Virginian calls GOP standard-bearer a “one-man wrecking crew”

♦By Rich Shumate, Chickenfriedpolitics.com editor

PHILADELPHIA (CFP) —U.S. Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia made his national debut as a vice presidential candidate in a speech to the Democratic National Convention in which he derided Donald Trump as not only trustworthy but as a threat to the Republic.

U.S. Senator Tim Kaine

“Our nation, it is just too great to put in the hands of a slick-talking, empty-promising, self-promoting, one-man wrecking crew,” Kaine said in a prime-time speech July 27.

Kaine, the only Southerner on a major party ticket this year, also offered effusive praise of Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, saying she was ready to step into the White House.

“She is ready because of her faith. She is ready because of her heart. She is ready because of her experience. And she is ready because she knows that in America, we are stronger when we are together,” he said.

Kaine, little known outside Virginia before being selected by Clinton as her running mate, also introduced his family, including his father-in-law, Linwold Holton, a former Republican governor of Virginia whom he said would be supporting the Democratic ticket this year.

“He is voting for Democrats because any party that would nominate Donald Trump for president has moved too far away from his party of Lincoln,” he said. “If any of you are looking for that party of Lincoln, we have got a home for your right here in the Democratic Party.”

Embracing a vice presidential candidate’s traditional role as an attack dog, Kaine went after Trump, particularly over his habit of telling audiences that they should just believe that he can make major changes in Washington.

“Most people, when they run for president, they don’t just say, ‘Believe me.’ They respect you enough to tell you how they will get things done,” Kaine said.

“Not Donald Trump. He never tells you how he is going to do any of the things he says he will do. He just says, ‘Believe me.'”

Kaine, a fluent Spanish speaker who peppered his address with passages in Spanish, also sought to create a contrast with Trump by embracing American diversity.

“God has created in our country a beautiful and rich tapestry, an incredible cultural diversity that succeeds when we embrace everybody in love and battle back against the dark forces of division,” he said.

“We are all neighbors. And we must love our neighbors as ourselves.”