Completing Corridor H

According to West Virginia Metro News, the Appalachian Development Highway System (also known as the corridor system) will be completed in twelve years. This includes the completion of Corridor H which will eventually link Moorefield and Elkins.

The Appalachian highways have accomplished a great deal for certain areas of the state. According to Anne Pope, the nation gets back $3 for every $1 invested because of development. Corridor G linking Charleston to the coalfields has seen tremendous growth in the Charleston suburbs. Likely the finishing of Corridor H will have a similar effect in Moorefield and elsewhere since a lot of Washington DC bound traffic will find this route extremely convenient. The ease of travel on these roads should reduce fatalities while making the older two lane roads safer for scenic driving.

However this federal investment should be seen only as a foundation, not as the end. Reforms at the state level to lower taxes and reduce regulations will be needed if economic growth is to occur beyond the immediate vicinity of the highways. The region served by Corridor H at one time was very prosperous. When the railroads connected towns such as Davis to the national network, the region dveloped quickly because of a business friendly environment although some abuses did occur. Our state leaders need to drastically improve the business climate while keeping some protections in place. That will enable the people of West Virginia to get the maximum benefit from the new roads.

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In other local news, $93,000 in federal funds for the Hampshire County Sheriff's Department has just cleared its first hurdle. Congresswoman Shelley Moore Capito helped the funding get past the House Appropriations Committee. If the Democratic Congress approves the funding, it will be used to update records management, facilitate communications between the sheriff's office and other jurisdictions, and fund other necessary items.

It Can Happen Here Too

Last year, Cape Hatteras National Seashore was the subject of a lawsuit launched by environmental extremists. They found a friendly judge who sided with them and issued an ultimatum to local residents, landowners, and tourists. Cape Hatteras National Seashore would be subject to complete closures to the public at any given time, or the seashore would be closed to humans entirely. Why? One species of piper on the seashore was placed on the threatened list. Not the endangered list, the threatened list.

The public was not consulted. Congress did not pass an act. The President did not sign an executive order. A liberal federal judge, without any scientific evidence, sided with environmentalist wackos and limited American citizens' rights to use public land. At one time, judges refrained from acting in such cases because the subject matter was considered more fit for the elected Congress to consider. Liberal federal judges see themselves as a legislature, unelected and serving for life. One of the areas closed was the popular "Point" region, the easternmost American territory on the Eastern Seaboard. Senator Elizabeth Dole and other GOP lawmakers from North Carolina last month launched the uphill battle to restore the rights of human beings to use taxpayer land.

Why does this matter to the Potomac Highlands and West Virginia? Think of all the federal land in the state currently used by West Virginians and those from outside the state. Also consider how much our state depends on tourist dollars. Any special interest group can file a lawsuit and potentially shut down access to parts of the national forest or the New River.

Theodore Roosevelt started the process of setting aside land for public use to preserve for future generations. Now environmentalists want to shut off large tracts of American land from any use whatsoever. We cannot allow the election of a president who will appoint judges who beleive that the law is their mouth.

Ruling Party versus Majority Party

No one has any illusions as to what constitutes the "Ruling Party" in West Virginia. For seventy-five years the Democratic Party has imposed Big Government solutions on the state, correlating with its drastic decline. We dropped from six congressional representatives to three, our economic position lies near the bottom, and studies show that by not keeping up with national population growth, we have lost many hundreds of thousands of productive and intelligent people. All that took place on the Ruling Party's watch.

However they seem scared in West Virginia. A current has formed that might just shift the tide of influence in the state. Six Democratic legislative incumbents lost their seats in the primary, an almost unheard of expression of malcontent within the Democrats' own rank and file. Add that to the fact that the GOP has carried West Virginia in the past two presidential elections handily.

As far as values and principles are concerned, the national Democratic Party has abandoned West Virginia style values. How long can state Democrats support gun rights, property rights, strong national security and oppose abortion at home while supporting people like Barack Obama nationally? When does inconsistency finally get exposed as hypocrisy?

The Democrats currently dominate in registrations and they rule the state. However, as far as values are concerned, the Republican Party is the majority in the state. Through careful and effective education, the West Virginia Republican Party could effect a major shift in the next decade if national Democrats continue to march left.

Hurrah For the Two Party System!

The two party system attracts a lot of criticism in America.

Some critics hate it because they say the parties are too alike in practice and even in ideology. Is this a bad thing? Our parties, for the most part, agree on quite a bit. They agree on the Constitution, democracy, and most Democrats even agree about capitalism. Would the critics rather have a party or two that was opposed to the entire American system?

The two party system moderates the extremes. Liberals have found that speaking and acting too extreme leads to not being elected to office. Most Americans are moderate and vote for moderate presidential candidates. The triumph of moderation means that change occurs with great deliberation. This too rankles some, but the Founding Fathers designed it this way. We debate and discuss changes sometimes too long, but this is better than fast paced change that comes from poor information or emotional appeals.

Our two party system creates real competition in most areas. Democrats and Republicans must remain true to the voters. The recent Republican Congress lost touch with the voters who rightfully kicked them out of office. Now the GOP has worked hard to return to the basic principles that got them elected in the first place. The Democratic Party has struggled with their extremist wing and will have to figure that issue out before Americans will trust them with foreign policy as they did for much of the twentieth century.

West Virginia desperately needs a two party system. Historically it has vacillated between eras dominated by Republicans or Democrats. Odds are that the passing of the New Deal generation and their children will lead to another swing back to Republican dominance. West Virginia's pattern reflects a tendency of the people to get so fed up with the ruling party that they reject it entirely for a generation or two until they get tired of that regime. State Democrats should be fearful that six of their legislative incumbents ended up tossed out by the voters.

However we do not need complete Republican rule in West Virginia for decades; that would lead to corruption and abuse as well. We need a healthy and vibrant two party system that responds to the voters' needs.

Sensible Leadership For Energy Solutions

In the past few weeks, the nation has seen evidence that our leadership has finally started acting on giving America sensible solutions to energy needs. And I don't mean Chicken Little Gore and his dire warnings about the death of human civilization, nor do I mean Ann Barth's interesting, yet not quite accurate statements about the continental shelf.

First we see President George W. Bush lifting the executive order banning continental shelf drilling. Now Congress needs to act to not only save their political skins, but to increase supply as quickly as possible. Critics claim that we may not see the benefit for five years, but won't we still need energy at that point even if they were correct? Wow, what if we had done this five years ago!

T. Boone Pickens, a Texan who made his money in oil, has launched a national campaign to create a more diversified energy base for America. It relies not only on domestically produced oil, but also clean coal technology, more extraction of natural gas, and also wind and solar power. This makes tremendous sense if leaders have the willingness to listen.

This brings us to our own congressional delegation. Alan Mollohan and Nick Joe Rahall continue to strenuously oppose drilling in a few thousand of the million plus acres of the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge while continuing to back mountaintop removal coal mining. Do they still get a gold star from the Sierra Club? Congresswoman Shelley Moore Capito joined a bipartisan group of twenty members of Congress from across the political spectrum as well as the nation. This group has made progress towards a compromise energy policy. Certainly we must encourage clean power sources such as wind, water, and solar sources, but the nation must understand that fossil fuel use will continue to be the backbone of our supply for a long time.

Americans historically react slowly to problems, but once engaged find solutions quickly. Congresswoman Capito's work on the energy study group not only will benefit her district and state, but also the nation and the world. When it comes to prosperity and security, as goes America, so goes the world. Thankfully we have a member of Congress willing to step up, disregard petty politics, and help lead the way.