Jeff E. Schapiro on the Terry McAuliffe-Creigh Deeds hissing match:

Now its Deeds’ turn to attack McAuliffe the new-fashioned way: paid advertising—in this case, a radio commercial picking apart McAuliffe’s promise to drive off payday lenders and their kin.

Deeds last night announced he’s running an advertisment in the Richmond-Norfolk corridor—home to many trade unionists and African-Americans, both important Democratic constituencies—scolding McAuliffe for a perceived attack on fellow Democrats for not doing enough to rein in the high-cost, instant-loan industry.

“McAuliffe wants you to believe Warner, Kaine and Democrats in the legislature went easy on those payday-lending companies,“ says an announcer, referring to two governors—Mark Warner and Timothy Kaine. The spot goes on to accuse McAuliffe, a former bank chairman, of making millions in the credit-card business, which would be more heavily regulated under measures passed by Congress and backed by President Obama.

This afternoon, McAuliffe fired back. In a wrtitten-statement issued by press secretary Lis Smith, McAuliffe knocks down Deeds’ claims, including one that McAuliffe—a wealthy investor-businessman from McLean—amassed a fortune through the credit-card industry.

McAuliffe notes that he worked with the AFL-CIO on credit cards tailored to organized labor; that provided discounts and other services for cardholders. McAuliffe also takes a swipe at Deeds, noting that—as a legislator—he backed a measure in 1997 that made it easier for credit card companies and retailers to calculate interest on purchases made with plastic.

McAuliffe came out against payday lending and other fringe-credit businesses more than a month ago. Last week, he rolled out a radio commercial, also in the Richmond and Norfolk broadcast markets, vowing to close the state to payday, car-title and open-ended loans.

Deeds, a state senator from Bath County, and the third candidate in the June 9 Democratic primary, former Del. Brian Moran of Alexandria, have taken a similar stance. As legislators, they supported modest restrictions on payday loans. And Moran collected $25,000 in contributions from the industry.

This advertising duel spotlights the importance of blue-collar and black voters in the fast-approaching primary. It also is a reminder that, while a Republican-controlled General Assembly gave lenders the green light in 2002, a Democratic governor—Mark Warner, now a U.S. senator—signed into law the legislation that legalized payday lending in Virginia.