As chances continue to improve that Hillary Clinton will name Virginia Democrat Senator Tim Kaine (shown) as her vice-presidential running mate later this afternoon, a closer look at the affable, non-controversial socialist reveals a man not likely to interfere with the Clinton presidency if she wins in November.
He has all the credentials of a socialist and all the charm that is sorely lacking in his would-be running mate. He also hails from Virginia, which has 13 Electoral College votes that could become critical in the November election.
Barton Hinkle, writing in Reason magazine, noted that Kaine is perceived to be “boring,” “contemplative,” possessed of “humility,” and — quoting a former Republican congressman — “a thoroughly honest and decent man.” This makes him, according to Hinkle, “the perfect tonic for voters averse to Clinton, whose name does not evoke terms like humility, honesty, niceness and decency.”
Clinton has repeatedly said that she was looking for a running mate who could step into the presidency without a hitch — possibly an oblique reference to her age (she turns 69 in October) and her continuing health issues. Kaine’s record shows he would make the transition without difficulty or disagreement with the Democrat Party’s platform of remaking America into a European-style socialist state.
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First, he’s a politician who makes sincere promises, and then breaks them. When he was running for governor in 2004 he repeatedly vowed that he would “veto any tax increase … there’s no way to tax and pave our way out of the [state’s] transportation problem.” Seven days after winning the office he proposed a $1-billion-per-year tax hike to solve that problem.
Second, he opposes abortion on a personal level but isn’t willing to stand against government-approved murder of unborn children. Those decisions, he said, “are moral decisions for individuals to make for themselves. And the last thing we need is government intruding into those personal decisions.” Accordingly, he enjoys a 100-percent rating from Planned Parenthood.
Third, he believes the mythology of climate change and has expressed concerns that global warming will cause the oceans to rise and inundate Virginia’s shores. In addition, he voted against the Keystone XL pipeline and applauded the U.S. Forest Service’s plan to close most of the George Washington National Forest to fracking. He supports ObamaCare and wind and solar power development with taxpayer funds. He supports same-sex marriage and the right of same-sex couples to adopt. He wants to raise the cap on incomes subject to the Social Security tax to keep the program from failing, and he favors a federal Internet sales tax.
He voted for fast-tracking the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement even in the face of resistance from some of his fellow Democrats in the Senate. Passage would grant the president the power to submit the treaty to Congress for an up or down vote without any changes. He also sports a 100-percent rating from the anti-gun Brady Campaign.
Finally, during his brief stint as senator, his voting record, compiled by The John Birch Society as a measure of how closely he hews to the Constitution, shows him at just one percent out of a possible 100.
Kaine was honest in his assessment of why he is likely to be named Hillary’s VP: “One of the main reasons … is because of Virginia. It’s not necessarily just because of me. It’s because Virginia is really important [in deciding the presidency in November].”
He also has the approval of the other half of the Clinton team. Husband Bill has given Hillary his assent to Kaine’s nomination as well as the White House. When asked whether Kaine was “too boring,” Hillary considered that as a plus, asserting, “I love that about him.” Translation: He won’t get in the way as Clinton, if chosen, continues to push the Clinton-Obama agenda of changing America into a replica of a European socialist state.
Kaine, if nominated, will fade into the woodwork and become Hillary’s invisible vice president if she wins in November.
Photo: AP Images
A graduate of an Ivy League school and a former investment advisor, Bob is a regular contributor to The New American magazine and blogs frequently at LightFromTheRight.com, primarily on economics and politics. He can be reached at [email protected].
