Kaine: stimulus to aid Va.
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Kain for president?
Gov. Tim Kaine says he was very interested in becoming president of VCU after his term as governor, but the timing wasn't right.
Eva Russo / Times-Dispatch
Gov. Tim Kaine is interviewed at the Richmond Times-Dispatch on Monday, January 12, 2009.
Published: January 13, 2009
Updated: January 13, 2009
Gov. Timothy M. Kaine said yesterday that he expects a significant sum of money to come to Virginia from President-elect Barack Obama's economic-stimulus package.
In an interview with reporters and editorial board members at the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Kaine also said he had been "very interested" in becoming president of Virginia Commonwealth University but that the timing was not right.
He said he also had considered a future in the judiciary before Obama tapped him to head the Democratic National Committee.
Ahead of the General Assembly session that starts tomorrow, Kaine said he is hopeful the stimulus money will come to the state in early February, before legislators adopt a budget based on revised revenue figures.
The expected federal money could be welcome news for Kaine and the General Assembly, who are trying to patch a $3.2 billion budget deficit because of declining tax revenues. Kaine, who is proposing cutting Medicaid funding by $418 million, expects the stimulus package to include money for Medicaid, as well as for infrastructure.
In April, the idea of staying in Richmond after his term as governor expires next January and running an institution like VCU was really appealing, Kaine said. But the timing became impossible once VCU President Eugene P. Trani decided to step down a year early -- this July -- due to health reasons, he said.
It would have been unethical, he said, to be seeking a job at the university while he wrote the budget for the school.
So, after first turning down Obama, Kaine agreed to become chairman of the Democratic National Committee. He first had pushed someone else for the job, he said, but did not say whom.
"This is a very different path for me than, frankly, I thought about," he said.
Kaine said the other career option he contemplated after leaving office was "going back to my legal background and thinking about the judiciary."
The DNC is based in Washington, but Kaine said he plans to continue to live in Richmond and will move back to the home he owns in Ginter Park after his term as governor expires.
He will be traveling most of the time in 2010 trying to win U.S. Senate seats and governorships for the Democratic Party, he said.
He said there is "no downside" to his being DNC chairman, suggesting that the political alliance with Obama would work to Virginia's advantage when it comes to retaining an aircraft carrier in Norfolk, getting more money for efforts to clean up the Chesapeake Bay and getting a fair share of the upcoming economic-stimulus package.
He said he will not be "an attack dog" in his new role and said Obama agrees with him.
"[Obama] said, 'I'm not either, and this is a time when we've got to run kind of a national unity government,'" Kaine said.
Kaine said he expected the three-man contest for the nomination to run for Virginia governor could be helpful to the state's Democrats, so long as "they don't bloody themselves up too much." Kaine said running in a primary for lieutenant governor helped him in 2001.
"The day after the primary, I was broke, [but] I felt much more confident going into the general election."
Kaine said he regards Attorney General Bob McDonnell, the likely GOP nominee, as the favorite because of the state's "32-year curse." Kaine was referring to the pattern in which Virginians have followed each presidential election since 1976 by electing a governor of the opposing party.
"I used to think that was a coincidence," he said, but he now thinks it reflects "buyer's remorse." Presidents usually lose seats in the midterm elections, he noted.
Kaine said Democrats have gained the upper hand in Virginia because "this is an independent state," and Democrats' image as "problem-solvers and unifiers" has won over those voters.
In addition to money for Medicaid, Kaine said he expects the stimulus package will bring significant money to Virginia for infrastructure. A number of projects are ready to go, he said, adding that he hopes the federal government does not attach too many strings to the money.
Asked if he regretted taking office during hard economic times when he must make budget cuts, Kaine said "I do best when I'm under pressure."
"I'm not in politics to be liked," he added. "I love people and most like me, but I don't need people to like me. So I don't have a hard time making a tough decision."
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Reader Reactions
JACK CROW,,landscaping,,year round,,i guess i should have said to ALSO go after the people who hire illegals,,you see i am placing legit bids on jobs,,with legit workers,,paying all fees taxes,insurance,,vacation,,sick leave,,and a liveable wage,,only to have some white dude(i am white),,hire all under the table illegals w/no benefits,,well sorry no-one can match/compete w/that,,and when you complain,,it gets you nowhere,,nothing is done,,so you go out of buss,,obama IRS appointment is being shot down for doing the same w/domestic help,,thats why we cant get help from poloticians,,and its spreading everywhere into the construction industry,,chicken processing factories,,and of course the buss.cry well we cant get help,,when the truth is,,they want slave labor and the illegals provide it,,and they keep the profit by not lowering the cost to you/me,,and creat more cost to us taxpayer by them getting free emergcy care instead of workmens comp etc etc ,,you know
Sorry but the DNC chair is NOT a cabinet level post, simpy a glorified fund raiser. How much did Howard Dean get for VT in the past two years with a (D) majority?
Dave - I’m exasperated along with you guys. Other monetary decisions that were made <cough!> bailout <cough!> have ticked me off myself. Both yourself and Ross are right in being mad about waste, over spending, and a lack of leadership when it came to hard decisions being made.
Sorry to imply you were a Republican. I’m not trying to insult anyone. But then, I repeat myself. ;) A little Mark Twain humor there.
Myself, I think we need to get back to paying down our debt and investing in our country. I have my views on how to do that which include investing back into domestic infrastructure as well was education. I believe those goals will have the highest chance of returning our investment.
Ross - I’m not as put off by Kaine working as the DNC chair while working here in Va. I *think* that this may benefit us. We, as a state via our chief executive, have a tight and strong tie to the current President. That may work to our advantage. Let us not also consider the other Democrats who will not want to cross Kaine while he has this position in the DNC. We may benefit yet.
JackCrowX:
Kaine’s original budget had no cuts in it. He presented the budget and basically told the Legislature, “There it is… you figure out where to make cuts.”
Since then, Kaine has offered a few lame suggestions as to where the budget might be cut, but hasn’t come close to offering sufficient cuts to balance a budget that he is responsible for. He made a comment the other day that both he and the Legislature would have to do a lot of heavy lifting this year. This man is too lazy to do any heavy lifting.
Given a choice between additional taxes and services…reduce services. Currently, there are many departments in the government that are paying people to do nothing. These departments have no operating funds so people come to work, but can’t do their jobs. The Unemployment Commission is probably hiring right now. VDOT has no funds..transfer clerks from VDOT to the Unemployment Commission. How much thought does that take? There are thousands of opportunities to reduce cost in state government. Kaine is too lazy to look for those opportunities.
Now to the DNC post. Since Kaine is now a part time governor, he needs to forfeit half of his salary. And, like all other part time employees, Kaine should forfeit all health, welfare, and pension payments made to both he and his family by the state as long as he holds the DNC post or until he leaves his current position. Furthermore, since Kaine owns a home in Richmond, he needs to vacate the governor’s mansion as well.
Let this JERK contend with traffic along with the rest of us.
People: This guy got us into this mess, let him earn his money and get us out of the mess or QUIT!!!!!!
JackCrowX: Point granted on one account. Bush wanted his cake and so on…. That’s why I, and a lot of other people in this country, are beyond exasperation. Both parties are arguing over levels of taxes and spending and not over principle. (Who said I was Republican?)The report on Obama proves the point. Is he going to scale back the $1.2 trillion bailout bonanza since he’s not collecting more revenue? Bush didn’t with his bailout. It’s the ‘same ol’, same ol’‘ is my point. Oh, and Clinton’s great record on the deficit? Those of us old enough to remember know there was a massive demilitarization after the collapse of the Soviet Union and Clinton benefited from the windfall revenue surpluses. Don’t worry, he and the succeeding administration figured out how to waste it all.
Ross - I’m not disputing whether Kaine is a jerk or not. It’s a subjective term, therefore the argument is unwinnable.
I will say that in the wake of having a budget shortfall we need to do one of two things:
- raise taxes
- reduce services
I do recall Kaine talking about raising taxes. I also recall, in this session, Kaine talking about reducing services. Even to the point of cutting budget to our schools and other medical benefits. Some serious political hot buttons.
I’m with you in that I feel like I pay enough taxes. It would seem the gov’t in VA is being forced to make do with less. Something I’m a proponent of. I do hope that we don’t cut in places that will harm us further down the road. Some cutting is necessary but maybe that cost cutting should be in places that are less important?
Dave - I understand what you’re saying now. Your point is as DNC Chairman Kaine will influence tax policy by assisting Democrats that will influence tax policy towards the DNC’s specified goals.
Obama tax policies - Actually Obama’s administration is now saying they will delay repealing Bush tax cuts. Here are some links clarifying:
http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2008/11/23/obama-aides-suggest-rollback-of-bush-tax-cuts-could-be-delayed/
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/09/07/obama-recession-could-del_n_124647.html
Deficit growth - It’s a commonly held idea that the Democrats spend while Republicans are fiscally conservative. As Presidents go, that’s not consistent with the data. Check out this graph: http://mikelove.files.wordpress.com/2007/12/deficit.gif
The graph is from the Congressional Budget Office. Since Reagan, the only president to not increase the national deficit was Clinton. All other Presidents were Republican and spent more than the US brought in. Quite a bit more. Every last Republican President spent more than we could afford. If the previous data is any indicator Obama will not spend as much as Reagan, Bush I, or Bush II. If Obama is like Clinton he will leave us a tidy surplus that his Republican successor will then spend and then some.
Kaine is the quintessential farceur. I have a btter idea. Rather than willfully yielding our hard-earned personal income to the mooncalves in DC, and shouting praise to the non-empirical being when we have some of it returned, let’s keep it to begin with. There’s something unsettling about being robbed by the feds and then being grateful for having it returned.
(“Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys. – P.J. O’Rourke)
Jackcrowx: Apparently you have had your head buried in the sand beside Kaine’s or you wouldn’t have to ask me to justify my comments.
At the end of 2006, many revenue forecasting models indicated the onset of a severe downturn in business. Most economists supported those findings. Businesses used that data to stop expansion and to begin to reduce head count
Yet, Kaine presented a bloated budged for that two year period. Republicans fought and were able to shrink most of his proposals.
Then Kaine called a special session last summer, in spite of what was going on around all of us. That session was as much an attempt at political gain as it was to once again try to raise our taxes. If you will notice, Kaine never made any attempt to shrink the size of the budget during that session. He only attempted to make political hay and raise taxes.
Look at how this individual has attempted to govern; look at the mess he has made; look at the feeble attempts he has made to balance the budget. Now, it falls to the legislature to make the hard decisions that he should have made.
And you question why I would call Kaine an ignorant jerk????
JackCrowX: He BETTER have some influence on it by working to get Democrats elected or he’ll get fired. I don’t think Democrats have a track record of lower federal taxes. The incoming administration has already signaled they plan to let the Bush tax cuts die a silent death. The bailouts have to be financed some way. Right? Democrats aren’t going to be irresponsible. Right? Kaine will have a role in it all albeit indirectly—if he isn’t on the Suypreme Court by then.
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