Tim Kaine has belonged to a black church for more than 30 years.

[kwassa]

Kaine and his wife, Anne Holton attend St. Elizabeth Catholic Church in a poor, predominantly black working-class neighborhood in Richmond, Virginia. It is the same church that they have been attending for 30 years, and where they were married in 1984. Kaine is also a Tenor in the church choir. In an interview with NPR, Father Jim Arsenault, the priest at St. Elizabeth, had the following to say about Kaine as church parishioner and member of the close-knit community:

This past Good Friday, we were about ready to start the procession for the veneration of the cross. And Tim was in back of church. And I said to him, hey Tim, we need your help. Help us carry this cross. It was sort of life-size. And he said sure. And gospel choir was singing some gospel spiritual songs. And Tim was there as people with tears in their eyes would venerate the cross. And they’d come up, and he’d help them up after they were kneeling or something. And he’d shake their hand, and he’d practically pull them up. And then they’d give Tim a nice hug. Everybody knows Tim Kaine.

http://heavy.com/news/2016/07/tim-kaine-religion-catholic-jesuit-religious-faith-church-missionary-wife/



Tim's wife, Anne Holton,

As a schoolgirl in 1970, she was on the front lines of the fight to desegregate Virginia’s public schools. Holton is the daughter of Virginia Gov. A. Linwood Holton (R), who championed integration in a state that was known for its vigorous efforts to resist it. To drive home this point, he sent his daughters to a historically all-black Richmond City public school, escorting Anne Holton’s sister to class in a gesture captured in a historic photograph.

“I have spent much of my working life focused on children and families at the margin, with full appreciation of the crucial role education can and must play in helping young people escape poverty and become successful adults,” Holton wrote in a Washington Post op-ed in June 2015.

Holton and Kaine also sent their three children, who are now grown, to Richmond public schools.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/7/23/1551522/--Meet-Tim-Kaine-s-Wife

[MADem]

1. He walks the walk, gotta give it to him. nt

[brush]

2. Kaine just gets better and better the more you find out about him.

The choice reflects well on Clinton's judgement.

I did like Rep. Becerra of California also.

[Tess49]

5. Yes, he does! Love this man!

[HeartoftheMidwest]

10. His Democratic credentials are promising, even impressive.

Who cares about his "star quality;" this is politics and our lives are at stake. This isn't some shallow reality show.

But I do wonder why Clinton thought he was a "terrible" VP pick in 2008:

"According to Game Change, John Heilemann and Mark Halperin's book about the 2008 election, Clinton dismissed Kaine as a potential No. 2, referring to him as a "terrible" choice. But the Virginia governor made it to Obama's final three...."

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2016/07/tim-kaine-vice-president-hillary-clinton-virginia-senate

I'd be interested in knowing why she felt that way in 2008, and what's changed her mind since then.

[JI7]

13. Kaine Endorsed Obama early in 2007 so she may not have looked at it that objectively

this is one reason i'm impressed with her picking him now.

and Kaine's endorsement was one of those things which could have made a difference in such a close race. for example while Clinton won the hispanic vote big in the 2008 primary in most states, Virginia was one of the few states where Obama beat her with hispanics and cut into her support among other groups she was mostly winning with.

Kaine's endorsement may played a big role in that. plus he was one of the earlier major endorsements for Obama .

plus she never reached the point where she actually did a VP search as she did this time and seriously consider him.

it speaks well of Clinton and Kaine that she picked him now.

[Wellstone ruled]

3. Sounds like the real deal.

Hope their campaign runs with this story. This will really piss off the Rethugs. And Con Man Don will really out due himself with some of the wall Stupid comment.

[bravenak]

4. I like him

[babylonsister]

6. His comfort zone-props! nt

[sheshe2]

7. Someone tonight said I should weep at our VP choice.

I do weep, for joy.

[mountain grammy]

8. Sounds like good people, good citizens.

[tclambert]

9. Hmm. I don't hear much about Donald Trump's church, or him going to church.

Of course, it might be a little disruptive what with him shouting, "I hear you!" every time the congregation says, "Lord, hear our prayer."

[narnian60]

20. Hahahaha.

Good one.

[-Steph-]

11. I didn't know many details about Tim Kaine prior to him being selected as Hillary's running mate..

I have to say that the more I learn about him, the more I like him. He seems like the real deal. I'm beyond glad to have him on the ticket.

[BlueMTexpat]

14. I knew the major points ...

but it is so many of these lesser-known points that really brought me on board with great enthusiasm.

All things considered, he is a stellar selection and only serves to strengthen the ticket!

[applegrove]

12. Who wouldn't want to go to an integrated church if your only other option

is "the frozen chozen" as Bill Clinton would say.

[kwassa]

17. The frozen chosen joke was about us ...

Episcopalians, though we have thawed. Our church is highly integrated, too.

[applegrove]

21. Okay. I thought it applied to all old europe protestant churches.

[brer cat]

15. He comes across as very authentic.

As a woman, I really appreciated his appeal to the Pope to allow ordination of women:

If women are not accorded equal place in the leadership of the Catholic Church and the other great world religions, they will always be treated as inferiors in earthly matters as well. There is nothing this Pope could do that would improve the world as much as putting the Church on a path to ordain women.

I agree with that statement.

[lillypaddle]

16. kick kick kick~

[BlancheSplanchnik]

18. Love this!

Great choice, Hilary.


Looks like both candidates made their VP choices as a clear statement.

I like what her choice of Kaine states.

[niyad]

19. is it just me--can just hear how the pukes are going to spin this.

[bigdarryl]

22. Yeah I love this about him it's more than I can say about some so called progressives who never

Even walked in a black church.And yet I'm hearing a lot of progressive saying Kaine was a bad choice because he isn't progressive enough.Like Ari Rabin-Havt

[MrScorpio]

23. How the hell does this thread have almost 250,000 views? nt

[JustAnotherGen]

24. That's insane!

[JI7]

25. amazing, my guess is it was around the time of VP announcement and the thread has a lot of recs

which means it would have been on home page so people see and click. and since it was around convention, vp announcement even more people were coming on this site than usual.

[Stellar]

26. Whoa...what an interesting guy.