Let's not make monsters out of men that don't deserve it, K?
Now I will preface everything that I am about to say and quote with this, I’m for Xavier Becerra and Elizabeth Warren full bore. Now I admit the rumblings of Kaine have left me with the immediate response of……...meh...but I began to see what I always do with purists...any reason to demonize someone that isn’t lock in step with all their views, and trying to boil down their entire life to one vote, one position, or one statement. I believe in facts, I believe in nuance, and I believe in listening to both sides, hell multiple sides, of a story before coming to my own decisions. This worldview brings me to the source of that quote in the title, (should this type of diary be called the “teacherken method”? lol) an article on the Huffington Post written by Krystal Ball. Ball, who is a self avowed “Bernie Broad” is a native Virginian making the case for Kaine. Actually, everyone that I have seen post who is from Virginia has said nothing but positive things about him, so instead of my visceral reaction of groaning so hard my jaw would lock up, I listened.
Krystal goes into a bit of the Senators history, which some are familiar with but if you aren’t,
Kaine is the son of a welder who graduated from a Jesuit high school, flew through University of Missouri and then landed at Harvard Law. While his classmates were hanging out in Cambridge fielding offers from big firms, Kaine took a year off to do mission work in Honduras where he worked with young boys growing up in brutal poverty. The year abroad left him fluent in Spanish and with a deep commitment to using his Harvard law degree for the public good. After law school he made good on his commitment to service and rather than cashing in on his degree, spent much of his legal career fighting against housing discrimination. Now you just tell me, does that sound like the bio of a chamber-backed, blue dog, corporate Dem?
So once again, before we spew out talking points and try to denigrate someone you don’t totally agree with, lets weigh their FULL story, OK? She continues,
Here’s how his elections in Virginia typically go: the NRA gives him an F rating, fear mongers about how he’s going to take everyone’s guns, spends massively against him, and then Tim goes on to win anyway. Keep in mind, the NRA is literally headquartered in Virginia. If they are powerful anywhere they are powerful in the Old Dominion but that didn’t stop Kaine from signing an executive order following the Virginia Tech massacre to keep guns out of the hands of the mentally ill. It also didn’t stop him from pushing additional gun control measures as governor like eliminating the gun show loophole and it hasn’t stopped him as Senator from continuing to lead the charge for sensible rules like increased background checks. As someone who ran for Congress, in Virginia, I can tell you that perhaps the definition of political courage for a Southern Dem is willingness to buck the gun lobby. Tim Kaine has been unflinching.
That wasn’t the only trend that Kaine bucked in his home state of Virginia (and remember Virginia politics are not the same as those on DKos, you adhere to the constituents of your state while holding certain ideals no matter what.) Ball continues,
Maybe though, Kaine was able to be bold on guns because he was right of center on everything else. Yeah, not so much. In Virginia, Kaine raised taxes, spearheaded efforts for universal pre-K, made Virginia the first Southern state to ban smoking in public places, and consistently opposed the death penalty. Let me repeat that last one. Tim Kaine consistently opposed the death penalty in a state that trails only Texas in number of executions. As governor, he bucked the prevailing law and order winds and vetoed eight different bills that would have expanded capital punishment.
Once more I am begging, BEGGING my friends on Dkos to stop with the “He’s a pro-life stooge!” Actually Kain shares the exact position I do, which is nuanced and pensive. As Ball says,
Speaking of Catholic values, shouldn’t pro-choice progressives be terrified of Tim Kaine on the ticket? After all, he has said he is personally opposed to abortion. If you didn’t look any further, then a pro-choice feminist like myself might have cause for concern. Continue digging just one inch deeper though and you’ll find that Kaine has consistently supported Roe v Wade. In the Senate, he actually enjoys a 100 percent rating from Planned Parenthood. Based on Kaine’s record, it seems he would be entirely comfortable backing Hillary Clinton’s strongly pro-choice positions and in the unlikely event he would find himself President and making Supreme Court picks, there is every reason to expect Kaine would seek out Justices who would uphold Roe. He has been quite clear that while he may have his own personal objections to abortion, he has no interest in policing the lives of others
I will end with this note and this final quote. Keep your mind open. Simple as that, things aren’t as bad as we make it out to be with some of our own. Kaine isn't the boogeyman under your bed. As a progressive I would be through the roof if the name Elizabeth Warren, Xavier Becerra, or Tom Perez popped up in my text feed. However, I can appreciate and admire the path that Kaine has taken to get here and most of all WE ALL KNOW Hillary Clinton and her team did their due diligence on each and every candidate, and she came to this decision after weighing all her options, pros and cons. Ball leaves us with this
Look, anyone who has served as long and in as many ways as Tim Kaine is going to have taken positions you don’t agree with. I’m not saying the guy is perfect. But having watched a long time and gotten to see the man up close, I can tell you he is courageous, principled, and value driven. I can also tell you that this progressive who begged HRC not to run and drove 12 hours to be able to vote for Bernie would be delighted to see him on the Dem ticket. He won over skeptical Virginians when it was supposedly impossible. I’d love to see what he can do to help Secretary Clinton win over America.
Edit:What a dunce I am! I forgot to link to the article lol. Rec list whoop whoop!
Edit #2: It’s official! Tim Kaine is our Democratic nominee for Vice President! Now instead of that groan my reaction was
