Clinton-Kaine on “60 Minutes”

Politics –
Clinton-Kaine Open
Democratic Convention

The 2016 Democratic National Convention will open later today in Philadelphia with the party’s new ticket of Clinton-Kaine. On Saturday, imminent nominee Hillary Clinton introduced Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia as her political partner — however, there’s much more going on inside the Democratic Party today.  Read on…

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Politics

CLINTON-KAINE 2016

The Democratic ticket of Clinton-Kaine was unveiled in Miami to scores of mostly Hispanic Clinton supporters. Tim Kaine is fluent in Spanish and did not hesitate to use his bilingual skills to the crowd’s delight.

“Bienvenidos a todos en nuestro pais, porque somos Americanos todos,” the Virginia senator said, which translates to: “Welcome to everyone in our country because we are all Americans.” Then in praise of his running mate, Kaine said: “We’re going to be compañeros de alma [soulmates] in this great lucha [fight] ahead.” The crowd was ecstatic.

Democrats and many Republicans alike are in agreement that although Tim Kaine may not be the most exciting choice, he is most certainly the smartest.  He is a former mayor of Richmond, former lieutenant governor, former governor and current senator, which meets Mrs. Clinton’s bar of experience and readiness.  He represents an important swing state, which could be crucial in getting Hillary Clinton to the magic number of 270 to win the presidency.  If Clinton-Kaine wins, the Democratic governor of Virginia will appoint a Democratic replacement for Kaine in the U.S. Senate and assure a party seat is not lost. Tim Kaine addresses Mrs. Clinton’s unfavorability among white male and independent voters, particularly throughout the all-important rust belt of coal miners, steel workers and more. Plus, Kaine is just likeable, which balances the argument that Hillary Clinton is not. For the campaign, it’s a win-win!

One prominent name who is highly in favor of Clinton-Kaine is former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg, who will formally endorse Hillary Clinton during this week’s DNC convention.

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CLINTON-KAINE “First Date” ON 60 MINUTES

Clinton-Kaine enjoyed their “first date” as a political pair during an appearance Sunday night on CBS’ “60 Minutes” that was seen by millions around the world.

Unlike the awkward roll out of Donald Trump and Mike Pence last week on the same television program, Clinton-Kaine went incredibly smooth.  It was apparent early on that Mrs. Clinton knows and trusts her running mate. She allowed him to speak equally and present his own opinions to the country, which is something Trump did not do.

When asked why she chose Tim Kaine, Mrs. Clinton was very clear, saying: “Well, as I have said throughout this whole process, the most important qualification is that the person I pick be ready to become president if something were to happen. I don’t think there’s any greater responsibility. So he’s highly qualified.”

Pointing out that Donald Trump calls her “Crooked Hillary,” host Scott Pelley asked Mrs. Clinton her insult name for Trump.

“I don’t call him anything,” Clinton said. “And I’m not going to engage in that kind of insult fest that he seems to thrive on. So whatever he says about me, he’s perfectly free to use up his own airtime and his own space to do. I’m going to talk about what he’s done, how he has hurt people in business time after time after time. His vicious language against immigrants. His insulting a distinguished federal judge of Mexican heritage. His mocking a person with a disability. His really inflammatory language about Muslims, about American Muslims, about Muslims all over the world. His demeaning comments about women. I’m going to respond to what he has said that I think is so fundamentally at odds with who we are as a nation, where we need to be heading in the future, and the kind of dangerous, risky leadership that he’s promising.”

Surprisingly, Tim Kaine then jumped to her defense, saying Trump’s name calling is a “5th-grade” game.

“She’s done a good job of letting the water go off her back on this. That’s not the way I feel,” Kaine said. “When I see this, you know, “Crooked Hillary,” or I see the, “Lock her up,” it’s just ridiculous. It is ridiculous. The Republican FBI director made a decision that there’s nothing here that warrants any additional activity.”

His response was well-played and proved how perfect of a compliment a potential Vice-President Kaine would be to his boss.

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WIKILEAKS SHUTS DOWN WASSERMAN-SCHULTZ

For months now, Bernie Sanders has claimed that the Democratic National Committee was biased and that chairperson Debbie Wasserman-Schultz was actively working against him in order to help Hillary Clinton.   Well, Bernie Sanders was right.

Last week, WikiLeaks publicly released private DNC emails that were apparently hacked by the Russian government.  Despite numerous claims from Wasserman-Schultz that she was fair, the emails proved otherwise

Out of dozens of examples, one email from a DNC official to Wasserman-Schultz asked of Sanders: “Does he believe in a God? He had skated on saying he has a Jewish heritage. I think I read he is an atheist. This could make several points difference with my peeps. My Southern Baptist peeps would draw a big difference between a Jew and atheist.”  Her response downplayed the need, as the emails quoted Wasserman-Schultz saying “Bernie Sanders will never be president.”

So much for credibility and remaining impartial.

On Sunday, the Clinton campaign, the Sanders campaign and President Obama all called for Debbie Wasserman-Schultz to resign immediately, since her self-imposed scandal 24 hours before the convention could upstage Clinton-Kaine and the message of DNC unity. She agreed to step down — but only at the end of the week, after she is allowed to speak briefly as she opens the convention and is then allowed to close the convention. Somehow, Clinton, Sanders and The White House all signed off on her demands.  But why??

By now, Wasserman-Schultz is a distraction to Clinton-Kaine and to the party as a whole. She is an embarrassment for lying about being impartial.  She has given new life to Sanders supporters who remain wary about the Democratic party. She has also provided Donald Trump with fuel to mock the DNC and steal focus from this week’s event.  Her continued presence as chairperson is poor optics and merely extends the story longer than if she had simply disappeared quietly.

Hopefully, something will change before 4pm EDT Monday, when Wasserman-Schultz is scheduled to take the podium. In the interim, former Al Gore campaign manager and current CNN political analyst Donna Brazille will take over leading the DNC.

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Aside from the Debbie Wasserman-Schultz scandal, what do you think of the Clinton-Kaine pairing?

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