Clinton Inflames Progressive Base with Choice of Tim Kaine as Vice President
Published on
Friday, July 22, 2016
by
Common Dreams
Clinton Inflames Progressive Base with Choice of Tim Kaine as Vice President
"If Clinton has reached out to Bernie supporters, it appears that she has
done so to stick triangulating thumbs in their eyes."
by
Jon Queally, staff writer
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and U.S. Senator Tim
Kaine (D-VA) wave to the crowd during a campaign rally at Ernst Community
Cultural Center in Annandale, Virginia, U.S., on July 14, 2016. (Photo:
Reuters/Carlos Barria)
Hillary Clinton's Friday night announcement of Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia as
her vice-presidential running mate stirred immediate disappointment and
outrage among the progressive wing of her party and the army of supporters
inspired by Bernie Sanders' historic and visionary campaign.
"I'm thrilled to tell you," Clinton texted those on her mailing list just
before 8:15 PM EDT on Friday evening: "I've chosen Sen. Tim Kaine as my
running mate."
"Secretary Clinton must know that her choice of Kaine can only inflame
rather than soothe her relations with the huge constituency of Bernie
supporters." -Norman Solomon, RootsAction.orgReporting in recent days
increasingly signaled that Kaine was Clinton's top choice, but the official
announcement confirmed the worst fears of progressives who warned such a
pick would be taken as "a pronounced middle finger" to the millions who
voted for Sanders during the primary season. At stake, many critics of the
choice indicate, are pressing issues-including reproductive rights, climate
change, financial regulation, and corporate-friendly trade agreements-where
Kaine holds positions far to the right of where they think the party, and
the country, should be headed.
Instead of courting the energized progressive base activated and inspired by
Sanders, Clinton's choice was interpreted as a calculated affront to those
potential voters.
"Secretary Clinton must know that her choice of Kaine can only inflame
rather than soothe her relations with the huge constituency of Bernie
supporters," Norman Solomon, co-founder of the online advocacy group
RootsAction.org and national coordinator for the Bernie Delegates Network,
told Common Dreams in response to the news.
Such voters, he continued, "will understand what it means when their efforts
to challenge oligarchy have been met by Clinton's selection of 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."
Deborah Burger, co-president of National Nurses United, which had endorsed
Sanders, indicated the decision would be deeply troubling for her members
and most progressives.
"Hillary Clinton could have sent a strong signal to the millions of people
who voted for moving beyond decades of neo-liberal policies that have
produced massive inequality in wealth, employment, health care, and
education, as well as racial and gender disparities and an escalating
climate crisis," Burger told Common Dreams in a statement. "Selecting Tim
Kaine sends the opposite message, continue to accept the status quo and
lower your expectations for real change or a future we can believe in."
"It's just a sign that Hillary does not feel like she has to do anything for
the progressive wing of the party." -Ruth Conniff, The ProgressiveAccording
to Ruth Conniff, editor-in-chief of The Progressive magazine speaking to
MSNBC's Chris Hayes when the news broke on Friday, the choice of Kaine will
do nothing to excite people who voted for Bernie Sanders.
"It's just a sign that Hillary does not feel like she has to do anything for
the progressive wing of the party," lamented Conniff. "And that's
unfortunate."
In the last week alone, Kaine is on the record as pushing for new rounds of
Wall Street deregulation and voicing active support for the Trans-Pacific
Partnership (TPP) trade agreement-both in direct contradiction to what
grassroots progressives have been demanding.
"This is not a move of any kind towards the left," Conniff continued. Though
its true that this choice feels comfortable to the Clinton campaign and
those in Washington, D.C., she continued, "There are all these voters out
there and you have to energize them and this is not an energizing pick."
As Jodi Jacobson, writing for the reproductive rights blog Re-Wire, warned
ahead of the official announcement, "The selection of Tim Kaine as vice
president would be the first signal that Hillary Clinton intends to seek
progressive votes but ignore progressive values and goals." The decision,
she warned, would be "likely at her peril, and ours."
"First signal that Hillary Clinton intends to seek progressive votes but
ignore progressive values and goals." -Jodi Jacobson, ReWireThat argument
was echoed by Stephanie Taylor, a co-founder of the Progressive Change
Campaign Committee, who told the New York Times that a pick like Kaine will
be seen by many progressive and independent voters "as a proxy for how she
will govern - boldly, or cautiously?" Referring to the historic number of
small-dollar donors who fueled Sanders' campaign, Taylor warned the choice
"could deflate energy among potential donors and volunteers, hurting
Democratic efforts to win the White House."
Immediately following Clinton's official announcement, Taylor said Kaine's
support for TPP falls woefully short of what most progressive would have
hoped for on the ticket.
"As we saw in Donald Trump's speech last night, Republicans will run hard
against Democrats on trade this year," Taylor declared. "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."
What a Clinton/Kaine ticket makes clear, according to Jacobson, is that
progressives now have a serious "fight on their hands, not only to avoid the
election of an unapologetic fascist, but to ensure that the only person
claiming the progressive mantle actually means what she says."
William K. Black, associate professor of economics and law at the University
of Missouri-Kansas City, lamented Kaine's choice along economic lines.
"Kaine, like Clinton herself, is a quintessential 'New Democrat'-meaning
they are allies of Wall Street. They embrace a neoliberal, pro-corporate
outlook that has done incredible damage to the vast majority of Americans."
-economist William K. BlackBy picking Kaine, Black said in a statement, the
presuptive Democratic nominee has revealed her preferences when it comes to
the financial industry and the economy at large.
"It's not what you say, it's what you do," said Black. "Clinton can talk
about caring about the U.S. public, but this choice cuts through the
rhetoric. Kaine, like Clinton herself, is a quintessential 'New
Democrat'-meaning they are allies of Wall Street. They embrace a neoliberal,
pro-corporate outlook that has done incredible damage to the vast majority
of Americans."
Specifically on the issues of climate change and fossil fuels, director of
the advocacy group 350 Action May Boeve also agreed the choice was
troubling.
"Tim Kaine won't energize the climate base, so it's up to Hillary to start
staking out some clearer positions," Boeve said in a statement. "Kaine was
with us on Keystone XL, but against us on offshore drilling and fracking.
This November, climate activists, young people, and progressives will turn
up at the polls for candidates who say the magic words, 'keep it in the
ground.' If Democrats want to drive turnout, it's time to come out more
clearly against drilling, fracking, and new fossil fuel infrastructure."
Though a few pundits in recent weeks attempted to make a "progressive case"
for Kaine, those arguments largely fall flat for independent-minded
progressives and voters committed to the transformative agenda put forth by
Sanders.
Jeff Cohen, co-founder of RootsAction.org and communications coordinator of
the Bernie Delegates Network, said Clinton's choice repeats mistakes of
other presidential candidates who misread, or ignored, the political mood of
the nation's electorate.
"Clinton has apparently learned little from the horrific history of 2000,
when many progressives had publicly expressed their disapproval of the
Democratic presidential candidate, Al Gore - with many rallying to Ralph
Nader's 3rd party bid," explained Cohen. "Gore basically said 'F you' to
those voters by choosing a running-mate even more corporate and hawkish than
himself: the dreaded Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut. It ended with Bush
in the White House."
By choosing a "corporatist like Kaine," Cohen continued, "Hillary has
'pulled a Lieberman.' God forbid if it puts Trump in the White House."
Reactions among progressives on social media were equally unforgiving and
filled with warnings about what the decision portends:
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0
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Clinton Inflames Progressive Base with Choice of Tim Kaine as Vice President
Published on
Friday, July 22, 2016
by
Common Dreams
Clinton Inflames Progressive Base with Choice of Tim Kaine as Vice President
"If Clinton has reached out to Bernie supporters, it appears that she has
done so to stick triangulating thumbs in their eyes."
by
Jon Queally, staff writer
. 291 Comments
. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and U.S. Senator
Tim Kaine (D-VA) wave to the crowd during a campaign rally at Ernst
Community Cultural Center in Annandale, Virginia, U.S., on July 14, 2016.
(Photo: Reuters/Carlos Barria)
. Hillary Clinton's Friday night announcement of Sen. Tim Kaine of
Virginia as her vice-presidential running mate stirred immediate
disappointment and outrage among the progressive wing of her party and the
army of supporters inspired by Bernie Sanders' historic and visionary
campaign.
. "I'm thrilled to tell you," Clinton texted those on her mailing list
just before 8:15 PM EDT on Friday evening: "I've chosen Sen. Tim Kaine as my
running mate."
. "Secretary Clinton must know that her choice of Kaine can only
inflame rather than soothe her relations with the huge constituency of
Bernie supporters." -Norman Solomon, RootsAction.orgReporting in recent days
increasingly signaled that Kaine was Clinton's top choice, but the official
announcement confirmed the worst fears of progressives who warned such a
pick would be taken as "a pronounced middle finger" to the millions who
voted for Sanders during the primary season. At stake, many critics of the
choice indicate, are pressing issues-including reproductive rights, climate
change, financial regulation, and corporate-friendly trade agreements-where
Kaine holds positions far to the right of where they think the party, and
the country, should be headed.
. Instead of courting the energized progressive base activated and
inspired by Sanders, Clinton's choice was interpreted as a calculated
affront to those potential voters.
. "Secretary Clinton must know that her choice of Kaine can only
inflame rather than soothe her relations with the huge constituency of
Bernie supporters," Norman Solomon, co-founder of the online advocacy group
RootsAction.org and national coordinator for the Bernie Delegates Network,
told Common Dreams in response to the news.
Such voters, he continued, "will understand what it means when their efforts
to challenge oligarchy have been met by Clinton's selection of 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."
Deborah Burger, co-president of National Nurses United, which had endorsed
Sanders, indicated the decision would be deeply troubling for her members
and most progressives.
"Hillary Clinton could have sent a strong signal to the millions of people
who voted for moving beyond decades of neo-liberal policies that have
produced massive inequality in wealth, employment, health care, and
education, as well as racial and gender disparities and an escalating
climate crisis," Burger told Common Dreams in a statement. "Selecting Tim
Kaine sends the opposite message, continue to accept the status quo and
lower your expectations for real change or a future we can believe in."
"It's just a sign that Hillary does not feel like she has to do anything for
the progressive wing of the party." -Ruth Conniff, The ProgressiveAccording
to Ruth Conniff, editor-in-chief of The Progressive magazine speaking to
MSNBC's Chris Hayes when the news broke on Friday, the choice of Kaine will
do nothing to excite people who voted for Bernie Sanders.
"It's just a sign that Hillary does not feel like she has to do anything for
the progressive wing of the party," lamented Conniff. "And that's
unfortunate."
In the last week alone, Kaine is on the record as pushing for new rounds of
Wall Street deregulation and voicing active support for the Trans-Pacific
Partnership (TPP) trade agreement-both in direct contradiction to what
grassroots progressives have been demanding.
"This is not a move of any kind towards the left," Conniff continued. Though
its true that this choice feels comfortable to the Clinton campaign and
those in Washington, D.C., she continued, "There are all these voters out
there and you have to energize them and this is not an energizing pick."
As Jodi Jacobson, writing for the reproductive rights blog Re-Wire, warned
ahead of the official announcement, "The selection of Tim Kaine as vice
president would be the first signal that Hillary Clinton intends to seek
progressive votes but ignore progressive values and goals." The decision,
she warned, would be "likely at her peril, and ours."
"First signal that Hillary Clinton intends to seek progressive votes but
ignore progressive values and goals." -Jodi Jacobson, ReWireThat argument
was echoed by Stephanie Taylor, a co-founder of the Progressive Change
Campaign Committee, who told the New York Times that a pick like Kaine will
be seen by many progressive and independent voters "as a proxy for how she
will govern - boldly, or cautiously?" Referring to the historic number of
small-dollar donors who fueled Sanders' campaign, Taylor warned the choice
"could deflate energy among potential donors and volunteers, hurting
Democratic efforts to win the White House."
Immediately following Clinton's official announcement, Taylor said Kaine's
support for TPP falls woefully short of what most progressive would have
hoped for on the ticket.
"As we saw in Donald Trump's speech last night, Republicans will run hard
against Democrats on trade this year," Taylor declared. "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."
What a Clinton/Kaine ticket makes clear, according to Jacobson, is that
progressives now have a serious "fight on their hands, not only to avoid the
election of an unapologetic fascist, but to ensure that the only person
claiming the progressive mantle actually means what she says."
William K. Black, associate professor of economics and law at the University
of Missouri-Kansas City, lamented Kaine's choice along economic lines.
"Kaine, like Clinton herself, is a quintessential 'New Democrat'-meaning
they are allies of Wall Street. They embrace a neoliberal, pro-corporate
outlook that has done incredible damage to the vast majority of Americans."
-economist William K. BlackBy picking Kaine, Black said in a statement, the
presuptive Democratic nominee has revealed her preferences when it comes to
the financial industry and the economy at large.
"It's not what you say, it's what you do," said Black. "Clinton can talk
about caring about the U.S. public, but this choice cuts through the
rhetoric. Kaine, like Clinton herself, is a quintessential 'New
Democrat'-meaning they are allies of Wall Street. They embrace a neoliberal,
pro-corporate outlook that has done incredible damage to the vast majority
of Americans."
Specifically on the issues of climate change and fossil fuels, director of
the advocacy group 350 Action May Boeve also agreed the choice was
troubling.
"Tim Kaine won't energize the climate base, so it's up to Hillary to start
staking out some clearer positions," Boeve said in a statement. "Kaine was
with us on Keystone XL, but against us on offshore drilling and fracking.
This November, climate activists, young people, and progressives will turn
up at the polls for candidates who say the magic words, 'keep it in the
ground.' If Democrats want to drive turnout, it's time to come out more
clearly against drilling, fracking, and new fossil fuel infrastructure."
Though a few pundits in recent weeks attempted to make a "progressive case"
for Kaine, those arguments largely fall flat for independent-minded
progressives and voters committed to the transformative agenda put forth by
Sanders.
Jeff Cohen, co-founder of RootsAction.org and communications coordinator of
the Bernie Delegates Network, said Clinton's choice repeats mistakes of
other presidential candidates who misread, or ignored, the political mood of
the nation's electorate.
"Clinton has apparently learned little from the horrific history of 2000,
when many progressives had publicly expressed their disapproval of the
Democratic presidential candidate, Al Gore - with many rallying to Ralph
Nader's 3rd party bid," explained Cohen. "Gore basically said 'F you' to
those voters by choosing a running-mate even more corporate and hawkish than
himself: the dreaded Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut. It ended with Bush
in the White House."
By choosing a "corporatist like Kaine," Cohen continued, "Hillary has
'pulled a Lieberman.' God forbid if it puts Trump in the White House."
Reactions among progressives on social media were equally unforgiving and
filled with warnings about what the decision portends:
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0
License
