Flattery

There have been a couple of skeptical comments to my post about whether Lt. Gov. Tim Kaine can use the recently announced sexual discrimination lawsuit against AG Jerry Kilgore.

Kaine has been forced on the defensive by the death penalty. That, and the fact that Kaine once handled a few cases for the American Civil Liberties Union, are all the Republicans think they need to polish him off. "That's the whole campaign," a chortling GOP strategist told me, unable to contain his delight. "You watch, that's how the campaign will unfold."

In most other states, it would be a stretch to call Kaine a liberal. He opposes gay marriages as well as civil unions. The ACLU cases Kaine handled are hardly off-the-wall; one was on behalf of a black couple denied housing in a white neighborhood.

No matter. In Republican hands the letters alone -- A-C-L-U -- will serve as a mark of Kaine, branding him as a political untouchable.

If Republicans take offense at such tactics as painting Kilgore with the broad brush of sexism, I hope they keep in mind that if such should be the case, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.