At the dawn of the Democratic National Convention, during which she’d accept the nomination of her party for president, Hillary Clinton had a choice. She could pick a running mate who would assure Bernie Sanders and his supporters that she heard his calls for progressive reforms, or she could pick a running mate who would help her win a general election.
In Tim Kaine, she made an emphatic choice for the latter.
Despite her insistence throughout the Democratic primary that she had found progressive religion — promising she was not beholden to Wall Street, embracing a $15 minimum wage (with caveats), shifting her position on the Trans-Pacific Partnership, announcing Bernie-like plans for debt-free college — let it be known that Hillary Clinton is nothing if not a political creature, who puts politics first, principles second.
Unsurprisingly, Sanders’ supporters are not happy. A group of 1,250 Sanders delegates called the Bernie Delegates Network surveyed its members and reported, according to the Boston Herald, that 89% found the selection of Kaine unacceptable. A spokesperson for the group, Jeff Cohen, said, “The reaction of the choice of Kaine goes from disappointment to anger,” and he expected Sanders’ supporters to protest at the convention in Philadelphia.
What is surprising, however, is that her detractors on the far-left seem caught off guard by Clinton’s about-face — her embrace of a centrist Democrat who is pro-life, supports TPP, off-shore drilling and spending cuts — after wrapping her figurative arms around Sanders throughout the primary.
They shouldn’t be; her life and career have been defined by her cunning penchant for making politically expedient choices.
But the flip-side of that cynicism is a canny knack for political maneuverability and survivability, which she’s demonstrated time and again — winning a Senate race just months after her husband was impeached, turning a failed presidential run into a high-level Cabinet appointment, dodging charges for mishandling classified information. You could argue that politicians more wedded to their principles than their survival do not often last as long as she has or rise as far.
Her veep pick epitomizes the ease with which she can separate the two. As a 58-year old white male, Kaine speaks neither to the diversity wing of the Democratic party nor the millennials — essentially the heart of the Obama coalition — betraying many progressives’ hopes for a doubly “historic” ticket: two women, for example, or a woman and a Hispanic.
He does, however, speak to one of Clinton’s main deficiencies: blue collar, middle-aged white male Democrats who think the party has left them. And this political calculation is why she chose Kaine.
The Democratic Party has been bleeding white men for years. So-called blue dog Democrats, moderates from swing states like Kaine, are a nearly extinct species. Many think the party’s progressive swing leftward, with a hyperfocus on social issues like contraception and transgender bathrooms, have locked blue collar, working white men out of the conversation, ignored in favor of courting every other kind of voter.
A Washington Post/ABC News poll found that a whopping 75% of white men view Clinton unfavorably, and only 23% have a favorable view. Tim Kaine might be the kind of man they do like.
While veep selections are rarely consequential, Clinton’s own unfavorables are so high that her running mate could actually have a small impact. One Democratic strategist told me that Elizabeth Warren might have kept some Democrats home. Tim Kaine allows some to turn out.
As a Republican, I think her selection should be instructive. Far too often, conservatives prioritize purity over winning. You have to win an election to get your policies empowered. While we should all reject her naked dishonesty and shameful lack of accountability, there’s nothing wrong with wanting to win. Sanders’ supporters disappointment is understandable, but ultimately, to her, unimportant.