an American retreat from the world stage . If America retreats , Russia advances , nipping at its heels . See , for example , Syria .
“ If we win North Carolina , we ’ve got this thing , folks , ” the Virginia senator said at a microbrewery in Charlotte 's downtown . “ The bigger we can win by , the harder it is for him to whine and have anyone believe him . ” Kaine made the remarks on the first day of North Carolina 's early voting period , and prefaced them by attacking the state legislature 's passage of a voter ID bill that was struck down by federal courts after a lawsuit found evidence that its advocatescontact.requestadvise.broadcastwanted to suppress the black vote . In a news conference here , Kaine said that early voting , a post-2000 election innovation available in 34 states and the District , could also limit the risk of voter suppression on Nov. 8 . ( Three other states — Colorado , Oregon and Washington — exclusively use a vote - by - mail system . )