Friday, November 7, 2008

An Obituary

On November 4th, 2008 racism was officially pronounced dead. It at one time formed a negative, but powerful part of politics and society, but grew weaker over the years. By the 1990s the disease looked terminal. Despite the attempts of Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton in their use of heroic measures to keep it relevant, it slipped further and further away.

Racism's final minutes ticked away when Barack Obama was declared president. At that point, no one inside or outside of the United States could ever call the nation "racist" again. Whatever other calamities may happen over the next four years, we can safely toss "racism" into the historical dustbin.

Mourners over the death of racism include Sharpton and Jackson. As racism declines in relevance, so do they. Arguments for expansion of affirmative action and quotas now can be met with the fact that an overwhelmingly racist society would never elect a black president. Racial prejudice is no more prevalent than, say, prejudice against Appalachians. Of course people from that region faced a barrage of insulting stereotypes over this very election.

One prejudice put to rest, another laid bare.

The death of racism will have a powerful result, the loosening of the ties that bind blacks to the Democratic Party. Additionally, if Obama ever comes close to implementing his plans of theft it will drive more middle class and wealthy blacks towards the Republican Party. Racism's death also means the death of race based politics. That is definitely a sliver of positive from this election.

Thursday, November 6, 2008

The Republican Party: Where We're At

Sometimes it takes a failure of massive proportions to force renewed vigor and imagination. This is the state we are in right now nationally.

Mineral County Republicans can pat themselves on the back. Charles Minimah, Beth Walker, Dan Greear, Mike Teets, Gary Howell, John McCain, and others carried the county soundly while Republicans kept many of the county offices. Bob Schadler and Jay Courrier ran unopposed. Republicans in this region remained vigorous and confident. They marched in parades, maintained blogs that kept people talking, organized fundraisers and events for local and statewide candidates, and made phone calls. They also never forgot that, as Doug McKinney has put it, we are Republicans for a reason.

If it was just about hard working people, Republicans would have won in a landslide. Look at Doug and Sue McKinney putting about half a million miles on their car going from town to town. Look at Gary Howell who fought every single day against overwhelming odds and came within a hair of upsetting a candidate beloved by the special interests. His friends and neighbors supported him overwhelmingly and he even almost won heavily Democratic Tucker County. Look at our statewide candidates who were everywhere pounding the pavement. Hopefully our campaigns at the very least kept the conversation going about corruption and cronyism. Look at Christy Barnett, a one woman campaign machine trying to rally the Potomac Highlands. This is not failure; it's a foundation. But we must build upon it.

Here are some suggestions.

We must stop clinging to the shadow of Ronald Reagan. He was one of our greatest Americans, but many new voters have no memory of him except in history books. Reagan's revolution has lessons that will always be relevant, but they need updating. By clinging too much to Reagan and not moving decisively towards a future blueprint, we risk looking like the stodgy old FDR Democrats of our parents' and grandparents' generation. Time for us to find the next great thing. Luckily we have a pitbull in waiting.

Start emphasizing science, technology, and research. The Republican Party may have fewer friends in the research fields, but it has many in engineering. We must emphasize that American technology constantly needs investment. Blue collar jobs will continue to grow less prevalent while science, technology, and small business entrepreneurship will keep growing. Leading the world was a constant goal in the twentieth century. Why not recapture that spirit for the twenty-first century?

On the state level, we have a dedicated state party chair who volunteers countless hours to be wherever he is needed to promote the cause. We had outstanding candidates with the vision and spirit to lead West Virginia forward. The problem was that our state party does not have the resources to function as it should. Dan Greear, Mike Teets, Gary Howell, and others ran very tight races despite being outspent sometimes 5 to 1. Additional organizational and financial support could have put these people over the top to help bring about a better West Virginia. The state party needs more resources and more support if we are to ever make this state great again.

In 1888 Democrats had dominated West Virginia for sixteen years, but the elections kept getting closer. By 1896, a strong Republican organization with a real vision captured the state and did not let it go for decades. Remember that example.

Over the next two years we need to emphasize our vision, rally behind our successful candidates, and build an organization with the resources to help our candidates get over the top. We should be very proud of the personal efforts of our candidates and volunteers. They are something to build upon for the next go round.

Nationally we have faced challenges on this scale before. In 1976 and 1992 we bounced back aggressively. We found bold leaders, updated our message, and changed America for the better. We cannot continue to cling to the shadow of Reagan, but we must adapt his ideas to create a blueprint for the future. It is not a question of if we do it. We must.

And we will.

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Mineral County Election Results

President: McCain (Lost nationwide)

US Senate: Rockefeller

US House: Mollohan

Governor: Manchin

Secretary of State: Minimah (Lost state wide)

Ag Com: Teets (Lost state wide)

Attorney General : Greear (Undecided state wide)

Supreme Court: Walker, Workman & Ketchum (State wide Ketchum & Workman)

Senator 14th; Gary Howell (lost district wide by 414 votes out of 41,000 cast)

House 48th: Evans

House 49th: Schadler

House 50th: Ruth Rowen (Undecided district wide)

Commissioner: LaRue

Sheriff: Fraley

Assessor: Maine

Magistrate: Harman & Roby

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

In explosive interview, Manchin defends, agrees with Barack Obama comments on coal plants

CHARLESTON, WV -- Gov. Joe Manchin on Monday not only defended Barack Obama's controversial comments about bankrupting the coal industry, he actually agreed that coal plants that do not conform to cap and trade or other new emission standards “shouldn't be in the business of producing coal to produce energy.”

Challenger Russ Weeks said Manchin’s comments are “very disturbing for the people of West Virginia.”

The controversy is in regard to comments Obama made in January, where he said that coal companies could build new plants, but if they do, the penalties he would impose would bankrupt them.

Manchin on Monday agreed with Obama, telling WSAZ about coal plants, “If they don't conform and work within a structure, then it would make it very difficult to even put one of these plants online... If you go outside of that boundary line, if you're not willing to conform to work within it, then you shouldn't be in the business of producing coal to provide energy.”

Manchin's comments are contained in the raw footage of an interview he did with WSAZ just prior to doing a remote interview with CNBC. You can watch the amazing interview at http://www.wsaz.com/news/headlines/33726759.html# and click on the "raw interview" link.

Manchin claimed several times in the interview that the comments by Obama have been taken out of context, even though examination of the full interview does not indicate as much.

But even so, Manchin went on to defend Obama's notion that severe penalties should be levied against coal plants that do not conform to strict emission standards, saying failure to do so “would make it very difficult” to put a plant online.

“Joe Manchin’s comments are shocking to all those who falsely believe the governor is supportive of coal,” said Weeks. “Barack Obama threatening to bankrupt the coal industry is the same thing as threatening to bankrupt West Virginia. It’s tragic that our governor agrees with Barack Obama on this issue.”

VOTE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

VOTE!!!!!!!!!

It is your duty to vote today, so please do so. The blood of many Americans has been shed to protect your right to vote.

Millions of people around the world do not have the right vote, you do. Please exercise it.

Monday, November 3, 2008

Lenin, Stalin, Casey?

Last week the word was out. The State Democratic Party, in their perpetual function as "ruling party" of West Virginia, blasted Clark Barnes, Craig Blair, Kelli Sobonya, and other GOP legislators. The horrible crime committed? Not being team players. The goal? To use every device necessary to get voters to expel them from the Legislature.

In the 1920s Vladimir Lenin imposed upon a session of the USSR's Communist Party Congress a no faction rule. Not content with operating a secret police that stole property while torturing and massacring many, Lenin hated disagreement within his own party. The rule was that once agreement was made, no more opposition could exist.

This same attitude pervades the "not a team player" approach taken by West Virginia Democrats. Maybe they are surprised that Republicans and their voters have a different idea of how to run this state. Then they have the gall to disagree with the Ruling Party! Of course the Democrats, assuming the people are always in their corner, call upon the voters to get rid of what little opposition they have to their schemes.

This smacks of arrogance. In most states each party must respect the other because at some point the outs will be in and vice versa. West Virginia Democrats cannot even imagine a day when their grip on power will be reduced, much less rejected, by the voters. Gains will come this year and more hereafter. Voters must make all state politicians more accountable by showing that Democrats can lose.

Tito the Building tells why he likes McCain