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Rep. Alan Mollohan (WV-01) loses Democratic primary to State Sen. Mike Oliverio

by: Clem Guttata

Wed May 12, 2010 at 05:38:27 AM EDT


By Clem Guttata

I am both surprised and disappointed by this outcome. My biggest disappointment is not that a long-time incumbent lost a primary--overall, I think our party is stronger when we have contested elections--but that he lost it for all the wrong reasons.

Fourteen-term U.S. Congressman Alan Mollohan has lost his primary battle against state senator Mike Oliverio for the Democratic nomination in the First District.

Oliverio had spent much of the campaign attacking Mollohan's record and ethics, and that apparently resonated with Democratic voters, as Oliverio took an early lead when the vote totals started coming in on Tuesday night. That trend continued throughout the evening, and with all precinct reporting, Oliverio held a 12-percentage point lead.

Heavily aided by the conservative agenda of deep-pocketed media moguls (the Ogden/Nutting and Rease outlets), Oliverio has succeeded in running against a reliable Democrat incumbent.

To win the trust of West Virginia first district voters and earn a position in Congress, Mike Oliverio now needs run for something.

Updated: So, why did Rep. Alan Mollohan lose?

Here's what I think. There's lots of reasons.

Added: First off, If I had thought Rep. Mollohan was as corrupt as Oliverio and the press made him out to be, I would have wanted to vote him out, too.

1) Voters are angry because the economy in WV-01 still sucks

2) Unemployment is WV-01 is unacceptably high -- Congress bailed out banks, but isn't doing anything about 10% unemployment.

3) A politicized Bush DOJ left a time bomb that finally exploded. Even though every investigation was closed, Mollohan was tainted by further innuendo. Over the years, those expensive legal fees drained campaign coffers, too.

4) Having no opponent in 2008, Mollohan didn't have the campaign apparatus established that he needed to survive a close campaign.

5) Oliverio had enough money to get his message out. Unpaid media was very kind to him in building a distorted view of incumbent--this is rare situation for challenger vs. incumbent, esp. in a primary.

6) Where was Obama/OFA? Dean's 50 state strategy was much better at building capacity in every district. Obama/Kaine deserve some blame here, too.

7) Mollohan's votes this cycle were not the reason. Mollohan could have voted the same was as Republican Rep. Shelly Moore Capito (WV-02) on every vote and Oliverio could have still run the same campaign and received the same help from conservative quarters.

Another one from the comments 8) "WVinians are oddly susceptible to RW talking points." Rep. Mollohan has reaped a bitter harvest sowed by fellow West Virginia politicians. One reason that West Virginians are so susceptible to right wing talking points is because our own Democratic party leaders (see: Gov. Manchin) are prone to using them when they view coal interests as endangered. Live by federal government bashing, die by federal government bashing.

Update from Carnacki:

John Cole at Balloon-Juice has a good take on the corner that Oliverio has painted himself into.

There really isn't a whole lot there to fire up the Democratic base, and I just don't see how he tacks left heading into a general election. As it is, a lot of people in the liberal/progressive wing might look at this general election as a race between two Republicans. Again, I have never personally met the man, so I have no "feel" for him, but I know people who say he is a decent fellow.

snip

Whatever happens, it is going to be a close race. Any time before the last few years when the national GOP went completely teabag insane and drove me from their ranks, and I would have voted for McKinley without a second thought. I don't think I can vote for a Republican and give John Boehner and those clowns any power whatsoever, which really is a shame, because my gut tells me McKinley is a decent man. Having said that, Mike Oliverio has his work cut out for him to get me to hold my nose and vote for him. Considering I don't know much about him except for the things I don't like (the anti-choice stance, the anti-cap and trade, the willingness to sabotage leadership before even being elected), maybe there is something there I can rally around. I guess I have no other choice.

Supporting Oliverio because we feel we have no other choice is hardly a way to turn out the vote. It'll be interesting to see if Oliverio reaches out to this blog and to other Democrats or if he'll just try to appeal to right wingers who are going to toss him aside for a real Republican like McKinley.
Clem Guttata :: Rep. Alan Mollohan (WV-01) loses Democratic primary to State Sen. Mike Oliverio
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Rep. Alan Mollohan (WV-01) loses Democratic primary to State Sen. Mike Oliverio | 75 comments
Thank you, Rep. Mollohan (4.00 / 3)
Thank you, Alan Mollohan, for your many years of service to the first district and all of West Virginia.
DCCC statement (4.00 / 1)
DCCC Chairman Chris Van Hollen's Statement on Primary Results in WV-01

DCCC Chairman Chris Van Hollen released the following statement on the results of yesterday's primary in West Virginia's 1st District:  

"For more than 25 years, Representative Alan Mollohan has been fighting to preserve West Virginia jobs, strengthen the economy and improve quality of life for the families he represents. We thank him for his tireless service to the people of West Virginia, especially his dedication to strengthening economic development and high-tech and aerospace services.

"This was a tough and spirited primary process and we are confident that this historically Democratic seat will remain Democratic this November.

"On behalf of the DCCC, I thank Alan for friendship and his outstanding years of service to our country and West Virginia."


Van Hollen can dream on (0.00 / 0)
I'm voting for McKinley in November.
[ Parent ]
McKinley (0.00 / 0)
might be easier to unseat in 2 years.
[ Parent ]
Here's why... (0.00 / 0)
I'd rather have a Republican from Wheeling representing me than a "Democrat" from Morgantown. And, if the DCCC does anything to help Oliverio, they're on a suicide mission.
[ Parent ]
DCCC has their hands full (0.00 / 0)
The irony is, with Oliverio unseating an incumbent with an anti-DC message, there will be a long list of incumbents vying for DCCC money long before Oliverio gets any.
[ Parent ]
he wont need (0.00 / 0)
that money...he'll get all he need from the folks in west virginia
[ Parent ]
Losing by winning (4.00 / 4)
I'm really irritated that Oliverio (D??) won by trashing the democratic agenda and the record of real, positive accomplishments by the Obama administration and the Democratic congress.  Their legislation, including the Stimulus Bill, made things much better in WV than they would have been without them.  That we are not in a full blown depression is, I think, a good thing.  But WVinians are oddly susceptible to RW talking points and I don't see that changing any time soon.  
playing with fire (4.00 / 4)
Rep. Mollohan has reaped a bitter harvest sowed by fellow West Virginia politicians.

One reason that West Virginians are so susceptible to right wing talking points is because our own Democratic party leaders (see: Gov. Manchin) are prone to using them when they view coal interests as endangered.

Live by federal government bashing, die by federal government bashing.

[ Parent ]
What other outcome could there be? (4.00 / 3)
With Gov. Manchin sitting on the lion's share of the stimulus money, his "fellow" incumbent Democrats naturally feel the voter's rage for our continued slump in the economy even though it's his fault!


By April 1, West Virginia had spent only 20 percent of its $1.4 billion in stimulus contracts, grants and loans, according to new federal data released last week.

With cuts in small community infrastructure and no rebound reported in state employment figures, Obama and incumbent Democrats up for re-election take the hit while Rockefeller and Manchin sit in the catbird's seat.

The Governor could be forcing mine operators to clean up their slurry and sludge sites, which could not only put people to work at shovel-ready jobs, but instead DEP Secretary Randy Huffman signed an over-reaching agreement by which he attempted to build a legal wall which will help the DEP protect mine operators!

Think I'm kidding? check this out.

BTW the report is misleading when it states:

The agreement represents progress for West Virginia's program. It provides certainty and security for those having interests in property that is contaminated or is perceived to be contaminated. The existence of the agreement should encourage use of West Virginia's program and the financing, transfer, and redevelopment of brownfields in West Virginia.

The reason I can state that its misleading with confidence is because the sentence just above that quote states:

Anyone seeking Superfund liability protection will need to have documents approved by the DEP.

Isn't that a dead giveaway that the state is now ready to stand between a scofflaw polluter and federal enforcement?

[ Parent ]
Oliverio (4.00 / 1)
Will Oliverio be able to grow his support after using scorched earth tactics?

When a man embarks upon a crime, he is morally guilty of any other crime which may spring from it. Sherlock Holmes.
Liberal Democrats (0.00 / 0)
should let him self-destruct. How would he vote any differently than McKinley? When asked that question recently, Oliverio answered that he would not try to repeal the healthcare bill - that was his only stated difference.  
[ Parent ]
funny (0.00 / 0)
how pointing out what you think are your opponents faults somehow become scorched earth...beauty is in the eye of the beholder
[ Parent ]
Why did Mollohan lose? (4.00 / 2)
I doubt that the economy was much of a factor with the 1st CD generally in better shape than others. This is especially true in the 'High Tech Corridor' where Mollohan was soundly defeated.  

#3, 5, 7 Most likely the biggest factor was the politics of personal destruction.The swiftboat style attacks were stronger than innuendo. Oliverio has been saying for months that Mollohan was 'exonerated' in exchange for his vote on healthcare reform, followed by the lies that the healthcare bill cut Medicare benefits to seniors and that it funded abortion. He continually used right-wing teaparty talking points about the national debt, big government and what he called "government intrusion into our lives". Although he was publicly challenged about these lies by Democracy for America on several occasions, the media (and nearly everyone else) gave him a free pass most of the time. There were also ads by pro-life groups that used outright lies about Mollohan's alleged betrayal and vote to fund abortion.

#6 To my knowledge, local OFA (Organizing for America)never received any national direction to assist the Mollohan campaign. At an OFA meeting 3 months ago Mollohan seemed uneasy about offers of help from several liberal groups in attendance. His lukewarm response to their offers to help didn't sit well with many Progressives.
To OFA's credit, members were asked this past weekend to make phone calls for Mollohan, but this may have been local direction. It probably would have more harm than good, had Obama openly supported Mollohan in a state where a majority of Democrats don't like the president and didn't vote for him. No need to get into the reasons why on that one.  

The Mollohan campaign didn't really seem to take the race all that seriously until late in the game and Oliverio was already ahead in the polls (albeit his own polls). Signs were late and staff was short handed. It was apparent from his concession speech that Mollohan had not believed that this could happen to him.

Regardless of what the ineffective Chair Tim Kaine says, the 50 State Strategy is in mothballs. Obama/Kaine share the blame for that, along with whoever made the decision to replace Howard Dean - a decision they may want to rethink although it may already be too late.

good points (4.00 / 3)
In terms of OFA, I'm thinking mostly about just making sure that folks who voted for Obama know to get out to the polls and vote for Mollohan. There were more than enough Obama voters who stayed home yesterday to make up the difference. Off-year primary elections are all about GOTV.

A robocall from Obama asking Obama voters to head out and vote for Mollohan might have made a big difference.

But, as you said, I don't think Mollohan took this challenge seriously enough. He was blindsided. He bought into his own spin. That's a huge downside to being a long-term incumbent who hasn't run a competitive race in quite a while--you forget how to run a campaign.

[ Parent ]
Basic rule in politics: (4.00 / 4)
You either run unopposed or you run scared.  Mollohan wasn't scared.  He lost.
[ Parent ]
Toxic (4.00 / 3)
"#6 To my knowledge, local OFA (Organizing for America)never received any national direction to assist the Mollohan campaign. At an OFA meeting 3 months ago Mollohan seemed uneasy about offers of help from several liberal groups in attendance. His lukewarm response to their offers to help didn't sit well with many Progressives. "

Frankly, I'm not surprised.  Anything Obama is toxic in most of WV.  Not for good cause, but for deep rooted prejudice, and for those endless, dishonest right wing talking points that arrive via Fox and Rush and email and the VFA and ... that play to those prejudices.  

We have to figure out how to fix that here and in the rest of Appalachia, or we are screwed.    

[ Parent ]
the way i see it (4.00 / 3)
Can't blame Ogden, although they would love to take credit. Mollohan lost his HOME county, but he had glowing local media backing there.

OFA/50-State strategy: this argument is way off base. The state and national party are supposed to be neutral in primaries. The state party seemed to be,  and the nat'l seemed to too although they sent out a last minute OFA email promoting Alan.

OFA should've either been all-in or neutral. Let's face it Mollohan closeness with Obama/Pelosi hurt him.

BIGGEST reason Mollohan lost - no organization. I'm not really talking about his campaign, but he had no infrastructure in the district. You'd think after 28yrs he'd have a machine, but running unnopposed all of the time killed him, and that was compounded by the fact he is rarely seen in the district.

national appartus far from neutral in primaries (4.00 / 2)
See: Lieberman v. Lamont, Spector v. Sestak. They're running an incumbent protection machine in Washington. The DCCC/DSCC are dues paying organization where electeds pay in to help fund their re-election in primaries and general elections.

President Obama and Gov. Manchin have weighed in on primaries before and they'll do it again.

FWIW, I don't think there is any one reason why a loss happens... to knock off a long-term incumbent takes a "perfect storm" of multiple vulnerabilities coming together at the same time.

[ Parent ]
The policy of neutrality is not true (4.00 / 2)
in Arkansas where the President and Party are going all out for Blanche Lincoln against challenger Bill Halter. It certainly wasn't true when the party and Obama, Clinton, etc., backed Lieberman over the rightful winner of the CT primary, Ned Lamont, even when Lieberman created his own pary.

The state and national party are supposed to be neutral in primaries. The state party seemed to be,  and the nat'l seemed to too although they sent out a last minute OFA email promoting Alan.

I agree with the lack of infrastructure. There was very little interaction with constituents except in election years and really not that much then. There is also the fact that this campaign was poorly managed.

[ Parent ]
Maybe he didn't deserve to win. (4.00 / 3)
Quoted from above:

At an OFA meeting 3 months ago Mollohan seemed uneasy about offers of help from several liberal groups in attendance. His lukewarm response to their offers to help didn't sit well with many Progressives.

Although he was likely far more progressive than Oliverio, Mollohan was far from being a true progressive.

If Oliverio doesn't do well by his district, then hopefully progressive can rally enough support behind a true progressive to knock him off the stoop next go-round.

how about this cycle? (4.00 / 1)
If Oliverio continues to run against Obama / Byrd/Rockefeller and other DC Democrats I think there is a huge opening for an Independent candidate to run in the space normally occupied by a moderate/centrist Democrat. I could see someone easily getting the +/- 40-45% of the vote to win in a 3-way race.

Timing is a challenge with only 6 months before Nov., but longer odds have been overcome before.

[ Parent ]
Just a question. (0.00 / 0)
I'm just curious, what exactly makes someone a progressive? What do you consider progress? I don't need a smartass comment about my screenname, just a simple answer for a simple question Mr. One Citizen.
[ Parent ]
one answer (0.00 / 0)
I'm not Mr. One Citizen, but I can give you an answer from The Commonweal Institute (PDF) who did a study on "What Do Progressives Believe?" Here's the executive summary of their study:

Over the past 10 years the term "progressive" has been resurrected in political parlance.  While the usage of the term has gained popularity in the media and among elites and voters, there is little consensus regarding the meaning of progressive identification.  This report takes a step toward understanding modern progressives by analyzing the values, attitudes, and
demographic traits of survey respondents who say that they consider themselves progressive and those who report a positive view of the term.

Seven unique sources of data useful for an analysis of progressive individuals were identified.  The data come from Democracy Corps, Gallup, Harris Interactive, the Kaiser Foundation, Pew Research Center, Rasmussen Reports, and Zogby International.  For comparison, data on liberal identifiers from the American National Election Survey was also analyzed.

The seven surveys identifying progressives used a variety of methods for self-identification. We found that these varying methods had strong effects on the poll results.  In particular, when respondents were cued to think of progressive as a substitute for the term liberal, their views looked similar to those of liberals; when they were cued to think of progressive as a substitute for very liberal, their views were more consistently left or liberal.  When respondents were asked whether or not they consider themselves progressive independent of other ideological options, their views were less cohesive, and more similar to moderate identifiers.  

Our team found:
- Support for the term "progressive" has increased over time.
- Self-identified progressives are more supportive of government intervention in the economy, both in terms of regulating business and redistributing income, than the general public.  
- Progressives are protective of civil liberties.
- When asked to choose between equality and freedom a majority of progressives say that equality is more important.
- Progressive tend to support government efforts to safeguard the environment.  
- Progressives are less religious on average than other ideological groups.
- Progressives tend to be unwilling to tolerate government regulation of morality.  
- Progressives tend to have positive views of immigrants.
- Progressives are committed to diplomacy as the cornerstone of foreign policy.  
- Progressives tend to be better educated and to earn more money than the average respondent.
- Progressive identification is most popular with respondents under the age of 50 and men.
- Progressives pay a great deal of attention to politics.


[ Parent ]
Funny how Glenn Beck's idea of "Progressives" jibes with most of the trolls who post here. (0.00 / 0)
As you know, the corporate owned media echo chamber doesn't help misconceptions one bit, having successfully de-legitimatized former presidential candidate Howard Dean, it now chips away at the populist wing of the Democratic party. You can easily tell when you surf the comments sections of public news sites. Instead of blossoming into a populist movement large enough to influence candidates like Mollohan (where it should be), the Progressive movement is effectively being painted as "Dumbocrats", for not being Blue Dogs.  Or else we're all publicly defined as Nazis and Communists by self-described "conservatives" who either are corporatists (often coalocrats). Only a few are are mush-brained teabagging libertarians who can't even understand their own values well enough to legitimately argue the hollow talking points they spew.

So thanks for posting that study Clem. May I respectfully suggest that you provide a link to it somewhere prominently on the WVABLUE homepage masthead?

In the meantime I'll try not to get so irate at others for letting these trolls get by with such utter bullshit in this forum.

[ Parent ]
he lost (0.00 / 0)
because hes rightly or wrongly been placed into the obama camp...west virginians didnt vote for obama and after the first year and a half of his presidency they are even more pissed at him...the fall out is just beginning
Mollohan 2012 (0.00 / 0)
And that's all I'm gonna say.
Gov. run an intruiging idea (0.00 / 0)
But, I just don't see it.

It's not the typical career trajectory for pols who have made a career on Congressional appropriations committees.

[ Parent ]
I was talking about Congress (0.00 / 0)
Not Governor.
[ Parent ]
Appropriators. Mollohan and Bennet R-UT are both appropriators. (0.00 / 0)
Obama (0.00 / 0)
It should be noted that Obama/Biden won Marion, Mon. and I think one other district 1 Co. in '08.  Marion is actually won of the few co.'s in the state that has gone blue the last three Pres. elections.  However, as everyone knows, Fairmont and Morgantown are both college towns.  Something tells me the youth vote didn't turn out yesterday.  The could be a big problem going forward in a lot of areas.
[ Parent ]
Thank God college kids don't show up to vote in droves. (0.00 / 0)
There is one thing known about the young. Their not known for their wisdom.
[ Parent ]
News Flash from Squidbilly'74 (4.00 / 1)
"There is one thing known about the young. Their not known for their wisdom."

In a related story, titled "Pot Calls Kettle Black", kettle responds with charge of blatant hypocrisy against Pot, ignoring Pot's obvious abuse of English language.

[ Parent ]
voting rights (4.00 / 2)
Maybe we should start pro-rating votes by age? Like votes for those under 35 are only count 3/5ths of the older wiser voter?

Of course, stevewvu would argue we should make an exception for younger voters who can buy (or inherit) land. They obviously have enough wisdom to vote "the right way."

/snark

[ Parent ]
And cup size. (4.00 / 1)
Man boobs over an A cup only gets you 3/5 vote too.

@HowardKurtz

Kagan, Sotomayor--Do some women dispense w/hubs & kids to climb to top of their professions?


NFTT: Support My Team or I Will Dance
[ Parent ]
As opposed to all "teh older morans in real Amercia"? (4.00 / 1)
We had to die for this country in Vietnam so you will pry the 18 year old's vote from from my cold dead hands.

In 1972 I voted for the WWII veteran.  

NFTT: Support My Team or I Will Dance

[ Parent ]
CA Berkeley (4.00 / 1)
Technically they were both veterans although only the Democrat was the highly decorated combat veteran.

When a man embarks upon a crime, he is morally guilty of any other crime which may spring from it. Sherlock Holmes.
[ Parent ]
hiya (4.00 / 4)
good points   (4.00 / 2)
In terms of OFA, I'm thinking mostly about just making sure that folks who voted for Obama know to get out to the polls and vote for Mollohan. There were more than enough Obama voters who stayed home yesterday to make up the difference. Off-year primary elections are all about GOTV.

A robocall from Obama asking Obama voters to head out and vote for Mollohan might have made a big difference.

But, as you said, I don't think Mollohan took this challenge seriously enough. He was blindsided. He bought into his own spin. That's a huge downside to being a long-term incumbent who hasn't run a competitive race in quite a while--you forget how to run a campaign.
by: Clem Guttata

Basic rule in politics: (4.00 / 1)
You either run unopposed or you run scared.  Mollohan wasn't scared.  He lost.
by: Calhoun...


...I agree with the lack of infrastructure. There was very little interaction with constituents except in election years and really not that much then. There is also the fact that this campaign was poorly managed.
by: wv voice of reason...

Agree with 95% of everything in this comment chain, but i'm baffled by the suggestions that Obama was/is some sort of albatross around Mollohan's neck. Obama's actual positions are only marginally relevant when your opponent and his republican stooges are frickin' lying about you and your record. Obama did good things for this state and it's people (though the cigarette tax isn't spoken of in particularly glowing terms, lol). If they put some work in,  WV will remain/become (depending on one's definitions) a Democratic stronghold.....Play up the strengths, downplay (/gently lead on) the hot button social issues = no problem.

I've spoken to seemingly reasonable, low information residents who dislike Obama, and their feelings are superficial. Unless we are talking about dyed in the wool racists or whackjob righty ideologues, a little work will turn these people around. If they see the effort being made - real effort - and real bread and butter issues are addressed, we would see the alleged majority opposition crumble. I use the term 'alleged' not because i deny the reality of the 08 election results, but because i think that opposition is so flimsy that it can not truly be considered the majority opinion.

Personally, i think it would help a great deal if progressive WV Dems (hell, all Dems...but i want the progressive ones, thank you) would create some sort of "I Will Not Touch Your Guns" pledge that they could all sign.....Some sort of camera-ready jumbo pledge (à la the 'Contract with America') that would make an impression. 'I proudly signed The Pledge, and i stand by my word' buttons handed out... etc etc etc. It may sound silly to some, but it would help. The word just isn't sinking in that Dems have no intention of coming in and raiding the family gun cabinet. I'm so sick of addressing the issue, and i wish the national party would do something to try and settle it once and for all....It's so easy for republicans to smack us around with that one.

Equally confusing was the suggestion elsewhere of 'glowing local media'. I guess i should make sure we're talking about the same media....Maybe i'm thinking of different outlets than those to which the commenter referred.

The biggest republican newspaerasaurus in Morgantown waged a relentless campaign to bury Mollohan, and today they celebrate with 24pt type declaring "MOLLOHAN OUT", above a picture of the smarmy republican himself smiling like the cat who ate the canary. It's no secret to Oliverio and Co why the Raese family backed him, and it's the future of West Virginia politics: Stick a D next to the name of the hardcore Right, take over the state, grab that delicious coal money, rinse, repeat.

Oliverio is a right wing, anti-woman, anti-gay, anti-social safety net, anti-everything-i-care-about pro-operator teabagger. He's a republican, and the worst kind of dishonest broker...Smiling beatifically as he is elected by republicans/coal barons whose main tactic was (and will continue to be) lying to/scaring the electorate.

Doesn't get much more shady and cynical than that.

If the national party doesn't start helping us out a bit, West Virginia and it's long Democratic tradition will be lost. The state is saturated in hardcore right wing media, and still we elect Dems. How can they abandon us to these republican plants?

Is our worth to be calculated only in electoral points?

Feeling rather....Hmm.

I don't want to say hopeless, so i'll go with 'overwhelmed'. We bust our asses to get a majority in Washington (at the expense of attention to local situations, in some cases), and with it they do....What? 'Better than McCain' seems to be the extent of the tenable praise. Now, here we are.....Months before the general and we've already lost the homefront to the right wing. The national party did little more than watch as the people of the WV 1st choked on the lies and propaganda that spewed forth from the local right wing media like smoke from a 19th century factory. It is very frustrating.

I agrre with everything you say. (4.00 / 3)
A lot of this started when Gore decided not to campaign in WV and the national party wrote us off.  If he had used Bill Clinton in WV he could have won.  The R's continue to control the message.  I want you to be party chairman.
[ Parent ]
Hi MadAnne (4.00 / 2)
A lot of this started when Gore decided not to campaign in WV and the national party wrote us off.  If he had used Bill Clinton in WV he could have won.

So true - That's exactly when it began. It's as if some sort of backroom cost/benefit analysis was done and the resulting memo sent forth....Don't bother with West Virginia. We appear to be casualties of big money elections and the electoral college.

Somehow, that needs to change. I rather suspect that the 'somehow' is not going to materialize unless real progressive West Virginians make enough noise (of one kind or another) to attract some attention and elicit some passion. If we can create some momentum, perhaps that will give our candidates/decent office holders the political capital to attract some favors, and get a little freakin' help from the national party. Gotta be the right kind of help though.....Some stranger breezing in to boss people around and try out their latest theories isn't going to cut it.


The R's continue to control the message.

It's true, and it's getting worse. We've probably all heard once lucid people begin to parrot the most absurd, baseless propaganda memes to ever come down the pike. Sometimes it seems as though some collective madness is wafting across the country, and all too much of it is settling in our beautiful mountains. Most of this stuff though, is unbelievably weak....As flimsy as the paper the Diminishing Post is printed on. Without their media megaphone, they wouldn't stand a chance of successfully serving this thin gruel up to the people of West Virginia (whether the ladle is in Blankenship's scaly claw, or the hand of a "Democrat" like Oliverio).

I got into it with some raging wingers - as well as a regular ol' republican or two (all claimed to be local, and it seemed true to me) - in the comments of stories on the WBOY website, and it was a sobering experience. Most of what these people said was just nonsense. I mean demonstrably false, makes-you-look-like-a-fool-when-confronted-with-a-fact-or-two absurdities. If people like that are their firebrands, they are woefully unprepared for sincere opposition. When i kept my cool and calmly presented a more rational approach, the people generally either gave a little ground or they left (the online republican version of admitting defeat, i think). When i lost it and attacked them (with facts, but in an 'i can't believe people capable of using a keyboard can be this stupid' kinda way), they got their backs up, dug in, and threw up garbage they either knew to be false, or...Or i don't know what....Perhaps they blew a synapse or three. At any rate...I learned my lesson.

People just want solutions, and many of them are too tired or too busy to find them on their own. Republican politicians and their DINO doppelgangers, to their everlasting personal shame, offer easy soundbites that appeal to people's most base emotions - then use the power those lies get them to exploit the resources and labor of the people they've manipulated. It's so disgraceful.

But regardless of the quality of one's message, how can we realistically combat the constant stream of misinformation coming from (most of) the radio and (all of) fox 'news' (not to mention the amnesiac false equivalency peddlers of the mainstream press)? Many times, the truth won't fit into a slickly packaged 30 second ad, and we don't have the amazing luxury of a dedicated media outlet....So, what to do? It's an old question i suppose, but it remains critical that we find an answer.

I want you to be party chairman.

That's very kind of you, but i've never cared much for politics ;)

[ Parent ]
Party Chairman (4.00 / 1)
That's very kind of you, but i've never cared much for politics ;)  

That is exactly why you should become party Chairman!

[ Parent ]
lol ...I think i'd rather... (0.00 / 0)
[ Parent ]
It would have helped (4.00 / 4)
had the candidate himself, not waited until the last 2 weeks before calling bullshit on Oliverio's lies. A debate would have helped. There is no way Oliverio could have trumped everything that Mollohan has done for the 1st CD, but they had to hear it. But it's too late for that now.

What we need to do is band together. There are several progressive/liberal groups that have been waging war against this right wing crap: North Central WV Democracy for America based in Harrison Co., First Congressional District Organizing for America are 2, but there are others. If any one is interested in doing more than complaining and is ready to get to work waking up/educating the voters, email me: wvvoiceofreason at gmail dot com

[ Parent ]
Geez.... (4.00 / 1)
All i can say is...

It would have helped had the candidate himself, not waited until the last 2 weeks before calling bullshit on Oliverio's lies. A debate would have helped. There is no way Oliverio could have trumped everything that Mollohan has done for the 1st CD, but they had to hear it. But it's too late for that now.

What we need to do is band together. There are several progressive/liberal groups that have been waging war against this right wing crap: North Central WV Democracy for America based in Harrison Co., First Congressional District Organizing for America are 2, but there are others.

...Hear Hear.

If any one is interested in doing more than complaining...

i'll email you after work....gotta unplug my face from this screen and crawl off to bed.

[ Parent ]
glowing local media explained (4.00 / 2)
I was referring to the strong support Mollohan received from the Fairmont paper, but he still lost Marion County. Also Harrison County is not under the Ogden influence and Mollohan still lost it.

My point is let's not give Ogden too much credit. As bad as they are Dems still dominate the northern panhandle.

Keep ignoring them and boycott it.

[ Parent ]
Face facts, John (4.00 / 2)
The Democratic party "machine" in the Northern Panhandle failed to kick in. You took this race for granted. I took this race for granted. The Northern Panhandle took this race for granted.

Only 5000 Ohio County residents voted on a Democratic ballot in this primary out of a county population of 40,000. Something is very, very wrong about that.

[ Parent ]
Ouch. (0.00 / 0)
Only 5000 Ohio County residents voted on a Democratic ballot in this primary out of a county population of 40,000. Something is very, very wrong about that.

That's bloody awful.

Wretched turnout here in Mon County as well...

[ Parent ]
not who you think (4.00 / 1)
I'm not the steelworkers' Saunders from Wheeling you think I am.

Turnout was abysmal statewide. It didn't affect Mollohan's defeat. With higher turnout you have more low-info voters, more independents, show up and they were less likely to support Mollohan.

The small electorate Tuesday in the primary was basically the Dem base and they rejected Mollohan. Mollohan had too many problems to be salvaged with a 2-month campaign effort.

The only reason he did not get beat before is that he NEVER had much of a campaign before. Chris Wakim beat himself in 2006 and the last time Mollohan had any race was 1992 when was paired up against Harley Staggers after WV lost a seat to redistricting. Mollohan won that because they put most of Harley's district into Bob Wise's (i.e. the Eastern Panhandle).

Bottom line. Mollohan was a good earmarker, but not a particularly strong politician/campaigner.  

[ Parent ]
My apologies for the confusion n/t (4.00 / 1)

[ Parent ]
Aha... (0.00 / 0)
Thanks jcsaunders - i thought i was probably missing something.

I was very surprised that Mollohan lost Marion....Hell, i was surprised by a lot of things this past Tuesday. Apparently, i was using my own thumb to check the political pulse of the area this time around.....I may be the only one that was blindsided by Oliverio's success.  

[ Parent ]
Clarksburg Exponent = RIGHT WING (0.00 / 0)
As soon as Obama was elected, John Miller  (aka Reverend Miller) began plastering the front page with any and all bad news that he could muster. He even took good things and put a bad spin on them. When recent reports showed the economy improving, he wrote an editorial stating that this was cyclical and had nothing to do with any of Obama's policies. Not only does the Reverend Miller use his newspaper for a bully pulpit, but he also gets to act as judge and jury as to which editorials get into the newspaper. Guess what happens if he doesn't agree with you? You got it. Therefore, anyone wanting to write an editorial to defend Mollohan would be wasting his time.  
[ Parent ]
Clarksburg Exponent Telegram (4.00 / 1)
Now this is one of the culprits. The EP is the worst local newspaper I have ever read, and I am the kind of guy who reads local papers on my travels. They hate Clarksburg and the only thing controversial they will write about is the sniping at Clarkburg City Council meetings. Really productive and community supporting stuff -NOT!!

It has a horrible anti Clarkburg bias. It promotes all things Jim Christie (Bridgeport Mayor) and Dave Cutlip (Executive Director of the Harrison County Economic Development Authority -$ 2million/year budget). We have had to read about their Comvest bankruptcy in the Charleston Daily Mail. Comvest has helped underwrite every municipal/county bond deal within 1000 miles. Meanwhile, we will have to wait for the IRS to do their thing, which will take a while.  

How ironic that young journalist Billy Wolfe was writing for the EP before he went to the Daily Mail last year. Billy, how does it feel to actually be a journalist now??

People around Clarksburg are really getting fed up with the EP. Just shows how much money a newspaper makes even when it totally sucks.

The huge irony is that apparently the EP does not understand how pivotal it could be in a resurrection of downtown Clarksburg if it wanted to go in that dierection. They could be heros. As it is we are restrained by a bunch of Ohioans.    

[ Parent ]
Billy Wolfe (0.00 / 0)
did some excellent investigative journalism for the Exponent back when the Clarksburg Water Treatment plant was dumping toxic frac solution laden water into the West Fork River for a $300K per year payoff from local drilling companies. In respect to bad press, events such as the frac water debacle did little to help Clarksburg's image. The city council was warned repeatedly that the water was toxic and the practice should be discontinued and it took months before they would even consider acting on it. One city councilman even threatened an increase in taxes if the water disposal was halted. The city council also has a problem with secrecy and failure to follow through on FOIA requests. Although the local "newspaper" is responsible for a lot of 'bad press', Clarksburg and it's city council are responsible for creating a lot of their own problems. That said, they can't hold a candle to Grafton.
[ Parent ]
OFA (0.00 / 0)
OFA doesnt even have a rep in WVa anymore. They dont give 2 shits about West Virginia voters, guys. And why would they?  
Yes they do and they never left. (0.00 / 0)
The organizer is a very committed WV woman who has been on the job here for the last couple of years. We have regular meetings and events In fact we are having a meeting this Saturday May 15 from 10-3 in Wheeling, although we have meetings all over the 1st CD. Members of this group aqlso belong to North Central WV DFA, Progressive Democrats of WV, etc. if it sounds like somethign you would be interested in email at the address in the previous comment.  
[ Parent ]
uhmmm (0.00 / 0)
If you're talking about Mrs. S.M., last I knew she's not paid by OFA, she's paid by the WV Dem party.

The Dean 50-state strategy was about helping make sure state parties had someone like her in every CD.

The Kaine/OFA strategy is about... well, I'm not sure.

[ Parent ]
No (4.00 / 1)
someone else. See my email to you.
[ Parent ]
Along these same lines, it is a sad day indeed when (4.00 / 3)
the UMWA has to sue for transparency from MSHS in a Dem administration.  A lot of Dems would just as soon write us and the entire South off.  And yes, we get lumped in with the South.  Someone on Kos explained it to me in excruciating detail.

I have found myself in very uncomfortable situations several times at "progressive" events when people, who have moved here, start talking about the locals, assuming all progressives have moved here and aren't homegrown.

My guess is Oliverio will not reach out.  He's comfortable with his stance on issues and I've never known him to compromise.  It's certainly no secret who he is or what he  stands for.  He's a smart guy too, he learned a lot in his SOS run.  He pissed off every old person in the state and they obviously got over it.  He doesn't mind pissing off the party either.  Due to some oversight the Senate has to vote for Earl Ray Tomblin to take over in case something happens to the governor.  Oliverio voted no.

About 75% or more (4.00 / 3)
of DFA's membership is composed of "locals". Same with OFA. Some others, like me have been here for 30 years long - enough to learn what is going on.
[ Parent ]
ditto (4.00 / 1)
and here is another one!
[ Parent ]
it's sad that we already know more about GOM incident (4.00 / 2)
Than we do about the Upper Big Branch one.
[ Parent ]
From a Voter (0.00 / 0)
I am a District 1 voter and while am sure some voters were pursuaded by Fox News et al, it was not the throw the bums out mentality that really hurt Congressman Mollohan. It was simply that the greed and arrogance he developed after 28 years caught up with him.  

For the longest time, we could overlook Cong. Mollohan's skimming some off the top, but we thought it was nickle and dime stuff.

But somewhere along the line, Cong. Mollohan stopped showing up in WV to visit with the people. For quite a while, he has been seen only at announcements of a large earmark grant or ribbon cutting for one of the large projects he helped. He has shown an interest in Clarksburg recently which was missing the previous 10 years or so.
(I recently had a conversation with the Congressman about financial reform whcih disturbed me greatly). But it did not work.

We have had a difficult time substantively communicating with the Congressman since he had no email address and you could never get someone to answer the phone at his office.

After the news came out in 2006 about the  investigations into the unexplained growth of his financial portfolio, we became very disillusioned with him, but it took until 2010 for someone to have the cojones to go up against him.  

Mike Oliverio may be a little more conservative than Mollohan ( Mollohan does love the military-industrial complex), but I cannot tell you how many times I have run into him around West Virginia. Heck, I even ran into him in Indianapolis at the Final Four last month.  Oliverio is not pompous and is truly accessible. I believe that he will end up voting with the Democratic majority most of the time.

Maybe he will nake a differnce. We will see.

   

Clarksburger (0.00 / 0)
Thank you adding your view from the district.

I'm curious... you seem pretty certain that Oliverio will win. I'm thinking it could be a really close race unless Oliverio can motivate more of the Dem base.

On the other side, though, now that Mollohan is out do you think your Republican neighbors will still be motivated to get out and vote in Nov for their guy?

[ Parent ]
Reply (0.00 / 0)
We still have the UMWA in North Central WV. We also have fairly active local Democratic machines too.

Besides, The High Tech Corridor still needs earmarks to survive and McKinley aint gonna get em. Plus, Sen. Oliverio is originally from Fairmont.

I am not trying to defend Sem. Oliverio's positions. He probably does not need to tack to the left to win, he just needs to remain steady.

My point is that Mollahan lost long before the tea party came along. The Vandalia Foundation has been stinking up Clarksburg for a long time. Right or wrong, Vandalia Foundation and Mollahan have been synonomous terms. Vandalia's earmark money bought two prime properties in downtown Clarksburg (historic Waldo Hotel and present eyesore and Palace Furniture Building). Vandalia's ownership therof have turned out to be impediments to the development of downtown Clarksburg. A $5 million parking garage project meant to entice developers for the Waldo Hotel turned into a boondoggle for a few select downtown Clarksburg property owners (yes, Mollohan supporters) and started a permanent sniping contest between City and State governments. At least two development projects were stymied because Vandalia tried to squeeze more out of the parties at the last minute.   On Wednesday, Vandalia apparently gave up since it will get no more free money and it has been stripping pipe, etc out of the Waldo building non stop since.

Now that is leadership we can believe in?  Good Riddance
Congressman Mollohan.

I am happy to give Oliverio a try.

'  

[ Parent ]
Clarksburg and earmarks (4.00 / 3)
I know very little about what's going on in Clarksburg, so that's very interesting to hear.

I do know a lot more about how things work in Washington, DC and I hate to break the news to you... Oliverio isn't going to score many earmarks for WV-01 as long as he's bashing Pelosi on the campaign trail. He'll be frozen out of any decent committee assignments, given a crappy office, and will generally be in for a rather unpleasant welcome if he keeps running against his own party's leadership.

As much as I hate to make the case for a Republican candidate, the political reality is a freshman member in good standing in the minority party will have a better chance of getting spending earmarks than a freshman member in poor standing in the majority party.

No, that's not saying much as neither one of them are going to have much success at all compared to what Mollohan would bring in for WV-01. If money for the High Tech Corridor is your priority, you bet on the wrong horse.

[ Parent ]
Mollohan helped save jobs in Clarksburg when Lockheed (4.00 / 2)
was ready to transfer them to Johnstown, PA.  I really don't see ANY freshman congressman having enough influence to pull that off. As for the Clarksburg projects, the city council played a major hand in failing to see them through.

Glad to see him go? Well, Sarah Palin lovers are rejoicing in Oliverio's victory too.  

[ Parent ]
"A little more conservative"? (4.00 / 2)
When Mike Oliverio attended the Family Policy Council of West Virginia's summit, he lost my vote. A "little more conservative"? Nope. Mike Oliverio is akin to Jesse Helms and Jerry Falwell when it comes to social issues.

So, like I've said already, I'd rather have a Republican from Wheeling than a "Democrat" from Morgantown.

[ Parent ]
Let's get something straight (4.00 / 2)
there was no skimming off the top. A justice department/FBI investigation (Bush AND Obama) yielded NOTHING. NOTHING. There were no charges and the congressman was EXONERATED. It is time to dispense with the outright lies borne of Tom Delay and Karl Rove and perpetuated by the Oliverio campaign. It doesn't have to come from Fox to be a lie.

You say you had trouble reaching Mollohan's office. That may be true especially during the healthcare vote or some other important vote, but I have called his office at least once a week and visited the Clarksburg office often. I have his staff to be receptive and willing to listen and well able to pass on letters and faxes to the DC office. I have received a written reply to every message I have left for the congressman and it was not always a form letter.

The assertion that Mollohan has no email address is patently false. In addition to an email address, there is also a form on his congressional webpage that allows constituents to contact him with their questions and concern.

I do agree with you that he has not been visible in the area much in the last couple of years. However, I did not feel that it was sufficient reason to not vote for him. He is/has been doing a good job of representing the 1st CD.

It is also highly inaccurate that Mollohan "loves the military industrial complex" since he is on record as opposing the unnecessary war in Iraq, along with Congressman Rahall and Senator Byrd.

Obviously one might run into Oliverio in the area since he lives and works in Morgantown and only works in Charleston 2 months of the year. I could also say that I have worked in Morgantown every day for the last 16 years and have never seen Mr. Oliverio until he attended a candidate forum a few weeks ago . . .

Mr. Oliverio may not be pompous or inaccessible, but he is no friend of the elderly, labor or the Constitution. He is most definitely a liar and most likely a Republican. There is little doubt that he will make a difference. It remains to be seen how detrimental that difference will be for the 1st CD.

[ Parent ]
very well said n/t (4.00 / 1)

[ Parent ]
reply (0.00 / 0)
My perceptions are my persceptions and experiences. Somewhere along the line the perceptions become reality. Apparently, a bunch of other voters became disenchanted with Mollohan like me.

To blame it on the negative advertising or the tea party movement is not telling the whole story.

Last time I checked, which was not in the last year or so, and the last time I tried to communicate with Mollohan, I had to send a letter via snail mail.

Mollohan has an office in Clarksburg??  Where the hell is it located?

Oops!! Heck, I see now he has a website much different from the one I saw a couple of years ago.

Too little, too late.      

[ Parent ]
True enough.... (0.00 / 0)
Somewhere along the line the perceptions become reality.

...and we can never let it happen again.
[ Parent ]
Clarksburg Office (4.00 / 2)
The congressman has had an office in Clarksburg, on the 2nd floor of the Post Office building since 1982.
[ Parent ]
Bizzare.... (4.00 / 2)
...More evidence of the smear job's success. Just finished going through this on DK, and here it is again. The republicans did their job well, eh?

Progressives had plenty of reasons to be dissatisfied with Mollohan... but the crap produced by the rove/bush DOJ workshop shouldn't have been among them.

Now, we're stuck with what we're stuck with....and facing a grim choice.

[ Parent ]
You must not knoow him (0.00 / 0)
Oliverio is pompous, and an elitist. He has never cast a vote for the common men and women. He favors corporations over people and dollars over just about everything else. Just wait....unless you are insanely wealthy or own a large business, he will NOT vote for things important to you.
[ Parent ]
Yes, I have a friend whose son interned under him and said (0.00 / 0)
he was arrogant and treated him like garbage.  
[ Parent ]
Rep. Alan Mollohan (WV-01) loses Democratic primary to State Sen. Mike Oliverio | 75 comments
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