Obama announces Kaine at DNC
Posted: Thursday, January 08, 2009 5:39 PM by Domenico Montanaro
Filed Under:
Democrats
From NBC's Athena Jones
In naming Virginia Gov.
Tim Kaine as the new chairman of the Democratic National Committee, President-elect
Obama spoke of the need to build a movement for change that was rooted in pragmatism and that could last beyond a single election.
"That will require redoubling our efforts to reach out to Americans throughout our 50 states, North and South, East and West," he said. "It will require finding candidates for elective office whose policies and plans are rooted not in ideology but in what works and it will require shedding our ingrained habits of taking money from federal lobbyists and special interests and relying instead on small donations from ordinary Americans."
The Virginia governor's chairmanship of the Southern Governors’ Association, a group that raises money from trade groups and from tobacco, oil, energy and pharmaceutical companies, could prove problematic given Obama's stated goal of sidelining special interest groups.
Obama said Kaine, who was an early supporter of his presidential bid, shared his political philosophy.
"It's a pragmatic, progressive philosophy that was at the heart of my campaign and will be at the heart of this administration," the president-elect said. "It's a philosophy that measures the strength of an idea not by whether it's Republican or Democrat, but whether it can actually solve a problem and make a difference in people's lives."
As DNC chair, Kaine pledged to work to promote Obama's agenda and focus, as he and other Democrats had in Virginia, on making theirs a party of problem solvers.
"We're not the ideologues, the obstructionists, the gridlock folks. We're the problem-solvers and we're not the dividers," Kaine said. "In Virginia, we've rejected the politics of negativity, the politics that, you know, often energizes the 51 percent by beating up on the 49 percent, and instead try to unify people and so that will be the same model that I will try to carry here at DNC chair as I carry the banner for this great party."
Both men praised outgoing Chairman Howard Dean, who was not in attendance, as a visionary leader who instituted a 50-state strategy that was key to helping the party win a majority in the House and to laying the groundwork for the party's success in the 2008 presidential race.
Dean released a statement congratulating Kaine: "Tim understands the importance of reaching out to everyone, standing up for our values and I know he will continue to build and strengthen our party from the grassroots up," the statement read, in part. "Democrats have made great gains over the past four years, but we know we still have work to do to ensure that we keep America moving forward as we support President-elect Obama's agenda to address the critical issues facing our country."
Dean also congratulated Executive Director-designate of the DNC, Jennifer O'Malley Dillon, calling her a strong, politically skilled manager.
