Priorities

by: Carnacki

Mon Aug 22, 2011 at 10:37:45 AM EDT

McKinley now displays a nearly life sized poster purported to be a coal miner standing with his arm around his little girl at the front of his podium as he tours the district. He says that the poster also hangs in his Washington office so that people who stop in can see what WV is about. Odd, since he represents the economically diverse 1st CD, not the 3rd.

At an August 17 "town hall" in Clarksburg his opening statement included a lengthy statement on the EPA's War on Coal. When asked about the eighteen separate research studies that showed a correlation between MTR and birth defects, disease, and death, McKinley pointed to the picture and said that his main concern was "this man's job." When a constituent attempted to pin McKinley down on the statement by asking him if the man's health and his daughter's health were less important than jobs and corporate profits, a policeman was called in and remained throughout the town hall. McKinley said he needed more research and facts first. Clearly our Congressional delegation chooses to navigate by its own set of "facts", scientific research be damned.  

More important than profits is campaign contributors to these people. McKinley and the others in our congressional delegation including the Democrats could have a million scientific reports with rock solid data and analysis put in front of them but they'll claim there needs to be more research.