The National Debt

Ramblings of an American Legacy

My family has been there from the beginning and I am extremely proud of my Nation and my heritage. 234 years my 4th Great Grandfather John Moore took up arms against a government that did not represent the people. The Declaration of Independence states, “Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.” He fought for 5 years under the command of General George Washington to form a nation with powers derived from the people. He was at Yorktown when the British surrendered. That was when Independence truly came and he saw it in person.

After the war he moved west to the Appalachians and started a Farm called Pretty Hole in 1782. While he was tending his new farm the Founding Fathers took the best of the British heritage made it uniquely American and wrote our Constitution. Our Constitution promised a limited government where the individual could keep the benefits of their labor. In 1804 my ancestor discovered coal on his land and sold it to Blacksmiths in Winchester, VA some 70 miles away hauling it over the Northwestern Turnpike by wagon. He worked to make a better life for himself and his family, because his new government didn’t interfere.

The Nation was in Civil War a battle over states rights that in many ways was never truly settled and is now coming to the forefront. We fought amongst ourselves in bloody battles, but even then we never lost sight of our founding principles of a government by the people. Consider that the American Civil War is unique in the fact it is the only civil war fought were both sides were democratic republics! My Great Great Grandfather Jefferson Howell joined the Union Army in 1861 to help save the nation.

In the 1930’s a mad man came to power in Germany. A good speaker he sold people a socialist bill of goods and grabbed power. He put together the Axis and attacked the free world. By 1940 Great Britain stood alone, but we began to supply the mother country with arms to save the last Democracy in Europe. On a December Sunday we were openly attacked. The unique thing about our Republic is that it is truly a government of the people. Few of the dictators or socialist of the world understand that. Japanese Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto did, after the Pearl Harbor attack he said, "I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve." It woke us up. My grandfather Glenn Howell joined the Navy in 1943 and helped save the world.

Today we are the worlds only Super Power and I stand at the end of a long line of American Patriots. My family has been there from the beginning. We have formed, shaped and saved the nation. We have helped liberate others from the chains of totalitarianism around the world. While there are many external threats to our nation, none is greater than our government’s deviation from the vision of our Founding Fathers. Today it falls on me and my generation to protect the Founder’s vision, not by force of arms, but from within the vary system they created, shaped and saved. I’m on the ballot November 2nd, 2010 to add my name to an American Legacy of Patriots pushing for limited government and personal responsibly. My God Bless America!

WVL PAC Endorses Gary G Howell

Morgantown, WV - The West Virginians for Life Political Action Committee (WVL PAC) is pleased to announce the endorsement of Gary G Howell for the 2010 Republican primary election to the West Virginia House of Delegates.

WVL PAC is the internal PAC for West Virginians for Life (WVFL), the state pro-life organization. WVFL is affiliated with the National Right to Life Committee and through both education and legislation is working to build a society where all human life is respected, from conception until natural death.

“We commend Gary G Howell for expressing commitment to the lives of the weak and vulnerable, especially the unborn, the elderly and those with disabilities,: said Karen Cross, President of West Virginians for life.

Breaking News: Supreme Court Makes Decision on Corporate Donations

The Supreme Court in a 5-4 vote ruled that corporations and labor unions may now spend freely in federal elections.

This question comes down to whether one believes in absolute natural rights interpretations of how our legal system should be run, or whether we think the law should be used to support some ideal of the greater good.

Natural rights law believes that liberty is important. Infringing upon that liberty is a larger problem than whatever might result from it. Legal posivitism states that the law ought to shape a better society and liberty is less important than that goal. Certainly those that voted to retain the prohibitions fear the results on the election process. Those who opposed the laws use free speech arguments in their favor.

The fact is that these prohibitions do not keep this money away from elections. All they do is to force the money to run an obstacle course to get to its final destination. Without a lot of investigation, it is hard to figure out where the money came from. In any event we spend more on elections now than ever. Where would the national economy be without them? Without prohibitions, we are more likely to see the real origin of the money spent on elections. That is a transparency that the process has lacked for some time.

Ray Stevens - We The People

Alan Mollohan's last term in Congress?

As Congressman Alan Mollohan’s problems continue to mount many are speculating that this me be his last term as West Virginia’s Congressman from the 1st Congressional District. Last week the U.S. Justice Department told the US House ethics panel to stop its investigation of Congressman Mollohan. Federal investigators had also asked the House ethics committee to suspend its investigation of former Louisiana Rep. William Jefferson shortly before his arrest. Last month the Congressman’s Bald Head Island property was sold at a foreclosure sale according to the Daily Mail and the Politico reported Mollohan was one of the Democrat incumbents having trouble raising campaign money.

Smelling blood in the water, five Republicans have announced they will be seeking the GOP nomination for the 1st Congressional seat, but Mollohan might just not be facing a General Election opponent. Rumors are they he may have a strong primary challenge from 46 year old State Senator Michael Oliverio II of Monongalia County.

Oliverio would set well as a choice with West Virginia’s conservative Democrat voters. He is a favorite among many in the business community and would likely pull a lot of primary support away from Mollohan. It would also give state Democrats a better chance of holding the seat should Mollohan be forced to resign should allegations prove true. But with voters looking for change as referenced by this weeks strong wins by the GOP in neighboring Virginia and New Jersey, the only way for the WV Democratic Party to hold the 1st Congressional seat maybe to pick a new candidate like Oliverio no matter what happens with Mollohan.

Fundraising issues for Mollohan: Barnes, Smith lead challenger pack

Alan Mollohan is having fund raising trouble. According The Hill, "Third quarter House recap: Big funding surprises from little-known challengers. They list Mollohan as only one of six incumbents that failed to raise more than $100,000 in the last quarter, despite facing tough challengers.

Among announced Republican challengers against Mollohan for the 2010 election both Clark Barnes of Randolph County and Scott Smith of Preston County have both tied for first with 40% in a recent PHC poll. Daniel Swisher is a distant 3rd polling only 9%. Cindy Hall and Tom Stark both polled less than 5%.

Clark Barns to take on Alan Mollohan for Congress

Clark Barnes currently serves as a State Senator in West Virginia's 15th district. Which includes Grant, Hampshire, Hardy and Pendleton Counties in the Potomac Highlands. Barnes is also known as the winning underdog taking on well fund candidates and defeating them on the issues. Clark becomes the 4th Republican Candidate to join the field against Mollohan.

Left to Right: State Senator Clark Barnes, Tom Collins, State Senator Dave Sypolt

WVGOP matches neighboring states in cash position

A few people within the West Virginia Republican party have been talking about the cash position of the state GOP. I have been hearing from people that we are in great shape and some that we are in horrible shape. Interestingly one of the people that told me just how bad things said, “You should check out the FEC reports for all the states surrounding us... like Ohio.” I did just that and was pleasantly surprised at what I found.

Since cash on hand it what people seemed to be most concerned with, that is what I compared so their question could be addressed directly. Since all off the surrounding states are much larger in population I broke it down as compared to cash per proportion for each state resident. That way we are comparing things on an equal footing.

	Cash On Hand *	State Population **	Cash per Person
Kentucky	$165,662.00†	4,041,769	$0.04
Maryland	$1,609.00	5,296,486	$0.00√
Ohio	$1,536,155.00	11,353,140	$0.14
Pennsylvania	$1,570,548.00	12,281,054	$0.13
Virginia	$211,198.00	7,078,515	$0.03
West Virginia	$106,946.00‡	1,808,344	$0.06

Source of Data: * Federal Election Commission Filings, ** US Census Bureau, † 2008 data, 2009 unavailable, ‡ Data provided by WVGOP dated 6/12/2009, √ Less than one cent.

This is where we rank when compared to our neighboring states:
#1 Ohio
#2 Pennsylvania
#3 West Virginia
#4 Kentucky
#5 Virginia
#6 Maryland

Another interesting bit of information you can look at. In 2006 the WVGOP was in debt $141,485. Had we started with no debt in 2006 and raised the same amount of money and maintained the same fiscal discipline we would have $248,431.89 in the state account. On a cash per person basis that would give us $0.14, the same as Ohio. We would be tied for first place.

We must remember we are a small state and strive to be the best. Our fundraising efforts are on par with our bigger neighbors when we compare things on an equal footing, but we can always strive to do better. Let’s all give what we can to the state GOP to make it easier to win seats in the 2010 election.

R. Scott Smith Leads in WV GOP Congressional Primary Poll

In an early non-scientific poll R. Scott Smith has a strong showing among voters. 73% of those polls said they were likely to vote for R. Scott Smith of Terra Alta in next years Republican Congressional Primary. Cindy Hall, a California transplant currently living in Wheeling, garnered 23% in the poll with former Parksersburg area resident Daniel Scott Swisher polling just 3%. We are still 12 months away from the 2010 primary, but the battle is heating up to unseat Alan Mollohan.

Betty Ireland beats Alan Mollohan in Online Poll

The Potomac Highlands Conservative over the last week ran a non-scientific poll to see who would come out on top in a hypothetical 2010 Congressional race in which former West Virginia Secretary of State Betty Ireland went head to head against current Congressman Alan Mollohan. The question asked was:

Who would you vote for in the WV 1st Congressional District if former WV Secretary of State Betty Ireland was to run?

Results: Betty Ireland (R) 64%, Alan Mollohan (D) 35%

Open Primary vs. Closed Primary

The motion currently pending before the West Virginia Republican State Executive Committee to close our party's primary elections to all but registered Republican voters is beginning to draw public attention, as it should. The question is an important and weighty one which affects, ultimately, all West Virginians.

State GOP Chairman Doug McKinney has appointed a committee to investigate the issue and make a recommendation to the state Executive Committee at its Summer 2009 meeting. I'm honored to have been chosen to serve on that committee, which is made up of several distinguished West Virginia Republicans who will give this matter the attention it deserves.

My commitment to Doug, to our Republican elected officeholders, to all affected voters, and to you, our readers, is to consider this possibility fairly and make a recommendation based upon our view of what is in the best interest of West Virginians, Republican officeholders, and the Party.

One of the things I believe the committee should do is solicit public comment; I'll be reading newspapers and blogs, watching news reports, and listening to talk radio to hear the opinions of the voting public regarding this question. If anyone wants to weigh in on this issue, I invite you to do so. My e-mail address is tom@tomoneill.org