Is Kaine Able? Able To Destroy Obama, Maybe...

I'm going to take a serious look at Gov. Tim Kaine today, going on the strength of the rumors that he's Obama's pick (at the very least he's on the short short list and deserves some scrutiny.) Bottom line is that Kaine is:

• Pro-Life
• Anti-Death Penalty
• Anti Stem Cell Research
  

All of these are based on his strong Christian faith. Now, I can't fault the guy for that, because he's pretty much the exact political model of my parents, other than the fact they are New York Catholic as opposed to Kaine's Virginia model. There are such things as pro-life faith-based Democrats, folks. I grew up in a family full of them and was raised as one. I'm not as passionate as my parents about it, but on those issues I do agree with them. It's consistent at least, the State does not have the right to take a person's life. My parents have the same views.

The thing is, I'm also a realist.

Tim Kaine is not consistent. The State takes the lives of people all the damn time, that's how it exercises power. Tim Kaine is very much a hawk, having said he supports the Iraq War and being a Virginia politician made every Patrick Henry reference in the world to why we're there. I also know being a pro-life Democrat is politically akin to being everybody's crazy uncle at the family reunion. People tolerate you, but that's about it...but you can't be a pro-life person and happily support a war where hundreds of thousands of people die. That makes you a hypocrite AND a schmuck.

Now, here's the thing with Kaine: The pro-war thing I have to forgive because Obama has his war mad-on moments too. Stem cell isn't a gamebreaker because Obama's for it. I could actually hold my nose on it because Obama has to win. I've already said that I can't fault a person for being pro-life. But if Barack Obama picks Tim Kaine, he's going to lose in November.

Can you imagine what a pro-life male candidate for Veep is going to do to the 18 million Hillary Clinton voters? I can. It...will not be pretty. They will revolt, openly, at the choice of Kaine. And if the pro-life thing doesn't do it, the rest of the party will revolt at Kaine because he's a Bush-lite DINO on economic issues, and that's where his views and the views I grew up on strongly diverge.

Matt Stoller :: Why Virginia Progressives Turned Against Kaine

Three years into the Kaine Administration, Virginia Progressives stand aghast at what it has become. From his repeal of the estate tax to his abandoned plan for universal Pre-K, to his opposition to embryonic stem cells, from his failed transportation plans to cozy relationship to Dominion Power and his reprehensible support of the Wise Coal Plant, the Kaine administration has fulfilled our every early fear and never failed to disappoint progressive Virginia.

Not only has Kaine caved to the business right by promoting coal against the opposition of environmentalists and cutting taxes on the superwealthy, but the state is paralyzed by hyper-partisanship. This is far from Mark Warner's era, when he was able to work with Republicans to pass progressive fiscal policies.

Kathy G and Melissa McEwan also have good points on choice, the war, homophobia, etc.

Suffice it to say I am as decidedly unthrilled as I am (unfortunately) totally unsurprised that the Obama campaign is even considering putting a gay-baiting DINO war hawk whose personal "views on abortion are roughly in line with those of George W. Bush" on the ticket.

Kaine is a very bad choice for VP. He's done nothing as Governor except turn a functional state government into a partisan cesspool of giveaways to the rich and anger everyone in the process. And on national positions, the only thing he brings to the table is that he can play the Lieberman as VP role again. And sequels usually suck, especially if the original was bad.

If it IS Kaine, then both the netroots and the PUMAs are going to go berserk. If you thought the malaise about Obama selling the netroots up the river and the cries of sexism from the PUMAs was bad BEFORE, wait until Obama selects Tim Kaine. First rule of Veep work is DO NO HARM, and Kaine is a 55-gallon drum of extra strength Harm.

It's...a bad idea. It's borderline disastrous. God help me, but he might be a worse choice than Hillary...into Epic Fail territory.