Thread: Kaine discusses faith, Hispanics

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Kaine discusses faith, Hispanics


By DANIEL GILBERT
dgilbert@potomacnews.com
Wednesday, November 16, 2005


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The religious faith of Governor-elect Tim Kaine received widespread attention during the gubernatorial campaign. Kaine spoke with the Potomac News and Manassas Journal Messenger about his experiences as a missionary in Honduras, and the trajectory that landed him in the governor's house in Richmond.

Potomac News: You took a break from Harvard Law School to do missionary work in Honduras. What led to your decision?

Tim Kaine: I was in law school and I didn't really know what I wanted to do. I had spent a week in Honduras as a high school student -- I went to a Jesuit high school -- and always thought I might go be a volunteer. I felt like I needed to get some spiritual and vocational orientation, and so I went to a Jesuit mission in Honduras.

PN: How did you like Central America?

TK: I loved it, I loved the opportunity to become better in Spanish. I spent most of my time in Honduras, but I traveled a lot within the country. I was also principal at a welding and carpentry school in a town called El Progeso. I'm not much of a carpenter myself, but I could hold my own with the 14- and 15-year-olds there. Also, my dad used to run a welding and iron-working shop.

PN: What lessons did you learn in Honduras, and have you applied them to other aspects of your life, both political and personal?

TK: I spent a lot of time with people who had nothing, where children were dying of malnutrition, but where people still had very strong faith. I didn't have much adversity in my life, nor did I have a strong faith-life. The religious faith of the people made a huge impression on me. Jim O'Leary, a Jesuit missionary who lived in Honduras for 40 years, was a real "man for others," the happiest person I've known in my life. I think that the influence of someone who was so giving, in a way, made a public servant of me.

PN: You spoke Spanish in your campaign ads. Do you have plans to reach out to the Hispanic community in the state?

TK: Absolutely. I like to do Spanish radio shows, programs on TV, and I'm planning on keeping up my Spanish. I also plan to involve folks from different cultural backgrounds in my cabinet, including those of Latino origin. The Latino culture is something I really enjoy knowing about.

PN: There are an estimated 200,000 illegal immigrants in Virginia. Will you leave immigration policy to the federal government, or do you plan to address it at the state and local levels as well?

TK: I have supported a series of things at state level, like tightening up the process to get a driver's license. Most of the hijackers on 9/11 got driver's licenses in Virginia. We've made it tough to get a driver's license in Virginia without being a legal citizen. The fundamental problem has nothing to do with something the state of Virginia did wrong; it is because the federal government refuses to enforce immigration law. I am not going to let the feds off the hook. What they are doing is pushing the burden of illegal immigration onto the shoulders of the state. My main focus is to really push the federal government to really do their job.

PN: Where do you stand on the issue of formal employment centers for day laborers?

TK: I have been very clear that I am not going to support state funds to support facilities of adults who are not documented. This is a general rule. There are exceptions, of course, for the sick. If someone has tuberculosis and needs medical care, that's a different issue.

PN: Any closing words on the subject?

TK: Virginia is a place of welcome. I am against illegal immigration, but I sometimes worry about people going on an anti-immigrant kick, which is contrary to the soul of the commonwealth. In the gubernatorial campaign, a lot of citizens told me how disturbed they were about immigration ads that were run in the campaign. If we get to a place where because of someone's accent -- or last name, or how they look -- they are not welcome in this country, then the commonwealth will be worse off for it.

PN: Where do you stand on the issue of formal employment centers for day laborers?

TK: I have been very clear that I am not going to support state funds to support facilities of adults who are not documented. This is a general rule. There are exceptions, of course, for the sick. If someone has tuberculosis and needs medical care, that's a different issue.

I must be missing something. What does a center for illegal day laborers have to do with medical care?

I had to read that twice myself. He seems to be saying he supports NO facilities of any kind, day labor centers or any other type of facilities for adults on state money. He then makes the exception for the sick so in some fashion he is supporting state medical funding for sick illegal aliens. He references NO facilities of any kind fo adults, leaving of course the schools open which until the feds change the Supreme Court Ruling or get them out of the country, state funding for education of children illegals would continue.

Hopefully, he means what he says about being against illegal immigration and holding the feds on the hook for getting these people out of the country.

We'll see....I suspect Virginians need to keep calling....regularly to make sure he doesn't forget his position. He's a spanish speaker and that always makes me nervous.

He also spoke clearly and distinctly. That's a refreshing change from Bumbling Boob Wackident and that Chilling Double-Speaker Chertoff and Stammering and Stuttering Bush Puppy Vicente.

We'll hope for the best.

If Kilgore had hid under the bed last Monday night, would voting have been different in VA I wonder.

Good question. My feeling is nothing would have made any difference, the Republicans were not going to win on anything because people are fedup with everything Republican. This administration and this group of GOP Leaders have literally lost their minds politcally and while not all GOP members understand the whole problem, they understand enough to know they don't want it.

The American People, by majority, will not support the GOP; they are going to either vote Democrat; vote for an independent; or stay home.

When you lose the confidence or trust of your constituents, they will turn to the friendly stranger from a friend who betrayed them.

You are just SO RIGHT, Judy. The American people have had a belly-full of this administration. I think Kilgore was already behind SOME in the polls before Bush came the night before the election BUT he ended up losing by 6 points AFTER Bush came. Bush is going to be a political hot potato in the 2006 elections unless there are DRASTIC changes and I can't imagine what he could do at this point to reverse his plummeting numbers.

Kaine is evidently a MODERATE Democrat and, frankly, what I've heard from him seems to indicate that he really is MODERATE. Since I don't live in Virginia, I don't keep up with politics there much but doesn't your Mother live there, Judy? What does she think about him?

I know that, speaking for MYSELF, I will NOT vote for a Republican in 2006 or 2008 UNLESS they have ALWAYS been on the "other side" of Bush's policies. Someone like Chuck Hagel comes to mind. Don't know that much about him except that he HAS, on numerous occasions, spoken out against the President. Tancredo is another one that has done the same. I wouldn't even CONSIDER a Republican who changes their position vis a vis Bush in midstream just before an election.