Terry McAuliffe tells Bob McDonnell where to stick his offshore oil rigs (and his rigid right-wing ideology in general). :)Bob,
Thank you for your letter today. I must say that given your long record of opposing the progress of the Warner and Kaine Administrations, I'm not surprised to receive your letter. I am nonetheless disappointed.
I agree that we have a unique opportunity to create new jobs here in Virginia, but I believe that the opportunity lies in investment in renewable energy and growing our green jobs sector. If we want to grow our economy and create good jobs here in the Commonwealth, we must focus more on bipartisanship and less on ideology.
I support Governor Kaine and the bipartisan approach that is now Virginia law. We should have limited exploration only for natural gas-not oil-off of the Virginia coast. This law was approved by both Democrats and Republicans in the General Assembly.
NASA and the U.S. Department of the Navy have both voiced concerns about drilling off of the Virginia Coast. Your approach would reject their input and potentially jeopardize their operations.
The best way to create jobs here in the Commonwealth is to focus on making Virginia a leader in renewable energy. We must harness Virginia's innovation and natural resources to develop renewable energy sources, like wind, solar, and even chicken litter, to expand our green jobs sector and reduce our dependence on oil.
That's what I'll do as Governor- focus on bringing people together to create good jobs, not getting tied up in the same old ideological fights that have blocked progress in Virginia for too long.
Sincerely,
Terry McAuliffe
P.S. I'm heading to a bloggers' dinner with Terry this evening. Should be interesting, as bloggers' dinners always are! :)
