This was the first entry in Who Will Hillary Pick? - A Series of Provocative Advocacies About Possible VP Choices on Voices4Hillary, first posted on our FB page on July 12. Now that Tim Kaine has been chosen as the VP nominee, read it again. There is much to learn about and to like about Hillary's choice.
A COMPELLING PROPOSAL
TIm Kaine for Hillary VP
By Sarah Kovner
The old adage "that a vice presidential candidate should do no harm" speaks to the choice of Senator Tim Kaine, a moderate non-controversial Democrat. But I see a more compelling case for choosing the Virginia Senator.
We all know, or should, that before he was a Senator, Kaine was the Governor of Virginia and DNC chairman at the same time, and before that he was Mayor of Richmond.
What most people don't know is that after graduating from Harvard Law School he spent 17 years practicing law in Richmond representing people who had been denied housing opportunities because of their race or disability.
What we also don't know is that the Senator took a break from Harvard to work as a Catholic missionary in Honduras where he learned his fluent Spanish. Indeed, when i saw him in Georgia campaigning for Michelle Nunn in 2014, he was specifically meeting with Spanish-speaking Hispanic entrepreneurs and other community groups.
As a prime architect of President Obama's Iran deal in 2015, Senator Kaine demonstrated his ability to work across party lines with Senator Corker while maintaining his principles of diplomacy first.
I have known Tim Kaine personally since 2009 and I want to say that he is committed to progressive values and works to achieve them in a collaborative way. I think we all believe we need more of that in Washington and indeed in the country as a whole. He also has 100% rating from Planned Parenthood and says that "the right role for government is to let women make their own decision."
And while i can make a case (different though it may be) for Senators Sherrod Brown, Elizabeth Warren or Cory Booker, when Tim Kaine becomes Vice President, his replacement will be chosen by a Democratic Governor. The same cannot be said of the others at a time when we vitally need a Democratic Senate.
And one last thought. Almost blue Virginia borders on purple North Carolina which could help bring the Tar Heel State along.
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The indomitable Sarah Kovner is a longtime activist, feminist and Democrat.
Who Will Hillary Pick? - a Series of Provocative Advocacies About Possible VP Choices is curated by Annette Niemtzow, Editor and Ashley Emilia Chappo, Associate Editor.
Annette Niemtzow and Ted Smyth are editors of Voices4Hillary.
BONUS PICTURES. THE KAINE FAMILY
Tim Kaine, Anne Houlton & their 3 children.
Tim and Anne
