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The
Blue Dog personally views Lt. Gov. Tim Kaine as a
moderate-to-conservative politician. Kaine has never
been an Amway Christian, nor does he hold a lifetime
membership to the C-E Club (i.e., only attending
church service on Christmas and Easter holidays).
(Definition
time ... Amway Christian (n.): A pretentious
Christian who has forgotten the original message of
Jesus Christ to be of assistance with those less
fortunate.)
Yes,
there's no doubt that Kaine is a serious and devout
Catholic. His
stands against abortion, except to safeguard the
mother's health, and non-support for gay and lesbian
marriages and same-sex civil unions place him within
Virginia's social-right mainstream.
But
the religious convictions that lead Kaine to oppose
the Virginia death penalty are questionable with the
majority of citizens who support the law. It's his
weakest link. Virginians overwhelmingly favor the
death penalty, three to one.
That's
going to hurt the Kaine choirboy image.
Jerry
Kilgore gubernatorial-campaign spokeswoman Carrie
Cantrell said, "Already there has been much
discussion about Tim Kaine’s record of activism
against the death penalty. Going back to his days at
Harvard Law School, Tim Kaine has demonstrated an
impassioned opposition to the death penalty,
comparing our criminal justice system to the Soviet
Union, speaking at rallies against the death penalty
and calling for a moratorium on the death
penalty."
Cantrell
went on to say, "The first major-party
gubernatorial candidate to oppose the death penalty
since capital punishment was reinstated in 1976,
Kaine has spent his entire career in opposition to
this founded deterrent to crime, the death penalty--
sanctioned only for the most heinous crimes
committed against individuals.
"For
Tim Kaine to now say he will 'uphold the law' is
deliberately deceptive and a transparent attempt to
hide his record. The law of Virginia allows the
governor without reason or explanation to implement
a moratorium of the death penalty on a case-by-case
basis by pardoning or commuting sentences of death
row inmates."
The
Kaine campaign's director of communications, Mo
Elleithee, replied in kind. "That’s nothing
more than an attempt to confuse and frighten voters.
Clemency has historically been granted by Virginia
governors in only the most rare of circumstances,
and Tim Kaine will follow that tradition. Any other
application would violate the spirit of his oath of
office."
As
a Virginia politician, Kaine has committed himself
to upholding Virginia law concerning the death
penalty. He's never wavered on those statements
throughout his political career.
Elleithee
said, "Because of his strong faith, Tim Kaine
believes in the sanctity of life. Therefore, he has
a faith-based opposition to both the death penalty
and abortion. But when he places his hand on a bible
to take an oath of office to uphold the law, he
takes that oath as seriously as his marriage oath.
He will enforce the death penalty in exactly the
same way as have the eight previous governors--four
Democrat and four Republican.
"Jerry
Kilgore seems to be saying that people with strong
faith-based beliefs are incapable of keeping an oath
of office. That’s insulting, and it’s
wrong."
The
Washington Post reported
that Kaine's associations with the American Civil
Liberties Union and death-penalty cases, according
to GOP sources, were going to polish off and sink
his Democratic campaign.
An
anonymous GOP operative told the Post,
"You watch, that's how the campaign will
unfold."
Show
me the money
OK,
the death penalty is looming large on the
gubernatorial campaign. And
Kaine can expect to take a huge hit ... but what
about those 2004 historic Virginia tax increases?
Our
friend on the hundred-dollar bill, Benjamin
Franklin, once wrote, "Our Constitution is in
actual operation; everything appears to promise that
it will last; but in this world nothing is certain
but death and taxes."
Yes,
death and taxes are certain issues in the upcoming
2005 Virginia gubernatorial race …
Most
politicos and pundits would agree that Kaine's
support for the 2004 General Assembly tax increases
is going to be hard to overcome, but the political
issue is manageable due to GOP complicity in both
the House and Senate.
Republican
statewide candidates cannot use the tax increase
against their Democratic opponents without
potentially harming General Assembly GOP incumbents
that voted for Gov. Mark Warner's 2004 budget.
That's
a gotcha.
No
doubt in my mind, senators John Chichester, Tommy
Norment, Russ Potts and Emmett Hanger could possibly
find themselves on another Democratic governor’s
Christmas-card list in 2005.
As
for Kilgore, he might be sending those pro-tax
Republicans a lump of coal.
Kilgore's
substance vs. dogma
Is
resigning as Virginia's attorney general a sign of
faltering leadership?
"As
for the tone of the campaign, we believe that this
is a race about who is best suited to lead Virginia.
Therefore, questions about leadership are fair game
- and this is an example of his lack of
leadership," Elleithee said.
As
for Kilgore's political status, he's always been a
staunch leader amongst Virginia's conservatives -
both socially and fiscally.
Cantrell
said, "As the newspapers are pointing out, this
campaign will be a classic match between the
conservative Jerry Kilgore and the liberal Tim
Kaine. Over the course of the next 10 months, we
will debate the issues that are important to the
people of Virginia and the philosophical differences
between the two candidates.
"It
will be clear to the people of Virginia that Tim
Kaine is out of touch with the values of a majority
of Virginians as it relates to the public policy of
Virginia."
There's
no need for Kilgore to tread lightly on those issues
because a majority of rural Virginians will vote
only for the R candidate, while avoiding D
candidates on Election Day.
But
nothing is a gimme in this election year.
Case
in point: Kilgore's milquetoast support of anti-tax
General Assembly members during the 2004 historic
tax-and-spend session.
Like
a lemming jumping into the cold seas of Virginia
public opinion, lukewarm water-loving disciple
Kilgore eventually scampered behind the leadership
of Sen, George Allen and soon-to-be Richmond mayor
Doug Wilder, who took a unified stand against the
tax increase.
Kilgore
has his challenges within the ultra-right
conservative community due to his statements
concerning transportation-funding issues as well.
His
proposal and support of transportation bonds are the
bone of contention amongst anti-taxers along with
his recent remarks concerning other methods of
transportation funding.
With
raised eyebrows and a long, deep sigh, an anti-tax
friend recently said, "Kilgore is on his
own" - with the upcoming campaign due to that
bond-beating road path.
What
about Kilgore's dogma vote-getting potential?
It's debatable whether Kaine will have an upper hand
with the Catholic vote. But most would agree
that
Kilgore
has a lock on the conservative social issues with
the growing numbers of Virginia evangelical that
vote religiously.
As
far as other issues... Mr. Kilgore has done a
respectable job as attorney general with
public-safety issues since the terrorist attack on
9/11. He should do well with swing voters (i.e.,
Security Moms and NASCAR Dads) if he campaigns on
those issues involving Virginia's security. Most
pundits have forgotten that the Pentagon in Virginia
was also targeted that tragic day.
Discussing
the Kilgore agenda, Cantrell said, "Jerry
Kilgore is running for governor to reform government
so that we unleash the potential of all Virginians -
educational excellence for every child, keeping
people and commerce moving, protecting our
communities from those who want to do harm, and
creating economic opportunities. Who serves as the
governor of Virginia is important for our families
and for our future.
"Jerry
Kilgore has spent almost his entire career keeping
our streets and communities safe, and protecting the
rights of victims. He's going to take that same
passion and make our great Commonwealth an even
better place to call home."
Democratic
fear factor
Maybe
it's fear driven, but Virginia Democrats have been
complaining about the powerful Republican political
machine gearing up to defeat Kaine and the other
statewide candidates.
Democrats
should be accustomed to that GOP attack machine by
now. Elleithee is a campaign vet and has faced off
with Republicans for the top spot in the state as
Warner's campaign aide. Let’s not forget,
Elleithee came out on the winning side.
That
GOP boogieman excuse is well worn by Virginia
Democrats and frankly, folks, it's beginning to
sound like a broken record across the Commonwealth.
Virginia
Democrats need to please stop calling 9-WAAA-WAAAA!
Hey,
Mo Elleithee! It's not the negative political
wordsmithing, but those 20-plus direct mailers sent
statewide that are funded by the GOP contribution
machine. Repetition,
misinformation, repetition, misinformation,
repetition, misinformation ...
That's
another gotcha. It's
time-tested strategy for most of Virginia's
political campaigns.
I'm
not sure yet whether the Kaine campaign retaliation
in the media this past week will help or harm the
Democratic candidate. Like I said before, it's early
in the campaign season to let the dogs out.
As
an astute political friend noted, "The
Virginian Pilot editorial 'Kaine should muzzle
his attack dogs' is there forever, and will probably
be used in GOP direct mailers."
Those
double-misinformation twins of the Republican Party--Ray
Allen, the "prince of darkness," and Scott
Howell, the "grim reaper"--probably willk
do some of their best work against Kaine if his
campaign spokesman keeps supplying them juicy
tidbits of information. They might eventually morph
Choirboy Kaine into Karl Marx's first cousin.
There's
no doubt in my mind that the direct-mail legend of
Virginia is Republican Ray Allen.
He's the best.
While
his like-minded buddy, Howell, is best known for his
work across America, such as the advertising work
produced by this Dallas-based operative linking
former Georgia Sen. Max Cleland with Osama bin Laden
in 2002.
It’s
a dynamic duo.
Stop
feeding those political attack dogs!
But
on the flip side, there are a few Democratic alter
egos within direct-mail community, throughout the
USA, that would love to tackle and slam-dunk
Kilgore's sporadic legislative record.
I'm
sure that the $5 million contribution to Kaine from
the Democratic National Committee will be used to
pay that bill as well.
With
those dollars, maybe the campaign might hire Michael
Moore to direct a 30-second spot?
Err
... Mr. Kaine, on second thought (because Moore has
those Hollywood left-wing, liberal connotations)
maybe you ought to pass on that misguided
suggestion, OK?
Elleithee
told the Blue Dog, "The Kilgore campaign has
been hitting Tim Kaine with brass knuckles for
months, going so far as to attack his faith. ... We’re
going to keep our discussion on the issues and on
the topic of who is best suited to lead--but we’re
also not going to be anyone’s punching bag."
Cantrell
replied, "The Tim Kaine campaign claims that we
are attacking his religious views but that is far
from the truth. The issue of the death penalty is
worthy of public debate and discussion. We are
having this debate in the context of the public
policy of Virginia, and what the next governor is
going to do with the power he has relating to the
death penalty."
Word
of advice: Tim "TKO" Kaine really needs to
concentrate and focus on Virginia's smart-growth
initiatives and link Virginia’s transportation
issues to our future challenges because these are
important issues dealing with Virginia’s quality
of life.
Hey,
Choirboy Kaine, nobody likes to be picked on, but it
takes two to fight. And
it's OK to fight back! But Mr. Kaine, you need to
first tackle Kilgore's big campaign issues, such as
crime and immigration in the Commonwealth.
Kaine
once gave the Blue Dog some campaign advice as a
General Assembly candidate. He said, "Steve,
try to be more, err ... positive."
The
Blue Dog says listen to your own advice and put away
those brass knuckles, Tim.
Shake
more hands and kiss more babies and address the
issues important to Virginia's future.
--
February 14, 2005
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