Former Virginia Governor and Chairman of the Democratic National Committee Mr. Timothy M. Kaine has admitted Democratic candidates will face a ‘tough’ battle in this year’s mid-term congressional elections. This comes just a week after a stinging attack by a high profile Democratic colleague who said Kaine’s authority was a “detracting sideshow as to feckless party leadership”.
A CCN poll released yesterday shows that 63% of registered voters do not think members of Congress deserve re-election. Not good news for incumbents. Kaine said this is a sign of economic anxiety and that “of course folks are going to be mad and there’s a lot of volatility in the electorate”. This is in line with the Obama administration’s reasoning as to strong disapproval ratings throughout the nation just over a year after the Presidential election.
When asked by former Republican congressman and MSNBC host Joe Scarborough how he would protect the four Members of the House of Representatives who could possibly lose re-election in the same way the Virginia State candidates did in 2009, Kaine acknowledged the uphill battle ahead.
“It’s a tough climb. Presidential mid-terms since Teddy Roosevelt have been very tough. The average President loses 28 House seats, four Senate seats and Governor’s races and we’re not living in average times; we’re living in times of significant economic anxiety.”
The DNC head went on to say that the Obama administration recognized these and other challenges but that now America has a successful President and that his achievements will be helpful to Democrats everywhere including Virginia.
“We’ve got good candidates, great people. So the Virginians that you talk about; Gerry Connolly, Glenn Nye, Tom Perriello were elected as freshman last year, you might be referring to Rick Boucher who may have an opponent as well. These are very solid candidates in the Virginia tradition; results focused people.”
Just last week another former Governor, Democrat Douglas Wilder, spoke out saying President Barack Obama should oust Tim Kaine as Chairman of the DNC.
“I’m an admirer of Tim Kaine, whom I backed in his current position and as one of my successors as Virginia Governor and even recommended him for the vice presidency,” he wrote for the influential Politico’s web site.
“But a spate of recent losses in races that Democrats should have won underscores what has been obvious to me for a long time: the chairmanship of the Democratic National Committee is the wrong job for him.”
Wilder continued “unless changes are made at the top,” the president “will discover that Virginia, New Jersey and Massachusetts were not just temporary aberrations but, rather, timely expressions of voters who always show that they are ahead of the politicians.”
These are, of course, welcome words to Republicans across the Commonwealth and beyond.
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Kaz
We should also put in Congressman Scott, he will he some competition.
yes thanks to lame brain kaine.
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