He gets an “F” from the NRA. After the VA Tech shootings he fought for and got some gun control votes through. I can get behind that.
Ironically Sanders is more pro gun than most Dems but his fans never cared much about that.
Don’t most liberals oppose free trade agreements? THat’s more than 0%. Call it 20%, since Trump agrees with the Democrats on some issues.
So, who’s super-excited about that Pence-Kaine debate? Huh? Huh?
Anyone?
Anyway, Kaine is an awesome pick who makes it easy to support her if I end up having to. He’s her intellectual equal and can be a great governing partner for her. Plus he’s young enough to succeed her in 2024 should she win two terms.
Downside to picking Kaine, hes as “establishment” as they come and also has strong connections to wall street. Make’s it easy for Trump to attack Clinton / Kaine as “corrupt insiders”. My fear is that the electorate is in the mood for change, and a Clinton / Kaine ticket really is not change at all.
Shouldn’t she have picked someone her opposite: Young, minority, much more liberal, to sweep up the center and left vote?
Good article on Kaine here, the gist of it being that he’s solidly liberal on important issues and has been a very successful campaigner. His “F” rating from the NRA is a badge of honor; he’s also against capital punishment; he’s a Catholic who personally opposes abortion but supports Roe v Wade and has a 100% rating from Planned Parenthood. The contrast with Pence, an extreme far-right lunatic, is remarkable. Trump and Pence belong together.
No. At least, the liberals that I know support or oppose free trade agreements based on their merits. I support NAFTA and oppose the TPP, so I’m pretty much aligned with Hillary.
The downside in picking an establishment guy is more than made up for by the upside that the ticket is chock full of well qualified, steady leadership, in contrast to the Republican ticket, which may be anti-establishment, but is also erratic and none too bright when it comes to policy.
There are quite a few of us Republicans who are willing to either support Clinton or abstain as long as she doesn’t appear to be threatening. She succeeded in that respect.
He’s solid for us Republicans on budget issues. A very responsible executive and tended to resist tax increases.
Well… not so much.
As some of the pundits are saying: First, do no harm. It’s fun to talk about the VP, but it really doesn’t matter except, as in the pick of Palin, doing no harm. This election will be a referendum on Clinton v Trump. Kaine and Pence won’t matter at all.
Well, there is the debate and Pence is just awful in debates, while Kaine is pretty good. There could be a Bentsen-Quayle moment.
I was hoping for Cory Booker (well, I was really hoping for Liz,) but Tim Kaine is a solid choice. It puts the Competence vs. Lunacy in immediate contrast.
I still think it’s his spanish fluency and history that will provide a solid plus for the campaign - the Hispanic vote is large and getting larger, and this really gets the Ds way out in front with them, I think, and it doesn’t hurt in that regard that he’s Catholic, either.
More likely a Palin-Biden type debate. The winning strategy seems to be (1) set low expectations for the dumbass, and (2) pump talking points into the dumbass’s empty head using a hydraulic pump. I’ve never heard Pence debate and considering his beliefs he’s obviously an idiot, but I’m sure he can be taught talking points in the same way as Palin or a parrot.
It is a big mistake to believe that because someone has beliefs that you strongly disagree with that they are therefore idiotic.
There are people of great intelligence and skill who use those tools to defend irrational extant conclusions.
My comment was actually somewhat tongue-in-cheek as it’s entirely possible that Pence has high-functioning intelligence by some objective measures – I really have no idea, though I’m doubtful. The point is, however, that his extreme tea-party views especially in social conservatism are simply not rationally defensible. According to something that was mentioned on Bill Maher’s convention special this week, thanks to Pence’s former administration there is a woman in Indiana right now serving 20 years in prison for having attempted a self-induced abortion. There is simply no rational way to defend that kind of lunacy, to rationalize such an egregious and fundamental injustice based on nothing more than someone’s warped personal world-view.