Time For A Statement on Coal

West Virginia has suffered tremendously from the advent of an Obama led federal government. His opposition to coal seems to combine with a personal grudge against West Virginia. West Virginia was one of a few states that rejected him not once, but twice! His team cut off highway funds to Corridor H while increasing funds to districts that voted for him. Now it attacks coal using a badly interpreted Clean Water Act.

Seventy-nine permits have been denied since he took office and a major one was just revoked. We are down almost 30,000 jobs since he took office. How many hundreds of jobs would have been added directly by those coal mines, how many more in the nearby communities?

West Virginia needs to fight this outrage.

Federal policy relies upon the Interstate Commerce Clause to enforce its actions without relying on the states. Otherwise they have no constitutional ability to enforce anything economically related within state boundaries. Montana, Ohio, and other states have passed legislation that invalidates federal gun laws. If a gun is manufactured entirely within that state and stamped with "Made in _____," it is not subject to federal gun laws.

Can we do the same thing on a limited basis in West Virginia? If you have an independent company that uses machinery sold by a West Virginia company to produce coal consumed entirely within the state of West Virginia, it would seem that the EPA would have no authority whatsoever. Of course this would require the State of West Virginia to pass enabling legislation just as Ohio and Montana did with firearms (come to think of it, let's follow their example on guns too!)

It might never work economically speaking, but West Virginia can make a bold political response by having its legislature pass this kind of legislation. Obama is on a mission to destroy our industry. It is up to our state to fight back.