Last night, Tim Kaine was interviewed by Mark Levine on his "RadioInsideScoop" show. Most of the interview was on the labor movement, but the last few minutes were on the Virginia Senate race, George Allen's racist "macaca" comments, and Jim Webb's candidacy. I have watched the show, which hopefully we'll have available shortly for online viewing. For now, however, here's my as-accurate-as-possible notes of what Tim Kaine had to say.*"We've got to make clear that Virginia is open to everyone. Singling out a native-born Fairfax County person, saying 'welcome to America,' [and acting like he is some stranger], it's an insult." In addition, Kaine added, "it's ridiculous, especially for a guy who was born in California."
*"Those of us in leadership positions, we've just got to make it clear that Virginia is open to everybody. We've got to be open."
*"We're a Commonwealth. COMMONwealth means we're all in this together."
*"Virginia succeeds when all are welcome. We fail when we push people away."
*On Jim Webb, "his chances [of being elected to the US Senate] have gone up pretty significantly this week."
*"Jim Webb is a guy who's really a remarkable accomplishment...you don't get guys [like this] who are running for political office much."
*"When you look at what [Webb] accomplished on the field of battle, then as an...official in the Reagan Administration, then as a writer, he's a deeply thoughtful person who will add a tremendous amount, a tremendous amount, to the dynamic in the U.S. Senate."
*"It is so hard to beat an incumbent [but] if an incumbent CAN be beat, it's Jim Webb that can do it. He's out these days doing all he can, and I'm doing all I can to help him."
*"This week, he's got some additional gas in the tank..."
P.S. Tim Kaine added in his speech to the AFL/CIO convention: "Take a look at [Webb's] opponent George Allen, and you'll see he's starting to stumble in recent days."
Lowell Feld is Netroots Coordinator for the Jim Webb for US Senate Campaign. The ideas expressed here belong to Lowell Feld alone, and do not necessarily represent those of Jim Webb, his advisors, staff, or supporters.
Bethesda, Md.: I'm still mystified that Post staffers are the last people in Washington to know that George Allen's mother is from Tunisia, where "macaca" is a derogatory term for people with dark skin. It has yet to be mentioned in any coverage, and as of Thursday John Harris professed to have "no idea" what Mr. Allen meant. Is he being disingenuous perhaps?
Jim VandeHei: Harris is a lot of things. Disingenuous, he is not. to show feeble minds think like, i had no clue of allen's ancestory. as a matter of fact, i have not examined the family tree of any of the 06 candidates yet.