Tim Kaine vice presidential campaign, 2016/Federalism
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This page was current as of the 2016 election.
Judiciary
- On March 16, 2016, Kaine released a statement on President Obama’s nomination of Chief Judge Merrick Garland—a federal appellate judge for the District of Columbia—to the U.S. Supreme Court. Kaine wrote, “Merrick Garland is a well-respected jurist with impeccable qualifications and unrivaled experience. His legacy as an attorney includes overseeing high-profile domestic terrorism cases. He has also garnered enthusiastic support from Democrats and Republicans in the past, which should leave Republicans in the Senate no excuse for obstructing his confirmation process. Justice demands that the Senate provide advice and consent for any Supreme Court nominee. I commend President Obama for fulfilling his constitutional duty. It’s time for the Senate to do the same.”[1]
First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
- During an interview on MSNBC's Morning Joe on June 15, 2016, Kaine told Mike Barnicle, "You guys are big believers in the First Amendment. You're journalists. But you can't just casually libel and slander people without there being a consequence. Every right in the Constitution is subject to some reasonable rules and regulation."[2]
- Kaine co-sponsored the Protect Women’s Health From Corporate Interference Act of 2014 in response to the U.S. Supreme Court's Hobby Lobby decision. The bill's co-sponsors said the justices misconstrued Congress' intent in the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993. "The Hobby Lobby case held that certain companies could deny women contraceptive coverage for religious reasons while also citing that religious objections could not be used to bar coverage for other conditions," Kaine said in a statement. "Contraception is an important preventive health service which has been constitutionally protected since the 1960s, but the Court has now made it fair game for corporate interference. This legislation will protect women's health choices.”[3]
Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
- Kaine supported and joined the sit-in on the floor in the U.S. House of Representatives aimed at forcing a vote on gun control measures. This sit-in began on the morning of June 22, 2016, and about a dozen Democrats were still on the floor the following morning. Kaine described that second morning on CNN, "It was pretty amazing. They had shut the cameras off. They had shut the microphones off. And we were sitting in." Kaine also said, "It was a real team-building exercise. We felt the same way when we did the filibuster in the Senate last week. We went on the floor to say it’s time for meaningful reform because we cared about the issue, but what we found was being on the floor together made us feel stronger, made us feel like we were doing what our constituents want us to do and made us feel like we were inching closer to the day when we break the grip of gun manufacturers on Congress and embrace reasonable safety reforms."[4]
- On June 15, 2016, during a filibuster on the Senate floor that lasted more than 15 hours, Kaine pushed for legislative action to combat gun violence. Reflecting on how Virginia has been affected by gun violence, Kaine said, “We’ve got scar tissue in my Commonwealth, we’ve got scar tissue in this country and we’ve got scar tissue personally. And after every one of these instances, we resolve to be better, we resolve to do more. Yet why do we continue to be passive?” He continued, “In this body we don’t have to be heroes, we just have to not be bystanders. That is all we have to do, stop being bystanders and cast a vote.”[5]
- Kaine expressed support for a "comprehensive approach to curbing gun violence, including the expansion of mental health services, background record checks prior to gun purchases and responsible limits on combat-style weapons and high-capacity magazines."[5]
- Discussing his support of gun safety measures and the National Rifle Association (NRA) in an interview on MSNBC's Morning Joe on June 15, 2016, Kaine said, "[T]his is all about lack of backbone. I live in the state where the NRA has its headquarters. And every time I run they give me an F and they spend millions of dollars and they campaign against me. I've never lost a race. I could lose the next one. But if they were that strong, I would have lost one already. You've got to stand up and say the Second Amendment is like the First Amendment. You guys are big believers in the First Amendment. You're journalists. But you can't just casually libel and slander people without there being a consequence. Every right in the Constitution is subject to some reasonable rules and regulation. Most of gun owners in this country, most NRA members support background record checks, and so we need to do that so we can keep guns out of the hands of people who are going to use them to produce carnage either on others or on themselves."[6]
Crime and justice
- A longtime supporter of criminal justice reform, Kaine co-sponsored the Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act of 2015. The bipartisan compromise bill aimed "to reduce over-criminalization and over-incarceration without compromising the safety of communities." It would reduce certain mandatory minimum sentences, expand recidivism reduction programs such as the prison work program, and allow judges more discretion in sentencing.[7]
- Following an October 15, 2015, roundtable discussion with ex-offenders about criminal justice reform and the challenges of re-entry, Kaine said, “My takeaways from today’s discussion were, first, we need to determine what educational programs can keep kids on the right track and off the wrong track. Second, we should provide more opportunities for those within the federal, state and local prison systems to learn and improve themselves. Third, let’s make sure that there is advice for people – including where to go for help and where to find helpful rehabilitation programs – right before they leave the prison system. Fourth, once people are out of prison, what can we do as a society to make it easier for them to vote or get a job? And lastly, let’s make sure we are supporting organizations that have proven programs that keep people from falling back onto the wrong path.”[7]
- Kaine is personally opposed to the death penalty, but he presided over 11 executions while governor of Virginia because he said he was sworn to uphold the law. He commuted one death sentence to life in prison after concluding that the inmate was "mentally unfit" for execution.
- As governor, Kaine blocked all legislative efforts to expand the death penalty in Virginia.[8]
Recent news
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See also
Footnotes
- ↑ Tim Kaine United States Senator for Virginia, "Press Release: Kaine Statement on the Nomination of Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court," March 16, 2016
- ↑ Media Matters, "Sen. Tim Kaine Debunks Media Myth Of NRA's Power To Oust Progressive Politicians," June 15, 2016
- ↑ Daily Press, "UPDATE: After Hobby Lobby Kaine, Warner back RFRA changes," July 10, 2014
- ↑ Vienna Patch, "Gun Control Sit-In: Virginia's Democratic House, Senate Members Support Protest," June 23, 2016
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Tim Kaine United States Senator for Virginia, "Press Release: Kaine During Filibuster: We have to Stop Being Bystanders to the Carnage of Gun Violence," June 16,2016
- ↑ Media Matters, "Sen. Tim Kaine Debunks Media Myth Of NRA's Power To Oust Progressive Politicians," June 15, 2016
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Tim Kaine United States Senator for Virginia, "Press Release: In Richmond, Kaine Joins Ex-Offenders for Roundtable Discussion on Criminal Justice Reform," October 15, 2015
- ↑ The New York Times, "On Death Penalty Cases, Tim Kaine Revealed Inner Conflict," July 23, 2016
