Tim Kaine

[[File:Tim Kaine, official 113th Congress photo portrait.jpg|thumb|165px|Just a big, healthy, beautiful, apple-cheeked baby boy.]]{{uspolitics}}
'''Timothy Michael Kaine''' {{lived|1958}} (not to be confused with former [[GOP]] governor of [[New Jersey]] {{wpl|Tom Kean||)}}<ref>Politico staff (July 27, 2016). [http://www.politico.com/story/2016/07/trump-confuses-tim-kaine-226283 "Trump confuses Clinton's running mate with former New Jersey governor"]. ''Politico''.</ref> is an [[United States|American]] attorney and politician serving as the junior [[United States Senate|Senator]] from [[Virginia]]. Kaine was elected to the Senate as a [[Democratic Party|Democrat]] in 2012 and was the nominee of the Democratic Party for [[Vice President of the United States]] in the [[2016 U.S. presidential election]].<ref name="ChuckToddKainePicked">{{cite news|last1=Todd|first1=Chuck|title=[http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/tim-kaine-hillary-clinton-s-pick-vice-presidential-running-mate-n614811 Tim Kaine Is Hillary Clinton's Pick as Vice Presidential Running Mate]|agency=NBC News|date=July 22, 2016}}</ref>

==Bona fides==
Kaine took a break from Harvard Law School in 1980 to work in Honduras for nine months, helping Jesuit missionaries who ran a Catholic school. As a result, he is fluent in [[Spanish]]. He delivered the first-ever senate speech all in Spanish, which hypothetically could have helped Clinton get Hispanic votes in crucial states such as [[Florida]].

Kaine served on the Committee of Armed Services, Committee on the Budget, and Committee on Foreign Relations. He first entered the national spotlight in 2007, receiving applause for his response to the Virginia Tech shootings as Governor.

==Vice Presidential run==
On July 22, 2016, [[Hillary Clinton]] announced that she had selected Kaine to be her running mate in the 2016 presidential election.<ref name="ChuckToddKainePicked"/> He was officially nominated for [[Vice President of the United States|Vice President]] on July 26, 2016.<ref>{{Cite web|first=Nolan D.|last=McCaskill|title=[http://www.politico.com/story/2016/07/dnc-kicks-off-roll-call-vote-to-nominate-clinton-226239 Hillary Clinton breaks the glass ceiling]|work=Politico|dat=July 26, 2016}}</ref> Kaine is a devout [[Catholic]]<ref>McEvers, Kelly (July 22, 2016). [http://www.npr.org/2016/07/22/487120976/tim-kaines-pastor-describes-the-veep-picks-life-as-a-devout-catholic "Tim Kaine's Pastor Describes The Veep Pick's Life As A Devout Catholic"]. ''NPR''.</ref> and "a battleground-state politician with working-class roots and a fluency in Spanish".<ref>Chozick, Amy; Rappeport, Alan; Martin, Jonathan (July 22, 2016). [http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/23/us/politics/tim-kaine-hillary-clinton-vice-president.html "Hillary Clinton Selects Tim Kaine, a Popular Senator From a Swing State, as Running Mate"]. ''[[The New York Times]]''.</ref>

When Kaine ran for governor in Virginia, he ran radio ads calling himself a [[conservative]]. He declared his opposition to same-sex marriage and abortion while supporting a ban on "[[partial birth abortion]]", defunding abortion clinics, and the [[death penalty]]<ref name=CampAd2005>Kaczynski, Andrew (July 23, 2016). [https://www.buzzfeed.com/andrewkaczynski/listen-to-tim-kaines-im-conservative-radio-ads-from-2005 "Listen To Tim Kaine's "I'm Conservative" Radio Ads From 2005"]. ''BuzzFeed''. </ref> (despite personal opposition to the death penalty, Kaine reluctantly carried out 11 death sentences whilst Governor of Virginia, being one of the few Democrats in recent years to do so);<ref>McDaniel, Chris (July 23, 2016). [https://www.buzzfeed.com/chrismcdaniel/tim-kaines-complicated-history-with-the-death-penalty "Tim Kaine Has A Long, Complicated History With The Death Penalty"]. ''BuzzFeed''.</ref> this, he claims, is because although his "faith teaches life is sacred" and that he "personally oppose[s] the death penalty", he would "carry out death sentences handed down by Virginia juries" as Governor of Virginia "because that's the law".<ref name="Atkinson2006">{{cite book|author=Frank B. Atkinson|title=Virginia in the Vanguard: Political Leadership in the 400-year-old Cradle of American Democracy, 1981-2006||year=2006|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|isbn=978-0-7425-5210-4|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=BqputiyLQ3QC&pg=PA287 287]}}</ref> As governor, he was given a "mixed record" by NARAL for his support for [[abstinence]] education and making parental consent a prerequisite for abortion access.<ref>Samuelsohn, Darren; Straus, Daniel (July 7, 2016). [http://www.politico.com/story/2016/07/tim-kaine-abortion-predicament-225053 "Tim Kaine's abortion predicament"]. ''Politico''. </ref> Yet Kaine also has a 100% approval rating for [[Planned Parenthood]] and maintains a [[pro-choice]] position with regards to abortion.<ref>Stolberg, Sheryl Gay; Kaplan, Thomas (July 23, 2016). [http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/24/us/politics/tim-kaine-death-penalty.html "On Death Penalty Cases, Tim Kaine Revealed Inner Conflict"]. ''[[The New York Times]]''.</ref>

Kaine's snooping into the private lives of other couples may have come at a cost to the Clinton campaign though: in 2002, Kaine said that former president [[Bill Clinton]] should have resigned for his misconduct during the Monica Lewinsky scandal.<ref>Woodruff, Betsy (August 17, 2016). [http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/08/17/tim-kaine-once-said-cheating-politicians-should-resign-including-bill-clinton.html "Tim Kaine Once Said Cheating Politicians Should Resign—Including Bill Clinton"]. ''The Daily Beast''.</ref> (i.e. getting blown by an intern, which is exactly nobody's business but that of the intern, Bill and Hillary)

The choice of Kaine annoyed many progressives, who were hoping that Clinton would pick either a prominent left-wing voice in the US, such as [[Elizabeth Warren]] or Sherrod Brown, or an ethnic minority candidate such as {{wpl|Thomas Perez|Tom Perez|,}} {{wpl|Julian Castro||,}} or {{wpl|Cory Booker||.}}<ref>Brand, Donald (July 25, 2016). [http://fortune.com/2016/07/25/hillary-clinton-tim-kaine-elizabeth-warren/ "Why Hillary Clinton Chose Tim Kaine Over Elizabeth Warren"]. ''Fortune''.</ref> Kaine was most likely picked in order to galvanize the important minority vote in swing states like [[Florida]], not to mention his home state of [[Virginia]] (which could have gone better).<ref>(July 23, 2016). [http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-07-23/tim-kaine-swing-state-senator-with-foreign-policy-clout/7654968 "Tim Kaine: A swing state senator with foreign policy clout"]. ''ABC News''.</ref>

==Political ideology==
{{cquote|I'm conservative on issues of personal responsibility. As a former Christian missionary, faith is central to my life. I oppose gay marriage, I support restrictions on abortion — no public funding and parental consent — and I've worked to pass a state law banning partial birth abortion.|||Campaign ad for Virginia governor, 2005<ref name=CampAd2005 />}}
As a senator, Kaine voted in favour of fast-tracking the [[Trans-Pacific Partnership]],<ref>Jiliani, Zaid (July 21, 2016). [https://theintercept.com/2016/07/21/hours-before-hillary-clintons-vp-decision-likely-pick-tim-kaine-praises-the-tpp/ "Hours Before Hillary Clinton's VP Decision, Likely Pick Tim Kaine Praises the TPP"]. ''The Intercept''. </ref> which some have suggested may dissuade [[populist]] swing voters;<ref name=NYTTaylor>Taylor, Stephanie (July 23, 2016). [http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2016/07/22/is-tim-kaine-the-right-running-mate-for-hillary-clinton/picking-tim-kaine-wont-attract-populist-swing-voters "Picking Tim Kaine Won't Attract Populist Swing Voters"]. ''[[The New York Times]]''.</ref> indeed, many [[Bernie Sanders|Sanders]] supporters at the 2016 Democratic National Convention held up signs against the TPP in protest of Clinton's support for the partnership.<ref>Nieberding, Mareike (July 25, 2016). [https://mic.com/articles/149726/what-does-tpp-mean-and-what-did-the-anti-tpp-signs-mean-at-the-2016-dnc-opening-night "What Does TPP Mean, and What Did the Anti-TPP Signs Mean at the 2016 DNC Opening Night?"]. ''Policy.Mic''.</ref> Kaine came out as opposing TPP after Clinton appointed Kaine as her running mate (Clinton herself went through a similar conversion), less than two days after speaking about the benefits of TPP to ''The Intercept'' and previously voting in favour of "fast-tracking" authorities in the Senate, allowing deals like TPP to be passed through quickly.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Kim|first1=Seung Min|last2=Everett|first2=Burgess|title=Kaine praised TPP as recently as Thursday|accessdate=August 5, 2016|date=July 22, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Flores|first1=Reena|title=[http://www.cbsnews.com/news/tim-kaine-changes-course-on-tpp-after-vp-nod/ Tim Kaine changes course on TPP after VP nod]|accessdate=August 5, 2016|work=CBS News|date=July 23, 2016}}</ref>

Kaine strongly supported Virginia's "[[right to work]]" law and was against giving public employees collective bargaining rights.<ref>(February 25, 2011). [http://www.politifact.com/virginia/statements/2011/feb/25/christopher-peace/del-chris-peace-says-tim-kaine-lock-step-obama-opp/ "Del. Chris Peace says Tim Kaine is trying to stop 'right to work' laws in Wisconsin"]. ''PolitiFact''.</ref> He was one of 13 Senate Democrats who didn't sign a letter in support of strengthening regulations on payday loans.<ref>(July 21, 2016). [http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2016/07/clinton-vp-favorite-pushes-for-bank-deregulation.html "Clinton VP Favorite Just Gave the Left Two More Reasons to Distrust Him"]. ''New York''.</ref><ref>Reporter, Zach Carter Senior Political Economy; Post, The Huffington (20 July 2016). [http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/tim-kaine-clinton-vp_us_578fc8e3e4b0bdddc4d2c86c "Tim Kaine Calls To Deregulate Banks As He Campaigns To Be Clinton's VP"]. ''[[The Huffington Post]]''. </ref> He has voiced support for offshore oil drilling and voted in favour of fast-tracking the construction of natural gas pipelines; despite that, he was against the Keystone Pipeline and supported the Clean Power Plan.<ref>Herzog, Katie (July 21, 2016). [http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2016/07/why-fossil-fuel-industry-really-likes-one-clintons-potential-running-mates "Why environmentalists aren't sold on Tim Kaine"]. ''Mother Jones''. </ref> Kaine also criticized Obama's operations against [[ISIL]] as an "undeclared war"<ref>(October 31, 2015). [http://www.npr.org/2015/10/31/453393878/sen-tim-kaine-criticizes-obamas-syria-strategy "Sen. Tim Kaine Criticizes Obama's Syria Strategy"]. ''NPR''. </ref> and believes that Obama should have established a "no-fly zone".<ref>Beauchamp, Zack (July 23, 2016). [http://www.vox.com/2015/11/23/9780136/isis-tim-kaine-interview "Tim Kaine, Hillary Clinton's VP pick, told us why he wants the US doing more in Syria"]. ''Vox''. </ref> Hours before he was chosen as Clinton's VP, he wrote two letters in favor of financial deregulation.<ref>Dayen, David (July 20, 2016). [https://theintercept.com/2016/07/20/tim-kaine-possible-hillary-clinton-pick-for-vice-president-signals-support-to-banks/ "Tim Kaine, Possible Hillary Clinton Pick for Vice President, Goes to Bat for Banks"]. ''The Intercept''. </ref>

Although considered a "[[populist]]-leaning [[liberal]]" by OnTheIssues.org,<ref>[http://www.ontheissues.org/Senate/Tim_Kaine.htm Tim Kaine] on OnTheIssues.org.</ref> Kaine is considered even by his supporters to be a [[centrist]] politician.<ref name=NYTSchnur>Shnur, Dan. (July 23, 2016). [http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2016/07/22/is-tim-kaine-the-right-running-mate-for-hillary-clinton/a-boring-centrist-is-a-good-pick-for-clintons-vice-president "A Boring Centrist Is a Good Pick for Clinton's Vice President"]. ''[[The New York Times]]''.</ref> ''[[FiveThirtyEight]]'' gives Kaine an average score of −37 (−100 is the most liberal, and 100 is the most conservative).<ref name="538Splashy">{{Cite web|author=Harry Enten|title=[http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/hillary-clinton-tim-kaine-vp/ Hillary Clinton Picks Tim Kaine, Betting She Can Beat Trump Without a Splashy VP]|work=[[FiveThirtyEight]]|date=June 22, 2016}}</ref> ''FiveThirtyEight'' characterizes him as a "mainstream Democrat" and notes that his ideology score is very similar to that of Vice President [[Joe Biden]].<ref name="538Splashy" /> Three conservative groups, the {{wpl|American Conservative Union||,}} the [[Club for Growth]], and {{wpl|Heritage Action||,}} gave Kaine zero percent ratings in the few years before 2016,<ref name="GearanLiberals">{{Cite web|author=Anne Gearan|title=[https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/07/22/clinton-teased-liberals-with-elizabeth-warren-and-gave-them-tim-kaine-she-should-be-fine/ Will liberals be upset with Tim Kaine?]|newspaper=[[Washington Post]]|date=July 22, 2016}}</ref> while the liberal group {{wpl|Americans for Democratic Action}} gave Kaine a 90% rating in 2014.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20160204084431/https://adaction.org/media/votingrecords/2014.pdf 2014 Congressional Voting Record], ''ADA Today'' (Americans for Democratic Action).</ref> The ''New York Times'' wrote that "in hyperpartisan Washington, he is often seen as a centrist" while also describing him as an "old-fashioned liberal...driven by [[Jesuit]] ideals."<ref name="StolbergSharpElbows">Sheryl Gay Stolberg, [http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/23/us/politics/tim-kaine-history.html "Tim Kaine: A Self-Effacing Senator in a Sharp-Elbows Era"], ''[[New York Times]]'' (July 22, 2016).</ref>

==References==
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