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DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION

Kaine: Democrats will unite and win

DNC chief addresses Mainers

By Ethan Wilensky-Lanford ewlanford@mainetoday.com
Staff Writer

LEWISTON — The Democratic National Committee chairman, former Virginia Governor Tim Kaine, told delegates at the state convention that 2010 would be a tough year for the party, and volunteerism to help register and motivate voters was key to not losing seats.

His speech to those 1,100 Democrats active enough to attend the convention was a rallying call. Early in his speech he celebrated the recent Democratic win in a special Congressional race in Pennsylvania, saying that it was energizing because Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, won the district in the 2008 presidential election.

But Kaine said that there was a lot of work to do, and that he did not want to “whitewash” the truth.

Since Teddy Roosevelt’s presidency, he said, the majority party has lost significantly in mid-term elections — even in prosperous times.

“We’re living in times of economic anxiety, and that means that the electorate is volatile,” Kaine said. “We’ve got a headwind, and we’re running uphill.”

His speech came several minutes after a video clip highlighted achievements by President Barack Obama, such as the signing of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act guaranteeing equal pay for women who do equal work as men.

“Did you know that 90 percent of Republican House members did not support it?” said Kaine, in one of many partisan jabs.

He praised Maine’s health care plan, Dirigo Health, as an inspiration for federal reform, and said that the passage of health care reform in Washington was an achievement the Democratic party should be as proud of as Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, and the Civil Rights Act.

Unlike these pieces of legislation he described as defining Democratic hallmarks, Kaine reminded the delegates that the health care reform legislation passed with no Republican support in Congress.

Republican candidates around the country have said they would make repeal of those reforms a defining piece of their 2010 campaigns, he said. The new Maine Republican party platform declares that health care is not a right. Kaine welcomed a continued debate about health care, saying it would help Democratic candidates.

“I want the Maine Republicans and Republicans everywhere to print up bumper stickers that say, ‘Bring back pre-existing conditions!’” he said, to applause and laughter.

He said that Republicans are already hurting their party’s chances to gain seats in the November elections because the Republican Party is becoming narrower and more extreme. As a case in point, he highlighted the recent win in Kentucky’s Republican primary for the U.S. Senate by Rand Paul, a son of Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, whose campaign for his party’s presidential nomination in 2008 that called for an end of the Federal Reserve reportedly helped inspire the tea party.

“The Republican Party, they just ain’t ready for prime time,” Kaine said, before referring to an “internal civil war” in the party that Democrats could benefit from.

He predicted that the new platform the Maine Republican Party adopted two weeks ago — drafted by tea party supporters — would help Democrats in Maine. He noted that it called for the elimination of the Department of Education and called global warming a hoax.

“Education really isn’t that important in the 21st century,” he said in a sarcastic tone. “Was there something in there about the sun going around the earth, or did I get that wrong in my speech?”

He praised Maine’s roster of Democratic candidates for governor, and thanked Maine lawmakers and citizens for their efforts toward same-sex marriage equality.

He said that significant work remained, however, especially in terms of energy and immigration reform. He also said that he believed Democrats could do well in November and continue to achieve progress.

“We’re the underdog party,” he said. “When the stakes are clear — and they’re clear this November —  Democrats fight harder, Democrats fight smarter, and Democrats win.”

Ethan Wilensky-Lanford — 620-7016
ewlanford@mainetoday.com