Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine, a Democrat, appeared on CNN’s State of the Union program on Sunday. Jake Tapper, the show’s co-host and one of the most highly partisan journalists in the business, asked Kaine why his party is so staggeringly unpopular with the public. And he got a staggeringly stupid response.
Considering that both Tapper and Kaine reside on the same side of the political divide, it seemed a rather odd question to ask – at least phrased in that way.
Tapper began by citing the Quinnipiac poll that caused such a stir last week. The survey found that 57% of Americans have an unfavorable view of the Democratic Party, and just 31% had a favorable view. He noted, “This is the worst number for the Democratic Party since Quinnipiac University began asking the question. And it’s not an outlier. Our recent CNN poll found a 33-year-low favorable rating with the Democratic Party.”
Then he pounced, “Why is your party so staggeringly unpopular with the public?”
If Kaine were an honest man, he might have admitted that his party’s policies played a role. He could have pointed to the Biden administration’s open-border policy, reckless spending that drove prices sky-high, foreign policy blunders, or the fact that Democrats knowingly propped up a senile man to win the presidency in 2020, allowed him to remain in office for four years, and—until the jig was up after the infamous June debate—supported his bid for reelection.
Then again, Kaine is not an honest man. Here’s what he told Jake:
Jake, you know me. I’m a Virginian. I know one state well, not so well the other 49. In Virginia, we’ve gone from one of the most ruby red states in the country to now having put electoral votes behind Democrats five elections in a row. I just won my reelection by a sizable margin against Donald Trump’s handpicked Republican opponent and I’ll tell you how we’ve done it.We focus on the economy. This is what we do in Virginia and I think sometimes national Democrats don’t. We focus on competent government and running the economy in a great way that focuses on innovation and advancement.We have what we call a make, build, grow agenda. While the Republicans are talking about cutting taxes and cutting regulation, most people understand that tax cutting is just for the wealthiest. …We talk about make, build, grow. We want to make it here, we want to build it here, and in ag and forestry, we want to grow it here. And the Dems have the results to back it up. It’s just that so often, Democratic candidates don’t emphasize that.And so, yeah, the American public looks at standard campaigns. They don’t see Democrats advertising on the economy, which is their principal concern.Let’s return to the bread and butter basics that people want to really focus on. And I think the Democrats can do well, especially when Donald Trump’s tariffs are driving up their prices every day.
Tapper points out the obvious. That Virginia has a Republican governor who defeated a former Democratic governor three years ago.
Kaine dismisses Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s 2021 defeat of Terry McAuliffe saying, “By 1.8 percent. The last two Republicans that won the governorship in Virginia won by comfortable double digits. Our governor is a Republican. He ran during a very good year to be a Republican, and he won barely.”
“We have a governor’s race this year in Virginia. We feel really, really good about our chances,” Kaine said. “I think the governor’s race in Virginia, November 2025 will be the first bellwether test of a Democratic comeback. And I’m feeling really, really good about that right now.”
Kaine managed to speak for 90 seconds and say absolutely nothing of substance. He simply recited as many Democratic talking points as he could recall: ‘It’s our messaging. The tax cuts only benefit the wealthiest. We focus on the economy.‘ Even Tapper appeared disappointed with his response.
Democrats lost the election because of their collective unwillingness to acknowledge the failures of the past four years. Rather than addressing America’s challenges, they either ignored them or shifted the blame to Republicans. Since the November election, Democrats have found themselves in the political wilderness – where they will remain until they engage in some genuine soul-searching.
Elizabeth writes commentary for The Washington Examiner. She is an academy fellow at The Heritage Foundation and a member of the Editorial Board at The Sixteenth Council, a London think tank. Please follow Elizabeth on X or LinkedIn.
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