Democrats Are Deeply Split on Clinton's VP Pick

Trump has labeled him 'Corrupt Kaine'
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 23, 2016 8:49 AM CDT
Democrats Are Deeply Split on Clinton's VP Pick
Clinton and Kaine speak at a rally at Northern Virginia Community College earlier this month.   (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

Hillary Clinton has joined Donald Trump in selecting a white man from a swing state who describes himself as "boring" for a running mate—and liberal Democrats, especially Bernie Sanders supporters, aren't exactly fired up about Sen. Tim Kaine. Clinton, however, describes the former Virginia governor as "a lifelong fighter for progressive causes," and both Wall Street donors and labor groups are happy with the choice. Republicans, meanwhile including RNC chief Reince Priebus, were quick to highlight the party divisions. A round-up of reactions:

  • The Progressive Change Campaign Committee is among the groups not happy about Kaine's past support for the big trade deals criticized by Donald Trump. "The mood of the country is a populist one," group co-founder Stephanie Taylor said in a statement to Politico. "Unfortunately, since Tim Kaine voted to fast track the Trans-Pacific Partnership, Republicans now have a new opening to attack Democrats on this economic populist issue."
  • Union chiefs expressed their support for Kaine, including Service Employees International Union chief Mary Kay Henry, who called him "an experienced leader with a proven track record on issues from raising wages to immigration reform and racial justice," the Washington Post reports.

  • The Trump campaign wasted no time coming up with a nickname for Kaine: It is calling him "Corrupt Kaine," based on gifts he received as governor, the New York Times reports. "It's only fitting that Hillary Clinton would select an ethically challenged insider like Tim Kaine who’s personally benefited from the rigged system," a Trump spokesman says.
  • Wall Street lobbyists are satisfied with the choice, especially since the other candidates being vetted included Elizabeth Warren. "He's a sign of Hillary being Hippocratic in her pick—he does no harm," a top lobbyist tells Politico. "Time will tell if progressives show real angst or if it’s just fringe groups."
  • The National Organization of Women supports Kaine: "The combination of Hillary Clinton and Tim Kaine stands in sharp contrast to the turn-back-the-clock, step up the war on women platform of Donald Trump and Mike Pence," NOW President Terry O'Neill said in a statement. "Women know this is the most important election in a generation, and we also know that we have a steadfast advocate in Tim Kaine."
  • Norman Solomon, who says his "Bernie Delegates Network" represents hundreds of Sanders delegates, calls Kaine "a loyal servant of oligarchy." "If Clinton has reached out to Bernie supporters, it appears that she has done so to stick triangulating thumbs in their eyes," he tells the Washington Post.
  • The AP spoke to convention delegates and found that Clinton supporters consider Kaine a "solid" choice who will appeal to a range of voters, while Sanders supporters are deeply unhappy with the choice. It "was a horrible pick," says Angie Morelli, a Sanders delegate from Nevada. "In a time when she is trying to cater to Sanders supporters, it was more catering to conservative voters and she's not going to get any wave from it."
  • USA Today lists some facts about Kaine, who is fluent in Spanish and is one of just 20 people to have been a mayor, a governor and a US senator.
(More Tim Kaine stories.)

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