Kaine and Able: The Democrats’ Plan to Win the Future

In an event at Kirkland House on Thursday, DNC Chair Tim Kaine delivered a speech that was largely predictable in its substance. From emphasizing the problems that President Obama inherited to touting the many laws passed over the past two years, Kaine rattled off the Democratic Party’s 2011 list of talking points with dexterity. While it may be Kaine’s job as chair to do just that, he should have considered his audience before delivering such a formulaic address.
Co-sponsored by the Harvard College Democrats, “A Conversation with Tim Kaine” attracted prominent officials within the Massachusetts Democratic political scene and many members of the campus Dems (including myself)—people who need little convincing when it comes to DNC policies. While the speech itself did make me feel proud to be a Democrat, it offered few new insights. Only during the question and answer session were we able to elicit more from Kaine than what he had prepared.
He began by describing how President Obama assumed office during “a time of great challenge,” a phrase that was repeated several times throughout the night. Does this mean to suggest that voters should have tempered their expectations of the Obama administration?

At any rate, the chair went on to list a host of legislative victories that were accomplished in light of those dire circumstances with perfect cadence: health care reform, credit card reform, Wall Street reform, auto industry stabilization, the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act and more. But every time he touted such accomplishments, he made sure to explain the minor caveat that there is a “tremendous, tremendous amount of work left to be done.”
Kaine then outlined the party’s strategy for the next two years, alluding to many of the same points that the President made two nights earlier in his State of the Union address. The centerpiece of this plan is the innovation economy, a near abstraction that many are hoping will be the salvation of this country. On that note, Kaine mentioned just how imperative it is for the Obama administration to last eight years. “So much in the country depends on it. So much in the world depends on it.” It was at this moment when he sounded most sincere, when he was forced to recognize the sobering reality of high unemployment and general dissatisfaction with the political process. “It’s a tall order but we can do it.”
In one of the few instances when Kaine strayed from the standard script and personalized the message, he discussed how appropriate it was to be discussing the race for talent and human capital at an educational institution. He also hoped that students in the audience were fluent in a foreign language, or at least studying one, given the ever globalizing world economy. These didactic moments salvaged an otherwise impersonal speech.
When it came around to the question and answer session, several members of the audience pressed Kaine for concrete plans. One wanted to know if a priority is to reform banks while another asked how to get teachers unions on board with comprehensive education reform. His answers to both questions were unsatisfactory, offering little insight on what the party is actually going to do.
But when someone asked why Democrats have failed to advertise health care reform properly, he explained in simple terms how the White House did not want to seem “too celebratory” during a time when people are still hurting. But as more parts of the bill get implemented, more will be done to explain its merits, he assured. If the Democrats want to win in 2012, re-crafting this message is essential.
Tim Kaine and the rest of the party face an uphill climb when it comes to the 2012 elections. And they are only making it more difficult for themselves by failing to convince voters that they have done actual good the past two years. If Thursday night was any indication, the DNC needs to get back to the drawing board because the same old message isn’t going to cut it.
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