Whither Caperton? Also, Another Party of the Common Man Update

Before Mojo there was another highly popular two term gubernatorial juggernaut in Charleston. Caperton exploded onto the scene in 1988. The extremely wealthy insurance man toppled a vulnerable, but still formidable legend in Arch Moore. His business experience combined with a downhome, but politically connected Jackson County wife helped him storm into office. After a few missteps, such as his aborted scheme that would have both consolidated power in his hands and increased the size of government during tough economic times (for West Virginia anyway) Caperton settled in and steered the ship of state for eight years. After that he ventured off into the fog of the outside world outside of politics. Currently he heads the College Board.

Politically the roads closed to Caperton when his second term ended in 1997. Shut out of the Governor's Mansion, seeing the House of Representatives as a demotion, and understanding that Byrd and Rockefeller were not moving on any time soon, Caperton turned to the field of education to pad his resume and do something substantial, but in preparation for what?

A little speculation has centered around Caperton being considered for Secretary of Education. His lack of direct contact with Bill Clinton might work against him, but he would seem to be a reasonable choice. However, his reputation as a relatively conservative Democrat will not help Obama in his current disputes with minorities and Leftists.

I have always wondered if Caperton's eye was not on the US Senate. Certainly before Manchin, he was a strong possibility to succeed Byrd. His speech to the West Virginia Education Alliance might signal that his toe may be reemerging into the pool of state politics.

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Party of the Common Man Update: Bad Medicine

Probably the most stunning allegation involving Illinois governor Rod Mytzlplyk, or whatever his name is, involves the allegation that he was prepared to rescind support for Children's Memorial Hospital because an executive refused to contribute to his campaign. Sorry kids, pony up the f-ing money or no f-ing medicine for you f-ing brats (if you don't get the last line, take a gander at the transcripts of his wiretaps. He is very fond of a certain word and uses it "liberally".)

Is it not fascinating that Obama has rarely even had contact with this man?

The People Behind the Scenes Often Make the Difference

Politics, like almost anything else, usually reveals only a small percentage of its actual workings. Television, print, and electronic media show the candidates as they go from here to there, meeting and greeting. Most people do not understand how it takes a physical and financial toll on most candidates to interact with the people and find out what they want and need from their officials.

No one ever sees the hard working and dedicated souls that work behind the scenes to make all this possible. Few politicians have the time or the skill to organize large scale campaigns. They often have to travel to several events in the same day and remember which people are at what place. If a candidate is lucky, they have someone carefully scanning the media, finding out when events are, and making schedules for them. Also most candidates need money. Most in our state live on the same middle class salaries as many of the rest of us and need help from the people. Many would be amazed at how important each candidate considers every donation even and sometimes especially the $10 and $20 ones. Once, Governor Arch Moore received a small donation from an elderly woman that he knew lived on a low fixed income. He tried to return it to her but was met with refusal. She wanted everyone to know that she supported him. Candidates strongly appreciate every bit of support they get.

If candidates are fortunate, they have dedicated volunteers arranging fundraisers for them. One of the best in our region at mastering the fine art of scheduling and fund raising is Christy Barnett of New Creek. In her third year of political work, she has made a tremendous impact in local and state races and has become indispensable to many Republican office seekers. She is also one of the district delegates to the State Republican Executive Committee.

Another important person worth mentioning is Tommy Phillips, President of the Harrison County Republican Club. He tirelessly labors at making the state GOP website one of the most effective and efficient political site in the country while constantly keeping it up to date. Under his control, it has grown into one of the top sources for news and events in the state party. Phillips also manages events for his club and assists the party directly in a variety of capacities. Phillips is definitely part of the glue that holds the West Virginia GOP organization together.

These behind the scenes warriors get little credit, but deserve many accolades. Thanks to all of them who sacrifice their time and energy to bring the Republican Party success in West Virginia.

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Home sales rose 5.3% nationally in the last report issued. With the nation still in a growth phase, home sales showing signs of life, and gasoline prices starting to drop, it will be interesting to see what the main issues will be in two months should these trends continue.

Preserving West Virginia's History

One of the greatest treasures maintained by the State of West Virginia lies in its official Archives kept in Charleston at the State Cultural Center. Over the past few years, historians and genealogists have grown uneasy about the future of the facility.

Plans have developed under Governor Manchin's administration to transform the current State Archives reading room into a cafe and have patrons utilize a lending library to examine documents. To those knowledgeable about the importance of documents and archives, this potential development sets off red flags.

Some of the documents in the care of the State Archives have real monetary value. An entire underground economy centers around the secret (and sometimes not so secret) trade in valuable signatures. In the past couple of years the State and Regional History Collection at West Virginia University had to make more strict its security procedures. They discovered some of their rare and precious documents on Ebay. Security would be even more difficult at a lending library.

Additionally concerns have been raised over the storage and serving of food in the same building as these documents. Experts fear that food will attract rodents and insects that could damage the documents. Governor Arch Moore rejected the placing of food service in the Cultural Center for that reason. The state has issued assurances that the highest standards of cleanliness will be followed. West Virginia University recently opened a coffee shop in the same library building that houses its important collections.

What raises most concern is the sudden sacking of longtime director Fred Armstrong. Under Armstrong, service at the State Archives facility was always timely and enthusiastic. Governor Manchin did not issue clear reasons why the thirty year employee was dismissed. Commentators from as widely varied political viewpoints as Gary Abernathy (The Republican Gazette) and Phil Kabler (The Charleston Gazette) have questioned this move on the part of the administration. I remember one of Marshall University's most prominent history professors, the late Robert Maddox, speaking very highly of him several years ago. The situation is certainly strange. This follows a series of odd moves by Manchin, such as his intervention in West Virginia University's football schedule, removal of political signs in the 2006 elections, and the infamous "open for business" signs, that raise questions and create negative attention.

At the end of the day preservation of West Virginia's history represents and important and vital trust. We hope that the decisions concerning that trust reflect the fact that preservation will remain one of the state's most important priorities.

The Liberal Media Strikes (or at Least Tried to Strike) Again

For over a century the Charleston Gazette has stood at the fringes of respectable politics. This paper generally represents a left wing position somewhere to the wrong side of Vladimir Lenin and rarely sees a Republican it likes. Not for nothing did Governor Moore call it "The Morning Sick Call."


If the charges levied against it by the Department of Justice are correct, then this venerable bastion of loony lefties has found new lows. On May 7th, 2004 the Gazette purchased Charleston's afternoon Republican newspaper the Daily Mail. This in itself was not unique as morning papers had taken over afternoon publications around the country to help keep them afloat.



The Department of Justice, unfortunately for the Gazette, does not consider halting solicitations for new Daily Mail subscribers, allowing half of the reporters and staff to leave without replacing them, stopping all promotions and discounts, and cutting the newsroom budget to be helping the afternoon paper. A nineteen page report alleges that the Gazette tried to strangle the Daily Mail right out of existence. It only ceased these policies when the Justice Department launched its investigation.


Either the Charleston Gazette tried to suffocate one of the last printed conservative voices in West Virginia, or it sought to create a monopolistic stranglehold over the metropolitan region around Charleston. The second possibility must particularly delight the Gazette's enemies due to the enormous number of corporate greed sermons its editors launched over the years.

The internet means that even in the Potomac Highlands of West Virginia, we can read news about state government from those directly at the sources. When the Gazette choked off resources to the Daily Mail it reduced the conservative paper's ability to cover events. Those seeking daily news about state government had to turn to the paper with one of the most shrilly liberal biases in the nation. Already the 2004 purchase has been voided. Hopefully the courts will force the Gazette to pay damages to ensure a balance of coverage out of Charleston.

Moore good times had in Charleston

Enough praise can not be given to Jeannette Wakim and Sue McKinney for the time and hard work they put in preparing the dinner to honor Shelly Moore, wife of former Governor Arch Moore, and mother of Shelley Moore Capito. The GOP fund raiser was a huge success thanks to their efforts with over 200 people in attendance. It was great to hear the stories told about Shelly and Arch, but there was one thing you couldn't escape. I'm not talking about the inescapable conversations of politics, but the values of the group in the room.

Family values are the corner stone of the Republican Party, and it was the first thing you noticed when you walked into the room. The Moore's exemplified this with 3 generations in attendance. This family has shown over the years a dedication to the people of West Virginia, but across the room other families could be seen with that same dedication. Many times mundane things that we normally ignore in our daily lives can show the strength of family. At the Marriott Saturday night is was the simple cell phone calls home to check on husbands, wives and kids that were manning the home fires that night. Family values filled the room and they are the values of most West Virginians.

The value that friendship transcends politics, one of the featured speakers of the night was Ken Hechler (D). Ken asked to be seated on the left, because he represented the left in politics, but he is a friend of the Moores serving in US Congress with Arch, and surviving as WV Secretary of State. With today's personal attacks on Republicans by the left this maybe something of a bygone era, but valued friendship was there Saturday night.

You saw the value of self reliance and honesty in the businessmen and women present, something alien to the left. I'm going to use an Alan Greenspan quote here because he said it so well, "Capitalism is based on self-interest and self-esteem; it holds integrity and trustworthiness as cardinal virtues and makes them pay off in the marketplace, thus demanding that men survive by means of virtue, not vices. It is this superlatively moral system that the welfare statists propose to improve upon by means of preventative law, snooping bureaucrats, and the chronic goad of fear. "

Saturday night one could only come away with one impression; The Republican Party is the party of Values.