Yesterday in Arlington, I had the opportunity to hear three rousing speeches by three rising Democratic stars. At the Women for Kaine luncheon, the audience (which included a number of men as well) was really fired up to hear our next Lt. Governor Leslie Byrne, current Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm, and Virginia's next great Governor, Tim Kaine.Leading off was Leslie Byrne, former US Congresswoman, member of the Virginia Assembly, and Democratic candidate for Lt. Governor of Virginia. Byrne reminded us that this election is, without exaggeration, crucial to the future of Virginia. Byrne then introduced Jennifer M. Granholm, the Governor of Michigan, and also a leading example of the new breed of Democrat -- fiscally responsible, a good administrator, and a strong leader. So strong, in fact, that some people have suggested we should amend the Constitution to allow this amazing, Canadian-born woman to be President of our country some day.
When it was her turn to speak, Governor Granholm listed ten big reasons she is delighted to support Tim Kaine for Governor of Virginia. Come to think of it, what Granholm gave us was actually a thumbnail outline of true Democratic values in general:
1) Like Mark Warner, Tim Kaine is a Democrat who supports small business, is pro-technology, is not afraid of change, and encourages innovation.
2) Like many other great Democrats, Tim Kaine understands and embraces differences. Because Tim respects people and values their opinions, he has asked for input from all across the state. As Governor, Kaine will emphasize personal freedom, rather than lock-step ideology.
3) Tim Kaine honors work and workers, and wants to provide a level competitive field for workers as well as for business. This is a mainstream progressive, Democratic value.
4) Like other Democrats, Tim Kaine does NOT believe in living beyond our means as a society. Instead, Tim believes that we should wisely share our resources for agreed-upon common goods, like public schools. Over the next four years, Tim Kaine will govern smart, not govern mean.
5) Like other strong Democrats, Tim Kaine is not afraid of using words like ?patriotism.? Kaine loves his state and his country so much that he is not afraid to identify areas for improvement, to work hard at making things the best that they can be.
6) Democrats like Kaine believe in the value of leaving a campsite better than they found it. Needless to say, this is in contrast to the mess that Jerry Kilgore's mentor, Jim Gilmore, bequeathed us.
7) Like other Democrats, Tim Kaine believes in quality public education as a common good. That's why Tim will fight for early education for all our children, because, whether the child is your own or not, all the children in Virginia are ?our children.?
8) Like other Democrats, Tim Kaine honors our parents and grandparents. That's why they believe in providing them good health care and secure retirements.
9) Kaine respects and honors all faiths, not just one select faith. Just as importantly, Kaine honors the great Constitutional tradition that guarantees freedom of worship in this country, while adhering to the rule of law when making government decisions.
10) Kaine himself is a decent, honest, thinking, moderate man. Kaine is an effective administrator, who is the clear choice to be the next Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia.
When Kaine spoke, he lived up to all of Governor Granholm?s ten reasons, especially number ten. First, Kaine related that people ask him how he can always be smiling and calm at the end of such a hard, often nasty, "neck and neck" campaign. His answer: when the campaign started, he was down by twelve or so points, and now he has improved to a dead heat. The reason he now has momentum on his side is very simple: Kaine has a positive message of ?GOOD NEWS.? Jerry Kilgore just has negativity.
For instance, in the last debate between Kaine and Kilgore, when moderator Larry Sabato asked the candidates if each would commit to making at least 50% of their ads positive, Tim immediately and happily replied that he would go beyond that. Tim promised that he would make the vast majority of his campaign positive because his vision for the future of Virginia is positive? but the Irish part of him would always answer any attack on him and fight back. Kilgore, on the other hand, hemmed and hawed (as is his style), sweated a great deal, and finally muttered something to the effect that he would ?stand by his ads.? Larry Sabato let Kilgore twist a minute, and then cut him off: ?That?s a ?no.? You will not commit to limiting your negative ads.? And that, says Tim, is why Kilgore has fallen back and Kaine has moved up.
Tim shared some of his GOOD NEWS stories and vision, such as how Mark Warner and he reveresed the $6 billion deficit Gilmore handed Governor Warner and saved Virginia?s AAA bond rating. How he plans to add funds to Virginia? schools to the tune of $800 per pupil, while providing voluntary pre-kindergarten education to the Commonwealth (because "it is easier to build a child than to repair a man?). How he plans to tackle transportation gridlock by working with localities and regions, locking funds safely in the transportation trust fund, and examining the relationship between land use and transportation. How he hopes to help small businesses provide reasonable health insurance to the 1.2 million Virginians without it.
Kaine ended with a deeply felt statement that he would never sign legislation criminalizing a woman or her doctor for any health care decisions, including an abortion. Unlike Jerry Kilgore and the Pat Robertson wing of the Republican Party, Tim Kaine believes that the way to reduce abortions is not to criminalize them, but to ensure that women have adequate health care. And yes, that includes BOTH access to contraception and a top-notch education for young people.
The bottom line is that Tim Kaine's campaign is positive because that's who he is - a positive, optimistic kind of guy. In his view, anyone as negative and mean-spirited as Jerry Kilgore should never be governor of a marvelous state like Virginia. After all, Virginia has a long history of great governors, the best of whom - Thomas Jefferson, Patrick Henry, Linwood Holton, and Mark Warner - had a positive good news story to tell.
And so does Tim Kaine, the next in that line.