Updated: Hillary Clinton Picks Tim Kaine as Her Vice Presidential Running Mate
Since the pre-leak of the announcement there’s been lots of discussion of how progressive Tim Kaine is or isn’t, some of it emanating from the Berniacs, however much is also coming from the usual anti-Hillary camps. You know them, those edge forces who are going to vote Jill Stein or who profess to be social libertarians but who really land on the tribal nationalist right if you look closer. Their usual approach to the argument is through concern trolling (e.g. “Does Hillary really support LGBT causes enough? etc.)These same forces helped Barrack overcome Hillary through some pretty insidious campaigns when she ran the first time with the thought in mind that Obama couldn’t possibly win. That backfired, but here they are trying again.
So here is my take. Because Financial and Banking regulations are started, blocked, or crafted in the senate, taking Tim out of that picture while leaving Booker, Sanders, and Warren in place to lead that charge is really a stealth progressive move. Whether intentional or not removing Kaine pulls someone who wants to deregulate for Capital 1, or whatever the argument is, totally out of the picture. If progressives really want to aid the cause they can stop kvetching about this move and start lobbying Virginia’s governor to appoint a true progressive to back fill Kaine.
Virginian Sen. Tim Kaine is Hillary Clinton’s choice for her vice president, giving her a running mate with experience at all levels of government to round out the Democratic ticket.
Clinton told supporters the news in a text message and a tweet on Friday evening just after 8 p.m. ET.
In recent days, Kaine had emerged as the favorite, albeit safe, pick for Clinton, over other finalists such as Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, Labor Secretary Tom Perez and New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker.
Kaine’s addition to the ticket gives her a loyal ally who can help reach out to the Hispanic community and possibly woo disaffected independents or even some moderate Republicans turned off by Republican nominee Donald Trump.
More: Hillary Clinton Picks Tim Kaine As Her Vice Presidential Running Mate : NPR