Thanks as always to The Other McCain for the Rule Five links!
Now, on to the news; on Saturday, Her Imperial Majesty Hillary I selected Virginia Senator and former Governor Tim Kaine as her running mate. Excerpt:
Kaine has been a senator since 2013, governor of Virginia from 2006 to 2012, and lieutenant governor from 2002 to 2006. He served as mayor of Richmond from 1998 to 2001. He was previously considered for the vice presidential nomination by Barack Obama when he was first running for president 2008, and was eventually President Obama’s choice to lead the Democratic National Committee.
Democrats will try to paint Kaine as a centrist—he is described as pro-trade, says he is “pro-choice” while personally opposing abortion, and progressives are upset that he signed a letter urging regulators to reconsider the rules for regional banks. In 2014, Kaine tried to get a vote on an authorization for the use of military force against ISIS. Richmond Times-Dispatch columnist A. Barton Hinkle recently called him the “affable ideologue” and the 2012 race Kaine participated in as “the most interesting race being ignored” that year. Kaine is also a proponent of the crony capitalist Export-Import Bank.
Her Highness could have made a worse pick. Given the Democrat’s field right now, she could have made many, many worse picks; nobody ever said the Dowager Empress was stupid. Corrupt, dishonest, ego-maniacal, power-mad and venal, yes; stupid, no.
Kaine will be (and on some issues, is) cast as one of the Democrats’ few remaining centrists, and with that the ticket will try to knock back some of The Donald’s growing support among disaffected blue-collar, labor union Truman Democrats. Will it be enough? We’ll find out in November. Those same blue-collar Democrats, especially in states with big outdoor traditions like Pennsylvania and Ohio, tend to look askance at pols who favor gun-control laws, and bleating that he “is a gun owner” notwithstanding, like Her Imperial Majesty, Kaine has never seen a gun-control proposal he wasn’t in favor of.
The selection will also drive away some younger voters who have been feeling the Bern. The loony old Bolshevik from Vermont has now (finally) formally dropped out and endorsed Her Imperial Majesty, but some of his nuttier followers may bail for a third party; Libertarian Gary Johnson may pick up some, more likely the even daffier Bolshevik Green Jill Stein will pick up more of that cohort.
Meanwhile, the Dems start their convention coronation today. This should be interesting.
