Yesterday I explored former Governor, and possible Senate candidate, Tim Kaine’s big problem with tax hikes. But those problems, many and manifest as they are, relate to his former job. In his current role as chairman of the Democratic National Committee, Kaine has been a leading player in the tug-of-war in Wisconsin between the state’s labor unions and its Republican governor. Kaine has taken labor’s side – unflinchingly. And that might not go down very well with Virginia’s voters.
A story in The Hill notes that at the annual Jefferson-Jackson get together, Kaine called Gov. Scott Walker’s attempt to rein-in the unions a “declaration of war on public workers.” Kaine has committed resources to the fight via Organizing for America. The base is happy, ginned-up and ready to roll.
But as Americans for Limited Government president Bill Wilson reminded Kaine in a letter sent late last week, Virginia’s public workers don’t have collective bargaining rights. While Governor, Kaine did nothing to change that.
Not that he didn’t try to give labor a powerful voice in this right to work state. Shortly after assuming the governorship in 2006, Kaine attempted to appoint AFL-CIO president Danny LeBlanc as secretary of the commonwealth, a position that is largely responsible for handling patronage…in other words, a perfect place for a labor leader to salt state boards and university governing bodies with pro-labor allies.
Some saw the appointment as simple payback for the huge amounts of money organized labor gave to Kaine’s campaign. Apologists in the press saw the LeBlanc appointment as a golden opportunity to bring new voices and perspectives to Virginia’s sclerotic political process. They warned, as did Mr. Kaine, that if Republicans rejected LeBlanc, “they’ll come to regret it.”
LeBlanc was rejected. Republicans later did have much to regret, but none of it had to do with Kaine’s attempt to put a labor leader in charge of the thousands of state patronage jobs.
All of this information sits in the files and briefing books of Republican operatives who are just itching for Kaine to jump into the Virginia Senate contest. Those files get thicker each time Mr. Kaine decides to devote more rhetoric, and money, to the labor fight in Wisconsin.
Which could mean that Kaine’s “they’ll come to regret it” statement just might come true. For him.
