Senator Obama, Please Don't Take Our Kaine Away

Speculation about Barack Obama's vice presidential pick is running high.  It's down to just a few.  Pundits are guessing left and right, analyzing the speakers on the DNC schedule like tea leaves.  Does the availability of certain URL's have any significance?  Does Kaine's failure to appear on the speaker schedule mean that he's the pick?  Or are the speakers after Bill Clinton - Bayh and Biden - the ones to watch? 

One thing is for sure, I don't want Senator Obama to pick Governor Kaine.

Now don't get me wrong, I like Kaine despite his wishy washy views on reproductive rights.  I think he's been a good Governor and an asset to the Commonwealth.  That's just it, I'd like to keep him where I think he'll do the best job for Virginia - in Richmond.

While Virginia is a key battleground state in this election, that's unusual for the Commonwealth.  We've voted for Republican Presidents since the 60's.  Over more recent years, however, Democrats have been creeping into Virginia's national political scene.  Governor Warner was one of Virginia's most popular governor's ever.  He's now running for Republican John Warner's long-time Senate seat against another former Virginia governor, Jim Gilmore.  Warner has quite a nice lead.  So, for the first time in nobody-remembers-how-long, Virginia will have two Democratic Senators and a Democratic Governor.

If Kaine resigns to run for the Vice Presidency, that leaves Republican Lt. Governor Bill Bolling as our new governor.  Pardon me if I don't jump for joy.  While Bill Bolling has already indicated that he does not intend to run for governor in 2009, we don't have to worry about being stuck with him for 5 years.  But, the expected Republican candidate is even worse - Virginia Attorney General Bob McDonnell.  Having a Republican as governor during the election can only help McDonnell and Virginia's General Assembly is pretty red.  That's a recipe for disaster here in Virginia.

McDonnell is about as conservative as they come.   He was a big supporter of Virginia's  "partial birth abortion ban."  The Virginia Court of Appeals declared the ban unconstitutional in May of this year "because it imposes an undue burden on a woman's right to obtain an abortion."  McDonnell was not to be deterred and requested an en banc (a full court) hearing of the case by the Court of Appeals.  Surprisingly, the Court granted his request.

Why was this surprising?  The federal so-called partial birth abortion ban protects doctors who set out to perform a legal abortion and accidentally performs a banned procedure.  Virginia's law is even more restrictive.  It basically bans a common second trimester abortion procedure and does not protect doctors who inadvertently perform a banned procedure.

McDonnell has even endorsed Gilmore, quite possibly one of the worst governors in Virginia's long and distinguished history.  He royally screwed up Virginia's budget, but it gets even better.  Remember the Terri Schiavo fiasco?  Virginia had a similar case back in 1998.  I remember it well because I was in law school at the time.  Michelle Finn had petitioned the court to allow her husband to die in a nursing home.  Our Worst Governor Ever, Gilmore, intervened in the case, ordering appellate reviews, trying to ram through legislation specific to the Finn case, and basically putting Michele Finn through emotional and financial hell.

This is the candidate McDonnell supports.

So, yeah, if Kaine becomes the VP choice, Virginia may well be stuck with Attila the Hun as governor in the future.  With a Republican General Assembly, it should be good times here in the Commonwealth.  I'll expect zero funding progress to sort out our transportation mess, cuts in education and necessary social funding, and perhaps even another financial mess like the one Governor Gilmore left for Warner to clean up in 2002.

Senator Obama, I know that you and Tim Kaine are good friends.  I know that he's a good man and a good leader.  I know that you want to win Virginia.  But don't you think that Kaine will do everything he can to help you win Virginia while he's right here, leading the Commonwealth?

For the good of Virginia, please leave our Kaine alone!

When she isn't obsessing about Virginia politics or trying to turn the state blue, Stephanie can be found writing about more mindless things, like shoes and the swear words that pop out of her toddlers' mouths, at Lawyer Mama.

Comments

[progressive gal]

I agree Steph (shocking, right?). McDonnell is a scary guy. I went to my aunt's graduation from Regent (don't make fun - we all have crazy relatives) and got to listen to a speech he gave there, so glad and assured that these "pure souls" would be bringing their "religion" with them to their jobs in the public sector to combat the "secular immorality." This, after the whole hooding ceremony the night before in which they proclaimed their graduates soldiers in God's Army...they called it a commissioning ceremony even! I thought, really? Assured? It scares the hell outta me! He constantly introduces the most restrictive reproductive healthcare bills with no support of common sense approaches like comprehensive sex education and family planning funding. Giving him, or anyone like him, any opportunity for progression in state politics would be horrible for Virginia and our citizens.

[Donna]

I confess I haven't paid a lot of attention to Tim Kaine, so hadn't seen his appeal... but I did catch him this morning on Meet the Press, and now I do. (It probably didn't hurt that he was there opposite Bobby Jindal). For your sake, I hope he isn't the running mate.

[Sam Penney]

Although I would also hate to lose Kaine as our Governor, I'm not too worried about Governor Bolling. Here's why: It was reported in the media that Bolling and McDonnell had a gentleman's agreement that Bolling would not challenge McDonnell for the Governor's nomination in 2009, but McDonnell agreed not to run against Bolling if Bolling became Governor before the election.

Bolling is not that great a campaigner, and he has done absolutely nothing of note as LG. As a Democrat, I'd much rather run against Bolling and whatever failed record he manages to assemble as Governor than against McDonnell, a polished and smooth ultra-right wing candidate. Besides, with a Democratic State Senate and a relatively moderate House, it's doubtful that Bolling could do that much damage during his short tenure.

Lastly, I doubt that Kaine would resign to run for VP; it would make far more sense for him to resign after he won. I think that Obama could do better than Kaine for his VP pick, but if he picks Kaine, I think it will actually make it easier for Democrats to hold on to the Governor's office in 2009.