Self-Serving Hillary Moves Right with Veep

Hillary Clinton’s decision to pick Sen. Tim Kaine as her running mate shows once again how she stands for absolutely nothing other than her own personal gain.

During the primary, Clinton tacked hard to the left, taking radical positions on everything from race relations, immigration, environmental regulation and income inequality — she even displayed a conveniently newfound skepticism of free trade deals.

In choosing the moderate Kaine, Clinton has done a complete about-face.

But when it was clear Sen. Bernie Sanders’ campaign was finished, Clinton trotted out Sen. Elizabeth Warren and President Obama to emphasize her supposed ultra-progressive credentials. She even managed to pry a public endorsement from Sanders himself.

But in choosing the moderate Kaine, Clinton has done a complete about-face, turning her back on the left-wing Democratic base. A move that appears part pandering and part damage control, Clinton went with a running mate designed to appeal to independents and right-leaning Democrats.

“Picking Kaine, a centrist … Democrat, who happens to have some scary positions on abortion and the deficit, would just confirm that Clinton is the triangulating, centrist … who many Sanders supporters have claimed her to be,” radio host and Bernie Supporter Katie Halper, said in an interview with Politico. “It would send a message that she’s not even pretending to pander to us, which is both refreshingly honest and alarming.”

Kaine holds many positions that the Left would likely consider “problematic,” to say the least. In 2013, Kaine introduced legislation to lift the federal ban on offshore oil-drilling in the Virginia coast. Kaine is also supportive of the coal industry, as well as the use of nuclear power.

As governor of Virginia, Kaine repealed the estate tax. He also supported the Iraq War, and favors some restrictions on abortion. But perhaps most significantly, Kaine is an ardent supporter of free trade deals. He has praised NAFTA, referred to opponents of free trade as “losers,” and voted for both fast-track authority and the TPP.

Clinton no doubt plans to use Kaine’s centrism to depict Donald Trump as a radical. But Clinton’s self-serving gamble could backfire. Her apparent desire to have the public forget about the radical mask she wore during the primary could alienate former Sanders supports and hardcore liberals.

“An establishment Wall Street Democrat like Tim Kaine … will do nothing but confirm to progressives she’s learned nothing from this primary,” said Jordan Chariton, a reporter for the far-left The Young Turks program.

Furthermore, Clinton may have severely underestimated the importance of trade in this election. Due to his outspoken support for free trade deals, Kaine’s presence on the campaign trail could do far more damage than good with the moderates and populists Clinton whom hopes to woo.

“I’m going to be aggressive in reaching out to Sen. Sanders’ supporters,” Clinton said in May. “We have so much more in common.” It seems she’s changed her mind.