Kaine offers Allen 'no secret money' pledge in Va.

Former Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine (D) has asked former Sen. George Allen (R-Va.), his rival in Virginia's Senate race, to agree to a ban on super-PACs who don't disclose their donors, his campaign announced Tuesday afternoon.

Allen doesn't oppose super-PACs, but suggested in a fall debate that he supported transparency, and praised Virginia's laws "that are based on full disclosure and freedom." On Tuesday, the day after a super-PAC backing Allen was formed, Kaine pounced on Allen's comments.

"Since you are unwilling to agree to exclude super-PACs entirely (as candidates in other states have done), how about basing this campaign on the Virginia principle you praised a few months ago? Let's adopt a simple rule: No secret money," Kaine writes in a letter to Allen. "Virginia voters are entitled to know who is funding this campaign."

Allen's campaign shot down the idea out of hand, calling it an "unfortunate gimmick" and alleging that Kaine's campaign is "substantially funded by big union bosses and their organizations."

Kaine has already been the target of two conservative groups, the GOP-affiliated Crossroads GPS and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, while the liberal environmental group The League of Conservation Voters has targeted Allen. The new pro-Allen super-PAC has promised to spend millions against him.

This post was updated at 9:10 a.m. on Wednesday.

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