RK ARCHIVE - Kaine for Ambassador

Global Warming is the fight of our times, like the earlier fight against communism and, before that, the fight against the true axis of evil in World War II. And before that the first World War. Vast sums of monetary and intellectual capital were expended and great sacrifices were made by many. Such will be the case with the War on Global Warming. Ultimately, even the War on Terrorism will pale in comparison to the War on Global Warming because, if for no other reason, increased terrorism will be a mere subset of the many woes brought on by drastic global change.

And as the great battles of the past required, this battle will require strong leaders. Leaders who are not afraid to call for sacrifice. And not afraid to enforce sacrifice if the call is not met. The leaders simply can not wage a war of convenience as Dubya (The terrorists will win if you don't drive around and buy something right now) has done for the past 6 years. These leaders will face many high barriers - the first will be convincing people that there really is a global catastrophe at our doorstep. And every barrier will be more difficult than the last as the War effort increasingly bites into our comfortable lifestyles. Yet it is a War that must be waged and it will require only the strongest of leaders to make it happen.

It now looks like Obama will win the Democratic nomination (though no guarantees) and he will have a good chance at becoming our next President, provided the Democrats don't implode. And there is much talk of who will be his choice for VP and who would be nominated for cabinet posts should he win in November.

Which brings us to Tim Kaine....
Governor Kaine has been a strong supporter of Obama's for well over a year. He has campaigned for and with the Senator, and certainly contributed to Obama's big win in the Virginia primary. There is talk of Kaine being in the running for VP. And if that didn't pan out, that Kaine would be an excellent candidate to serve on the cabinet. With out any doubt, Kaine's efforts on behalf of Obama have earned him some sort of appointment.

However, I can not and do not support Kaine receiving a cabinet appointment or the VP nod. Quite simply, Kaine has not shown the strength or will to do what needs to be done in order to wage the War on Global Warming. He's put forth an energy plan that's better than nothing, but still comes up woefully short. And he's gone the exact opposite direction than we need in his steadfast support of yet another dirty coal plant.

Perhaps he has not grasped the dire urgency of the situation. Perhaps he has been bought by special interest groups as some claim. Perhaps he's a hopeless optimist who simply envisions everything "working out" in the end. Or perhaps he's trying desperately to balance the interests of too many groups. But no matter the reason, he is not the type of leader we need in this great battle. I have no faith or confidence that he would make the tough decisions that need to be made as Vice-President. I don't believe he would be a proactive environmental leader in any cabinet post. He is simply not the leader to carry the flag into this battle.

Yet, I still feel he is deserving of the credit that such a staunch supporter deserves if Obama does become the next President.

So, with that in mind, I strongly support Kaine for Ambassador. Of where? Anywhere he wants. He gets first pick, and should he tire of an assignment, he should be given any reassignment he wishes.

I do not wish any ill of Kaine for his support of the Wise County dirty coal plant or his lack of true environmental vision. I do not believe he should be punished for his positions (unless it is proven that he has been bought by special interests). I do not propose an ambassadorship as payback for his lack of environmental leadership. I simply believe, through his actions and inactions, that Kaine has not earned a seat at the table of leadership as we move forward into the great fight of our time.

Comments

What, an imperfect politician? (Alter of Freedom - 4/3/2008 4:41:40 PM)

I have to admit that as someone who considrs himself an independent I was very suspicious of Kaine upon his victory in large part growing up in witness to a completely inept and incompetant and unaccountable City of Richmond government system which seem to catipult him to statewide politics. Do I agree with all of Kaine's policies and agenda I would say no, but taken on balance he has always made very effective arguements for his cause and has made one at least question where they stand on issues.
While some would call his recent determinations lacking in terms of "environmental leadership" I would say that Kaine is hedging the timing of such things. I would agrue that if you believe that mother earth is going to fall aprt in the next twenty years then there will be no case that can be made for you to cause you to reflect and change your mind, but like Kaine I know there is work to be done for sure but at what cost. What is the cost of the current dream vs. reality of carbon capture technology taken on balance with economies of scale. My guess in reality is Kaine determination on the Wise issue would have and is no different had the issue arisen during the Warner administration. While I would prefer more power generated from other means like the like of France I wonder what could come about if folks put there energies behind such expansion of nuke power ala Lake Anna or build one on Buggs Island/Kerr/Gaston etc will all the inputs and guidance from the environmental community to not only lesson our requirements for coal but also provide more economical power all around. In terms of the broader picture Kaine like Warner get it with regard to the economics coming down the road and while I believe both are sincere in efforts to curb impacts they relaize that the people of the Commonwealth have to come first and they have to be equally stewards of the economy as they do the environment. Lobbyists aside Kaine grasps a bigger grasp of what a severe recession could bring to Virginia and the fight against coal while one I believe he may want to make is not one that he can politically at this time undertake. I know many will not and hammer him for some lack of leadership but conversely I think by looking at the big economic picture on balance he is providing leadership and for the most part any suspicions I had of Kaine he has widdled away. He is willing as a Democrat to make a stand even in the face of those within the progressive camp who would seek to not only trash clean coal but end coal plants altogether in the interim until some solutions play themselves out. I for one am glad to see Kaine put Virginians and their families first above what would be politlically expedient these days.

Totally disagree (Eric - 4/3/2008 6:10:59 PM)

First and foremost with the statement that stopping the coal plant is the politically expedient thing to do. While we're certainly outspoken about this issue, as are a number of dedicated people who go to the town hall meetings, I find it laughable that RK and friends have more influence than Dominion. If there was no plant and we faced energy shortages Kaine would get destroyed in the press and on the streets. Despite the fact that some of us are very vocally against his current stance, Kaine is most certainly taking the easy road right now.

Second, you're basically making the same argument we've heard time and again when it comes to anything environmental - it's either the economy or the environment. That's not true at all. But the solutions that work for both aren't easy and it would take strong leadership to get us there. And yes, going that road wouldn't be as immediately effective as the cheap, easy, dirty way. But that's one of the reasons I said what I did - Kaine IS taking the easy, politically expedient route and choosing the economy with very little regard for the environment. That's not the type of leadership we need at this critical time - that's the type of leadership that got us into this mess.

As for the recession and other ailments it's pretty simple: pay now or pay later (at a much higher cost). If Global Warming starts to do its damage we will most definitely be facing outright economic depressions. Again, the politically expedient thing to do is to give the people a solution that makes them feel better today rather than call for sacrifice in the name of making it much less difficult tomorrow.

If you want to call me out on something I'll give you this: the same argument I'm making against Kaine can be made against most politicians. Find a politician who will raise the gasoline tax as high as it needs to go to cut driving in half and you'll have a real leader in this fight. I don't think there is one. So I've set the bar high. But in the mean time we have other governors like Sebelius in Kansas who are willing to at least stand up against strong pressure and fight to stop new coal plants. The bar as it currently stands is low and Kaine isn't even making that.

There was no intent (Alter of Freedom - 4/3/2008 7:12:25 PM)

I certainly was not calling anyone out Eric. I was simply stating that the reason little gets done on the front in the first place is economics and politics. Every Virginian feels both the ordeal of economics and politics and until some can articulate plainly the pains that Virginians will experience as a result of such a divergence/change with regard to coal then I think Kaine has done the best taking in all considerations.
My only frustration with those advocating we ditch coal is the unwillingness to look to the French example. Eric I was not implying you were in that camp, but people at town hall meetings treat nuke power like prisons; they want criminals locked up and they want clean energy but do not want the solutions in their backyard. One has to take the issue to the people not the politicians in my view as part of the grassroot change in direction before it will get to the General Assembly or Congress. The French/European models are fine for Healthcare but not for the energy/environmental issue. I wish some day some one would explain that one to many us.
Once folks start explaining just who it is that is supposed to sacrifice or will be sacrificing as a result of any environmental plan than maybe there will begin real dialogue.

Tim Kaine will never get elected in Virginia again (Shenandoah Democrat - 4/3/2008 5:27:56 PM)

An ambassador do-nothing post is appropriate but not really necessary. One thing is clear to me--Kaine will never get elected in Virginia again. Not because of the environmental impacts from the Wise County Coal plant, but because that plant will in part cause electric rates to skyrocket. Seriously, in 5-10 years our rates will easily double with $100/ton coal and going going up!
Just like oil there's a resource shortage, (Appalachian coal is running out) and the companies in control love to say, oh, high prices aren't our fault, but gee they sure do love the profits that constrained supplies generate.
On both consumer and environmental grounds Kaine does not understand what he is doing in approving this plant. We should be investing URGENTLY in energy efficiency and renewables. He'll be judged poorly for procrastinating our society's conversion to new energy economy.

Good question (Eric - 4/3/2008 7:44:20 PM)

And not to single out Warner, I think it's a question that should be asked of all our elected Democratic officials and candidates. I hope they'll be forthright and answer with a yes/no. But I suspect most will tread lightly around this landmine. Kaine is in the unfortunate position of not being able to hide from this one (although he's also the one who can do the most about it - so he has earned the criticism he's getting).

I'd include the Republican officials but there really is no point. They're still working on that whole flat-earth/round-earth thing, so Global Warming has got to be completely incomprehensible to them.

Similarly Kaine's Sec. of Transportation (IechydDa - 4/3/2008 7:04:08 PM)

Pierce Homer, has done everything he could to block energy efficient rail development in the I-81 Corridor and proposes eight-laning the highway instead, inviting MILLIONS more trucks into a ridge and valley topography that traps ambient air flow. Homer could not get away with this without Kaine's knowledge and support. This even though Kaine publicly espouses support for the will of 48 communities in the Corridor that voted for rail over interstate widening: http://www.railsolution.org/Pa...

Not an Ambassador but a Justice (jeffersonian - 4/4/2008 3:10:04 AM)

While it may not be in the cards for Governor Kaine to be Senator Obama's running mate, it's my view that he'd be a great asset to an Obama candidacy (and to the party and the country) due to his intellect, his penchant for hard work, his obvious good-natured persistence and his incredible abilities as a campaigner (remember folks that just a few months before the 2005 elections most all of the nonpartisan punditocracy and Republicans and not an insubstantial percentage of Democrats were already discussing who Governor Kilgore would appoint to his cabinet). There is something about Kaine -- the combination of his sincerity, his passion for effective government as a means to make a difference in the lives of people, his eloquence and his humility -- that makes him an extraordinarily attractive candidate, an effective public servant and someone who persons of different ideological bents find difficult to demonize despite positions with which they disagree. He'd be a great nominee for VP and a great VP.

And, if by chance lightning strikes and Kaine is the nominee and he and Senator Obama are elected? Well, seven months of Bolling as Governor and even Creigh Deeds couldn't lose to a Republican nominee.

Barring that, however, in the era of instant communication when Ambassadors do very little but take up space in those fortresses of solitude that the current administration has made U.S. Embassies, Kaine's talents would be wasted in some foreign posting.

If Senator Obama is elected president, it's widely thought that Justice John Paul Stevens will decide to retire after his faithful and courageous service (the composition of his DNA, his good health and his willingness to work into his late eighties thereby preventing the appointment of another Justice Clarence Scalito are the best, if least cited, arguments for the theory of "intelligent design"). In my opinion, Tim Kaine, would be a worthy successor and his appointment (like Eisenhower's choice of then-Governor Earl Warren though it was not Eisenhower's intent) could well begin a period of progressive and enlightened decisions from the Court.

Ambassador Kaine? Nah.

Justice Kaine? Yeah.