Editorial: Virginia senators stand tall

Virginia’s senators paid attention. The 2014 elections saw Republicans win control of the Senate and expand their majority in the House. Democrats Mark Warner and Tim Kaine looked at the numbers and drew appropriate conclusions.

Warner barely survived a race that was not expected to be close. His near-death experience focused his attention. Kaine, too, followed his home state’s returns with diligence.

Last week, Senate Democrats kept Nevada’s Harry Reid as their leader. Warner and Kaine cast “protest” votes against their party’s leadership.

“The message I heard on the campaign trail was that Virginians are frustrated with the dysfunction and gridlock that has become the status quo in Washington,” Warner said. “That has to change. We need an open process where we debate and vote on the serious issues we face, and I have been encouraged by statements from both leaders — Reid and new Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. — that they are determined to make the United States Senate a functioning body once again. The American people are demanding it; we owe them no less.”

Although Warner praised Reid, his no put the leader on notice.

The Times-Dispatch’s Andrew Cain reports that a Kaine aide explained that Kaine “voted no because he believes the caucus should have had a more thorough discussion on strategy before taking a leadership vote. Now he wants to get back to work and move forward with the caucus.”

As his efforts regarding war powers suggest, Kaine has established himself as one of the most thoughtful senators — of either party. His Democratic colleagues should have taken his advice.

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