DNC Chair Kaine 'Not Wild' About Manchin Ad In Which He Literally Shoots Cap & Trade

West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin has made a fairly robust effort to distance himself from President Obama and, more broadly, the policy elements of the Democratic agenda, culminating in a television ad in which he literally shoots a bullet through cap and trade legislation.

Most in the party have chalked up the strategy to blunt politics in a Senate election that few predicted would be quite so close. But not everyone is pleased.

On Thursday, DNC Chairman Tim Kaine said that he was "not wild" about the Manchin ad, particularly the sour message it delivers with respect to health care legislation.

"I'm not wild about it," Kaine said, at a Christian Science Monitor breakfast. "The part that I most don't like is 'fixing what's bad about Obamacare.' He had two Democratic senators [in his state], very good senators, who voted for that bill and they voted for it because it probably has as much to offer the residents of West Virginia as virtually any state, if you look at health stats and things like that."

"He's a hell of a shot [though]," Kaine added, playfully.

The DNC chair has been one of the more outspoken Democrats in arguing that the party should run on -- not away from -- its legislative accomplishments, going so far to call candidates "foolish" for distancing themselves from the president. So his take on the Manchin ad fits with his larger strategic vision for the party's candidates.

"What Democrats ought to do is be proud of being Democrats and be proud of their accomplishments," Kaine said on Thursday. "[Manchin's] in a bit of a different spot. He wasn't a member of the Senate. So if he was a member of the Senate he should be running on accomplishments. Now he is not that so he is clearly positioning himself, he has his own thing. And the good news is, as I travel, the majority of Democrats are proud to be Democrats and proud of their accomplishments."

But in an election climate where observers are harping on any perceived friction within the Democratic Party, Kaine's criticism of the Manchin ad does stand out, although it's hard to imagine the West Virginia governor losing sleep over this. A rebuke from the head of the DNC only reinforces the anti-establishment, party-line-bucking image that Manchin is seeking.

Comments

[dennissein]

06:10 PM on 10/24/2010

Tim is right....the Democrats should rally behind their accomplishments over the past year....but Tim is unable to get the Dem's to rally about anything....he has proven to be ineffectual......he needs to be replaced asap.

[scott456]

11:05 PM on 10/14/2010

Brought to you by the state that destroys mountains to bring you dirty energy. They should just form a new party with Louisianans called the Fossil Fuel Party.

[Zutroy]

08:54 PM on 10/14/2010

Shut up, Tim. He's one procedural vote that John Raese isn't, and it's a diverse party.

[TeaPartyVoter]

07:20 PM on 10/14/2010

The only way for a Dem to get elected is to claim they're fiscal hawks (laugher) and to say they're against the Obama agenda.

[Almondo]

07:32 PM on 10/14/2010

The only way for a Teabag to get elected is to lie and deny continuously.

[Zutroy]

08:56 PM on 10/14/2010

Unlike Joe Miller and Sharon Angle. It's not like they've been running away from the Tea Party ever since they won their primaries.

[R U Sirius]

06:36 PM on 10/14/2010

In this pressure-packed political season, it's irresponsible and inexcusable for ANY candidate to show, handle, or shoot a weapon on camera for an ad or anything else. But then, I'm not an NRA groupie robot.

[TeaPartyVoter]

07:20 PM on 10/14/2010

No it isn't. Having a gun is a constitutional right.

You need to move to Greece or France.

[Dynamohum]

07:44 PM on 10/14/2010

Why don't you go where you'll be appreciated: Red State, The Hill, Faux, whatever, just out of our faces.

[Salvador Doggy]

11:15 PM on 10/14/2010

Ya'd think more people at HP would be putting him down for it sharply .... except for the itty bitty problem of not wanting to be hard on a Democrat.

[demorick]

04:35 PM on 10/14/2010

I find it amazing that the Democrats (and I am one) are complaining that Manchin has some questions about policy...Haven't the Dems been complaining en masse about the Republicans marching lockstep with the RNC?? Kinda hypocritical of Kaine, IMO...

[rosiebond007]

04:25 PM on 10/14/2010

What is it with these Democrats - stick to the Party mandate and be quiet.

We are going to the voting booth and need the best Dems we can find not the most opinionated !

[LiberalBuzz]

03:37 PM on 10/14/2010

Why don't these DINOs just run as republicans?

They don't embrace any democratic ideals by any means so why bother?

[djonan]

03:20 PM on 10/14/2010

STOP funding these candidates that refuse to follow the party platform.

[BlackBuddha]

03:15 PM on 10/14/2010

But was that an American made rifle?

Hand loaded ammo, from American factories?

Just asking.

[Rooster Coburn]

05:45 PM on 10/14/2010

In an earlier thread on this same topic we pretty much I.D.'d the rifle Gov. Manchin is using as a lower priced model of a Remington (made in Ilion, N.Y.) in a long-action caliber such as .30-06 or .270. Ammo could be from anywhere, but let's assume it's American made.

[Broderick Crawford]

03:02 PM on 10/14/2010

I'm sure he has looked at supporting Obama's positions before rejecting them outright as his best chance of winning. You would think that Kaine would be saying, "Thank You."

[sarabono]

02:58 PM on 10/14/2010

Manchin has the right idea. That Bill needs to be deep sixed, permanently!

[LiberalBuzz]

03:37 PM on 10/14/2010

WHY?

[hrpmap]

11:00 PM on 10/14/2010

Because its a bad bill.

[daradar]

02:50 PM on 10/14/2010

Manchin is a Democrat in name only. If he were to win, the Democratic Party would not be able to count on him for any support. His only value is to add to the number of Democrats in the Senate.

[rlkinny]

11:20 PM on 10/14/2010

Byrd didn't exactly start out as a moderate Democrat either. But he moved to the left and maintained the support of his constituents. Let's hope Manchin can do the same.

[OBR]

02:18 PM on 10/14/2010

who really cares if the DNC chair is unhappy

[sarabono]

02:58 PM on 10/14/2010

No one.

[LiberalBuzz]

03:38 PM on 10/14/2010

If you are not of this party then you don't have any place to make those lame comments about no one.

Typical teabaggers, pretending to speak for others when they don't have the right to.

[dfranz]

02:04 PM on 10/14/2010

If any part of the country is against the cap and trade legislation, it's the coal states which kind of makes Manchurin's actions more understandable.

I have always wondered why a true concerted effort to make coal a cleaner energy hasn't been done by anyone. We have technology, we just need the smart people in the world to get behind it. One thing for certain, the coal industry isn't interested in investing in anything but replacement miners.