade. We all share the goal of reducing unwanted pregnancies and abortions. The right way to do this is through education and access to health care and contraception rather than criminalizing women's reproductive decisions.

[Sylvarose]

62. Thank you for posting that

That is extremely helpful.

[B Calm]

83. and NORML gives him an F.

[pnwmom]

85. Not a deal breaker. He'll be VP, not head of the FDA. n/t

[B Calm]

86. Marijuana reform is now on the Democratic platform.

http://www.marijuana.com/blog/news/2016/06/democrats-approve-marijuana-platform-plank/

[pnwmom]

87. He's not going to be imposing his views on Hillary or trying to change the platform.

He's going to be the VP, doing what she asks him to do. And since she's agreed to the platform, I don't see the problem.

[StevieM]

55. I think the poster was trying to say that we need to hold the Supreme Court.

That will guarantee reproductive rights.

I made this same complaint about Tim Kaine eight years ago when Obama was considering Kaine. I said that the most important thing about a VP is that they become president if the president dies. And I was worried that he wouldn't support abortion rights.

In retrospect I was wrong. Tim Kaine would pick justices like the ones that Bill Clinton and Barack Obama did, just like Hillary will.

[StevieM]

49. I don't think it is a good idea to tell people to "get the f*** over it." I agree that there is no

reason to see Tim Kaine as a failed pick. Let's give him a chance.

I am thinking there will be three Supreme Court openings. Scalia's seat, Ginsberg's and Breyer's. I can't see Kennedy retiring until a Republican is in office, unless the Dems hold the White House super long-term, which hopefully they will.

[Silver_Witch]

60. you seem super nice....

especially to all us silly woman who care about women's issues. hugs!

[Sylvarose]

64. LOL

I should remember to use that response.

[Sylvarose]

36. As a Hoosier...I will say one thing

Tim Kaine is definitely going to be better than Pence. (Barf) The only positive about the Trump ticket is Pence isn't running for reelection as gov. anymore.

[Glitterati]

42. I want to vote FOR something, not against

I'm so tired of holding my nose at the polls!

[pnwmom]

50. Hillary is a great candidate and so is Tim Kaine. If you're tired, stop holding your nose.

You'll breathe better.

[Glitterati]

51. Yeah, that'll win votes

How the heck did you get OFF my ignore list?

[Onyrleft]

75. Ugh yeah

But the lesser of two evils is less evil and the greater evil is Trump this year. The candidate of our party has always been to the right of me. If I had gotten my way in 2008 we would have been taken out by a sex scandal so there's that.

[DemonGoddess]

92. I cannot tell you how PLEASED I was that Pence

took the VP nom for the Rethugs. He's a nightmare, as any of us who live in Indiana KNOW. Given his performance as governor on reproductive rights, even the Repubbie hubby was voting blue to get him OUT of office.

[Sylvarose]

68. I didn't expect this thread to blow up

...thanks to those who gave honest insight and information about Tim Kaine. Hopefully I'll have a better attitude after some more reading and the DNC next week. For now, I'm going to turn off the politics, revert back to being a semi-crazy cat lady (can't be full fledged crazy with only two cats) and going to bed.

Night all!

[KMOD]

71. Good night, Sylvarose.

We're all going to get through this together.

We all share a common goal. No trump, no way, no how.

Sleep well.

[Onyrleft]

74. #StuckWithHer

I'm not voting third party or staying home. But when someone says "Opposed to the TPP in it's current form". I think we deserve an explanation about what an "acceptable form" would be.

[The_Casual_Observer]

76. He's a reasonable person. A solid dem.

[BainsBane]

78. If excitement had been her priority

She would not have chosen Kaine. Government isn't supposed to be entertaining. It should be competent.

[democrattotheend]

81. I am not super excited, but I don't see it as an FU

Tim Kaine may not be a firebrand liberal, but he is hardly a DINO. I lived in Virginia when he was governor and he did a lot of good things for the state. I never thought of him as a Republican lite. There are plenty of people Hillary could have picked who would have felt like a slap in the face. Tim Kaine is not one of them.

[Philly-Union-Man]

82. What has "excitement" to do with it?

Trump is exciting as it gets if you like that sort of thing.

What matters is that this dude gives us Virginia and he's competent tondo the job should something happen to madam President.

[RBInMaine]

84. Your Debby Downer concern is duly noted.

Enough of the unrealistic purity. We have a progressive ticket and a progressive platform. Sorry if it isn't pure enough for you. Your Debbie Downer concern is duly noted.

[NurseJackie]

88. "...snubbing the liberal base..." ?? Good grief!

If there was a liberal "base" then someone else would have won the primary. The ACTUAL party base chose Hillary. The liberal "wing" apparently thought it was all about what they wanted.

It was up to Hillary to choose someone who she thinks is qualified to be one-heartbeat-away, AND who will make a good campaign partner AND a good governing partner. She chose someone she admires, someone who respects her in return, and someone that she can work well with.

You guys need to realize that the VP slot isn't a silver-medal, or a consolation prize. It's not a nod or token gesture to placate the liberal wing of the party. There is no Congeniality Award to be given in presidential politics.

Hillary made a solid pick. Whatever disappointment people are experiencing is solely the result of their having unrealistic expectations. People who truly feel that way need an attitude adjustment and need to look at the larger picture. It's now about winning the election.

Again, don't get me wrong, I'm still voting for her

Glad to see it!

Mature voters such as yourself understand the importance of winning and defeating Trump.

It's my belief that people who threaten to not vote for Hillary because of her VP choice are the same ones who wouldn't have voted for her anyway. They just wanted to be "romanced" a little bit more, so that they could have the satisfaction of "winning" a round, and then end up rejecting her anyway (revenge perhaps?) Those are not mature voters.

Hillary knows enough about the game of politics to understand that it doesn't make political sense to chase after a handful of hard-left liberals, at the expense of an entire roomful of middle-of-the-road voters.

I've seen posts here that are "concerned" about how Hillary is moving toward the center for the General Election, and I have to wonder if people who posts such things are truly that naive. Do they not understand how elections are won? Or are they just looking for any excuse at all to attack Hillary, and to continue to express their grief and disappointment and anger that their preferred candidate didn't win the primary?

[randome]

93. I wasn't excited about him, either. Nor, for that matter, Clinton.

But the more I learn about them both, the more comfortable I feel. We're fighting with two anvils and the other side has an air mattress and a pillow for defense.

We're going to do fine in November. Also remember the larger picture: there are down-ticket races that are just as important. I think Kaine helps more in that respect.
[hr][font color="blue"][center]"There is a crack in everything. That's how the light gets in."
Leonard Cohen, Anthem (1992)[/center][/font][hr]