Englin drew the ire of the local leftwing blogosphere recently after agreeing to voyage to France on Virginia Uraniums dime. The corporate-sponsored excursion, first reported by the Washington Post, includes a tour of a closed uranium mine in western France.

Virginia Uranium hopes to persuade lawmakers they can safely mine a large deposit of the material in the state. Englins not convinced its viable, but said he wanted to let the company make their case.

Political blogger Ben Tribbett publicly lamented Englins decision.

People actually really believe (or believed) in Englin and that he was someone we could trust to stand up for our values in Richmond, Tribbett wrote last week on the blog Not Larry Sabato. So when he falls short, there is a lot of anger directed towards him because he has fallen beneath expectations.

Englin dismissed the Internet criticism. Voters know where he stands on environmental issues, he said. 

Virginia Uranium knows I am virtually 100 percent likely to vote against them, Englin said. I dont see any reason why I shouldnt hear what they have to say I think that my constituents care much more about my strong record on protecting the environment than anything else.