Sen. Tim Kaine
by Scott Dreyer
Life is full of surprises, and I got one today when I called the Roanoke office of US Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA)… and a real voice picked up! The receptionist was friendly and professional as I requested the senator help block the proposed Kroger buy-out of Albertson’s.
I then asked her why none of my calls to that office had been answered by a human being for quite some time. I told her, “I haven’t been marking my calendar, but I guess it’s been at least one year, maybe two, since I’ve called this office and gotten a human voice. For a long time, all my calls went to voicemail.”
She tried to assure me, “we listen to all the calls that go to voicemail and pass them along to the senator.”
I then replied: “That’s nice, but from a human point of view, it’s better to call and get a human voice than just voicemail. Besides, almost every time I call the offices for Sen. Warner or Congressman Cline, a real human answers the phone.”
I get it that office staffers can be busy, but it’s been a pattern with Kaine’s offices. Sometimes I have wondered if his Roanoke office is an outlier and I’ll call his Richmond or D.C. offices, but it’s the same, where I hear a recording of Kaine’s Missouri twang, “It’s always great to hear from Virginians, so just leave a message and blah blah blah….”
From my parents I learned the importance of active citizenship, plus as a licensed history teacher since 1987, it’s important I “walk the talk” if I encourage my students to be informed and involved. Thus, I call Congressional offices a lot. Also, from my parents I learned “give credit where credit is due.”
The folks who work at Cline’s office are super. And even though Sen. Mark Warner’s politics are as loony-Left as Kaine’s, his Roanoke office is staffed with people who DO answer their phones and they have been unfailingly polite and responsive.
So, why did Kaine’s staff suddenly break their year/s-long silent streak?
My hunch is, it’s similar to the satire site Babylon Bee’s headline on Biden suddenly deciding to visit the open southern border: “Facing Low Approval, Biden Promises To Start Pretending To Care About The Border.”
So, why are Kaine’s staff taking calls again? It’s late February 2024, and Kaine is running for another six-year term, so my hunch is: He thinks it’s time to start pretending to care about normal Virginians again.
Republished with permission from The Roanoke Star.
