VA GOV: Kilgore's 'Sugar Daddy'

You might think that Tim Kaine responded badly to Jerry Kilgore's attack on him regarding the death penalty.

You would be right.

As Tim Tagaris at SSP (Swing State Project) noted earlier this morning, the response made him want to 'throw up in his mouth.'  Strong language, but in this case I think it is completely warranted.  If you visit Kaine's website (in my sig line) you will find the response that has worried residents and watchers of this election alike.

What I haven't seen in these diaries and articles is that Kaine has another ad, one in which he talks about Jerry's 'sugar daddy'.

According to an article by Jeff E. Schapiro and Tyler Whitley of the Richmond Times-Dispatch, there is another ad which calls Jerry out for being financed with money from a person who formerly owned a drug firm that has been under investigation by the SEC for Medicare fraud.

The Kaine ad focuses on an estimated $600,000 in contributions to Kilgore from John and Joseph Gregory, the former chairman and vice chairman, respectively, of a drug company investigated by the Securities and Exchange Commission over allegations of Medicaid fraud.

According to Kilgore, King Pharmaceuticals Inc. -- a company no longer controlled by the Gregory family -- miscalculated rebates and voluntarily reported the error to federal authorities. The firm set aside more than $130 million for post-inquiry reimbursements.

Citing campaign-finance records, the Kaine campaign noted that John Gregory, of Bristol, Tenn., has donated $375,000 to Kilgore. An additional $75,000 came from Gregory's investment company. Joseph Gregory gave Kilgore $150,000.

Kaine, reviving an issue he pressed in early summer, claims that Kilgore -- as attorney general -- should have determined whether Virginia was cheated by the alleged fraud.

{...}

"Instead of doing his job as attorney general and protecting Virginia taxpayers from being cheated, Kilgore protected his political sugar daddy," says the Kaine ad.

So, we have dueling ad wars, and no one wins when that happens.  I am glad to see Kaine re-branding Kilgore in at least one of the ads his campaign is running.

Now if we can get his campaign to hit back hard on this 'hitler' nonsense (despicable is what Tagaris calls it), we might have an easier time beating the snot out of Kilgore.

{Update:} Rasmussen has today's poll up; Kaine 44% Kilgore 46%

VA Governor's Poll by Rasmussen