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by The Rufus
Senator Tomblin's pretend reign over the State needs to come to an end. Phil Kabler calls it a lust for power. I have heard others call it disrespectful and some call it delusional. The Rufus calls it dangerous and thinks most reasonable people would agree, when they really give it some thought, that Senator Tomblin could do the State a great deal of harm as he pretends to be Governor- a special election must be held as soon as possible.
After the last election there was a great deal of political fatigue and people, when asked, were not quite ready to go another round. The Rufus sympathizes with those people but hopes they remember that our brave men and women fighting overseas for our democracy don't get to take a break just because they are fatigued. Our soldiers are risking their lives so that we can exercise this freedom and it is offensive that we dishonor them by saying we are too annoyed to have an election.
What about the cost? You hear people saying the cost of this election is such that we can't afford it. Frankly, that is BS. Senator Tomblin is proposing tax cuts left and right, teacher and state employee pay bonuses, and several other initiatives that cost tens of millions of dollars. This is not to say that those issues should not be addressed but they need to be addressed by someone we have all elected to make those proposals. Furthermore, according to the Secretary of State's Office, the special election primary cost around $3 million. Extrapolating from that, a special election and primary for governor would cost about $6 million. Nothing to sneeze at but a small price to pay to have the people select their leader.
What about uncertainty in governance? I never bought this argument but those that make have to admit that the lack of certainty now is ten times greater than that if we had an elected Governor. This entire process has been a joke.
Separation of powers? This has been a true joke. Tomblin tried to have his cake and eat it too when he was pushing the status quo in the WV Senate. Tomblin only capitulated when it was obvious to everyone that he could not even muster the votes he needed to block the new leadership in the body he is currently President over (what leadership). This mistake by Tomblin will likely be the straw that breaks the camel's back for the Supreme Court when they order the Legislature to make arrangements for a special election.
Leading without being the leader? You better believe it. All these initiatives proposed by Tomblin are without legitimacy as much as they are without details. Tomblin is promising a little bit to everyone to try to win over their support and hold off an election. It is deplorable. You hear about vote buying in WV but doing so in a faux State of the State? Wow. All these big money promises with tax cuts and bonuses fall on deaf ears Senator. These issues, and others, need to be addressed, which is all the more reason to have an election sooner rather than later.
This all comes down to a joke of a power grab by a Logan County Senator. Tomblin is not the legitimate leader of the State but he is trying to act like it. It is offensive that he is trying to disregard the "act as" designation and even more offensive that he has not called a special election. Governing is hard enough when you are elected. It is impossible when you are not. As a result, West Virginia is currently in a leadership vacuum and Senator Tomblin should "act as" a leader and "put West Virginia first" by setting up a process for a special election in the next couple months. |
