Tim Kaine Quotations

I think life is sacred, whether it's abortion or the death penalty.

No couples in Virginia can adopt other than a married couple - that’s the right policy.

I just want to serve people. I know it sounds like a simple cliche.

My sense is that economic anxiety means electoral volatility.

People will pay a price for putting political obstruction over progress in a time that is so critical and urgent.

I'm not going to be anybody's punching bag.

I say we are climbing out of a ditch and we are climbing up.

I'm not going to give a courtesy gift to a person who's going to win, and I'm not going to give a sympathy gift to a person who's going to lose.

The best way to deal with the deficit is through economic growth.

You have got to connect your land use decisions with transportation decisions.

One of the things we wrestle with nationally is, 'If we want the economy to be strong, what should we do?' Why not learn some lessons from Virginia?

The American economy has always been the innovator in the world, and we're starting to see some tremendous increases in innovation, especially in the clean energy sector.

But people ought to be proud to be Democrats right now. You know, we're a happy warrior party. And this Congress has every reason to be very, very proud of the heavy lifting that they have done.

When I talk to people outside the beltway, I don't think people are that divided.

I will always be a partner with the president of the United States.

Midterm elections for first-term presidents are notoriously difficult.

My sense is, as governor I've gotten a lot of stuff done.

You see Democrats who will demonize business. I don't do that. You see Republicans who demonize labor. I don't do that.

I think if you run away from who you are, that you're a Democrat and you're proud to be a Democrat, it's foolish. And the reason it's foolish is you've got a lot to be proud of.

Race to race, the Republicans are putting up candidates that are quite far out of the mainstream in terms of should we have passed the Civil Rights Act or does Social Security need to exist.

I am focusing on things where we can build on this management tradition that we have, advance smart priorities and do so in ways that save us money on the back end.

I feel the momentum is going the right way. Virginians have been happy with what Mark and I have done. They don't want to do a U-turn and that's really helping me.

What would you subtract? Jerry Kilgore has not yet identified one dime of any cut or subtraction he would make. He's a classic guy who wants to have it both ways; he wants to say it was wrong but enjoys the spending that has resulted.

I saw that and it just made my heart sink. That act reflected very poorly on him and on the institution.

Look back to 2001, ... President Bush was at his all-time high, it was just after Sept. 11, and Virginia elected a Democratic governor.

I think he realizes that if he has to stand up and (answer) that, folks aren't going to like the answers he gives.

We now know that the American people were given inaccurate information about the reasons for invading Iraq. We now know that our troops in Iraq were not given the best body armor or the best intelligence.

We can't just tax and pave our way out of traffic. I'll give your community more power to stop out-of-control development that increases traffic.

We spend at least $5 for remedial education right now for every dollar we put in early childhood education. All the studies on early childhood education show this is going to pay for itself.

Probably the issue at top of their list was better work-force development. (Danville officials) feel like the state's efforts are kind of fragmented, and we need to do a better job of coordinating them. And I think that's a real good point.

Often, money is taken out of that fund for other projects. I'll make sure that stops.

You're not going to have a 1.000 batting average, but the way you get votes is, you just push and you push. I'm not afraid to do that.

I want someone with a national reputation. I want somebody who is a good manager of people and who is a change agent. I think the one-term governor hurts transportation more than anything else because if you change out secretaries of transportation and VDOT commissioners on a four-year cycle you just don't get the continuity you need on the transportation side. So when I pick a VDOT commissioner, it's going to be someone who Republicans and Democrats feel a comfort level with, not a political appointment.

The federal government should serve the American people. But that mission is frustrated by this administration's poor choices and bad management. Families in the Gulf Coast see that as they wait to rebuild their lives.

I'm happy to elevate Dr. Morris for a number of reasons but I hope I elevate the profile of the independent and private colleges as part of the educational mix in higher education.

You want to have a shooting contest? You want to go hiking? Give me a pocketknife and a set of matches and I'll go up against anybody,

Losing a son, losing a daughter, a brother, a sister, losing a close friend - it can go beyond grief to isolation and feeling despair.

Despair is a natural emotion.

Donald Trump's living in a different time, a time that is not a match for what Americans now believe about who our leaders should be.

There are a series of connections between Donald Trump and his closest advisers and Russia that at least raise significant questions. Some of those questions could be answered if Donald Trump was willing to release his tax returns, but he's unwilling to do that.

I'm not a Hillary Clinton defender. I'm a Hillary Clinton promoter.

Hillary Clinton is somebody who has had a passion for families and children since she was a kid, in a Methodist youth group as a teenager in the suburbs of Chicago.

Hillary Clinton has a long track record of service in public life. And you can look at that. I tell the story about her being first lady of the United States, when the effort to get Hillary Clinton done failed, and that was a tough, tough, bitter loss, but then it tested her as a leader. And she worked together with Democrats and Republicans to get health insurance for eight million low-income American children in the CHIP program.

Hillary Clinton has that, a passion to empower families and kids, and a desire to measure health of society by how families and kids are doing. You can see this from her service as a lawyer, first lady of Arkansas, and United States senator, and secretary of state.

The national security issues are a really good window into the character of the person that somebody wants to have as commander in chief.

The American public will be clear on who's most fit to be president. And that's Hillary Clinton.

Donald Trump has encouraged Russians to cyber-hack the United States to give him an edge in an election. And that just shows how serious and seriously misguided Donald Trump is.

The national security issues are very important for two reasons. First, because everybody knows that we want to be safe. But, secondly, people see these issues as probably the clearest window into somebody's temperament, their judgment, whether they're steady or volatile.

Richard Nixon was a Republican presidential candidate who encouraged crooks to commit espionage against the Democratic National Committee in order to gain an edge in a presidential election.

Donald Trump must give the American public his tax returns to show that he's qualified to be president and he's breaking his promise.

If you don't know the difference between dictatorship and leadership then you got to go back to a fifth grade civics class.

Criminal justice is about respecting the law and being respected by the law so there is a fundamental respect issue here.

I support the constitutional right of American women to consult their own conscious, their own support of partner, their own minister, but then make their own decision about pregnancy.

You should live fully and with enthusiasm, the commands of your faith, but it is not the role of the public servant to mandate that for everybody else.

I'm not going to change my religious practice to get one vote, but I know how to take an oath and uphold the law, and if you elect me I will uphold the law.

You build the bonds through the community and police force, build bonds of understanding, and then when people feel comfortable in their communities, that gap between the police and the communities they serve narrows. And when that gap narrows, it's safer for the communities and it's safer for the police.

I'm a gun owner. I'm a strong second amendment supporter.

Hillary Clinton and I believe in comprehensive immigration reform. Donald Trump believes in deportation nation. You've got to pick your choice.

America should really wonder about a President Trump, who had a campaign manager with ties to Putin, pro-putin elements in the Ukraine who had to be fired for that reason. They should wonder when Donald Trump is sitting down with Vladimir Putin, is it going to be America's bottom line, or is it going to be Donald Trump's bottom line he's going to be worried about with all of his business dealings. This would be solved if Donald Trump would release his tax returns as he's told the American public that he would do.

People shouldn't be afraid to bring up issues of bias in law enforcement.

Hillary Clinton and I will do immigration enforcement and we'll vet refugees based on whether they're dangerous or not, we won't do it based on discriminating against you from the country you come from or the religion that you come from.

Donald Trump, again and again, has praised Vladimir Putin and it's clear that he has business dealings with Russian oligarchs who are very connected to Putin.

Americans are a nation of immigrants.

Do you want a you're hired president in Hillary Clinton or a you're fired president in Donald Trump? I don't think that's such a hard choice.

[Hillary Clinton] worked a tough negotiation with nations around the world to eliminate the Iranian nuclear weapons program without firing a shot.

You will look in vain to see Donald Trump ever taking responsibility for anybody and apologize.

I am so proud to be running with another strong history-making woman, Hillary Clinton, to be president of the United States. I'm proud because her vision of stronger together, building an economy that works for all, not just those at the top, being safe in the world, not only with a strong military, but also strong alliances to battle terrorism and climate change, and also to build a community of respect, just like Barbara Johns tried to do 65 years ago. That's why I'm so proud to be her running mate.

Donald Trump always puts himself first.

Living our lives of faith or motivation with enthusiasm and excitment, convincing each other, dialoguing with each other about important moral issues of the day, but on fundamental issues of morality, we should let women make their own decisions.

It is so painful to suggest that we go back to think about these days where an African-American could not be a citizen of the United States.

Mike Pence did ask this question about debt and the debt explosion on the [Donald] Trump plan is much, much bigger than anything on the [Hillary] Clinton side.

To beat terrorism, there's only one candidate who can do it and it's Hillary Clinton.

For anybody whose family, you know, probably came from somewhere else a few generations to say, OK, but now we're going to put up the drawbridge and not let anybody else in, I don't think that's in accord with the values of America.

America is a nation of immigrants. We have to have a functioning immigration system.

Richard Nixon released tax returns when he was under audit.

The Trump plan is a different plan. It's a you're fired plan. And there's two key elements to it. First, Donald Trump said wages are too high. And both Donald Trump and Mike Pence think we ought to eliminate the federal minimum wage.

Donald Trump believes that the world will be safer if more nations have nuclear weapons. He's said Saudi Arabia should get them, Japan should get them, Korea should get them. And when he was confronted with this and told, wait a minute, terrorists could get those, proliferation could lead to nuclear war, here's what Donald Trump said, and I quote, go ahead, folks, enjoy yourselves.

Maybe some things that weren't so great were said about the Irish when they came. But Americans've done well by absorbing immigrants and it's made our nation stronger.

I try to practice my religion in a very devout way and follow the teachings of my church in my own personal life, but I don't believe in America, a first amendment nation, where we don't raise any religion over the other, and we allow people to worship they please, that the doctrines of any religion should be mandated for everyone.

I'm really fortunate. I grew up in a wonderful household with great Irish Catholic parents.

The thing I would worry a little bit about is Donald Trump owes about $650 million to banks, including the Bank of China. I'm not sure he could stand up so tough to the people who have loaned him money.

A president should take action to defend the United States against eminent threat. You have to. The president has to do that.

Hillary Clinton knows how to sit down at a table and negotiate tough deals.

Americans need to worry about whether Donald Trump will be watching out for America's bottom line or his own bottom line.

Here's what people should look at as they look at a public servant. Do they have a passion in their life that showed up before they were in public life? And have they held onto that passion throughout their life, regardless of whether they were in office or not, succeeding or failing. Hillary Clinton has that passion, from a time as a kid in a methodist youth group in the suburbs of Chicago, she has been focused on serving others with a special focus on empowering families and kids.

If you look at sentencing in America, African-Americans and Latinos get sentenced for the same crimes at very different rates.

The way you make communities safer and police safer is through community policing.

I trust Hillary Clinton as president and commander in chief, but the thought of Donald Trump as commander in chief scares me to death.

Social security has enabled people to retire with dignity and overwhelmingly not be in poverty. We have to keep it solvent.

We trust Hillary Clinton, my wife and I, we trust her with the most important thing in our life.

The terrorist threat has decreased in some ways, because Bin Laden is dead.

The terrorist threat to American troops has decreased in some ways because there's not 175,000 in a dangerous part of the world. There's only 15,000.

When Donald Trump says women should be punished or Mexicans are rapists and criminals or John McCain's not a hero, he is showing you who he is.

You [Republicans] are not going to cut taxes. You're going to raise taxes on the middle class.

To say that there should be no immigration, yes, that is definitely contrary to the best values of America that were laid out in the Declaration of Independence and since.

Absolutely without firing a shot and instead of 175,000 American troops deployed overseas we now have 15,000.

Donald Trump started this campaign in 2014 he said if I run for president I'll absolutely release my taxes.

Donald Trump has broken his first promise [to release taxes]. Second he stood on this stage last week and when Hillary said you haven't been paying taxes, he said, that makes me smart. So it's smart not to pay for our military. It's smart not to pay for veterans, it's smart not to pay for teachers and I guess all of us who do pay for those things I guess we're stupid.

Mike Pence, when he was in Congress, voted against raising the minimum wage above $5.15. And he has been a one-man bulwark against minimum wage increases in Indiana.

This is one where you can just kind of go to the tape on it. But Governor [Mike] Pence said inarguably Vladimir Putin is a better leader than President [Barack] Obama.