By Alberto Garcia
Vice Presidential nominee Tim Kaine introduced himself to a wider audience Wednesday night when he addressed to Democratic Convention, declaring that “Hillary and I are compañeros de alma”.
Kaine, a United States Senator from Virginia, also previously served two terms as Virginia’s Governor, but got his start in politics as a city council and mayor of Richmond. As a law student at Harvard Law School, Kaine took a year off to volunteer Honduras where he taught carpentry and welding to students, and, in turn, became fluent in Spanish.
Kaine’s strong speech defended Hillary Clinton’s record of advancing the rights of women, working families, children, and seniors over 40 years.
“She is ready, she is ready because of her faith. She is because of her heart. She is ready because of her experience,” Kaine said of Clinton. “And she is ready because she knows that in America, we are stronger when we are together.”
And Senator Kaine detailed his own history of public service as a lawyer, mayor, Governor, and Senator. Throughout his speeches, Kaine drops a few Spanish words or phrases to make his point.
But it wasn’t the first time Senator Kaine spoke Spanish in this campaign. During Hillary Clinton’s July 23rd announcement of Kaine as her running mate, Kaine smoothly mixed several Spanish comments into his speech, including the opening lines of his comments.
“Bienvenidos a todos en nuestro pais, porque somos Americanos todos,” [Welcome to everyone in our country, because we are all Americans], Kaine said while standing next to a sitting and smiling Hillary Clinton. “We’ve got this beautiful country that should be a country of welcome, a country of inclusion,” Kaine said.
The new Vice Presidential candidate also promised to launch comprehensive immigration reform with a pathway to citizenship for the estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants in the US in the first 100 days of Hillary Clinton’s presidency. Kaine has been a long-time advocate for immigration reform.
Back in June 2013, Senator Kaine made history as the first Senator to give a speech entirely in Spanish on the Senate floor when he delivered a 14-minute talk about his support for comprehensive immigration reform.
“El senado ha comenzado un debate histórico sobre una reforma migratoria comprensiva,” [The Senate has started an historic debate about comprehensive immigration reform], Senator Kaine said at the time.
“Creo que es apropiado que tome unos pocos minutos para explicar la legislación en español,” [I think it is appropriate that I spend a few minutes explaining the bill in Spanish] he added, noting that Spanish has been spoken in North America since Spanish explorers established colonies in Florida in 1565.
Kaine closed his speech with his hope for a just and fair solution to immigration reform.
“Espero que podamos empezar un nuevo capítulo y que mandemos un mensaje fuerte al mundo y la nación que somos un país de leyes, pero también de justicia e igualdad.” [I hope that we can begin a new chapter and that we will deliver a message to the nation and the world that we are a country of laws, but also of justice and equality], Kaine said on the Senate floor.
Political experts predict Senator Kaine will be a balance to the Democratic ticket, and also a formidable opponent to debate the Republican Vice Presidential candidate, another former Governor in Mike Pence, who himself served two terms as Governor of Indiana.
Kaine’s name had surfaced in 2008 as a potential Vice-Presidential candidate with Barack Obama, and again this year on a short list of running mates for Clinton. A longtime personal friend of the Clinton’s, Kaine is viewed as more progressive than Clinton, but much less liberal that other rumored potential running mates like Senator Elizabeth Warren. Many supporters of Senator Bernie Sander’s hoped for a more liberal balance to the ticket, including many who suggested Sanders for the role of running mate.