WaPo:
Virginia Gov. Timothy M. Kaine will become chairman of the Democratic National Committee later this month, serving as the top political messenger for Barack Obama’s administration even while he finishes his final year in the governor’s mansion, several sources said.
Kaine, who emerged as one of Obama’s vice presidential finalists this summer, will operate from Richmond in a part-time capacity until January 2010, when he will become the full-time DNC chairman. Kaine is constitutionally barred from running for reelection.
Brownsox points out that the current governor of Virginia is going to become chairman of the DNC, while a former DNC chair is trying to become governor of Virginia (Terry McAuliffe, of course).
But this is a surprise. I imagine he is a little centrist for most tastes but then whoever got the gig was unlikely to rock the boat. And maybe it helps hold Virginia in November.
on mydd they say kaine”s name is being leaked and that there must be aelection by dnc members by mar 1. kaine is unacceptable. he is against choice. agaisnt gay rights. bowers points out some of his speeches chastising dems for standing up for abortion rights. hell no to kaine. i expect a big interparty fight or his name to be pulled i pray
No Kaine! I mean it. Kaine opposes my civil rights. He doesn’t think my women friends & family have any rights to their own bodies. He thinks corporate profits are more important than our own needs.
Kaine’s a whimp, and we don’t need a GOP-enabling whimp in charge of the DNC.
And Kaine clearly knows how.
I expected David Plouffe to get Obama’s nod. Not quite sure I like this as it makes Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling governor. Obama really seems to be tapping the talent pool of Democrats pretty hard. I like Kaine though, hell I like and respect his principled views on on the death penalty and abortion. This does send a good message; the Democratic party is not completely ruled by and dominated by liberals, and I say this as a pretty damn liberal quasi-socialist Democrat. The only good thing about this is it may cause Bill Bolling to reconsider his move not to run in the GOP primary for Governor, if so we could see a bloddy and divisive GOP primary, helping the Democrats who look to have a less sordid affair.
BRIAN SCHWEITZER!
Argh, friggin’ Kaine. Low-wattage!
Heading the DNC is all about raising $$$ which Kaine has proven he can do. His political views don’t really matter at all.
To bring in a sports analogy. Say you have a football coach that is excellent at coaching offense but can’t coach defense for his life. Make him your head coach and his defensive ineptitude is a big deal. He would probably make a poor coach. But find him a position as an offensive coordinator and he can thrive. The only thing he is in charge of now is something he’s good at.
Kaine is great at raising money and getting people to vote D. Put him in a position where this is the only thing he does, and you have a decent candidate to lead the DNC.