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Democrats Government United States News Politics

Hillary Clinton Chooses Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine As Running Mate (go.com) 384

An anonymous reader quotes a report from ABC News: Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine has been chosen as Hillary Clinton's running mate -- a man she called a "relentless optimist" who "devoted his life to fighting for others." Kaine has long been considered to be at the top of Clinton's short list. He was previously vetted for the vice presidency by Barack Obama in 2008. Kaine was an early supporter of Clinton's, appearing at a "Ready for Hillary" breakfast in May 2014 where he urged her to enter the 2016 presidential race. Kaine told NBC in June that he "encouraged her to run in May of 2014, because I could telescope forward and see some of the challenges that this nation would be facing. And I decided that by reason of character, by reason of background, and experience, but also especially by reason of results, she would be the most qualified person to be president in January of 2017." Prior to being elected to the Senate, Kaine served as governor and lieutenant governor of Virginia. In 2009, President Obama picked Kaine to lead the Democratic National Committee. Last week, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump announced Mike Pence as his VP running mate.
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Hillary Clinton Chooses Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine As Running Mate

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  • Anti-reproductive rights, anti-gun, pro-war, pro-globalism. Chuck Todd described him as a "comfort choice," which is a great way to spin boring. Kill me now.
    • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

      by lgw ( 121541 )

      Trump needs Virginia badly. This has nothing to do with the senator, and everything to do with delivering his state.

      • by _xeno_ ( 155264 )

        Almost certainly, but it has to piss Bernie Sanders supporters off. This is a guy who supports deregulating banks, who's anti-abortion, who didn't support LGBT rights until 2011.

        The choice makes it clear that any Sanders supporter hoping that at the very least he'd help pull Clinton further left: he failed to do so.

        It's unlikely it'll make any difference in the election, but it'll be interesting to see if this helps Hillary's recent collapse in the polls. (My guess is no - 538 says they expect it to make an

        • Re:Oh boy (Score:5, Insightful)

          by MightyMartian ( 840721 ) on Friday July 22, 2016 @10:50PM (#52564537) Journal

          You understand that in the normal course of action about the only thing a VP does is break tie votes in the Senate and, on the very rare occasion, when the President has to be put under for a root canal, temporarily becomes Command in Chief. Other than that, the only purpose of a VP is during an election, to try to ingratiate a President with demographics that might otherwise be fence-sitting. Picking someone with some social conservative views undercuts Trump, a man who though he may ape them from time to time, isn't really a social conservative at all.

        • ... it has to piss Bernie Sanders supporters off ...

          Well, maybe because he's part of the political machine that rigged things in favor of Hillary and now he gets his reward for doing so. From the summary:
          "Kaine was an early supporter of Clinton's, appearing at a "Ready for Hillary" breakfast in May 2014 where he urged her to enter the 2016 presidential race ... In 2009, President Obama picked Kaine to lead the Democratic National Committee."

          He's just being paid for services rendered.

    • Re:Oh boy (Score:5, Informative)

      by xx_chris ( 524347 ) on Friday July 22, 2016 @09:48PM (#52564315)
      Kaine supports public abortion funding. (Oct 2012) http://www.ontheissues.org/Sen... [ontheissues.org]
      • A comment up top from a disgusted liberal says he's pro-life. Which one of you is wrong?
        • Re:Oh boy (Score:5, Informative)

          by thrich81 ( 1357561 ) on Saturday July 23, 2016 @01:57AM (#52565007)

          He's 'pro-life' personally but professionally does not impose his beliefs on others.
          Statement from NARAL Pro-Choice America, ""While Senator Kaine has been open about his personal reservations about abortion, he’s maintained a 100% pro-choice voting record in the U.S. Senate. He voted against dangerous abortion bans, he has fought against efforts to defund Planned Parenthood, and he voted to strengthen clinic security by establishing a federal fund for it," NARAL President Ilyse Hogue said in the statement. "

        • Both are right. He's personally against abortion but is not for legislation against it.

      • by Uberbah ( 647458 )

        Kaine supports public abortion funding. (Oct 2012) http://www.ontheissues.org/Sen [ontheissues.org]..

        Horseshit sophistry. Kaine has voted for the Hyde Amendment, who's purpose is to deny the use of public funds for abortion.

    • Everything you just said is completely false. Google is your friend.
  • by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 22, 2016 @09:09PM (#52564133)

    "devoted his life to fighting for others."

    Liberal: "I want someone who'll fight for me."
    Conservative: "I want someone who'll leave me the fuck alone."

    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      Liberal: "I want someone who'll fight for me."

      As in, "Make America safe again," right?

      Oh, wait...

    • Liberal: "I want someone who'll fight for me."
      Conservative: "I want someone who'll leave me the fuck alone."

      Liberal: Someone who wants the government to leave people alone unless they are trying to use their wallet.
      Conservative: Someone who wants the government to leave people alone unless they are trying to have sex or go to the bathroom.

    • by Kohath ( 38547 )

      Liberal: "I want someone who'll fight for me"

      ...fight for me, against my neighbors and fellow Americans, over money someone else earned.

    • Liberal: "I want someone who'll fight for me."
      Conservative: "I want someone who'll leave me the fuck alone

      ...but will regulate the heck out of all the people I don't like or who have different religions or who want to use birth control or something.

    • by Boronx ( 228853 )

      Conservative: "Trump! Trump! Trump! Trump!"

      I suppose what they like best about him is that he's not going to do anything..

      Or are those chanters not conservative?

    • Liberal: "I want someone who'll fight for me."
      Conservative: "I want someone who'll leave me the fuck alone."

      Dividing everything into 'liberal' versus 'conservative' is highly corrosive substantive discussion.

      And you could easily switch those quotes and have them work, by the way.

  • by Snotnose ( 212196 ) on Friday July 22, 2016 @09:18PM (#52564171)
    90% of his votes in the last 6 months have been, IMHO, wrong. Guy wants more H1-Bs. Guy likes TPP. Guy likes longer copyrite protection for big companies. And he voted against abortion?

    This is the Democrat "safe" nomination to both innoculate HRC against her transgressions, and help her attack Trump?

    dafuq?
    • by 0100010001010011 ( 652467 ) on Friday July 22, 2016 @09:30PM (#52564231)

      So we have a democratic VP that is pro TPP and has no problem with Americans that can't find jobs.

      We have a GOP candidate's daughter that more or less pitched parental rights, and they applauded it. Then a GOP candidate that came out against TPP. WTF is going on with this race.

      • by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 22, 2016 @11:12PM (#52564607)

        Don't you just hate it when real life doesn't fit the "my team is good in every way and the other team is bad in every way" narrative?

    • Well, it's hard to find someone who is a safe bet but still is in sync with the interests of the owners, ya know...

      But we certainly can talk about that abortion bit, I'm sure he can change on this really, really, REALLY important issue.

    • by guises ( 2423402 )
      The only one of those things which could effect an election is the abortion one. If he's a democratic candidate who votes against abortion, that puts him further towards the right - so it's a choice to possibly appeal to some on the right who are anti-Trump. Virginia is also a swing state, so that's another plus, although 538 says it only boosts her election chances by 0.7%.

      The choice of vice prez only marginally effects the overall election odds, unless it's a really interesting choice like Palin, and t
  • is not good for you
  • Tim Kaine & TPP (Score:5, Informative)

    by CanEHdian ( 1098955 ) on Friday July 22, 2016 @09:23PM (#52564197)
    And our friend Tim Kaine is a big supporter of the TPP (with the exception of dispute resolution) as of hourse before the news broke.

    " I think it’s an upgrade in intellectual property protections,”

    Just the guy we need, another Joe Biden. Source [theintercept.com]

  • by fustakrakich ( 1673220 ) on Friday July 22, 2016 @09:27PM (#52564223) Journal

    I mean, who would vote for this ticket if not for him? Trump is Hillary's biggest asset in this election.

    • by schwit1 ( 797399 ) on Friday July 22, 2016 @09:58PM (#52564347)
      "Trump is Hillary's biggest asset in this election."

      And vice versa.

      • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

        Yes, it appears to be that way by design. I believe the intention there is to keep congress as close to 50/50 as possible to make it easier to pass blame back and forth in a game that is called "rotating villain", which came to the forefront during passage of "Obamacare" and removal of the single payer option. In other words, the democrats threw the 2010 midterm elections, and they are doing the exact same thing now.

        Regardless of the results for the presidency, congress should be able to maintain their 95%

    • by quenda ( 644621 )

      But what happened to all the good Republican candidates?
      I'm a long way away from the US, but trying to make sense of it. There there did not seem to be one Republican contender of the calibre of John McCain or Mitt Romney.
      The party was able to select those two strong contenders in previous elections, but now the best they could find was Jeb Bush!?
      I know the party has capable intelligent leaders in state politics, so why did none of them run for the presidential nomination this time?

      • Comment removed (Score:4, Insightful)

        by account_deleted ( 4530225 ) on Friday July 22, 2016 @10:18PM (#52564427)
        Comment removed based on user account deletion
        • Their last reasonable prospect was Jim Webb

          Jim Webb is basically a Republican in the Democrat party. He is heavily focused on process and protocol, but those aren't going to solve the problems of the nation.

        • by Uberbah ( 647458 )

          Their last reasonable prospect was Jim Webb

          The "reasonable" guy is the one who wrote the Birth of a Nation for middle eastern peoples?

      • by XxtraLarGe ( 551297 ) on Friday July 22, 2016 @10:18PM (#52564429) Journal

        There there did not seem to be one Republican contender of the calibre of John McCain or Mitt Romney.

        Are you kidding me? McCain and Romney were clowns. It's like the Republicans said "okay, who's turn is it to lose next?", just like they did with Bob Dole. They constantly choose the weakest candidates. The only time they manage to win is when the Dems pick someone even worse.

        • by guacamole ( 24270 ) on Saturday July 23, 2016 @02:16AM (#52565067)

          Romney was not a clown. A moderate conservative politician whose Massachusetts "Romneycare" was used as a blueprint by Obama. The problem with the Romney's campaign in 2012 is that it was derailed by the radical wing of the Republican party, which threatened to mow down every candidate who dared not to oppose Obamacare and everything else the incumbent president stood for.

      • It's indeed a fine question.

        I can't believe the establishment couldn't find anyone besides Jeb Bush. It just shocking that they thought somebody with this toxic name was still electable.

      • by dbIII ( 701233 )

        There there did not seem to be one Republican contender of the calibre of ... Mitt Romney

        Setting the bar pretty low there!
        Dan Quale, come back, all is forgiven!
        Spiro Agnew we need you!

    • Comment removed (Score:4, Interesting)

      by account_deleted ( 4530225 ) on Friday July 22, 2016 @10:15PM (#52564415)
      Comment removed based on user account deletion
      • I want a clear conscience, so it's Gary Johnson/William Weld for me.

        So you're voting for Hillary. How does that leave your conscience clear? She's a corrupt, lying, sociopath. And you're doing a little two-step dance as you support her quest for power.

      • Re: (Score:2, Funny)

        by Anonymous Coward
        FEEL THE JOHNSON!
      • The libertarians are totally clueless on immigration. Even among Anglo-culture whites, their is limited enthusiasm for their ideas. Amongst non-Anglo non-whites there almost no support whatsoever.

        The libertarians are apparently content to ensure they remain marginal by being all in favor of importing an endless stream of folks who don't agree with them on anything.

        Wake up and smell the biodiversity! The evidence is right in front of you.

  • by RyanFenton ( 230700 ) on Friday July 22, 2016 @09:41PM (#52564287)

    Milktoast centrist put in vice president status. Courage required: 0

    WIkipedia entry [wikipedia.org]

    At least the guy is well educated and experienced.

    Not a dramatic choice - but a solid guy all the same. Would be justly called pretty conservative most places outside the US.

    I'd have much preferred an Al Franken or Elizabeth Warren emotionally - but see the virtue in a low-key centrist technocrat.

    Perhaps he's exciting by virtue of being boring in this environment. Get the guy training with some comedians before the debate, and a few good lines with low expectations could have OK results.

    In other news: No news is news, in this news cycle. Which isn't news, with 24 hour news.

    Ryan Fenton

    • Milktoast centrist put in vice president status. Courage required: 0

      WIkipedia entry [wikipedia.org]

      At least the guy is well educated and experienced.

      Not a dramatic choice - but a solid guy all the same. Would be justly called pretty conservative most places outside the US.

      I'd have much preferred an Al Franken or Elizabeth Warren emotionally - but see the virtue in a low-key centrist technocrat.

      Perhaps he's exciting by virtue of being boring in this environment. Get the guy training with some comedians before the debate, and a few good lines with low expectations could have OK results.

      In other news: No news is news, in this news cycle. Which isn't news, with 24 hour news.

      I think it's fine, do you think Franken or Warren would really bring that much influence over Hillary? She'd most likely put VP Franken or Warren in an closet to twiddle their thumbs for four years.

      Kaine is probably on the same page so can act as a surrogate in office, and if Clinton died in office then Kaine would probably be fine to govern more or less how she would have governed.

    • At least the guy is well educated and experienced.

      So is the world's worst living war criminal. [wikipedia.org]

      Not a dramatic choice - but a solid guy all the same.

      Solidly pro-life, which will undercut demagoguery from Stepford Democrats that ermagurd you must vote D to protect a woman's right to choose.

      but see the virtue in a low-key centrist technocrat

      The virtue of having his lips sewn to the sphincter of Goldman Sachs? He wants more deregulation of the banks, and (like Hillary) is pro-TPP.

    • by tomhath ( 637240 )

      I'd have much preferred an Al Franken or Elizabeth Warren emotionally

      They're the Democrat's attack dogs; they can't be on the ticket because they're so obnoxious. Plus Franken has all the baggage of a stolen election.

      Kaine won't attract any votes, but he won't drive away any donors.

  • And I decided that by reason of character, by reason of background, and experience, but also especially by reason of results, she would be the most qualified person to be president in January of 2017.

    What the fuck? Seriously? Anyone else who said this would burst out laughing. Hillary has zero character. Her background is rotten. Her results? Like what? Starting an undeclared war in Libya so her buddies could make money? This just doesn't pass the giggle check. How can educated people DO these thi

  • Let's face it, your candidate sucks balls/ass/dick/like a $2 whore/whatever!
    They're all liars and politicians.
    One small caveat. Trump isn't a politician, he's a wannabe politician, which I rate even worse than an actual politician, but even if you don't, it's certainly in no way better.

    You wanna get upset and flame and troll and vent? I don't care, just realize that if you resort to name calling or making unverifiable or flatly false statements, you will be called out for it and prove yourself an unthinking
  • by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 22, 2016 @10:37PM (#52564493)

    He had to urge her to enter the presidential race?

    She hadn't been chomping at the bit and planning it since before her hubby was prez?

    Well knock me down with a feather.

  • by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 22, 2016 @10:47PM (#52564529)

    How about that libertarian candidate Gary Johnson guys?

  • Bold Move (Score:5, Interesting)

    by _KiTA_ ( 241027 ) on Friday July 22, 2016 @11:43PM (#52564703) Homepage

    So she chose an anti-gun, pro-globalism, anti-women's civil rights, pro-collectivism candidate. Basically an Anti-Bernie Sanders.

    Yet she still expects Sanders' supporters to fall in line and kiss the ring in November.

    ... That's a bold play, lets see how it works out for her.

  • You finally made a RELEVANT reference.

  • by felrom ( 2923513 ) on Friday July 22, 2016 @11:47PM (#52564721)

    Kaine told NBC in June that he "encouraged her to run in May of 2014, because I could telescope forward and see some of the challenges that this nation would be facing."

    A little warning of all of the terror attacks would have been nice.

  • I knew she wouldn't PICK Bernie (as if he would have accepted), and had a strong feeling she wouldn't go with Warren (wouldn't want another woman with better progressive bonafides sharing her spotlight). But to go with Someone as pro-TPP and pro-establishment as Tim Kaine is an obvious sign that she is just assuming that the progressive wing of the electorate will just fall in line anyway, and that any concessions given to Sanders in the platform process will be tossed aside immediately after the election. Trying to court moderate repugs who dislike Trump is more important to her than solidifying her own party, especially when it might make the big $$$ donors uneasy.

    Between her VP pick and the latest Guccifer document dump detailing the DNC's program of sabotaging the Sanders campaign, I am hoping that Bernie takes a page from Ted Cruz' playbook and uses his keynote speech at the convention to urge progressive voters to vote their conscience, and go for Jill Stein!

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