Two Falls Church area U.S. congressman, Rep. Gerry Connolly (center) and Rep. Jim Moran (right) appeared today with Democratic gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe (left) to call on McAuliffe’s Republican opponent Ken Cuccinelli to denounce the Tea Party congressional Republicans’ actions the weekend that will lead to a shutdown of the U.S. government tomorrow. The location choice for the press conference was Gravelly Point Park in Arlington on the Potomac, where the U.S. Capitol dome could be seen across the river (over McAuliff’e’s right shoulder).

“If Congress fails to pass a budget, the government will shutdown at midnight Monday, which could significantly undermine Virginia’s economic growth and service members’ ability to protect the nation,” McAuliffe said. “Virginia’s economic health cannot be collateral damage in the Tea Party’s ideological war. A government shutdown could mean furloughs for nearly 150,000 federal workers in Virginia and delayed benefit payments for over 800,000 veterans across the Commonwealth.”

Cuccinelli, in a statement reported today, said, “I don’t want the federal government to shut down… I’d like to see Obamacare pulled out of federal law, but, you know, we’ve gotta keep moving forward and make compromises to get the budget going.”