Wintry weather is hitting Virginia and Washington, D.C. today, with an expected snowfall of two feet (or more!). This has presented an opportunity for the Virginia GOP to exploit confusion over climate change, with new ads running in the state targeting Reps. Rick Boucher and Tom Periello for supporting cap-and-trade legislation.
The ads mock Boucher and Periello because they “think global warming is a serious problem for Virginia”—so serious they voted to “kill tens of thousands of Virginia jobs just to stop it.” The ad features images of falling snow, stuck cars, and weathermen, and urges viewers to call the congressmen “and tell them how much global warming you get this weekend. Maybe they’ll come help you shovel.”
The willful ignorance about the difference between “weather” and “climate” aside (not to mention the fact that it’s supposed to snow in winter), there’s perhaps a more important issue here: Virginia’s new governor, Bob McDonnell, also thinks climate change is a problem. As Blue Virginia points out, McDonnell recognizes that planet-warming emissions are “a real concern” and “we need to find ways to be able to reduce” them.
Nonetheless, the Virginia GOP sees a blizzard as the perfect time to start the mid-term elections battle with lies and opportunism:
