Senate candidates Tim Kaine and George Allen have taken to the airwaves thsi week with a pair of ads hitting economic issues.
The Kaine ad, “Risk,” released on Wednesday, details deficit spending by the Republican Congress during Allen’s term in the U.S. Senate that ended in 2007 to make the contention that a return for Allen to Washington would lead to the same results.
“Virginians face a stark choice in this election between Tim Kaine’s proven record of fiscal responsibility and George Allen’s record of turning a surplus into a massive deficit and paving the way for an economic disaster,” said Kaine campaign spokesperson Brandi Hoffine. “Unfortunately, George Allen’s current policies are no different. He’s once again pledging to maintain costly tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans and big oil companies while slashing education, defense, Medicare and other key priorities, making our businesses, middle class, and national economy weaker, not stronger.
“Instead, Virginians need the leadership of TIm Kaine who will take on our fiscal challenges by working with both parties and pursue a balanced strategy that doesn’t jeopardize our economic recovery. That’s the kind of leadership TIm Kaine provided as governor when Virginia was named the Best State for Business all four years and the best managed state.”
The Allen campaign went up on the air on Thursday with an ad titled “Ready,” which takes Kaine to task for his support of the bipartisan budget deal that Allen has contended would cost Virginia 200,000 government- and defense-related jobs.
“Virginians need look no further than Tim Kaine to find what is standing in the way of a better future in Virginia,” said Mike Thomas, campaign manager for George Allen for U.S. Senate. “Tim Kaine’s response to the largest economic threat to Virginia is to raise taxes on job-creators. The challenges facing Virginia call for George Allen’s proven leadership in working with Democrats and Republicans to reach agreement for solutions and create jobs. Every day in the U.S. Senate, George Allen will know that his job is to fight for Virginians’ jobs.”
The Kaine campaign responded to “Ready” by saying that the ad distorts Kaine’s position on the budget deal and its impact on jobs and defense readiness.
“Virginians are ready for a comeback, but George Allen is offering an economic throwback to the policies that got us into this mess,” Hoffine said. “What America’s businesses and families can’t afford are more tax breaks for the wealthy that come at the expense of investments in education, infrastructure, small businesses, research and development, and other priorities that strengthen the economy.
“Tim Kaine has a plan to avert sequestration and reduce our deficit responsibly, not by gutting education and Medicare, but by pursuing bipartisan strategies that won’t jeopardize our economy. Unfortunately, George Allen would protect tax breaks for the wealthy at the expense of small businesses and middle class families instead of taking the Tim Kaine approach that helped make Virginia Forbes’ Best State for Business. Virginia just can’t afford to send George Allen back to Washington,” Hoffine said.
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AFP
