Clinton and Kaine at a rally (Photo: AFP)
Clinton due to select Kaine for vice president
After weeks of speculation, Democratic presumptive nominee Hillary Clinton is expected to announce that Virginia Senator Tim Kaine is her choice for VP; choosing Kaine over more progressive potential candidates such as Senator Elizabeth Warren is viewed as an attempt to offer a less turbulent ticket, as opposed to Republican candidate Donald Trump.
The Wall Street Journal has reported that presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton will announce her pick for vice president in the upcoming hours, and that it will likely be Senator Tim Kaine, a Democrat from Virginia.
Long considered to be a leading candidate for Clinton's choice for VP, Kaine has taken on some of the most pressing issues in American politics today: among other causes, he had conducted a 15-hour filibuster to promote tougher legislation against gun violence, voiced his opposition to raids targeting Central American women and children under threat of deportation, introduced a bill aiming to help women gain easier access to birth control and has come out against continued reliance on the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Terrorists as reasoning behind a broad use of US military action.
Clinton and Kaine at a rally (Photo: AFP)
Describing himself as "strongly pro-Israel," Kaine was among the senators who decided not to attend Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's 2015 speech before the US Congress, along with Senator Bernie Sanders. Kaine stated at the time that he felt Netanyahu's decision to speak during an election year was "inappropriate."
After gaining the necessary number of delegates to beat social-Democrat Senator Sanders and secure herself the Democratic nomination, Sanders finally threw his support behind Clinton. Following his show of support, many of his supporters hoped that Clinton would choose another liberal progressive, Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, as her vice president. Kaine, by comparison, is considered neither an extreme leftist nor particularly charismatic, and is viewed as a more conservative choice.
By adding Kaine to the ticket, Clinton will be seen as looking to offer the American people a more stable alternative to the highly volatile, outspoken campaign led by the Republican nominee Donald Trump, who has found himself in hot water regarding women's issues, immigrants, America's relationship with NATO, as well as being accused of anti-Semitism.
Last week, Trump announced his own pick for VP,Indiana Gov. Mike Pence. Pence is considered to have ties to several billionaire GOP supporters, and has called himself "a Christian, conservative and Republican, in that order."
