Rep. Perriello’s GOP foe cites Pelosi praise for cap-and-trade vote

Rep. Tom Perriello’s (D-Va.) Republican foe is using House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-Calif.) praise of Perriello’s vote for cap-and-trade legislation to argue the vulnerable freshman lawmaker is “out of step” with his central Virginia district

In a press release Friday, state Sen. Robert Hurt’s (R) campaign highlighted yesterday’s story in The Hill that noted Pelosi thanked Perriello for his “courage” in backing the climate bill, which narrowly passed the House in 2009 before dying in the Senate this year.

“Congressman Perriello may win the Washington praise of Nancy Pelosi for his consistent support of her job-killing big spending, big government agenda, but this is just one more reminder of how out of step Congressman Perriello is with the people of Central and Southside Virginia,” the Hurt campaign stated in a press release.

In the statement, the campaign’s comment appears atop a version of The Hill’s story — one the Hurt campaign edited to omit a paragraph describing the rationale for climate legislation.

Jessica Barba, a spokeswoman for Perriello, defended the congressman's vote for the sweeping climate and energy bill.

“What Robert Hurt doesn’t realize is that Virginians want leadership on this issue. They are not happy to sit on the sidelines while clean energy jobs are being created in China and India. Congressman Perriello understands that it is important to create these jobs here in Virginia,” she said.

Polls show Perriello is highly vulnerable in the upcoming midterm elections that are expected to yield major GOP gains.