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Sat Jul 23, 2016, 07:38 AM
Her Sister (6,444 posts)
Al Giordano: Let me share some knowledge I have about Tim Kaine: (GD 16)
1. Let me share some knowledge I have about Tim Kaine, who was my favorite on the 2008 short list for VP. He's going to be exceptional
Al Giordano ‏@AlGiordano 45m45 minutes ago
2. Kaine supported Obama in the 2008 primaries vs Clinton. This pick makes a lie out the nonsense that she is somehow a vindictive leader!
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3. When in the fall of 2008 I reported from swing states, I landed at Dulles & began in Virginia, where then-Gov. Kaine asked to see me.
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4. Much to my chagrin, his Governor's Office then prohibited smoking. I started out by teasing him: "You lead a tobacco state, dammit!"
5. I can testify that Kaine has a terrific sense of humor & his protestations that he's "boring" are just part of an ongoing comedy routine.
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6. Most interestingly, the reason Kaine wanted to meet me was not to get good press for himself, but to talk about data-driven politics.
7. He said he had followed my 2008 primary projections state by state in real time & wanted some insight into my methodology.
8. Kaine also mentioned that he had followed @NateSilver538's work when Nate was still using the psued of "Poblano." He's an early adopter.
9. During that meeting I wanted to test if it were true that he is fluent in Spanish & shifted to that language. ¡Y sí se pudo muy bien!
10. Kaine also displayed a keen interest in human rights, journalist safety & social movements in Latin America, very rare among US pols.
11. Kaine had been mayor of Richmond at a time when the city council chose the mayor. A majority African-American city council elected him.
12. Suffice to say, Tim Kaine understands that the first rule of governing by coalition is being a good listener. That's why he's popular.
13. I shake my head when some claim Kaine isn't "progressive" enough. In most cases *those* are the folks who don't know work in coalition!
14. We've seen candidates in both parties in 2016 notorious for having few friends among colleagues. Kaine is the opposite. People like him.
15. I suspect people like & respect Kaine because he treats you the same when the cameras are off as he does in public. He's authentic.
16. Those who complain about this pick by and large don't know him. Watch him win them over in the coming months. He will.
17. We all had our favorites for this pick. I'm sure mine - Senator Warren - is as happy with the Kaine nomination as I am. Zero doubts!
https://twitter.com/AlGiordano/status/756648825255817216
Jesse Smith @ijessesmith
@AlGiordano can you help me understand the ways that Kaine is such a "centrist"? Like specific issues? I don't get this narrative
Al Giordano
‏@AlGiordano Al Giordano Retweeted Jesse Smith
He's not. He's a social justice progressive, the real kind, that knows civil and equal rights are a pillar of it.
16 replies, 2132 views
Al Giordano: Let me share some knowledge I have about Tim Kaine: (GD 16) (Original post)
Her Sister Jul 2016 OP
Oh good.. I'm glad you're posting here, too. I've been sharing some of
Cha Jul 2016 #1
oh does #13 ever sound familiar around these parts
Blue_Adept Jul 2016 #2
K&R!
DemonGoddess Jul 2016 #3
Hours Before Hillary Clinton's VP Decision, Likely Pick Tim Kaine Praises the TPP
Triana Jul 2016 #4
Does The Intercept ever criticize Trump and Republicans?
geek tragedy Jul 2016 #6
Oh. So now the source is the problem eh? Alrighty then...
Triana Jul 2016 #10
A rating from Planned Parenthood nt
geek tragedy Jul 2016 #12
OK. But my concern was about his support of the TPP n/t
Virginia probably stood to gain from the TPP.
Two points (pro Kaine/Hillary)
kwolf68 Jul 2016 #9
Umm, the TPP is MUCH BETTER than NAFTA...
JaneyVee Jul 2016 #16
Clinton~Kaine
sheshe2 Jul 2016 #5
YES! WE ARE GOOD TO GO!
Her Sister Jul 2016 #7
NEDem Jul 2016 #11
I can testify that Kaine has a terrific sense of humor & his protestations that he's "boring" are ju
Her Sister Jul 2016 #15
Response to Her Sister (Original post)
1. Oh good.. I'm glad you're posting here, too. I've been sharing some of
Al Giordano's tweets you posted on my thread!
He's not. He's a social justice progressive, the real kind, that knows civil and equal rights are a pillar of it
More Tweets from Al~ Her Sister~http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1107&pid=175207
Blue_Adept (6,136 posts)
2. oh does #13 ever sound familiar around these parts
DemonGoddess (4,640 posts)
3. K&R!
Love that Al Giordano is doing this!
Triana (22,666 posts)
4. Hours Before Hillary Clinton's VP Decision, Likely Pick Tim Kaine Praises the TPP
Kaine's measured praise of the agreement could signal one of two things. Either he is out of the running for the vice presidential spot, as his position on this major issue stands in opposition to hers. Or, by picking him, Clinton is signaling that her newly declared opposition to the agreement is not sincere. The latter explanation would confirm the theory offered by U.S. Chamber of Commerce head Tom Donohue, among others, who has said that Clinton is campaigning against the TPP for political reasons but would ultimately implement the deal.
With only hours to go before Clinton announced her pick, Kaine was unabashed in defending his vote. "Fast track was to give President Obama the same tools to negotiate a trade deal that every president since Gerald Ford has had, and of course I voted for that," Kaine said. "Why would I not give to this president the same tools to negotiate a trade deal that other presidents have had?"
Fast track powers allow the president to submit the agreement to Congress for an up or down vote without any changes. Fast track was widely viewed as necessary for assuring final passage of the agreement, and few Democrats supported authorizing those powers for Obama for the TPP. Only 28 House Democrats and 13 Senate Democrats voted in favor of fast track.
Kaine explained that now that the final agreement has been reached in international negotiations, he is weighing whether or not to vote for it.
"I am having discussions with groups around Virginia about the treaty itself. I see much in it to like. I think it's an upgrade of labor standards. I think it's an upgrade of environmental standards, I think it's an upgrade in intellectual property protections," he explained. "I do see at least right now that there is one element that I do have some very significant concerns about. And that is the dispute resolution mechanism. And I've got a lot of concerns about that. So I have no idea about when a vote would be because the majority will make that decision. And I'm not in the majority. But long before there would be a vote on that I'm trying to climb the learning curve on the areas where I have questions. So again, much of it I see I think as a significant improvement over the status quo. The dispute resolution mechanism I still have some significant concerns about."
https://theintercept.com/2016/07/21/hours-before-hillary-clintons-vp-decision-likely-pick-tim-kaine-praises-the-tpp/
Their support for TPP AT ALL (it's a disasterous trade agreement, worse than NAFTA, IMO) concerns me about both of them. Old Ross Perot was right about that "giant sucking sound" of jobs leaving this country under these "free trade" agreements. They're a SHIT sandwich for America's workers and thus for America's economy. And people who have heard of the TPP - most of them - know that and do not support it. That's why Clinton had to deny support for it on the campaign trail (besides she had Bernie nipping at her heels). Once elected, her and Kaine will fully support the goddamned thing. Guaranteed.
Before someone alerts on this or whines, this isn't "bashing the candidate". It's a VALID concern. And anyone who thinks it's not had better wake the hell up from their "American Dream".
Response to Triana (Reply #4)
geek tragedy (68,868 posts)
6. Does The Intercept ever criticize Trump and Republicans?
That rag has been a sub rosa extension of the Trump campaign for months now.
Response to geek tragedy (Reply #6)
10. Oh. So now the source is the problem eh? Alrighty then...
However, Kaine's climate record does come with a couple caveats. He has supported offshore drilling in the Atlantic Ocean and also supported a measure that fast-tracked the building of natural gas terminals.
As a Catholic, Kane recently acknowledged he's personally "opposed to abortion." During his tenure as governor, he signed abortion-restricting laws such as a so-called informed consent measure that he innocuously described as giving "women information about a whole series of things, the health consequences, et cetera, and information about adoption." His views on reproductive rights seem to have evolved, however, and as a senator he's received a perfect score from Planned Parenthood for his pro-choice voting record.
Kaine's support of the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal also represents a fault line between him and the progressives supportive of Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), who strongly opposes the deal.
Some have also raised questions about Kaine's relationship with Wall Street, as Kaine drew the ire of progressives for recently signing a letter supportive of loosening regulations on large banks.
LINK: http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2016/07/22/3801047/tim-kaine-hillary-vp/
Centrist Appeal
The choice of Kaine will have appeal to some centrist Republicans uncomfortable with Trump. Yet it is sure to create disgruntlement among the liberal Democrats who supported Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders in his drawn-out challenge to Clinton for the nomination.
Kaine is seen as more pro-Wall Street than others who Clinton considered, especially Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren. This week, as speculation about his selection built, he signed two letters to regulators urging leniency on all but the biggest banks. One, to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, was signed by every Republican senator and 16 other Democrats.
Progressives Let Down?
Clinton's choice displeased some progressive activists who say Kaine's support of free trade gives Republicans a new opening to attack Clinton. He's a supporter of the Trans-Pacific Partnership that Obama's administration negotiated with 11 other nations, and which awaits ratification in Congress. Sanders opposes the trade deal, and during the primary campaign Clinton said she wouldn't support it in its current form.
"Republicans will run hard against Democrats on trade this year" and "now have a new opening to attack Democrats on this economic populist issue," said Stephanie Taylor, co-founder of Progressive Change Campaign Committee, in a statement after Clinton made her announcement.
LINK: http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2016-07-23/clinton-picks-kaine-as-vp-in-move-toward-center-for-election
Response to Triana (Reply #10)
12. A rating from Planned Parenthood nt
Response to geek tragedy (Reply #12)
13. OK. But my concern was about his support of the TPP n/t
14. Virginia probably stood to gain from the TPP.
it's not much of a manufacturing state, lots of software companies etc.
kwolf68 (6,845 posts)
9. Two points (pro Kaine/Hillary)
#1-Kaine said he is still learning what is in TPP. He isn't jumping to conclusions. I have no problem with a pragmatic view on things. YES, I loathe TPP, but Kaine has to show character and leadership, which I think requires intellect and patience
#2-Maybe Hillary IS sincere about opposition to TPP, but chooses to bring in someone of high quality and character who does NOT always agree with her, showing the confidence she has in her own position as well as her willingness to branch across areas of divide
Sat Jul 23, 2016, 03:24 PM
JaneyVee (19,877 posts)
16. Umm, the TPP is MUCH BETTER than NAFTA...
It increases labor and enviro protections.
sheshe2 (69,670 posts)
5. Clinton~Kaine
Response to sheshe2 (Reply #5)
7. YES! WE ARE GOOD TO GO!
Go Hill & Tim!!!
Response to Her Sister (Reply #7)
NEDem (1,513 posts)
11. K&R
15. I can testify that Kaine has a terrific sense of humor & his protestations that he's "boring" are ju
I can testify that Kaine has a terrific sense of humor & his protestations that he's "boring" are just part of an ongoing comedy routine.