tag:theconversation.com,2011:/us/topics/tim-kaine-29580/articlesTim Kaine – The Conversation2020-02-27T14:03:10Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1323062020-02-27T14:03:10Z2020-02-27T14:03:10ZCalling someone a ‘jackass’ is a tradition in US politics<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/317153/original/file-20200225-24664-1u1pj1g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C2591%2C1943&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">What did you call me?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/donkey-jackass-domestic-animal-1588339153">emka74/Shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>When Virginia Democrat Sen. Tim Kaine called President Donald Trump <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/trump-impeachment-inquiry/live-blog/trump-impeachment-trial-senate-votes-articles-impeachment-n1130646/ncrd1130896#liveBlogHeader">a “jackass”</a> in early February, Kaine engaged in a political practice that is as old as the nation. </p>
<p>Probably no animal is used more as an object of ridicule and derision in U.S. politics. Kaine’s epithet was hurled because Trump hadn’t shaken hands with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi before his 2020 State of the Union address. </p>
<p>Yet jackasses are so entangled in American political history that I must ask: Where would politics be in this country without jackasses?</p>
<h2>Object of ridicule</h2>
<p>While researching our forthcoming book, “<a href="https://www.chroniclebooks.com/products/the-art-of-the-political-putdown">The Art of the Political Putdown</a>: The Greatest Comebacks, Ripostes, and Retorts in History,” my late collaborator Will Moredock and I found several references to politicians who responded to a rival’s insult by comparing them to the <a href="https://www.hcn.org/blogs/goat/mules-arent-burros">jackass, which is a male donkey</a>, or sometimes the closely related mule.</p>
<p>The word <a href="https://www.etymonline.com/word/jackass">jackass, or “male ass,”</a> according to one etymologist, goes back to 1727. By the 1820s, it was commonly being used to describe a “<a href="https://www.etymonline.com/word/jackass">stupid person</a>.”</p>
<p><a href="https://www.chroniclebooks.com/products/the-art-of-the-political-putdown">This was the intent of a retort</a> in the 1820s by Kentucky congressman Henry Clay to Massachusetts Congressman Daniel Webster.</p>
<p>Clay was sitting outside a Washington, D.C. hotel with Webster when a man walked by with a pack of mules. “Clay, there goes a number of your Kentucky constituents,” Webster said.</p>
<p>“Yes,” Clay replied, “they must be on their way to Massachusetts to teach school.”</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/317161/original/file-20200225-24664-1cypg7b.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/317161/original/file-20200225-24664-1cypg7b.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/317161/original/file-20200225-24664-1cypg7b.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=302&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/317161/original/file-20200225-24664-1cypg7b.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=302&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/317161/original/file-20200225-24664-1cypg7b.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=302&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/317161/original/file-20200225-24664-1cypg7b.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=379&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/317161/original/file-20200225-24664-1cypg7b.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=379&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/317161/original/file-20200225-24664-1cypg7b.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=379&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Henry Clay, left, and Daniel Webster served in Congress in the 1820s.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Henry_Clay_1848_restored.jpg">Wikimedia Commons</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>A connection with Democrats</h2>
<p>In 1828, Andrew Jackson ran for president as the candidate of the new <a href="https://www.history.com/topics/us-politics/democratic-party">Democratic Party</a>, which had been created from splintered factions of the Democratic-Republican Party. </p>
<p>Jackson, the blunt-spoken backwoodsman and war hero, was <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/political-animals-republican-elephants-and-democratic-donkeys-89241754/">widely criticized as a “jackass”</a> for advocating populist reforms. </p>
<p>He responded by using the image of the jackass <a href="https://www.politico.com/story/2018/01/15/this-day-in-politics-jan-15-1870-339085">on his campaign posters</a>.</p>
<p>“Jackson embraced the image as the symbol of his campaign,” <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/political-animals-republican-elephants-and-democratic-donkeys-89241754/">Jimmy Stamp wrote in Smithsonian magazine</a>, “rebranding the donkey as steadfast, determined, and willful, instead of wrong-headed, slow, and obstinate.” </p>
<p>Jackson won the election, and the jackass first became associated with Jackson and the Democratic Party. </p>
<p>More than 40 years later, after the Civil War, a political cartoon really popularized the image of the jackass as the symbol of the Democratic Party. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/316888/original/file-20200224-24701-11rtb8k.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/316888/original/file-20200224-24701-11rtb8k.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/316888/original/file-20200224-24701-11rtb8k.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=651&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/316888/original/file-20200224-24701-11rtb8k.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=651&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/316888/original/file-20200224-24701-11rtb8k.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=651&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/316888/original/file-20200224-24701-11rtb8k.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=818&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/316888/original/file-20200224-24701-11rtb8k.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=818&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/316888/original/file-20200224-24701-11rtb8k.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=818&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A popular political cartoon helped people connect the image of a jackass with the Democratic Party.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Thomas Nast, Harper's Weekly</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In 1870, Harper’s Weekly <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/political-animals-republican-elephants-and-democratic-donkeys-89241754/">published a Thomas Nast cartoon</a>, “A Live Jackass Kicking a Dead Lion.” It depicted Northern Democrats, nicknamed “Copperheads,” attacking the recently deceased former Cabinet member Edwin Stanton, a lion of Radical Republicans.</p>
<p>The donkey – a more polite and gender-neutral word for “jackass” – became the symbol of the Democratic Party. </p>
<p>The word “jackass” remained a term of ridicule.</p>
<h2>Twain defends the jackass</h2>
<p>Critics such as Mark Twain thought comparing men and politicians, in particular, to jackasses was unfair to jackasses. </p>
<p>“Concerning the difference between man and the jackass: some observers hold that there isn’t any,” <a href="http://www.twainquotes.com/Jackass.html">he said</a>. “But this wrongs the jackass.”</p>
<p><a href="http://www.twainquotes.com/Jackass.html">Twain also defended jackasses</a> in his 1894 novel “Pudd’n’head Wilson.” </p>
<p>“There is no character, howsoever good and fine, but it can be destroyed by ridicule, howsoever poor and witless,” he wrote. “<a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/102/102-h/102-h.htm#link2H_4_0001">Observe the ass</a>, for instance: his character is about perfect, he is the choicest spirit among all the humbler animals, yet see what ridicule has brought him to. Instead of feeling complimented when we are called an ass, we are left in doubt.”</p>
<p>The jackass, however, remained a term of derision in American politics.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/317165/original/file-20200225-24659-1nrauxb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/317165/original/file-20200225-24659-1nrauxb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/317165/original/file-20200225-24659-1nrauxb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=785&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/317165/original/file-20200225-24659-1nrauxb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=785&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/317165/original/file-20200225-24659-1nrauxb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=785&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/317165/original/file-20200225-24659-1nrauxb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=987&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/317165/original/file-20200225-24659-1nrauxb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=987&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/317165/original/file-20200225-24659-1nrauxb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=987&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Speaker of the House Champ Clark.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:ChampClark_(cropped).jpg">Wikimedia Commons</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>For instance, when Democratic Congressman Champ Clark of Missouri was speaker of the House of Representatives during the 1910s, an Indiana congressman interrupted the speech of an Ohio congressman by calling him a “jackass.”</p>
<p>Clark ruled the expression in violation of protocol, and the Indiana congressman apologized. </p>
<p>“I withdraw the unfortunate word, Mr. Speaker, but I insist the gentleman from Ohio is out of order.”</p>
<p>“How am I out of order?” the Ohioan asked.</p>
<p>“Probably a veterinarian could tell you,” the Indiana congressman responded.</p>
<h2>The jackass revisited</h2>
<p>Donald Trump’s presence in American politics has brought a resurgence in the word “jackass” – or at least the two things have happened simultaneously. </p>
<p>In 2015, then-presidential candidate Trump <a href="https://time.com/4993304/john-mccain-donald-trump-feud-remarks/">ridiculed the characterization</a> of Arizona Senator John McCain as a war hero. McCain served more than five years in a prisoner-of-war camp during the Vietnam War. </p>
<p>In reply, U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, who also was seeking the GOP presidential nomination, called Trump “<a href="https://www.politico.com/story/2015/07/donald-trump-gives-out-lindsey-grahams-cell-phone-number-120414">the world’s biggest jackass</a>,” adding that even “jackasses are offended” by Trump. </p>
<p>Trump responded by making public <a href="https://www.politico.com/story/2015/07/donald-trump-gives-out-lindsey-grahams-cell-phone-number-120414">Graham’s private cellphone number</a>.</p>
<p>During the final weeks of the 2016 presidential campaign, MSNBC aired an interview with a conservative voter who said she would vote for Trump and the GOP – even if Trump was at the top of the ticket. </p>
<p>“I am voting for the conservative party,” she said. “<a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/ohio-voter-gets-msnbc-laughs-by-calling-trump-a-jackass">And if this jackass</a> just happens to be leading this mule train, so be it.”</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/V2ojOvJD6vc?wmode=transparent&start=145" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">An Ohio voter declares her intentions in the 2016 election.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The connection between Trump and the jackass appeared in greeting cards, too. The Canadian company OutLayer sold a Christmas card that said, “Trump is a jackass. <a href="https://outerlayer.com/products/trump-is-a-jackass-holiday-card">Merry Christmas</a>.” </p>
<p>One 2020 bumper sticker, however, uses the Democratic donkey to tout Republicans in the November election. “<a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20200224150831/https://www.amazon.com/Republican-President-Election-Conservative-American/dp/B07BGCGGMX">Don’t be a jackass</a>,” it says. “Vote Republican.”</p>
<p>[<em>Get the best of The Conversation, every weekend.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/weekly-highlights-61?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=weeklybest">Sign up for our weekly newsletter</a>.]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/132306/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Chris Lamb does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>For more than two centuries, one particular epithet has resonated through US politics – and even helped inspire the unofficial mascot of a major political party.Chris Lamb, Professor of Journalism, IUPUILicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/666322016-10-06T00:20:29Z2016-10-06T00:20:29ZRace to the White House – the vice-presidential debate, and Donald Trump’s tax troubles<p>This week on Race to the White House, Brendon O’Connor, Tom Switzer and Emma Lancaster look at the first and only 2016 vice-presidential debate. Although it was anticipated by social media to be a “vanilla thrilla”, the debate turned out to be spicier than expected and both Democrat Tim Kaine and Republican Mike Pence delivered some knockout one-liners.</p>
<p>But despite their efforts, do vice-presidential debates actually swing elections?</p>
<p>Also on the agenda: Donald Trump’s troublesome finances. His campaign has been hammered after the publication of documents in the New York Times that suggested he may have been able to escape paying income tax for nearly two decades.</p>
<p>Trump has based his campaign on his business success and high net worth, so will his run for the White House take a hit?</p>
<hr>
<p><em>The Race to the White House podcast is a collaboration between the <a href="http://ussc.edu.au/">United States Studies Centre</a> at the University of Sydney, <a href="http://www.2ser.com/">2ser 107.3</a> and The Conversation.</em></p>
<p><em><a href="http://thewire.org.au/team/emma-lancaster/">Emma Lancaster</a> is a multi-platform journalist, and is the producer of <a href="http://www.2ser.com/component/k2/itemlist/category/273">The Wire</a> on 2ser 107.3. If you have questions about the podcast or have any suggestions about what we should discuss, contact Emma on Emma@2ser.com.</em></p>
<p><em>2ser 107.3 is a community radio station jointly owned by <a href="https://www.mq.edu.au/">Macquarie University</a> and the <a href="https://www.uts.edu.au">University of Technology, Sydney</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/66632/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>This week on Race to the White House, Brendon O’Connor, Tom Switzer and Emma Lancaster look at the first and only 2016 vice-presidential debate.Brendon O'Connor, Associate Professor in American Politics at the United States Studies Centre, University of SydneyTom Switzer, Research Associate, US Studies Centre, University of SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/665502016-10-05T04:07:01Z2016-10-05T04:07:01ZKaine vs. Pence: Two key moments from the debate<p><em>Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine and Indiana Gov. Mike Pence took the debate stage Tuesday evening. As America was getting acquainted with the vice presidential candidates, we asked two scholars to pick a key quote from the evening and tell us why it was important.</em></p>
<h2>Justin Buchler, Case Western Reserve University</h2>
<blockquote>
<p>“I tried to stand for the ancient principle of the sanctity of life. I am also very pleased that Indiana became the most-adoption state. But what I can’t understand is Hillary Clinton – how she can support a process like partial-birth abortion.” – Mike Pence, Republican candidate for vice president</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Donald Trump selected Mike Pence as his running mate, in large part, because Trump needed to reassure Republicans about his willingness to hold to conservative social positions, given his past embrace of liberal positions on issues <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/video/trump-in-1999-i-am-very-pro-choice-480297539914">like abortion</a>. </p>
<p>Pence, unlike Trump, has always been a conservative hardliner, particularly on issues like abortion. The challenge that this creates is that most voters don’t share his views. Consider the following data from the 2012 <a href="http://www.electionstudies.org/">American National Election Studies survey</a>. While 45.7 percent of respondents said that women should always be able to attain an abortion as a matter of personal choice, only 11.5 percent said that abortion should never be permitted. </p>
<p>Trump’s need to reassure conservatives with a selection like Pence has created a different electoral challenge by hewing his campaign to the most extreme end of the abortion spectrum. </p>
<p>Pence handled the issue by using a simple tool recognizable from political scientist E.E. Schattschneider’s <a href="https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Semisovereign_People.html?id=JPzyJyg3_tUC">“The Semisovereign People</a>.” </p>
<p>Political conflicts can be defined by “lines of cleavage,” Schattschneider wrote. If you want to win, draw the line of cleavage in a place that is beneficial to you, by placing as many people as possible on your side. If you oppose abortion for rape victims (<a href="http://bigstory.ap.org/article/170f8e42570b4b7abfeec76cc8f5ebc6/trump-pence-dont-agree-key-social-economic-policies">as Pence does</a>), don’t talk about it. By turning the abortion question into a question of partial birth abortion or taxpayer funding of abortion, Pence moves the line of cleavage to one in which Pence (and Trump) are on the side of the majority, while simultaneously reassuring conservatives of the Trump campaign’s commitment to the antiabortion cause. </p>
<p>It was a deft move.</p>
<p><em>Justin Buchler is the author of “Hiring and Firing Public Officials: Rethinking the Purpose of Elections.”</em></p>
<h2>Kyle Kopko, Elizabethtown College</h2>
<blockquote>
<p>“ … on the economy, there’s a fundamental choice for the American electorate. Do you want a ‘you’re hired’ president in Hillary Clinton or do you want a ‘you’re fired’ president in Donald Trump? I think that’s not such a hard choice.” – Tim Kaine, Democratic candidate for vice president</p>
</blockquote>
<p>To be sure, this was a scripted line – and even Mike Pence called him on it. Hillary Clinton and Kaine have used this talking point <a href="http://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/politics/2016/08/05/kaine-tout-clinton-economic-agenda-grand-rapids/88281714/">on the campaign trail</a>. But, it’s likely to gain more traction in the coming weeks, especially given <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/02/us/politics/donald-trump-taxes.html?_r=0">recent revelations</a> regarding Donald Trump’s 1995 tax returns as reported by The New York Times. </p>
<p>If Donald Trump did not pay federal income tax for the past 18 years, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/following-trump-tax-revelations-voters-in-toledo-question-his-business-acumen/2016/10/02/a2de2e62-88c8-11e6-875e-2c1bfe943b66_story.html">do not expect</a> many swing voters to embrace him for <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2016/10/vice-presidential-debate-mike-pence-donald-trump-taxes-229134">“brilliantly”</a> using the tax code to his advantage, despite what Mike Pence and other Trump campaign surrogates have argued. </p>
<p>During the first presidential debate, Trump stated that he was “smart” for taking advantage of the U.S. tax code. Following the debate, Hillary Clinton posed this <a href="http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2016/09/29/clinton_if_not_paying_taxes_makes_him_smart_what_does_that_make_the_rest_of_us.html">rhetorical question</a> to crowds of her supporters: “If not paying taxes makes him smart, what does that make the rest of us?” </p>
<p>Trump’s tax problems, business bankruptcies and the “you’re fired” tag-line from “The Apprentice” gives the Clinton/Kaine campaign plenty of ammunition for negative campaign ads. If Trump is such a successful businessman, how could he suffer a US$900 million loss in one year? Will he do for the United States what he did for <a href="http://www.wsj.com/articles/trump-casinos-lost-jobs-at-greater-rate-than-atlantic-city-rivals-study-finds-1475162295">Atlantic City</a>? Look for more television ads along these lines in battleground states like Florida, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Virginia in the near future. </p>
<p>While Tim Kaine did not have an especially strong debate performance – appearing more rigid and scripted compared to Pence – he did no harm and he reinforced several important campaign themes. Now, the rest is up to Hillary Clinton. </p>
<p><em>Kyle Kopko is the coauthor of “The VP Advantage: How Running Mates Influence Home State Voting in Presidential Elections” with Christopher Devine.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/66550/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kyle C. Kopko is affiliated with the Republican Committee of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Justin Buchler does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>One in five vice presidents becomes president. So we had scholars watching Tuesday night. Here’s what they heard.Kyle C. Kopko, Associate Professor of Political Science, Elizabethtown CollegeJustin Buchler, Associate Professor of Political Science, Case Western Reserve UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/663792016-10-03T18:11:16Z2016-10-03T18:11:16ZWhy the Kaine vs. Pence vice presidential debate matters<p>Tim Kaine and Mike Pence both have been described as <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/07/23/2016-the-year-of-the-boring-vp-pick/">boring</a>.</p>
<p>Many Americans still <a href="http://www.gallup.com/poll/194219/mike-pence-shows-greater-gains-favorability-tim-kaine.aspx">don’t know</a> who they are, and they share their parties’ tickets with two of the most controversial and <a href="http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/americans-distaste-for-both-trump-and-clinton-is-record-breaking/">unpopular</a> presidential candidates in modern political history. So, it’s a safe bet that their first and only debate on Tuesday night will not draw the <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-debate-ratings-idUSKCN11X1RG">record-setting ratings</a> of last week’s first presidential debate between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump – or even come close.</p>
<p>With the possible exception of 2008, when Joe Biden and Sarah Palin were vice presidential candidates, running mates simply are not the focal point of presidential elections. Their effect on vote choice is minimal. Research in our recently published book, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/VP-Advantage-influence-presidential-elections/dp/1784993387/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1475246148&sr=8-1&keywords=the+vp+advantage">“The VP Advantage: How Running Mates Influence Home State Voting in Presidential Elections,”</a> shows that running mates generally do not influence voting in their home state, let alone at the national level. Even in the short term, <a href="http://www.gallup.com/poll/157994/vice-presidential-debates-rarely-influence-voters.aspx">Gallup</a> polling data suggest that vice presidential debates rarely change voters’ opinions.</p>
<p>So, why take these candidates seriously?</p>
<h2>Vice presidents matter</h2>
<p>First, consider the vice president’s constitutional role. In the event of a president’s impeachment, resignation, death or incapacitation, the Constitution – under <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/articlei">Article I, Section 3</a>, and the <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/amendmentxxv">25th Amendment</a> – stipulates that the vice president shall assume the role of president. In U.S. history, the vice president has ascended to the presidency <a href="http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2008-10-19/news/0810180258_1_presidential-term-assassination-vp">nine times</a> – eight times due to the death of the president, and once due to resignation. That’s one out of every five <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/vice-president-of-the-United-States-of-America">vice presidents</a>.</p>
<p>And let’s not forget that the 25th Amendment allows the vice president to temporarily assume the power of the presidency in cases of presidential incapacitation. This provision has been invoked on three occasions: <a href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1960579">George H.W. Bush</a> served as acting president once, and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2007/jul/20/usa.dickcheney">Dick Cheney</a> twice, for mere hours while presidents Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush, respectively, underwent medical procedures. The possibility of presidential succession may weigh more heavily on some voters in 2016, given the relatively advanced <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/on-leadership/wp/2016/07/14/clinton-and-trump-are-the-oldest-candidates-ever-no-one-seems-to-care/">age</a> of the two major party candidates in this election, and the fact that their <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/15/us/politics/hillary-clinton-health-donald-trump.html?_r=0">health</a> has been a prominent issue in the campaign. </p>
<p>Second, modern vice presidents exercise a great deal of informal power. Until relatively recently, vice presidents often assumed a symbolic role with little formal power. As Franklin Roosevelt’s first vice president, John Nance Garner, famously <a href="https://www.cah.utexas.edu/news/press_release.php?press=press_bucket">remarked</a>, the vice presidency wasn’t “worth a bucket of warm spit.” But as detailed in <a href="http://law.slu.edu/people/joel-k-goldstein">Joel K. Goldstein’s</a> “<a href="https://kuecprd.ku.edu/%7Eupress/cgi-bin/978-0-7006-2202-3.html">The White House Vice Presidency</a>,” vice presidents since Walter Mondale, under President Jimmy Carter, have been intimately involved in the inner workings of the White House. </p>
<p>By serving as senior advisers to the president and troubleshooting on major domestic and foreign policy issues, vice presidents have come to wield significant influence within contemporary Democratic and Republican administrations. The two most recent vice presidents, Dick Cheney and Joe Biden, exemplify this new reality.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=99422633">Cheney</a> played a key role in shaping Bush administration policy on matters ranging from energy to terrorism and the Iraq War. <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2012/12/joe-biden-the-most-influential-vice-president-in-history/266729/">Biden</a> was a key adviser on foreign policy matters including the war in Afghanistan and the Osama bin Laden raid. He served as the administration’s liaison to Congress on domestic matters including health care, the “fiscal cliff” negotiations, gun control and the cancer cure “<a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2016/02/01/fact-sheet-investing-national-cancer-moonshot">moonshot</a>.” It is very likely that Kaine or Pence will exercise similar influence as vice president.</p>
<p>Third, the selection of a running mate tells voters a great deal about the presidential candidate’s political values and judgment. As <a href="http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702304811304577365870484193362">Karl Rove</a>, a leading participant in George W. Bush’s vice presidential selection process in 2000, noted, it is the “first presidential decision” that a candidate makes. Presidential candidates must recognize that they are choosing a key partner in government for the next four or eight years – not merely a running mate who can purportedly “deliver” votes in an election.</p>
<p>If either vice presidential candidate is unqualified or ill-suited to serve, it will reflect poorly on the presidential candidate who chose him. And, if elected, these deficiencies could deprive the president of a valuable partner in governance. For that matter, a competent and appealing vice president may help to carry on a president’s legacy after leaving office by winning a “<a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/07/06/hillary-clinton-will-be-barack-obama-s-third-term.html">third term</a>” and building upon the administration’s achievements.</p>
<p>For these reasons, vice presidential candidates should matter a great deal – to the presidential candidate, and to voters.</p>
<h2>The debate</h2>
<p>Of course, when Tim Kaine and Mike Pence take the stage at Longwood University on <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2016/09/everything-you-need-to-know-about-2016-vice-presidential-debate-228886">Tuesday evening</a>, it’s unlikely that viewers will see the type of rhetorical fireworks that were on display at the first presidential debate. But, more importantly, viewers will see <a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/oct/2/mike-pence-tim-kaine-in-spotlight-in-vice-presiden/">two seasoned candidates</a> with long records of public service who will provide valuable insights into what we might expect from a Clinton or Trump administration.</p>
<p>And that’s important. After all, when voters go to the polls on Election Day, they’re casting a vote for a presidential ticket – not just a presidential candidate. Why not judge the presidential candidates, in part, based upon their running mates? </p>
<p>Recent history suggests that whoever is elected, Kaine or Pence will play a major role in the next presidential administration. Given this reality, voters would be wise to tune in and carefully evaluate the running mates. Sure, it’s the “undercard” rather than the “main event.” But these aren’t lightweights – one of them is your next vice president, and that matters.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/66379/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kyle C. Kopko is affiliated with the Republican Committee of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Christopher Devine does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The vice presidential debate may not set off fireworks quite like the presidential debate, but two political scientists explain why it’s still important.Kyle C. Kopko, Associate Professor of Political Science, Elizabethtown CollegeChristopher Devine, Assistant Professor of Political Science, University of DaytonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/655492016-10-02T19:13:37Z2016-10-02T19:13:37ZReligion and the US election: does faith matter anymore?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/139149/original/image-20160926-2444-1ljura2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Hillary Clinton's failure to win over religious voters has not been for lack of trying.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Charles Mostoller/reuters</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>It is often remarked that Americans will elect almost anyone except an atheist. <a href="http://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/washington-whispers/2013/01/03/first-member-of-congress-describes-religion-as-none">Only one</a> of the 535 members of the current Congress professes to be religiously unaffiliated. </p>
<p>Polls consistently show Americans want their political leaders to be religious. This applies even to the purportedly secularist Democratic Party. Though the figure has been declining, <a href="https://berkleycenter.georgetown.edu/quotes/pew-religion-public-life-survey-on-the-decrease-in-voters-who-want-a-president-with-strong-religious-convictions">no less than 53%</a> of Democrat supporters still say it is important for their candidate to have strong religious beliefs. </p>
<p>This should be yet another advantage for Hillary Clinton. Of all the qualities she brings to the election race, one of the <a href="http://www.americamagazine.org/issue/private-faith-life-hillary-clinton">least-remarked-upon</a> is <a href="http://time.com/2927925/hillary-clintons-religion/">her religiosity</a>. A lifelong Methodist, she is by all accounts a committed and sincere churchgoer. </p>
<p>The contrast with Donald Trump is stark. He might <a href="http://americamagazine.org/content/dispatches/trump-makes-place-faith">call himself</a> a Presbyterian, but few can recall seeing Trump in the pews. The twice-divorced casino magnate regularly muddles his scriptural citations. And at one church in Iowa, he almost <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/acts-of-faith/wp/2016/02/01/donald-trump-accidentally-put-money-in-the-communion-plate-at-a-church-in-iowa/">put money in the communion plate</a>. </p>
<p>Yet here, as elsewhere, the race has defied conventional wisdom. Evangelicals are <a href="http://www.pewforum.org/2016/07/13/evangelicals-rally-to-trump-religious-nones-back-clinton/">flocking to the Republican</a>. Meanwhile, the so-called “nones” – those who identify as atheists, agnostic or nothing in particular – are siding with the Democrat.</p>
<h2>Religion in the Clinton campaign</h2>
<p>Clinton’s failure to win over religious voters has not been for lack of trying. At key moments through her career she has spoken openly of her faith. In a 2014 interview, she named the Bible as the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/15/books/review/hillary-rodham-clinton-by-the-book.html">biggest influence</a> on her thinking. </p>
<p>At other times Clinton has described the role of theologians such as Reinhold Niebuhr and Paul Tillich in <a href="http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2007/09/hillarys-prayer-hillary-clintons-religion-and-politics">driving her commitment</a> to social justice. Unlike Trump, she knows scripture well enough to impress religiously minded voters at campaign stops. Put simply, she is fluent in religion in a way that her opponent is not.</p>
<p>Furthermore, her campaign has reflected this commitment, even if in a muted tone. <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/28/us/for-hillary-clinton-and-democrats-a-public-shift-toward-god-talk.html?_r=0">Religion was everywhere</a> at the Democratic Convention. The Democratic Faith Council held panels on religion and politics while Catholic nuns drew attention to the problem of social injustice. </p>
<p>Using religiously inflected language, a Protestant minister <a href="http://gawker.com/preachers-powerful-dnc-speech-we-must-shock-this-nati-1784492513">called on delegates</a> to:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>… shock this nation with the power of love.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Vice-presidential candidate Tim Kaine spoke at length about his <a href="http://time.com/4426037/dnc-tim-kaine-speech-transcript-video/">Roman Catholic faith and his missionary work</a> in Central America. </p>
<p>Clinton herself summed up her credo with a Methodist motto:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Do all the good we can, in all the ways we can, for all the people we can. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>In the midst of all this God-talk, it was revealed that the Democrat National Committee had been using religion in a more negative way. Hacked emails showed that committee members <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/wikileaks-emails-democratic-officials-plotted-to-expose-bernie-sanders-as-an-atheist-a7151476.html">tried to discredit Bernie Sanders</a> during the primary campaign by drawing attention to his supposed atheism.</p>
<h2>Trump and the religious right</h2>
<p>In the heady post-convention days, the Democrats dared to dream of peeling off elements of the religious right from their opponents. This dream is now clearly over. </p>
<p>With only a few exceptions, leaders of the religious right have endorsed Trump. One survey from mid-August shows Trump beating Clinton by a margin of <a href="http://www.people-press.org/2016/08/18/1-voters-general-election-preferences/">63-17</a> amongst white religious conservatives.</p>
<p>This has occurred despite the fact that <a href="http://www.pewforum.org/2016/01/27/faith-and-the-2016-campaign/">hardly any voters</a> see Trump as particularly religious. During the primary season, only 5% of Republican voters described Trump as “very religious”, compared to 47% for Ben Carson. There is little evidence that Trump’s belated attempt at Jesus-speak since then has shifted their opinion.</p>
<p>Explaining this <a href="http://www.worldreligionnews.com/religion-news/christianity/evangelicals-leaning-towards-trump-as-clinton-sees-support-from-religious-nones">evangelical embrace of Trump</a> might be one of the larger puzzles of this campaign. One solution is that evangelicals have morphed into values voters instead of faith voters. Conservative Christians will now turn out for any candidate offering a return to a past America where discipline and order reigned, and where white lives mattered most. </p>
<p>It helps that Trump has promised the religious right much of what it wants. Under a President Trump, bakers will never be <a href="http://aclu-co.org/court-rules-bakery-illegally-discriminated-against-gay-couple/">forced to sell wedding cakes to gay couples</a>. </p>
<p>Even more than the plight of pious cake-makers, the religious right has been fretting about an obscure clause in the federal tax code, <a href="https://www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits/charitable-organizations/exemption-requirements-section-501-c-3-organizations">Section 501 c(3)</a>. Passed in 1954 at the urging of Senator Lyndon Johnson, the clause bans tax-exempt organisations such as churches from overtly supporting candidates for political office. Become too partisan, and you start paying tax. </p>
<p>Trump has <a href="http://time.com/4406567/republican-platform-johnson-amendment-churches-political-organizing/">promised to rescind</a> this troubling restraint on religious freedom. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/139150/original/image-20160926-2440-w9uf02.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/139150/original/image-20160926-2440-w9uf02.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/139150/original/image-20160926-2440-w9uf02.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/139150/original/image-20160926-2440-w9uf02.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/139150/original/image-20160926-2440-w9uf02.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/139150/original/image-20160926-2440-w9uf02.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/139150/original/image-20160926-2440-w9uf02.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Though few can recall seeing Donald Trump in the pews, the religious right is rallying behind Trump.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Carlo Allegri/Reuters</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The times they are a-changin’</h2>
<p>In the end, the fact that so much of the religious vote will go to the obviously less religious candidate says a lot about this race. </p>
<p>For much of the right, dislike of Clinton outweighs everything else. At the same time, very few appear to believe her when she talks about her faith. </p>
<p>The religious vote is typical in another way as well. Just as growing racial diversity has helped the Democrats, a steady decline in religiosity amongst young Americans might be having the same effect. </p>
<p>The latest survey shows the number of young Americans who are religiously unaffiliated is on the rise. Only <a href="http://www.pewforum.org/2015/11/03/u-s-public-becoming-less-religious/">27% of young millennials</a> (born 1990-1996) attend a weekly religious service compared to 51% of the so-called “silent generation” (born 1928-45). </p>
<p>Clinton has tried to win over the faith community. But if the trend towards a less religious America continues, future Democrat candidates may not even need to bother.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/65549/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tim Verhoeven does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The fact that so much of the religious vote will go to the obviously less religious candidate says a lot about the 2016 US presidential election.Tim Verhoeven, Senior Lecturer in Modern History, Monash UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/627672016-07-23T12:13:01Z2016-07-23T12:13:01ZKaine was the logical choice as Hillary Clinton’s vice president<p>Hillary Clinton has selected Virginia Senator Tim Kaine as her running mate. </p>
<p>While this news was not surprising – Kaine had long been suspected to be a top choice and made President Obama’s short list in 2008 – it does raise questions about Secretary Clinton’s choices. In an extremely polarized election contest where her own liberal bona fides were questioned, why would she pick a centrist Democrat as her running mate? </p>
<p>Those who study the vice presidency usually concede that the veep pick <a href="https://theconversation.com/will-the-vice-presidential-candidates-matter-this-year-maybe-but-not-the-way-you-think-62401">has a negligible impact</a> on the ticket’s eventual vote totals. John McCain’s choice of Sarah Palin in 2008 may be an exception. Researchers estimate she may have <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0261379410000442">cost the campaign</a> as much as 1.6 percentage points. However, the choice of a running mate still reflects a nominee’s judgment and sends signals about which groups campaigns they feel they need to target in a general election.</p>
<p>Both Clinton and Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump had to balance the demands of base constituencies with their own need to find complementary partners for the campaign. </p>
<h2>What Pence does for Trump</h2>
<p>As a political novice with a penchant for hyperbole, Trump’s VP choice had to soften his ticket’s rough edges and assure the base that experienced hands would be guiding this inexperienced potential president. </p>
<p>In both temperament and résumé, Mike Pence complements Trump. His experience in executive and legislative government, including foreign policy-related committee experience, and his even-keeled personality and connections to the evangelical Christian community assuage the fears of Republicans who worry that an inexperienced, bombastic candidate like Trump would ruin the government.</p>
<p>Clearly, no one is worried about Hillary Clinton’s lack of experience. However, she has had to worry about attacks on her character and challenges to her positions from her left ideological flank. In addition, she is also factoring in down-ticket considerations, as she, unlike Trump, appears more focused on helping her party make legislative gains in Congress. </p>
<p>A few weeks ago, when polls showed that anywhere from a <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2016-06-22/nearly-half-of-sanders-supporters-won-t-support-clinton">fifth</a> to a quarter of Sanders supporters were contemplating supporting Trump, it made sense that Clinton was giving serious consideration to adding a clearly progressive running mate like Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren to the ticket. However, since then, Clinton has taken steps to mitigate the chances of a progressive revolt. </p>
<p>Clinton has reached out to progressives and given their concerns voice. She secured endorsements from <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/bernie-sanders-endorses-hillary-clinton_us_56e98f60e4b0b25c91841bdd">Bernie Sanders</a> and <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/elizabeth-warren-endorse-clinton-rachel-maddow-show-n589236">Elizabeth Warren</a>. She welcomed Sanders supporters to help shape the <a href="https://www.demconvention.com/platform/">Democratic Party platform</a>. They played a role in moving the platform to the left on issues like the minimum wage. Based on this, Clinton may feel that she has sufficiently covered her progressive bases.</p>
<p>Now it is time for Clinton to shore up her right flank. Choosing a more centrist candidate signals a desire to try to appeal to the voter who is ideologically in the middle and most likely to cast the deciding vote for president. Clinton is betting that the median voter is disinclined to support Donald Trump. </p>
<p>Reportedly, Clinton’s finalists were a roster of centrists: Kaine, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, and New Jersey Senator Cory Booker – who, while being socially progressive, <a href="http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt9qfqc3">staked out a more conservative, neoliberal fiscal position as mayor of Newark</a>. In light of the perception that Clinton is untrustworthy, these men’s sterling reputations complement her. At the very least, they would not provide additional distractions to the campaign. </p>
<p>Admittedly, Tim Kaine does not add diversity to the ticket the same way Booker, Secretary of Labor Tom Perez, or Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Julian Castro would have. </p>
<p>However, Kaine is able speak to many different audiences.</p>
<h2>What Kaine does for Clinton</h2>
<p>Kaine is fluent in Spanish, having <a href="http://www.npr.org/2016/07/22/486960028/5-things-to-know-about-tim-kaine">lived in Honduras</a> with Jesuit missionaries in the early 1980s. His fluency is so strong, in fact, that he has delivered speeches in Spanish on the Senate floor and gives interviews in Spanish to networks like <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hus06T4a4vU">Telemundo</a>. </p>
<p>He also served as mayor of Richmond, Virginia at the turn of the century. According to the 2000 Census, Richmond was about 57 percent black at the time. </p>
<p>Kaine’s father-in-law is Linwood Holton, the former Republican governor of Virginia.</p>
<p>Finally, it is important to consider domestic geopolitics. Democrats don’t want to just win the White House. They also want to regain control of at least one house of Congress. This year, 24 of the 34 senate seats up for reelection are held by Republicans, who hold only 54 seats in the chamber. The Cook Report suggests that <a href="http://cookpolitical.com/senate/charts/race-ratings">seven of these seats</a> are vulnerable. This week, the National Republican Senatorial Committee all but conceded that the Wisconsin seat, held by Senator Ron Johnson, was a <a href="http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/senate-races/288558-republican-groups-back-away-from-sen-johnson">loss</a>. </p>
<p>Warren, Booker and Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown (who was also mentioned as a potential running mate) all hail from states with Republican governors – governors who could appoint Republicans to replace them should they be elected vice president. Fortunately for Tim Kaine, his state is led by fellow Democrat and longtime Clinton ally Terry McAuliffe, who will almost certainly protect the seat for Democrats.</p>
<p>While some people may be disappointed in Hillary Clinton’s choice of a running mate, there are good reasons for Kaine to join this ticket.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/62767/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Andra Gillespie has received funding from the Ford Foundation and the National Science Foundation. She has previously worked for a Democratic pollster. She is also from the metropolitan Richmond, VA area and has written a book on Sen. Cory Booker.</span></em></p>The senator from Virginia has a reputation for integrity, speaks Spanish and comes from a purple state. Also, control of his Senate seat isn’t in play.Andra Gillespie, Associate Professor, Political Science, Emory UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.