St. Paul, VA—Kaine Betrayed Coal, a project of American Commitment, is launching a new television ad buy valued at nearly $250K challenging Tim Kaine’s dishonest portrayal of his record regarding coal in Virginia. The campaign’s radio ad component brings the campaign’s total value to $300K.
The ad explains how Tim Kaine recently took to the air—literally—with a TV ad of himself in a helicopter, talking about how he brought a new coal plant to Wise County, Virginia. The one problem is that it’s just not true. The New York Times reported that in “more than a dozen interviews in St. Paul, no one was familiar with any role that Mr. Kaine had in getting the plant going.” Environmental engineer Jeff Kite said: “I did the permitting, and I don’t remember that.”
The ad, which can be viewed here, explains how on…“The day they broke ground; Tim Kaine was already off raising money for his future boss, Barack Obama…”
It continues…“Now Kaine supports EPA regulations that would’ve prevented this plant from being built and close countless others.” And the ad concludes, “A vote for Tim Kaine is a vote against coal, our communities and our jobs.”
“Tim Kaine is on TV in Southwest Virginia telling voters that he is a friend of coal, when nothing could be further from the truth” said Ben Marchi, spokesman for Kaine Betrayed Coal. “Tim Kaine has repeatedly said he wants to shrink the role coal plays in Virginia and America, shutter coal-fired power plants and leapfrog coal for cleaner sources of energy. I don’t think that’s supporting coal—and I don’t think the folks in the coalfields will either.”
“Coal companies are laying off thousands of workers, and the miners that do have jobs are worried day-to-day that they could be next. We need a senator that can be counted on to fight for coal jobs, not pursue a radical anti-coal agenda that will drive electricity prices through the roof,” Marchi said. “Tim Kaine can’t claim to be a friend of coal—or coal miners—while he’s supporting EPA regulations that would effectively prohibit the burning of coal.”
Kaine Betrayed Coal is a project of American Commitment, a leading free-market public policy organization dedicated to limited government and individual freedom. American Commitment has over 4,000 activist members in Virginia. www.VoteCoal.com