Thoughts?
What's the Kaine supporter or Vilsack supporter response?
1. Being VP is not about being a "governing partner". It is, largely, about not interfeering and, on occasion, doing whatever you are told to do.
2. In the end, far left does not have many places to go to. At worst, they would vote Stein or stay home. Most of them will vote Clinton anyway. It is the mainline Republicans and centrist independents Clinton has to be appealing to. Warren is as disliked among those as she herself is, or more. Choice of Warren would help those parts of the electorate in justifying their vote for Trump. Kaine would not provide that justification.
3. Kaine would be very useful appealing to the Hispanic vote. Yes, of course, that vote is already energized, but there is nothing like a Spanish speaker to really bring it out.
4. If, per chance, Clinton needed a "governing partner", I am sure she would much rather have somebody as experienced as Kaine than a Warren.
5. Virginia is a swing state. Massachussetts is not. Kaine is a southerner.
6. Warren can be easily linked to the "university elites" - playing exactly into Trump's narrative. In fact, long before this election I have heard this argument made by potential Trump voters about Warren: she is "one of them", "she is an insider", etc.
7. If she is the VP, her seat goes Republican for the early stage of the administration: right when most things could be done. If that results in a 49:51 Senate, that would not be good.
8. Even if you care about her having an impact on the administration, she would have a lot more impact from the Senate (or from the cabinet) than she can possibly have as VP.
I could continue.
