Virginia Republicans will appeal to the court of public opinion instead of a court of law to fight over access to Gov. Timothy M. Kaine’s out-of-town travel records as Democratic National Committee chairman. “To continue our pursuit of the documents in question would leave us with the only option of taking the issue to litigation,“ state GOP Chairman Pat Mullins said in a statement released yesterday, responding to a letter sent by Kaine’s office late last week denying his request for the records.