March 2009:

Creigh says:

Lowell Feld: So if a new problem like global warming, climate change comes along, do you adjust to that and change your views on coal-fired power plants? Because that’s something that wasn’t a major issue. When you ran in 2005, climate change didn’t really come up much…

Creigh Deeds: Here is the reality. Climate change is an issue. Energy is an issue right now. Everybody is talking about it. Energy is an issue. And coal… represents another opportunity for Virginia. I mean, we have an opportunity to develop smart technology. Think about it this way: we get about 52% of our electric power from coal today. If every air conditioner in Northern Virginia shuts down, we’ve got an alternative in coal. Or we find out how to burn it cleanly. Find out how to burn it cleanly.

You’re telling me that the people who put man on the moon. The people who figured out peaceful and wartime uses of nuclear power. The people that invented the airplane… can’t figure out how to burn coal cleanly. We’re going to have figure out how to eliminate mercury emissions. We’re going to have to figure out how to sequester the carbon. But we’re going to have to reason together and let’s try to figure this thing out.

He continues in the same video:

If clean coal technology doesn’t work out… you know, coal is… being pragmatic means being able to adjust to the circumstance and figure out how to solve the problem. I think we have to solve the problem. If we’re going to use coal as a source of power I think we have got to reduce the carbon footprint.

That is all I could stomach.

October 5th 2009:

Voiceover in Deeds for Governor ad: Creigh Deeds says no to any new energy taxes from Washington.

October 22nd 2009:

Deeds for Governor Ad: I know Creigh Deeds and he opposes that cap and trade bill and he would not do anything to hurt the people in this area. Creigh knows the workers in this plant and he would never do anything to hurt their jobs.

When pundits tell us that Deeds’ loss today is a repudiation of Liberalism, or of Obama, keep these three videos in mind. When it comes to energy policy Creigh Deeds is no liberal and he has very little in common with Obama. If anything, Deeds’ loss should be considered a repudiation of conservative Democrats. Democrats were really on a roll in Virginia. It came to the end when they ran a conservative.

Bob MdDonnell has a substantive new attack ad hitting Creigh Deeds on transportation:

How can you argue with that?

Here is Deeds’ plan:

McDonnell’s transportation plan is to encourage women to stay home in order to reduce gridlock. Oh yea, and highways. Lots of highways. Here is McDonnell’s plan:

In his latest campaign ad, candidate for VA-Gov Bob McDonnell used the familiar $1,761 clean energy tax lie in the most creative way I’ve seen yet. First, the ad says “Deeds supports tax policies that will cost families $7,800 over four years.” The first $1,000 is for a 20 cent per gallon gas tax. Aside from pointing out that taxing gasoline is a good idea, I’ll let this one go. The additional $6,800 McDonnell’s ad cites is the $1,761 figure (roughly) multiplied by four, the length of a term as Virginia’s governor.

Watch it:

At the 18-second mark, where the $6,800 figure is shown, it specifically cites CBSNews.com 9/15/09. This is the piece in which conservative blogger Declan McCullagh arrived at the $1,761 figure by way of faulty math. Brad Johnson documented the process by which this meme spread. It is starting to look like the Republican party’s messaging shop for energy policy is a single libertarian blogger making up numbers for the CBS website.

Here is the full script of the ad:

Creigh Deeds has unequivocally committed himself to higher taxes.Deeds supports tax policies that will cost families $7,800 over four years.

His billion-dollar gas tax increase would add twenty cents to a gallon of gas.

Cost to families: $1,000

Deeds called for Washington’s mandatory cap and trade energy tax.

Cost to families $6,800.

Killing up to 56,000 Virginia jobs.

Creigh Deeds ‘ tax policies will cost $7,800

For his part, Deeds is staying true to the stereotype of a Democrat who repeatedly insists on snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. Despite being handed proof that his opponent is against working women, homosexuals and contraceptives, Deeds has trailed in the polls throughout the race.  To make matters worse, Deeds is running a new ad saying he “says no to any new energy taxes from Washington”, which is drawing the ire of environmentalists.  There has been some confusion over Deeds’ stance on cap and trade legislation, and as a result, he is being hit from both sides on an issue the Virginia Governor has absolutely no say in.