Hillary Rodham Clinton, formerly the Secretary of State for the Obama Administration and former First Lady for her husband Bill, is now the Democratic nominee for President of the United States. Yay.
Despite the questionable means with which Clinton secured the nomination, one would think the Democrats could handily capitalize on her “historic” candidacy as the first white woman to set her sights on the White House by appointing a suitable foil such as Elizabeth Warren or Kamala Harris. This is not the case. Our Vice President, Timothy Kaine, by design, is another white moderate pseudo-Democrat who was picked for his lack of overtly offensive politics and as a signal to Wall Street that Hillary will keep their donations in her heart as well as her coffers. Many cite his 100% percent rating from NARAL as a sign of his allyship towards women, but his promotion of abstinence and requirement for parental consent on abortions suggest a compromised, typically centrist stance on women’s reproductive justice.
From my Latinx standpoint, the fact that Kaine speaks Spanish (badly, I might add) because of his time in Honduras as a missionary is a negative. Are we talking about the same Honduras that had a coup recently, supported by Clinton during her tenure as Secretary of State? The same regime installed that is murdering indigenous activists fighting for their land and for the environment? Why on Earth would any Latinx have any sort of un-ironic admiration for this mayonnaise imperialist that Clinton has appointed to stand smiling by her side on the campaign trail? To be sure, Mr. Kaine was probably not involved in the coup, but his presence as a missionary does not signal a plus except for white conservative Latinos who were voting for Cruz or Rubio in the GOP Primary. To many of us Latinxs on the Left, missions to Mesoamerica and South America represent extensions of empire, not charitable works given on the part of well-intentioned white Americans.
Despite this, the Democrats likely see Kaine as a palatable concession for Republicans and other moderates who otherwise see little appeal to the Clinton candidacy and the right-wing populist Trump insurgency. The Party, according to their behavior and internal communication shown by the recent hacked DNC emails, also cares little for the opinions and predilections of its own progressive base. This would explain why Clinton did not pick a more obvious choice in Elizabeth Warren or a legitimate Latinx option in Julian Castro.
In sum, Tim Kaine represents more of the same leadership that allowed Bill to claim the White House for two terms – bland centrism that “triangulates” voters on the Left and on the Right into being forced to pick the Clintons as their only politically viable option. It is my hope that when voters go to the polls in November, they do so conscious of what Tim Kaine represents, who he is, not who he claims to be and what he claims to represent.