Ruling Party versus Majority Party

No one has any illusions as to what constitutes the "Ruling Party" in West Virginia. For seventy-five years the Democratic Party has imposed Big Government solutions on the state, correlating with its drastic decline. We dropped from six congressional representatives to three, our economic position lies near the bottom, and studies show that by not keeping up with national population growth, we have lost many hundreds of thousands of productive and intelligent people. All that took place on the Ruling Party's watch.

However they seem scared in West Virginia. A current has formed that might just shift the tide of influence in the state. Six Democratic legislative incumbents lost their seats in the primary, an almost unheard of expression of malcontent within the Democrats' own rank and file. Add that to the fact that the GOP has carried West Virginia in the past two presidential elections handily.

As far as values and principles are concerned, the national Democratic Party has abandoned West Virginia style values. How long can state Democrats support gun rights, property rights, strong national security and oppose abortion at home while supporting people like Barack Obama nationally? When does inconsistency finally get exposed as hypocrisy?

The Democrats currently dominate in registrations and they rule the state. However, as far as values are concerned, the Republican Party is the majority in the state. Through careful and effective education, the West Virginia Republican Party could effect a major shift in the next decade if national Democrats continue to march left.

Have you ever read Readers Voice in the Gazette?

To me I find Readers Voice interesting. You get the full gambit of opinion from the tin foil hat crowd to the misinformed to the thoughtful reflection. That is how Democracy is supposed to work. The first amendment states, "Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech and to petition the government for a redress of grievances. " Government needs to know when the people see they are doing something wrong. Readers Voice is a good format for that.

There are a lot of things that government cannot change that people are complaining, but some can. There are two people talking about the Brickstreet fiasco. The misspending of government funds in West Virginia seems to be a way of life. Since Brickstreet is a government agency spun off to the private sector, that doesn't surprise me. Brickstreet is holding back West Virginia's economic growth. It is protected by government with a monopoly until July of 08, and then it will have price supports to prevent competition from lowering cost. It is a receipe for continued failure in the states economy. The Workman's comp insurance market must be opened up to the free market, no special treatment for Brickstreet. The free market will provide lower insurance rates helping the West Virginia economy.

One comment I really like, " The Iraq war and the unfair taxation of the Republican Party compelled many of us to work hard for a new Democrat majority in Washington. But, gay rights and anti-Second Amendment legislation are loser issues. That will destroy our Democrat majority in Congress pretty fast. " I think all of us want the troops home, but the war on terrorism is going to be with us for awhile. He has the taxation backwards, the Republican party is the party of tax reform, but read his other comments. I think this guy is a Republican he just doesn't know it.

The people of West Virginia know the issues, but are unsure how to change what needs changed. Some cling to party loyalty, that no longer clings to their beliefs. We tend to hold on to the past even when we know it doesn't work. Perhaps we are afraid of change, but change we must. The public is speaking, but that same public must change its voting habits to make those changes it so desires.

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.