< Back to Front Page Text size +

Obama taps Kaine as new face of Dems

Posted by Scott Helman, Political Reporter January 8, 2009 04:14 PM

President-elect Barack Obama introduced close friend and Virginia Governor Tim Kaine this afternoon as the next chairman of the Democratic National Committee, casting Kaine as the future of a party adapting to its new bigfoot status in Washington.

Obama, citing his broad-based victory in November, said Kaine -- a centrist, culturally conservative Democrat -- represents precisely the new politics that the Democratic Party must embody to grow and thrive.

"It would be a mistake to take our success as a sign that our work is somehow complete," Obama said. "We cannot afford to abandon the movement we built. We must strengthen it."

Kaine, he said, shares the "pragmatic, progressive philosophy that was at the heart of my campaign and will be at the heart of my administration."

Kaine, in contrast to virtually every other Obama appointee, spoke extemporaneously in publicly accepting the post, saying his tasks would be supporting Obama's agenda, carrying the "proud banner" of the Democratic Party, and keeping supporters engaged. He also cited the success of him and other moderate Democrats in turning Virginia into an increasingly blue state.

"We haven't done it because of the letter after our name," he said. "We've done it because we've made the party in Virginia, working every day, a problem-solver and unifier ... That will be the same mode I try to carry as DNC chair."

One thorny question Kaine will face immediately is how to fold Obama's supporters -- many of whom were Republicans and independents -- into an explicitly partisan apparatus.

Obama also had glowing words for outgoing chairman Howard Dean, calling him a "visionary" in his expansion of the party's electoral map. "Howard deserves enormous credit for helping usher in a new era in Washington," he said.

Dean wasn't present for the announcement at DNC headquarters, which has the political wags talking. But he did issue a statement praising Kaine.

“ I was actively engaged in Tim’s campaign for governor in 2005, and knew then he would become one of our Party’s great leaders. Tim's strong record of accomplishment has resulted in Virginia being named the best managed state in America and includes numerous important victories for Virginians including record breaking efforts in land conservation, increased funding for Virginia's schools and the newly approved rail transit line to Dulles Airport.

“Tim understands the importance of reaching out to everyone, standing up for our values and I know he will continue to build and strengthen our party from the grassroots up. Tim is the right choice to lead the Democratic National Committee into this new era of American politics. Democrats have made great gains over the past four years, but we know we still have work to do to ensure that we keep Americamoving forward as we support President-elect Obama’s agenda to address the critical issues facing our country.

  • CommentComment
  • EmailEmail
.

Kaine thinks very much like Obama. Good move.

I would be pleased if anyone but Blackwell were the head of the RNC. He is a crook.

Posted by Ron M January 8, 09 05:24 PM
.

Very homophobic, sorry Dems, I'm dropping out as hopefully millions of my other brothers and sisters will. No mention of this in the article, very important to get it out. He is really a DINO.

Posted by tperk January 10, 09 11:21 AM
.

Howard Dean deserves more credit for the election victory and the organization he brought to the DNC. I am sure he would have attended if anyone had bothered to invite him....

Posted by Michael Fournier January 11, 09 08:08 PM
add your comment *(If you put a URL in your comment, it must be relevant )
Required
Required (will not be published)

This blogger might want to review your comment before posting it.

About Political Intelligence

Reports from Boston Globe reporters and editors about the transition to the new administration and other national political happenings.

Send your comments to masspolitics@globe.com

Boston.com section front player with three thumbnails below.

News from the Washington Bureau

More female veterans are winding up homeless

WASHINGTON - The number of female service members who have become homeless after leaving the military has jumped dramatically in recent years, according to new government estimates, presenting the Veterans Administration with a challenge as it struggles to accommodate the hundreds of thousands of returning veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan. (Globe Staff, 7/5/09)

Healthcare overhaul could limit tax breaks on benefits

WASHINGTON - For the secretaries and environmental engineers, game wardens and van drivers who work for the state of New Hampshire, surgery is free, even at Boston’s top teaching hospitals if it’s necessary. So are MRIs, CT scans, and X-rays. (Globe Staff, 7/4/09)

Consumers likely to face increased bank costs

WASHINGTON - An array of government-created insurance agencies - which have long charged bargain-rate premiums to banks, credit unions, and brokerages - are seeking to make up for massive shortfalls in their insurance funds by raising fees and premiums, many of which are likely to be passed on to consumers. (Globe Staff, 7/2/09)

Obama confronts skeptics on healthcare, pledges action

ANNANDALE, Va. - President Obama, pledging to overhaul healthcare this year despite divisions in Congress and the public, took on his skeptics directly yesterday, seeking to assure patients that their costs would not increase and that they would not be victims of a “government takeover.’’ (Globe Staff, 7/2/09)

Supreme Court rules in favor of Conn. firefighters

WASHINGTON - A sharply divided US Supreme Court ruled yesterday in favor of a group of white firefighters who accused the city of New Haven of racial discrimination, potentially making it much harder for employers to bring racial balance to the workplace, while handing ammunition to critics of high court nominee Sonia Sotomayor on the eve of her confirmation hearings. (Globe Staff, 6/30/09)

Lobbyist at center of healthcare overhaul

WASHINGTON - The face of the insurance industry in Washington is a slight, soft-spoken former AFL-CIO employee benefits director with a penchant for data-driven logic. She has the confidence and intellectual agility of a skilled debater, but prefers to dwell on areas of agreement. On healthcare, Karen Ignagni often sounds like the lifelong Democrat that she is. (Globe Staff, 6/30/09)

Colleagues say Kerry is in midcareer metamorphosis

WASHINGTON - When the longtime mayor of North Adams, John Barrett III, picks up the phone these days, he often hears a familiar deep voice that he once acidly complained wasn’t heard very much in his city or other smaller venues in Massachusetts. (Globe Staff, 6/29/09)

Obama taps supporters for help with healthcare overhaul

WASHINGTON - The group Organizing for America is headquartered only two blocks from the Capitol, but when horse-trading over healthcare legislation intensified there this week, Barack Obama’s grass-roots advocacy operation turned its attention away from Washington. (Globe Correspondent, 6/28/09)

House approves overhaul of environmental policy

WASHINGTON - The House last night narrowly approved a landmark overhaul of US environmental policy, handing President Obama a big political victory with a vote to dramatically limit greenhouse gases and fundamentally alter how the nation produces energy in coming decades. (Globe Staff, 6/27/09)

US sharpens focus on Afghanistan

ISAF HEADQUARTERS, KABUL - US Army General John Craddock, NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander, is leaving his post in an upbeat mood: Afghanistan is no longer playing second fiddle in Washington to Iraq. The troops he has long requested are finally arriving. Even the Europeans are sending temporary reinforcements to safeguard the presidential election in August. (Globe Staff, 6/25/09)
archives