Today at Clarendon Day in Arlington, Raising Kaine handed out hundreds of flyers and talked to dozens of voters. We spread a message that Tim Kaine is the right man to lead Virginia for the next 4 years. A man who can continue the success of Mark Warner, and who knows the ropes of how to lead the Commonwealth in a bipartisan manner, while promoting progressive policies that benefit everybody. This isn't a game to us. We aren't trying to make Jerry Kilgore look bad because we hate Republicans and lionize Democrats. We CARE about Virginia and its people, and we KNOW that Tim cares about them as well. He sends his kids to the same public schools that he and Mark Warner have fought so hard to improve. He supports the same teachers who teach his kids, and wants to make their lives easier by giving them at least the nationwide average in salary. We are tirelessly working our butts off for Kaine because we want to improve the place we live.
Upon talking to the opposition, also at the Clarendon Festival, I learned their main objective - WINNING. They don't know how to talk about Jerry Kilgore without bashing Tim Kaine. They don?t promote any vision of how Virginia will become stronger under the leadership of Jerry Kilgore. All they know is that Tim Kaine is a Democrat and Jerry Kilgore is a Republican, and they support the Republican no matter who he is and what he plans to do.
They told me that the Democrats make trouble for themselves because some people were screaming at them today, and others were camped outside a fundraiser where Jerry Kilgore was supposed to stand beside Karl Rove (fresh from the courtroom), protesting angrily. So are they saying that Democrats are wrong for being mad at them for supporting a bitterly partisan ultra-conservative (Jerry Kilgore) who has done nothing but assailed Tim Kaine while expressing no vision of his own? Are they surprised at the angry response to a commercial that claims our opponent would defend Hitler if he were sent to death row? Are they shocked that Democrats would be angry at Kilgore for being supported by Karl Rove, the same man who is under investigation for selling out the United States of America to further the agenda of his own party?
The truth is that the Kilgore supporters don?t have any illusions of creating a better world or any vision for improving Virginia. They just want to play the game of politics, and find as many ways as possible to bash our candidates. They don't seem to understand that politics isn't a game for us. Democrats like Tim Kaine want Virginia to continue to be a great place to live and continue to be a great place to raise a family. Democrats like Tim Kaine want to bring our citizens good jobs, affordable health care, and public education second to none. And we who are out there supporting Tim Kaine are putting our hearts and our souls into this effort. We have a deep passion for improving the lives of others and we know that Tim Kaine shares our passion 100%.
In sum, Tim Kaine doesn't see his campaign as a game or a competition to win. Jerry Kilgore does, and if elected he will sell out Virginia for corporate welfare, pork projects, and kickbacks to cronies of the Bush Administration. So if you Kilgore supporters want to play games, then go back home to your Nintendo Game Cube, otherwise, leave us and Virginia alone. We'd all be much better off living under the able, honest, caring leadership of Tim Kaine.