Received this e-mail today from U.S. Senator Tim Kaine’s (D. VA) re-election campaign:
It's been nearly a week since we last emailed you about our offshore drilling concerns, and we have nothing to report.
That's right, we've gotten complete radio silence from the Trump administration. We can't say we're surprised. Avoiding responsible governing in favor of showmanship and Twitter? Not exactly a new and exciting tactic for these guys.
But it's irresponsible nonetheless. Because Virginia's leaders -- and even more importantly, Virginia's citizens -- have spoken up on this issue. On Saturday, we sent you a key survey to get your take and thousands of respondents weighed in. It just couldn't be any clearer: Expanding offshore drilling will hurt Virginia, and everyone knows it. The move by the Trump administration to exempt Florida from this major change in policy while ignoring other states is hypocritical at best and brazenly partisan at worst. But of course, partisanship *isn't* actually the worst thing here -- negative impact on our coastal communities and naval operations is.
We shouldn't stand for this. Add your name to tell Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke and President Trump that Virginia deserves the same consideration as any other coastal state.
If we've learned anything in the last year, it's that collective action gets things done. Speaking up, signing petitions, making calls -- all of it makes a difference.
So please, lend your voice to this critical fight:
Sign this petition to protect Virginia's coasts from offshore drilling.
Thank you for all you do. We'll be in touch with updates.
-Team Kaine
Click here to add your name.