In tight Virginia governor's race, McAuliffe backs Obama's new coal regs

[WestVirginiaRebel]

Fox News:

The Democratic nominee in the closely watched 2013 Virginia governor’s race has endorsed the Obama administration’s new regulations on coal -- a daring political move considering his single-digit lead in a state with deep ties to coal mining.

 

Candidate Terry McAuliffe, known nationally as a powerful Clinton fundraiser, took his stance Tuesday, about two weeks after the Environmental Protection Agency issued the tighter regulations and after months of being pressed to take a position on what is a major election issue.

 

“I support what we need to do to obviously protect our air and our water,” he said during a campaign stop in northern Virginia, according to The Washington Post.

 

The regulations would limit the amount of carbon that new gas- and coal-firing electric power plants can put into the air, which would make opening one almost financially impossible.

 

Republican nominee Ken Cuccinelli swiftly characterized his opponent’s position as a show of support for the Obama administration’s so-called “war on coal.”

 

"The war on coal in Virginia is a war on our poor," he said Saturday night at a fundraiser he and Texas GOP Sen. Ted Cruz attended for the nonprofit Family Foundation, the state's best-known lobby for socially conservative legislation.

 

The regulations could sharply reduce the demand for coal from mining regions such as southwestern Virginia – which largely votes conservative, along with the state’s Tidewater-Newport News area that is home to many military and retired military residents.

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Terry wants to save Virginia's economy by destroying it.