Matt Yglesias

29 Responses to “Tim Kaine for DNC”

1. Dan Kervick Says:
   January 4th, 2009 at 8:16 pm

   I like Kaine a lot. He would have made a very good choice for VP. And he speaks in the key of Obama. The two are soul brothers.

2. Why oh why Says:
   January 4th, 2009 at 8:22 pm

   given the current configuration of political power, the DNC is basically destined to be an adjunct of the White House political operation no matter who heads it.

   Why the White House only and not a mix of White House, Congress and local officials representatives? Our problems start there, bowing to the will of a Leader/President/King and expect him to solve all our problems and representing all our values. Especially given the influence lobbies can have on just one man.

3. Charles Breznev Says:
   January 4th, 2009 at 8:27 pm

   Yeah, but Kaine as a strategizer?

   I love Kaine as an officeholder, but he’s not much of a party operative. And that seems to me to be the primary job description of the DNC Chairmanship

   Say what you want about the scum-stain that is Terry McAuliffe, but he was an excellent DNC Chair (as far as achieving what he set out to achieve).

4. Guy Yedwab Says:
   January 4th, 2009 at 8:54 pm

   He’s former governor of Virginia. He started the slide of Virginia to the Democratic column that was followed by Mark Warner for Governor and Senate. Note that Virginia and its neighbor North Carolina were Obama’s inroads into the South. Would he have won in Virginia before Democrats like Kaine and Warner became popular–proving to states that have a healthy dislike of Democrats that they don’t all have to look like Nancy Pelosi?

   I’m not a Virginian, so I don’t want to speculate on exactly how that shift began, and I don’t know how much it was Kaine and how much it was Republican strategy, but if the Democrats want to bring in the South to their tent–one of only two parst of the country that still seem solidly anti-Democrat–then someone like Tim Kaine might know how it’s done.

5. Andrew Fly Says:
   January 4th, 2009 at 9:02 pm

   Great move. The thing about Virginia is they have a elections every year, so people familiar with the process there have more experience than do their peers in other states. For political junkies it’s heaven. They’ve tried stuff there that can be tried on a larger scale nationally. Kaine, Warner and Webb made modest inroads in Southwest Virginia, and those tactics were used effectively in the Appalachia parts of North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Ohio.

6. McKingford Says:
   January 4th, 2009 at 9:10 pm

   Uh, doesn’t he already have a job right now?

7. KCinDC Says:
   January 4th, 2009 at 9:14 pm

   Dan, he might have been okay for VP, except that the Virginia lieutenant governor is a Republican. That would have put a damper on the bluening of Virginia.

   Guy, Kaine is the current governor of Virginia. He came after Warner.

   McKingford, the heads of campaign committees often hold elected office at the same time.

8. JimboSlice Says:
   January 4th, 2009 at 9:16 pm

   Eyebrow of Power!!!

9. 24AheadDotCom Says:
   January 4th, 2009 at 9:57 pm

   I’m going to guess that Tim Kaine might be even dumber than MattY. Not even MattY would have said something that dumb, although Kaine’s been around longer so MattY still has time.

10. Jake Says:
    January 4th, 2009 at 10:11 pm

    So the Dems decide to go with a smart, pragmatic moderate. I wonder how that RNC search is going…

11. JeanLouise Says:
    January 4th, 2009 at 11:09 pm

    Naming Kaine to this position is an insult to Democrats and to women, in particular. He believes in abstinence-based sex education and the over-lapping of religion and government. This is not a Democratic appointment. It’s an Obamacratic appointment-another flip off to women’s rights.

12. Adam Says:
    January 4th, 2009 at 11:31 pm

    “Naming Kaine to this position is an insult to Democrats and to women, in particular.”

    Yes, someone who represents a formerly solid red state that has since elected two Democratic governors, two Democratic Senators, and gone blue in a presidential election for the first time in 40 years is an insult to Democrats.

    Give. Me. A. Break.

    Yeah, he’s pro-life. Oh well. Some Democrats are. This is also a clearly non-ideological position in which Democrats should hope the #1 characteristic of the new leader is an appreciation for the 50-state strategy. Going back to the West Coast/Northeast + Ohio electoral strategy of only supporting Democrats who agree with you 100% on every issue, including ones as controversial as the one you’re upset about, is a recipe for utter disaster. I rather like having Jim Webb instead of George Allen in the Senate, but I guess from your perspective they’re both insults to women so why bother supporting either, right? I mean, surely Kerry or Sanders could win in Virginia if they happened to live there, right?

13. Jasper Says:
    January 5th, 2009 at 12:41 am

    This is a good choice for the various reasons mentioned above. It’s also a reward from Obama to an early loyalist. The going’s going to be rough for incumbent governors in the immediate future, so this lets Kaine segue into a nice, high profile, substantive position without having to risk losing a reelection bid.

14. pseudonymous in nc Says:
    January 5th, 2009 at 1:07 am

    this lets Kaine segue into a nice, high profile, substantive position without having to risk losing a reelection bid.

    Um, the Virginia constitution already does that. The last bit, at least.

    I can see the logic in this, anyway. The DNC clearly takes a backstage role when there’s a clear head of the party (yeah yeah, president of everyone, but still) and it’s not going to be the same organisation as it was under Dean. Instead, I can see it being used to ensure that Dem governors and state legislatures are in the loop.

15. Jasper Says:
    January 5th, 2009 at 1:09 am

    Um, the Virginia constitution already does that. The last bit, at least.

    Yup. It pays to read before posting.

16. K Says:
    January 5th, 2009 at 8:41 am

    First Obama and Co. shuts down Howard Dean’s 50-State Strategy, and now they put Kaine in the party chair?

    Why not just turn the party apparatus over to the DLC?

    (And, yes, I live in Virginia. I know what a “centrist” Kaine is. I know what an ineffective governor he’s been. Believe me, this is not good news for the democratic wing of the Democratic Party.)

17. JimboSlice Says:
    January 5th, 2009 at 10:08 am

    Some Democrats think that killing an unborn baby because he/she upsets your life plans is murder, so we are opposed to it. Yeh, how does that flip off women? Sorry, we don’t want you to murder unborn babies, shocking.

18. allbetsareoff Says:
    January 5th, 2009 at 1:25 pm

    The first consequence of Kaine becoming DNC chairman will be to give the Republican majority in the VA House of Delegates an excuse to stonewall the governor’s budget proposals. Like most states, VA is facing a revenue shortfall, and will have to come up with budget cuts and/or new taxes. If the legislature stalemates, Kaine will have to make up the shortfall entirely with budget cuts.

    The VA House is up for (re)election, along with elections for governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general, in November.

    If the Dems take control of the state House (they already have a narrow majority in the state Senate), they will control redistricting after the 2010 census. Congressional and state-legislative districts, now gerrymandered in the GOP’s favor, will change substantially thanks to population growth in Northern Virginia and to a lesser extent around Norfolk-Virginia Beach, Richmond and Charlottesville.

19. allbetsareoff Says:
    January 5th, 2009 at 1:33 pm

    VA, BTW, is countercyclical: The last time it elected a governor belonging to the sitting president’s party was 1973.

20. Another Chris Says:
    January 5th, 2009 at 8:10 pm

    Bush gave Jim Gilmore the chairmanship of the RNC in 2001, where he lasted less than a year. How much does anyone want to bet that Kaine lasts that long in the job and then runs a joke of a campaign for President in 2016 after being out of office for seven years?

    If I recall, Clinton basically named McAuliffe DNC chair on his way out the door. I take it that Dubya won’t be doing that?

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