Kaine sees working with GOP as key to post-election healing
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Democratic vice presidential candidate Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., speaks to The Associated Press during an interview in Boston, Saturday, Oct. 22, 2016.
BOSTON >> Tim Kaine is sounding a hopeful note that a Democratic White House could work with Republicans to bridge deep divides laid bare by this bitter presidential campaign.
The vice presidential candidate told The Associated Press on Saturday that he and Hillary Clinton have already spoken about how to heal the nation if they should win. He said tackling economic anxieties, finding common policy ground with the GOP and perhaps bringing Republicans into the administration would be elements of unity, though he added that he and Clinton did not discuss Cabinet positions.
“We have not run this campaign as a campaign against the GOP with the big broad brush — we’ve run it against Donald Trump,” Kaine said. He predicted: “We’re going to get a lot of Republican votes and that will also be part of, right out of the gate, the way to bring folks back together.”
Clinton’s campaign has been preparing for the possibility that Trump won’t concede the election if he loses, based on his assertions that the contest is rigged. Kaine said he hasn’t talked with Clinton about that scenario.
A self-described underdog, Kaine said he only recently began acknowledging the real possibility of victory. He’s hired Wayne Turnage, a former chief of staff, as his transition director and is considering issues he’d pursue as vice president.
“It’s probably only been in the last couple of weeks that I’ve started to think about, OK, the prospect of winning is such that we better start doing some thinking about practicalities,” Kaine said.
As vice president, Kaine said he would hope to be central in forging relationships between the administration and mayors and governors. Kaine served as the mayor of Richmond and governor of Virginia before winning his Senate seat in 2012. He also wants to help shape U.S. policy in Latin and South America, due to his fluency in Spanish and experience as a missionary in Honduras.
Kaine still remains somewhat of an outsider in Clinton’s world. She has developed trusted relationships with several aides over decades and Kaine is a new addition to the mix.
He’s at times been out of the loop on major developments, such as not knowing about Clinton’s pneumonia diagnosis in September until days later. The two campaign together infrequently, but communicate by text message, email and phone. Sometimes they talk every few days, but it could be as infrequent as once a week, Kaine said.
Their scheduled joint appearance in Pennsylvania on Saturday was their first event together since Labor Day.
But Kaine said he’s not worried about lacking a voice in a Clinton administration and expects to be a principal adviser to her on the most difficult issues if she wins. He said he thinks Clinton picked him over longtime confidants specifically because he was not a member of the inner circle from way back.
“I’m not worried about, you know, getting my two cents in,” he said.
Kaine said his experience as Virginia’s lieutenant governor and as Democratic National Committee chairman during President Barack Obama’s first term has showed him how to be a strong adviser and asset for Clinton.
Kaine might be well-positioned to work with Republicans, having won three statewide races — lieutenant governor, governor and senator — in historically Republican Virginia, although the state has started going Democratic in presidential contests. Now in his fourth year as a senator, he said he’s already talking with Republicans about working together after the election.
Clinton is stepping up efforts to help Democrats recapture Senate control but Kaine didn’t make a specific pitch for a Democratic Senate. He said he’s more focused on finding policies Republicans and Democrats can agree on.
“I have very good relations with Republicans in the Senate,” Kaine said. “There’s some people who really want to get some good work done.”
11 responses to “Kaine sees working with GOP as key to post-election healing”
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Yea, lets see if the inflexible, uncompromising republikans can decide to make an attempt at compromise for a change!
How can you work with a political party that has abandoned its ideals? When I was growing up republicans stood for fiscal responsibility and small government. But today, what do they stand for? Deficits don’t matter and we need big government to keep women from getting abortions. Sad and pathetic. Time for the Republicans to join the Whigs. lol
Boots: Sadly, you’re right. It’s a competition between democrats and republicans to see race to see who can loot the treasury the quickest. Because we know Hillary will continue this legalized theft and put it on steroids I’ve decided to go with the outsider and I expect you will too. Trump is a man who knows economics like few others. He has promised to “drain the swamp” in DC and that includes free-spending republicans as well as democrats. Thanks for the reminder Boots old pal, I knew your wisdom and clear thinking would come in handy some day.
Mr. Trump knows the economics of failure. He has proven over and over again during this campaign that he is almost completely ignorant of monetary policy. Declaring bankruptcy; not paying taxes; and starting a fake university (is that who granted your PHD?) is a far cry from managing a sovereign currency.
Do you really think this way? Really?
What monetary policy? Barry Hussein and his butt-covering Federal Reserve abandoned sound monetary policy long ago. If you’d like I can explain quantitative easing to you. And if you pay attention and don’t act out in class, I’ll hold instruction about the damaging effects of holding interest rates at such low levels for prolonged periods.
No CEI, I will be voting for sweet Hillary as the Donald is just too far out to lunch. Sorry, but you cannot balance the budget by building a 50 ft. wall along the southern border, increase military spending, and give tax cuts to the filthy rich. This will just result in record deficits. If you are at all concerned about public debt, then vote for Hillary.
Yes, that makes sense. A vote for Hillary is a vote for fiscal responsibility, why didn’t I see that? I sure do appreciate your insight Boots, you should be an economics professor.
She’s going to take up where Barry Hussein left off and drive the debt ever higher. And let’s not forget the payoffs she needs to make to the Clinton Crime Family donors, with our tax dollars of course. She will make Barry Hussein’s failed stimulus look like a trip to the dollar store.
Let’s rally around the Donald and Make America Great Again.
Yes CEI, Hillary will continue what Obama has started. You may have noticed the stock market during Obama’s term? No? Well it hit a low of below 7000 before rising continuously for the most part and now it is around 18,000. The Donald will just plunge the market down to under 7000 again as Voodoo economics will only crash the economy.
As for debt, all I can say is a vote for Hillary will make more sense. The Donald will just increase deficits while delivering nothing worthwhile. Just remember it has been over 50 years since a republican president submitted a balanced budget to congress. The Donald will not change this. I suspect the budget will be balanced again with the next 4 years under Hillary. You should really be asking republicans why they have abandoned their fiscal responsibility platforms of the past in favor of deficits don’t matter.
I’m still puzzled that Waldo Clinton selected a white dude as her running mate, let alone a schlub like Kaine. I thought for sure a diversity candidate would have gotten the nod. You know how democrats are always whining about diversity. Don’t Black Lives Matter anymore? And another thing, where are Sharpton and Jackson? They are conspicuously absent from the Clinton campaign. Were they given a few bucks to go away because they would embarrass her? As near as I can see those in the Clinton orbit are uniformly white, zero diversity. What a bunch of reactionaries.
IRT CEI, fully agree with your post. And, the direction the Clinton/Kaine ticket wants to take America will guarantee battles with the Republican Congress and citizens of America.
Hopefully congress will not be republican for long. Tired of the do nothing congress.