It was a dark and stormy night. OK, the only reason I wrote that was because I've always wanted to start off a story with those words. Anyway, tonight really WAS dark and stormy, so what the heck? Seriously, though, the Tim Kaine rally in Arlington this evening was very successful, despite the darkness and storminess. Besides the fact that I got interviewed by the BBC for 10-15 minutes and had the chance to tell everyone what a great guy Tim Kaine is and what a corrupt weasel Jerry Kilgore is, I also got to chat with Tim briefly - always a pleasure. Fortunately, despite the cold drizzle, the crowd was fired up and cheering Tim Kaine's every word. Jay Fisette, Chairman of the Arlington County Board, got things off to a great start, firing up the crowd by talking about how Mark Warner and Tim Kaine had turned around the disaster inherited from Republican Jim Kil..., er Gilmore. Fisette also came up with a great line about how Warner/Kaine "stopped cooking the books and started balancing them" for a change.
Chris Zimmerman of the County Board emphasized that "it's an easy choice" for Virginians on November 8th - go backwards with Jerry Kilgore or keep moving forwards with Tim Kaine? Gee, let me think about that one! :)
Paul Ferguson, Tim Kaine's Arlington coordinator, spoke of Tim Kaine being a "great friend to Northern Virginia," and of the "fantastic job" Tim's done the past four years. Ferguson stressed that while Jerry Kilgore has run the "most negative, divisive campaign in Virginia history," Kaine has run on the basis of a "positive, innovative, creative vision" for the state: pre-K education for all Virginia 4-year-olds, and "smart growth" all across the Commonwealth, etc.
Finally, Tim Kaine spoke about how happy he was to be in Arlington, "where you go to get your batteries recharged" by all the friendly faces and dedicated Democrats. Kaine spoke about how proud he was to have shared the stage with Bill Clinton -- "the face of America in times of need" -- today in Charlottesville. Kaine talked about "how far we have fallen [under Republican leadership] the last 4 years," and how it's time to "start a trend in Virginia" in a new direction. According to Kaine, the Republicans seem to believe that Virginia is "theirs by right," but that's definitely not going to be the case this year.
Kaine spoke with undisguised anger about Jerry Kilgore's desperate attempts to prevent Virginians from watching the debates, making sure the last one was scheduled on a Sunday night when there was also NASCAR, football and baseball on TV. As far as the debate is concerned, Kaine mentioned moderator Larry Sabato's "surprise" question about whether the two candidates were willing to run a 50.1% positive campaign. Kaine said that "I've never been asked an easier question in my life...of COURSE I'll run a positive campaign because I've got a good news story to tell!" In contrast, Kaine pointed out that Jerry Kilgore fumbled around, rambled, meandered, but never actually answered the question. Finally, Larry Sabato cut him off and said, "ok, that's a no!" Not surprisng considering that Jerry Kilgore only has divisiveness, bitterness, anger, and negativity, so that's all he talks about. In contrast, Tim Kaine has a great record from the last four years and a positive vision for the next four years, so it's easy for him to make a positivity pledge.
Kaine did point out that he's not going to sit back and fail to respond to Jerry Kilgore's attacks ("I'm Irish, I'm not going to let them take a shot at me"). Kaine added that "there is no line these guys won't cross." However, this election will show Jerry Kilgore that "Virginians aren't dumb" like Republicans seem to think. Now, it's simply a matter of working our butts off over the next 17 days, and getting out the vote on Novembe 8th. Then, the state will be in great hands for another 4 years under the able leadership of Mark Warner's loyal lieutenant, Tim Kaine. As Chris Zimmerman said, "it's an easy choice." You can say that again, Chris!