Tim Kaine stumps with Prince William Democrats, veterans

Tim Kaine said if he’s elected to the U.S. Senate he’ll work on three things.

He told members of the Manassas and Manassas Park Democratic Committee on Saturday during a breakfast at Taste of Heaven Tea Room in Manassas that he would concentrate on the economy, the budget and finding common ground in Washington.

Kaine told the gathering of about 80 people that as governor of Virginia he cut millions from the budget because he held the post in a recession and had to learn how to reduce spending.

He said working with Republicans was something he also learned to do as governor.

He said he didn’t always agree with a Republican-dominated legislature, but learned to make compromises.

“We didn’t make it nasty or personal. It was civil. If we disagreed on something, we agreed on something else the next day,” he said.

If he is elected, he said, one of the first things he’ll do is seek out other freshmen senators from across the aisle and try to form partnerships.

“We ought to be building more coalitions of people,” he said. “In Congress right now, there’s an absence of backbone of people who are willing to make hard decisions. There’s also an absence of people who know how to work together and are willing to work with the other side.

“Can we find common ground in Washington or will we tolerate a Congress where everyone is just in their own corner and not working together?” he asked.

To improve the economy, Kaine said he would work to invest in research and development, education and work force development.

He said doing those things would draw talent to the country, and prosperity would follow that talent.

“While there’s not a single thing that we can’t do better, my message when I go to Washington is going to be if we want to be strong as a nation, we’ve got to get the talent piece right,” he said.

After spending a couple of hours in Manassas, Kaine was off to Fredericksburg, but he returned to the area later in the afternoon to meet in a roundtable discussion with veterans and their families at the Globe and Laurel  in Stafford County.

In talking to the 45 people who showed up at the restaurant, Kaine heard that veterans coming out of the military were interested in jobs and more accountability for the Veterans Administration.

The military people also told Kaine they were worried about their benefits.

Kaine assured them that if he is elected their benefits would be safe.

“It is the case that the benefits that veterans have are benefits that they’ve earned. There was a contract that was promised. It’s not just like any other budget item that we can just take it up by five percent or down by five percent and just play around with. It’s not just something that’s on the chopping block like everything else,” Kaine said.

He said “tinkering around” with military benefits “going forward” could affect the caliber of people the military attracts.

The veterans wanted to know if Kaine would work as senator to make it easier for soldiers, Marines, airmen and sailors to better translate their military skills to the civilian market.

Kaine said he thought working with businesses to help them better understand the skill sets people gain in the military was the way to go.

He also said he would go further and try to help veterans learn which companies are looking to hire veterans.

“We need to create opportunities, but we need to make sure that the veterans are aware and the businesses are aware. You ought to be able with good technology and data bases to gather all these things together,” he said.

Kaine ended both meetings saying that the race was going to be tough. He said Virginia remains a swing state and he asked for any help he could get.

“Virginia is going to be really, really close. It’s going to be a battleground,” he said in Manassas. “We would love to have your help volunteering.”

Fairfax business woman and former Marine Corps officer Courtney Lynch and Julien Modica, former CEO of the Brain Trauma Recovery & Policy Institute have expressed interest in running agianst Kaine in the Democratic primary.

Senior reporter Keith Walker can be reached at 703-369-6751.