Gov. Tim Kaine - another disappointment if true

[FreeState]

CNN is running several stories saying Kaine may be Obama's running mate. (http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/07/29/dem.vp/index.html)

This is, if it turns out to be true - will be extremely disappointing to me.

Gay baiting ads:

http://www.pamspaulding.com/weblog/2005/10/gay-baiting-in-virginia-governors-race.html

"So, Jerry Kilgore has a "gay-sounding" voice. This is apparent to almost anyone who has heard him speak. The Republican candidate also has a rural accent, but that's not what his Democratic rival, Lt. Gov. Tim Kaine, has been making fun of. Few outlets have dealt with this issue honestly, though several papers have danced playfully around it, such as the Staunton Daily News Leader, which has commented on "the 'Ned Flanders meets Mr. Rogers' whine that passes for Kilgore's voice."

These comments are, of course, meaningless, and insinuations drawn from Kilgore's "gay-sounding" voice are based solely on unfounded stereotypes. There is no distinct correlation between voice and sexuality and Kilgore, for his part, is married and has two children.

But for Virginia Democrats, the idea of connecting Kilgore to a slate of negative stereotypes associated with gay men -- and to therefore weaken his support among conservative voters -- has proven tempting. Discussion of Kilgore's effeminate tone has been all over the Internet for months, and prominent Virginia bloggers have repeatedly speculated on Kilgore's sexuality and the effect his voice could have on the election. Suggesting that Kilgore's "gay-sounding" voice gives the impression that he is "weak" and effeminate, some online commentators have implored the Kaine campaign to take advantage of Kilgore's voice in order to implicitly connect him to gay stereotypes."

http://www.pamspaulding.com/weblog/2006/01/virginias-marriage-amendment-proceeds.html

Anti-equality

The state also saw the swearing-in today in of a new governor, Democrat Tim Kaine, who opposes both same-sex marriage and civil unions. He has promised to sign the measure that places the amendment on the ballot after the Senate passes the proposal once more. Even more depressing is that measures that would have limited the scope of the amendment's discrimination were deep-sixed

[Midlodemocrat]

1. He's actually very popular with GLBT Virginians.

He was responsible for a law which didn't allow discrimination.

The marriage thing comes from his religious beliefs, just like his pro-life beliefs. He does however, believe in upholding Roe v Wade.

Don't write him off just yet.

[Crowdance]

5. It's dismaying that bigotry is so easily excused when it's religiously based

Would you support a Democrat who supported laws prohibiting interracial marriage because his religion said interracial marriage is wrong? What about a candidate supporting laws that prohibit Catholics and Muslins from marriage because her religion that says inter-religious marriage is wrong? Or is religion only an acceptable excuse when used to deny women's reproductive rights and GLBT's civil rights? My spiritual beliefs direct my life in every way. But I don't expect them to direct yours or Tim Kaine's. And I certainly don't use them to cover up any ugliness in my own soul.

[FreeState]

6. Agree - there is no excuse for bigotry from anyone for any reason n/t

[Midlodemocrat]

7. You missed my point.

He is Pro-Life, but upholds Roe v Wade.

He doesn't let his religious beliefs interfere with his poltical actions. GLBT Virginians are very happy with him.

[FreeState]

8. Pure unadulterated BS - he is anti-equality and supports bans on equality

Thats why he supports a constitutional amendment based on his religious bigotry:

http://www.washingtonblade.com/thelatest/thelatest.cfm?blog_id=4540

The Virginia House voted 73 to 22 to approve a constitutional amendment banning equal marriage rights for gays. The proposal must be voted on by the Senate and signed by Gov.-elect Tim Kaine (D) before it can go to voters in November.

Gov.-elect Tim Kaine intends to sign a bill calling for a referendum banning gay marriage in Virginia. (AP file photo)
Kaine spokeswoman Delacey Skinner said that the governor-elect will sign the bill to call for a referendum. Kaine supports the amendment and opposes civil unions, she said. She added that he is interested in discussing measures “to make sure people can still be able to contract with each other.”

Edit to add: the reason GLBT persons in Virginia are supportive is because he is an improvement over the old establishment - its not because he is 100% pro-equality because he is not, but because he was better than the others. Thats not enough for me to support him - there are far better candidates out there to choose from.

[Not Me]

11. This is very disturbing...

I hope Obama realizes the magnitude of this guy's problem in the GLBT community.

[Crowdance]

9. No, I didn't miss your "point" at all. n/t

[mitchtv]

15. GLBT Virginians are very happy with him.

Stockholm Syndrome?

[sui generis]

12. Here's the decision point on anyone for me:

If they have a personal belief, they are entitled to have it. If they act on that belief in such a way that deprives adults of due process under the law, and equal rights under the law, then I will stand against them.

If Obama picks someone who says he intends to vote against our families, then Obama is not a brilliant politician; just another pandering self-serving person.

My idea of wait and see is to say it first: Obama, don't pick someone who stands against the equal family rights of 15 percent of your declared supporters, and the other part that are their families, friends, and decent people who agree with us.

We'll wait, we'll see, so you can definitely say I'm not promising a "blind" vote just yet.

There are people outside this forum who think that even if Obama himself was against our families we should vote for him. How then to justify voting against ourselves?

I wish life's choices were as simple for us as it appears to be for "them", but I guess they must certainly have less to worry about.

[LostinVA]

17. Well... not to me and friends when I lioved in VA

[jbane]

2. If you want to get elected Gov. of Va. you have to be.....

Somewhat conservative. He's good for the state and better than anybody the repukes could prop up.
Warner, Kaine and Webb would all be Republicans in the Nixon era before they (the republican party) went over to the neo-con dark side.

[thecrow]

3. I got this yesterday

Anne Holton &
Tim Kaine
invite you to join them for an evening with

Michelle Obama
featuring a performance by

Bruce Hornsby
Benefiting the

Obama Victory Fund

Wedneday, August 6, 2008

Harrison Opera House
160 East Virginia Boulevard
Norfolk, Virginia 23510
Doors open at 6:00pm
Â
$10,000 Co-Host (raise/contribute)
$2,500 (includes VIP reception, priority seating, and photograph)
$1,000 (includes photograph and priority seating)
$250 Orchestra Section
$100 per guest
Â
RSVP Required: https://donate.barackobama.com/page/contribute/MONorfolkAug6

For more information please contact Joanna Martin, [email protected], or call 202-543-2660

[freesqueeze]

4. It is pretty dispicable...

...if Kaine can be tied to the smears. But there is also an interesting counter point that may make Kilgore's private life germane "...is it that his effeminate voice when paired with his homophobic positions - no gay marriage, no gay adoption, no civil unions, etc., leads one to the conclusion that the married-with-kids conservative is a self-loathing closet case?" (hmmm, if one buys into voice=sexual preference)

There is also the quaint tradition of the southern effeminate heterosexual. There is just something about that accent that sounds very lispy on some men.

There are also some comparisons to Obama's distancing from the Muslim thing.....not that there's anything wrong with that...

[Ian David]

10. www.virginiaisforhaters.org forced offline

June 14th, 2004
www.virginiaisforhaters.org forced offline

Jay and I regret to report that the Virginia is for Haters site has been forced offline by unknown anti-gay groups that wish to silence us. After switching to a new hosting service, a second denial-of-service attack (apparently a distributed attack out of China) has caused the hosting company to drop us. We seem to be out of options. My submitted question to Ask Slashdot (which was rejected) summarizes the problem:

Several weeks ago, my partner and I created www.virginiaisforhaters.org, to raise awareness about a damaging and patently unconstitutional law to come into effect in Virginia on July 1, which seeks to nullify contracts (such as wills and healthcare directives) between same-sex couples. We finally got some media coverage on Friday, but by Saturday the site was down: some anti-gay geek had launched a denial-of-service attack which overwhelmed our provider. We switched to a new provider which claimed to have DOS provisions, but following a second, distributed attack launched out of China they dropped us before the site was even live. They recommended switching to RackSpace, but we can’t afford the several hundred dollars a month that would cost. It seems we’re out of options for getting the site back up. Is there some other way we can continue to exercise our First Amendment rights on the Web?

More:
http://www.nonfamous.com/wp/category/virginia-is-for-haters/






Virginia Is for Haters
Despite the passage of the most restrictive, appallingly bigoted anti-gay law in the country, this newly minted Virginian plans to stay and fight.

People ask me all the time what I think of Virginia.

More specifically, people who know I'm originally from Northern California ask why I now live and work in Richmond, Virginia, the capital of the Confederacy, where the commission of a Lincoln statue caused a significant grassroots uprising last year. Virginia is the state that didn't vote to ratify the Women's Suffrage Amendment until 1952 (after rejecting it in 1920). Until last summer's Supreme Court ruling, Virginia was one of 13 states that still had a sodomy law. Just 10 years ago, it was illegal to serve alcohol to a "known homosexual."

And Virginia continues to lag behind the rest of the country in other important ways. Neither sexual orientation nor gender identity is included in the state's employment discrimination or hate crime laws. The commonwealth doesn't allow second-parent adoption for gay and lesbian couples. And Virginia is the only state in the country that prevents private companies from providing health benefits to the domestic partners of their employees. In addition, Virginia passed its own Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in 1997, and gay and lesbian people are today still forced to face the reality that coming out could mean a loss of job, children, and family.

All this from a state whose motto is "Virginia Is for Lovers."

The piéce de résistance, however, came this past April when the Virginia General Assembly passed the "Affirmation of Marriage Act." One of the most restrictive anti-gay laws in the country, the law, which goes into effect on July 1, reads:

A civil union, partnership contract or other arrangement between persons of the same sex purporting to bestow the privileges or obligations of marriage is prohibited. Any such civil union, partnership contract or other arrangement entered into by persons of the same sex in another state or jurisdiction shall be void in all respects in Virginia and any contractual rights created thereby shall be void and unenforceable.

Virginia Is for Lovers, perhaps, but some restrictions clearly apply.

More:
http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Content?oid=18627

[Independent_Voice]

13. I can understand him opposing gay marriage...

...especially in order to get elected in Virginia.

But is it really true that he outright OPPOSED civil unions? Has he ever given any sort of policy statement that confirms this and explains it?

Or is it just something that's been misconstrued due to his support for the traditional definition of marriage?

Hoping for the latter...otherwise I doubt I'd be able to vote for a ticket with Kaine on it...

[FreeState]

14. Here it is directly from his mouth (from the Kaine-Kilgore debate)

(emphasis mine)

“I do not support any change in the institution of marriage. I do not support the creation of civil unions, but I do believe that gays and lesbians should be able to contract with one another, and we should respect those contracts in Virginia law, just as we respect any contracts.

“And finally in the area of adoption. Virginia has adoption laws right now that I agree with. The adoption laws say the only couple that is allowed to adopt is a married couple.”

Tim Kaine
Kaine-Kilgore debate
July 19, 2005

http://waldo.jaquith.org/blog/2005/07/kaine-kilgore-transcript/

----

I guess he sees that we can make contracts with each other is a dignified way to equality </sarcasm>

[dropkickpa]

16. Not surprising

Obama's opinion of GLBT's has been obvious from the beginning. Why should anyone be surprised that he may be considering another religio-nut bigot as a running mate?