which are among the many emails pouring into my inbox yesterday.
First, from Rep. Don Beyer, himself a former Lt. Governor (2 terms) of Virginia and a highly possible successor to Kaine:
I could not be more thrilled that Hillary has tapped our own Senator Tim Kaine as her running mate. Tim is one of the most widely admired people in Virginia, that rare sort of politician who commands respect and admiration, even from his opponents.
He is wise, patient and fair, and he boasts an extraordinary set of credentials for this position.
In addition, given that the road to the White House runs through Virginia, picking Tim as her running mate is a very strategic decision by Secretary Clinton.
I was already looking forward to voting for Hillary; now, I will be all the more enthusiastic on Election Day and as our country moves forward with these gifted individuals for leaders.
Don Beyer
From our Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring:
Kenneth –
I'm sure you heard: Hillary Clinton has asked Sen. Tim Kaine to be her vice presidential running mate!
I couldn't be prouder.
Tim is a great U.S. senator and was a great governor and a great mayor of Richmond. He's our guy. And he's counting on us to make sure he can be a great vice president.
There’s more
From Randi Weingarten, President of the American Federation of Teachers:
“The choice of Tim Kaine, the son of a welder who has lived middle-class values and has a long track record of progressive accomplishments, reiterates Hillary Clinton’s commitment to building a government that will level the playing field for working families. While the GOP ticket masks irrational ideas behind a morally bankrupt message of fear, bigotry and hatred, a Clinton-Kaine ticket will be focused on helping people see higher wages, lower student debt, good jobs, successful public schools, and safety and security here and abroad.
“The contrasts between a Clinton-Kaine ticket and a Trump-Pence ticket couldn’t be more stark. Donald Trump, the narcissist, believes that he alone can fix our nation’s problems and peddles fear in a campaign devoid of facts, plans or humanity. Clinton and Kaine choose to confront fear and solve problems, and they will use their vast experience to help ensure the American dream is within reach for everyone.
“Strong public education runs deep in the Kaine household. In the U.S. Senate, he took the lead on supporting career and technical education programs in the new federal education law, and he has fought for funding to modernize public school buildings. And as Virginia’s governor, he expanded pre-K programs by 40 percent. His wife, Anne Holton, has been dedicated to fighting for great public schools for decades—she helped integrate Richmond, Va., public schools as a child and today is Virginia’s secretary of education.
“Our nation and the world can feel confident that the Clinton-Kaine ticket will be a great leadership team that will work to break down walls, disarm hate, and make educational and economic opportunity a reality.”
From the NRDC Action Fund:
NRDC Action Fund Applauds Clinton’s Selection of Kaine for VP Slot
Washington - Kevin Curtis, executive director of the NRDC Action Fund, today issued the following statement regarding Hillary Clinton’s selection of Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) to be her vice presidential running mate:
“The Democratic ticket now features two environmental champions, both of whom understand that Americans want our government to secure a clean energy future for our kids and grandchildren. Sen. Kaine’s impressive environmental record is a perfect match for a presidential candidate who puts so much emphasis on creating green jobs and expanding America’s reliance on clean, renewable energy. We applaud this choice and will work hard to help the Clinton-Kaine campaign win in November.”
Note to reporters/editors : The NRDC Action Fund’s full legal name is “the NRDC Action Fund.” It is an affiliated but separate organization from NRDC (the Natural Resources Defense Council). As a 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization, the NRDC Action Fund engages in various advocacy and political activities for which NRDC, a 501(c)(3) organization, faces certain legal limitations or restrictions.
The NRDC Action Fund’s mission is to build political support in the United States for protecting the planet and its people. We mobilize influential constituencies, experts, community leaders and others to directly advocate for clean air and water, public health, biodiversity, and a stable climate. We support candidates who stand up for environmental protection, and we expose those who side with polluters rather than the public good. www.nrdcactionfund.org
Here in Virginia, where we know Tim Kaine as the dedicated public servant at the local, state and national level that he has been for several decades, we are excited.
He will be the first VP from Virginia since John Tyler was elected with William Henry Harrison.
Tim has never lost his Midwestern nice. Born in St. Paul MN (which Sen. Amy Klobuchar says will now be known as the home of Democratic VPs — remembering Hubert Humphrey and Fritz Mondale), growing up around Kansas City, going to U of Missouri, then Harvard Law (with his sabbatical as a missionary) before coming to Virginia with his wife Anne Holton (whose father had been the first Republican governor of the Commonwealth in the modern era) where his legal practice focused on housing injustice, but where he also defended in a capital murder case, Tim has always had a commitment to social justice which flows from his deep commitment to his Catholic faith. He went to a Jesuit High School, and he did his missionary work through the Jesuits. His actions are informed by his faith, but his commitment to following the relevant law and constitutional precedents are in the tradition of John F. Kennedy’s statement to Texas ministers:
I believe in an America where the separation of church and state is absolute, where no Catholic prelate would tell the president (should he be Catholic) how to act, and no Protestant minister would tell his parishioners for whom to vote; where no church or church school is granted any public funds or political preference; and where no man is denied public office merely because his religion differs from the president who might appoint him or the people who might elect him.
I believe in an America that is officially neither Catholic, Protestant nor Jewish; where no public official either requests or accepts instructions on public policy from the Pope, the National Council of Churches or any other ecclesiastical source; where no religious body seeks to impose its will directly or indirectly upon the general populace or the public acts of its officials; and where religious liberty is so indivisible that an act against one church is treated as an act against all.
For while this year it may be a Catholic against whom the finger of suspicion is pointed, in other years it has been, and may someday be again, a Jew— or a Quaker or a Unitarian or a Baptist. It was Virginia's harassment of Baptist preachers, for example, that helped lead to Jefferson's statute of religious freedom. Today I may be the victim, but tomorrow it may be you — until the whole fabric of our harmonious society is ripped at a time of great national peril.
Finally, I believe in an America where religious intolerance will someday end; where all men and all churches are treated as equal; where every man has the same right to attend or not attend the church of his choice; where there is no Catholic vote, no anti-Catholic vote, no bloc voting of any kind; and where Catholics, Protestants and Jews, at both the lay and pastoral level, will refrain from those attitudes of disdain and division which have so often marred their works in the past, and promote instead the American ideal of brotherhood.
By the way, that is only part of Kennedy’s statement. I strongly suggest that those in the other party who seem to want to impose their religion upon the rest of us might be well advised to read the entire statement. In fact, I think it should be required reading in public schools.
Tim Kaine is an outstanding public servant.
He is the most progressive Senator from the South since I moved to Arlington Virginia in 1982.
He will be a wonderful partner to Hillary Clinton both on the campaign trail and in running the government on behalf of the ideals for which we all strive.
I don’t know about anyone else, but like a lot of Virginians, I am very excited about this choice.