I voted for Russ Weeks last November and I am still proud of that vote because it was a statement against things as usual in West Virginia.
However, we must give credit where it is due. In the past month, Governor Manchin has emerged as a rare bird in state politics. He looks, sounds, and importantly acts like a statesman. As economic indicators drop across the country, he alternates between a Rooseveltian and a Reaganlike tone. Boosting confidence and morale is the job of a leader. Manchin has grasped this concept.
This opinion came to me when I was watching him address the Mineral County delegation on Thursday, February 12. He presented a contrast to the flailing, bumbling, power hungry Democratic president. Where Obama stokes fear, Manchin reassures. Where Obama preaches that government will save us, Manchin asks us to first start saving ourselves. Where Obama has no vision, Manchin tells us that we are not in a panic, but in a planning mode. If we had to have a Democratic president, why could it have not been someone more like this. Of course many assume he is a Republican at heart anyway.
Manchin this week unveiled a mandate demanding that 25% of state production of energy eventually come from some alternative source. This will not hurt the coal industry as energy needs will continue to expand. To the representatives present from US Windforce this was an important boost to their plans to expand windmill production into Mineral County, especially after County Commissioner Wayne Spiggle promised that he and the county would work hard to make all of the Governor's plans successful.
Vision without fear. Policies that emphasize individual effort and private sector initiative. What a welcome change compared to what we have seen from Washington lately.
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