I have written dozens of columns over the last year for the Aberdeen American News, a few of which have been posted here. I am not very good at predicting which of them will inspire a reaction from readers. After the following column was published I have received e-mails from the Kaine for Governor Campaign, the Press Secretary for Senator Saxby Chambliss of Georgia, one of my fellow columnists at the American News, and other local voices. As I noted in my previous blog on this topic, I was guilty of a technical error. The website in which Tom Daschle's letter (It Stops in Virginia!) was posted is officially very unaffiliated with the Kaine campaign. So Kaine is, officially off the hook for any criticisms that would otherwise apply to him. Instead the parties that have to take responsibility are those independent citizens that produce the Raising Kaine website. This does not affect the primary point of my column, since Daschle sent his letter to the unofficial site that is the general focus. I have left the column as originally written so that anyone who wishes can hold me responsible for any errors. I have, however, given it my own title.
Daschle Raising Kaine!
In this sleepy double off-year in American politics, when neither the President nor most of Congress has to face the voters, Virginia will choose a governor. That’s pretty slim pickings for a political junky, but back in June I first visited the Democratic contender’s website, Raising Kaine!
It looked at that time as if Tim Kaine were running on the basis of a single complaint. Republican Jerry Kilgore, he complained, has been saying nasty things about him. This rather narrow and negative theme piqued my interest. Well, that and the fact that Tom Daschle wrote a letter in support of the Kaine-raising project. Like the website, Senator Daschle’s letter was resolutely on-message. We Democrats have been losing, he declared, because the Republicans resort to dishonest attacks and character assassination. But, Daschle exclaims, “It stops in Virginia!”
As evidence of Republican misbehavior, Daschle presents his own defeat and that of former Georgia Senator, Max Cleland. Cleland, everyone acknowledges, is an impeccable war hero. He lost three limbs defending comrades and country in Vietnam. But he became the national poster child for Democratic indignation when he was defeated by Saxby Chambliss in 2002. It is one of the most cherished myths of contemporary Democrats that Chambliss won by attacking Cleland’s patriotism.
That charge rests, however, on a single campaign commercial. You can see a quick rerun on Daschle’s letter. It opens with a screen split into four frames. One of them is occupied by Osama bin Laden, and another by Saddam Hussein. The other two reveal American soldiers on patrol, and U.S. warplanes ready for take-off. This is the text:
“As America faces terrorists and extremist dictators, Max Cleland runs television adds claiming he has the courage to lead. He says he supports President Bush at every opportunity, but that’s not the truth. Since July, Max Cleland has voted against the President’s vital homeland security efforts eleven times. Max Cleland says he has the courage to lead, but the record proves Max Cleland is just misleading.” As the audio script reaches its first comma, Cleland’s face appears, followed by a Star Wars like scroll listing his eleven votes.
Now a sensible person may regard this add as over the top. But it is absurd to claim that it attacks Cleland’s patriotism. What it attacks is his voting record, and his honesty about that record. Likewise, one could surely defend Cleland’s votes. He opposed the Homeland Security Act because of limits on the unionization of security personnel, and public unions are an important part of the Democratic coalition. But Chambliss was entitled to argue that his opponent didn’t have his priorities straight. Should we make it harder to fire incompetent airport guards? Either way, this is what campaigns are supposed to be about. The charge of wounded patriotism is a canard. Cleland got beat fair and square.
If you wonder whether Tim Kaine holds to a higher standard than those nasty Republicans, you might notice the page on his web site entitled “Jerry Kilgore is a Bad, Bad Man!” “Jerry “Killmore” actually likes executing people,” we are informed. “Not personally, of course (at least we HOPE not!), but Kilgore is death-penalty crazy. What is the basis for this bit of character assassination? Kilgore is in favor of the death penalty in cases where Kaine, presumably, would oppose it. That, Senator Daschle, is a personal attack.
It is surely reprehensible to attack someone’s patriotism because you disagree with his policies. It is just as reprehensible to use false allegations of wounded patriotism to tar your political opponents. Both cut against civility in the same measure. But even if Chambliss were the rogue that Daschle makes him out to be, the prominence of this theme among Democrats ought to be disturbing. Poor, poor, pitiful me is an unpromising foundation for a national party.
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