Shannon Masquerades as Centrist, But Embraces Radical Environmental Agenda

Most Pro-Labor AG Candidate in VA History Uses Sole Debate Question to Push Job-Killing Issues

Contact: Tim Murtaugh 804-780-0111

- Shannon Attended Seminar to Learn How to Sue Businesses on Environmental Issues -

RICHMOND - Democratic candidate for attorney general Steve Shannon fraudulently claimed to be the centrist option in the race in a debate today on WTOP radio in Washington, DC, despite using his only opportunity to question his opponent, Republican Ken Cuccinelli, to push a radical environmentalist agenda that will harm the economy and destroy jobs in areas of Virginia that can least afford it. This should not surprise any observers, as Big Labor-backed Shannon attended a seminar hosted by the Democratic Attorneys General Association in September that gave lessons on how to attack private employers on environmental grounds.

"I am a pro-business, law and order centrist," Shannon claimed during the debate, despite his record of supporting Big Labor issues 100-percent of the time, according to the AFL-CIO. Big Labor has also been among Shannon's greatest financial admirers, giving him $145,800 in contributions in his political career, including $119,850 during his run for attorney general (www.vpap.org).

In Shannon's only opportunity to question Cuccinelli, he essentially asked why his opponent did not fully agree with those who say that global warming is threatening modern civilization. The query puts Shannon squarely in line with those in the environmental lobby and the Democratic wings of Congress who are aggressively pursuing Cap-and-Trade legislation, a known job killer that will increase the price of energy, boost the cost of doing business and raise expenses for every person living in the United States.

Cap-and-Trade is a scheme in which entities that exceed a government-imposed emission limit would be forced to buy "credits" from entities which emit amounts under the limits. Many analysts and employers have concluded that the idea would increase costs to consumers and severely limit the ability of private companies to create jobs.

For example, leaders at MeadWestvaco, a major paper products company with 1,500 employees in Covington, Virginia - coincidentally located in the heart of Democratic candidate for governor Creigh Deeds' own Senate District - say that if passed, the measure will kill their business and put hundreds out of work.

"MeadWestvaco's Covington mill operations, which provide 1,500 jobs in the Alleghany Highlands, will definitely be one of the losers. The economic future for our area will be severely impacted," MeadWestvaco Vice President Mark George wrote in a newspaper column.

Further, Shannon willfully attended a seminar conducted by the Democratic Attorneys General Association to learn how to sue employers over environmental issues:

Daga2

"You can go on the radio and call yourself a centrist, I suppose," said Republican Party of Virginia Chairman Pat Mullins. "Heck, I could go on the radio and call myself Elvis Presley, but that would be about as true as what Steve Shannon did today. He's about as centrist as his environmentalist and labor union pals, which is to say, not so much."

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