Looks like Hillary will pick Virginia Senator Tim Kaine to be her running mate. The announcement should come later today. I do think it is a smart move. In temperament Kaine is a moderate man, but ideologically he is hard left. He has a good resume and a perfect liberal voting record. He has advocated higher taxes, more spending, and more gun control at every level of government.
And his nomination will help unite the left for Hillary and should give her an advantage in the Old Dominion. Picking Kaine coupled with Governor McAuliffe’s executive orders to allow 200,000 felons the right to vote could be enough for her to carry the state.
Kaine was the first modern liberal Governor of Virginia. Up until Kaine was elected in 2005 Democrat gubernatorial candidates at least felt the need to pretend to be moderates. Democrat Governors Warner, Wilder, and Robb ran as moderates if not conservatives. Sure they governed as liberals, but they at least maintained a moderate face. Kaine ripped off the mask of moderation and ran as a liberal.
Kaine was almost Obama’s running mate in 2008. In fact he was one of the first big Democrats to endorse then Senator Barack Obama.
The question after Hillary’s announcement will be who will McAuliffe pick to replace Kaine in the Senate.
