West Virginia Blue
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(Reposted in case you missed it the first time. - promoted by Clem Guttata)
By Clem Guttata
Coal CEOs get political representation, what about the rest of us?
Logan County Commission President Art Kirkendoll requested a meeting and he got it. Michael Browning reported (emphasis mine):
Kirkendoll has asked Gov. Joe Manchin for a meeting with him, commission presidents from Lincoln, Boone, Mingo and Kanawha counties, the EPA, the Division of Environmental Protection, Congressman Nick Rahall, Congresswoman Shelley Moore Capito, representatives from U.S. senators Robert C. Byrd and Jay Rockefeller's offices and officials from the coal industry.
Today at 3 p.m., the group will meet privately in the governor's office to discuss coal's future and the economic impact it has on the state and nation.
"This meeting was way overdue to have all the major coal producers' officials together with the EPA and the DEP, the congressional people and the commission presidents from the five major coal-producing counties that spend the money and try to create activities on coal tax," Kirkendoll said. "Everybody that has a stake in what we do will be there. Instead of each of us writing letters, I wanted to get us all together - the people who are investing their money, who are spending the money, the people who are making laws and making the rules - so that we can ask how do we a qualify permits that are solid and work. I sent the governor a letter and he thought it was a great idea so he put the meeting together."
Kirkendoll doesn't think anyone downstream has a stake in coal mining. He doesn't think it matters that we drink the same water, breath the same air, or--point of fact--actually pay for the electricity that makes that coal valuable.
...the list of expected attendees includes Massey Energy President Don Blankenship, CONSOL Energy CEO Brett Harvey and International Coal Group President Ben Hatfield. Two members of Congress will be there, as will county commissioners from the state's major coal producing counties, and top officials from a dozen or more other coal companies. It's a big deal to get all those folks in the same room, and it seems like the public ought to know what is said.
With enough twists to fill a pretzel factor, Gov. Manchin and his communications director, Matt Turner, said there was no need to invite potential critics of coal mining practices because:
"the meeting is not about environmental regulations." (AP - via)
"This is not about the environment. This is about the economic plight the (coalfield local government officials) are being put in." (source)
The meeting happened this afternoon outside the Governor's Mansion in a party tent literally bought and paid for by coal industry donors, (I kid you not... you couldn't make this stuff up) and was followed by a press conference.
Nov. 10, 2009 - CHARLESTON, W.Va. - Gov. Joe Manchin, joined by West Virginia elected officials: U.S. Sen. Jay Rockefeller, Congressman Nick Joe Rahall, Congresswoman Shelley Moore Capito, Senate President Earl Ray Tomblin, House Speaker Rick Thompson and various other state leaders, county commissioners, representatives from the coal industry and labor met to discuss the future of coal in West Virginia during a press conference. Photos by: Steven W. Rotsch
West Virginia political leaders promised Tuesday to speak "with one voice" to clarify the Obama administration's proposals to more strictly regulate mountaintop removal coal mining.
Gov. Joe Manchin, Sen. Jay Rockefeller, and Reps. Nick J. Rahall and Shelley Moore Capito said they would join forces to seek a high-level White House meeting to raise coal industry concerns about tougher permit reviews instituted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
"It's about the economy of West Virginia," Manchin said at a news conference after a two-hour, closed-door meeting with industry leaders. "We're just trying to find that balance right now."
I'd like someone to ask Gov. Manchin what it is that he's trying to "balance"? As far as I can tell, "balance" is his code word for stopping any tighter environmental regulation enforcement.
Coal company CEOs have been guaranteed a voice in Washington. The Gov. of West Virginia, Sen. Rockefeller, Rep. Rahall and Rep. Capito stood at a podium this afternoon and promised to speak "with one voice" in Washington, DC on their behalf.
The citizens of West Virginia did not elect these officials to represent coal company executives, they serve to represent us all.
What is good for Don Blankenship is not what is good for all of West Virginia. What is good for CONSOL Energy CEO Brett Harvey is not what is good for all of West Virginia (just ask the residents of the Dunkard Creek watershed). What is good for International Coal Group President Ben Hatfield is not what is good for all of West Virginia.
We need political leaders who will lead for all West Virginians, not political followers catering to the needs of coal company CEOs. We need political leaders who will ask not what they can do for coal, but what they can do for West Virginia. We need political leaders who can honor both our heritage and our future.
Manchin finds it impossible to miss an opportunity to find issues with administration policies and attempt to distance himself from President Obama in the eyes of right wing West Virginia voters. He makes a big deal out of the administration requiring religious based hospitals and other institutions to provide contraceptive information and care free of charge even if same is contrary to their religious beliefs. Read about it here.
Abortion and Right to Life have been right wing issues for decades, and truly have no place in our political arena. Now Joe Manchin has gone one more step down the road in supporting right wing causes. The Republicans want a West Virginia Senator with an R after his name. Joe is certainly doing everything he can to accomodate them.
Remember when people in Charleston made fun of how often Sen. John Unger (D) would bring up Mother Teresa? That's how many of us feel about how often Sen. Joe Manchin whenever he misuses and overuses the words "common sense."
Does Sen. Joe Manchin support creating jobs or not?
Will Manchin stand by working families or the Koch brothers? In 2012, Manchin is going to need the votes of West Virginians and the Koch brothers don't vote here.
A vote against the Jobs Bill will imperil Manchin's reelection chances. Via John Cole, the Washington Post has an article on the popularity of the Jobs Bill] and the risk to Democrats voting against it:
The White House and Dems have been railing against Republicans for opposing the jobs bill, but if a few Senate Dems defect, and a simple majority of the Senate doesn't support it, that will dilute the Dem message that Republicans are the key obstacle to progress on the economy.
But Greenberg's case for voting for the bill went significantly beyond this concern about overall party messaging. He argued that moderate Democrats who vote against it are actually imperiling their own reelection chances.
"They reduce their risks for reelection by showing support for a jobs bill that's going to be increasingly popular as voters learn more about it," Greenberg said. "They have to be for something on the economy, and this the kind of proposal they should support. If I were advising them, I'd say you want to be backing a jobs bill with middle class tax cuts paid for by tax hikes on millionaires. Moderate voters in these states very much want to raise taxes on the wealthy to meet our obligations."
Crucially, Greenberg pointed out that if moderate Dems are hoping to show distance from the President and his low approval numbers by voting against the jobs bill, they run another risk: Dem disunity on the economy could backfire on them.
"Voting No would increase their risk of losing," Greenberg said bluntly. "Democrats would look divided on their central agenda. In the end you all go down with the ship here. Why would you send Democrats back to the Senate if they are divided on the most important issue facing people? Here you can show unity and purpose, which Democrats have not had an opportunity to do during budget negotiations."
Greenberg dismissed concerns about Obama's overall numbers. "It's a long time until the election, and the presient's standing can go up," he said. "If the Democrats are divided and have a weak vote on the jobs bill, then moderates will only hurt themselves."
Republican John Raese hurt himself by appearing to want to represent millionaires more than West Virginians.
If Manchin wants to claim millionaires need those tax loop holes because they're "job creators" he should answer this:
Where's all the jobs those "job creators" have created?
A no-vote by Manchin on the Jobs Bill will make him appear as out of touch with West Virginians as Raese did.
Update
Senator Manchin came through on this vote, though the Republicans succeeded in filibustering. Republicans are opposed to job creation because they see their best chance for electoral success is to keep the economy down. As Republican Senator Mitch McConnell said, the No. 1 goal of the Republicans is to defeat President Obama, not to revive the economy and get people back to work.
President Manchin has made it perfectly clear that he does not support the "Obama Jobs Bill". As reported by Joselyn King in the Wheeling Intelligencer/News-Register
Sen. Joe Manchin says there's "good, bad and ugly" in the jobs bill proposed by President Barack Obama, and what he sees is mostly ugly. Manchin, D-W.Va., noted the tremendous cost of the Obama jobs bill - estimated at $450 billion - and the many policies set forth in the bill that already were tried unsuccessfully in the past. "I listened respectfully to the president give his speech ... on the jobs proposal," Manchin said. "I think we all can agree we need to do something about jobs in this county, but I have some serious reservations about his proposals that night in his speech.
Manchin is now an official member of the expanded Gang of Six headed up by Saxby Chambliss and our neighboring Senator Mark Warner. You can find his name on the list of 38 byclicking here.
Taxes are now lower than ever if not non-existent for everybody, and no one want to use an increase in revenue to solve our deficit issue. Manchin has certainly done nothing to offer a workable solution to our job crisis.
Manchin also questioned the $50 billion to extend unemployment benefits under the plan, and wonders if government funds wouldn't be better spent training the workforce for jobs.
"I know right now we could hire in West Virginia - for good mining jobs - about 700 people," he said. "I talked to another person with a repair shop - he said he could hire 25.
"So for all those people who have expended all their extensions for unemployment - if we're going to continue an unemployment compensation - it should be done in the most compassionate way to make sure we are training for the jobs in West Virginia. If we don't do that, then we haven't done any good for anybody," he said.
Hey Joe... if there are 725 unfilled jobs in West Virginia do something to help fill those jobs if they indeed exist.
He needs to either be a Democrat or a Republican his so called bi-partisan approach to the right wing is unbearable, and it is pretty obvious no one is available to primary him.
Senator Manchin... has no concept of reality. He evidently thinks like a tea bagger. He is right there with the nut cases spouting gibberish that could destroy our country.
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) isn't just breaking ranks with his party on Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s plan to raise the debt ceiling, he can't support Speaker John Boehner’s proposal either.
Neither plan, Manchin said, will solve the nation’s fiscal problems. He suggested that spending cuts needed to be closer to $4 trillion over a decade, like Standard and Poor’s has called for. And the short-term nature of Boehner’s proposal only risks further uncertainty and stalemate down the road, the freshman senator said.
“Each falls far short, whether it’s in time or dollars,” Manchin said. “The truth is, both of the plans being discussed … do not really solve the nation’s long-term fiscal problems as presented.”
Hey Joe the clock is ticking and time is running out
tate Supreme Court Justice Robin Davis says she will seek reelection next year.
While she admits she considered other options, including a possible challenge to U.S. Senator Joe Manchin in the Democrat Primary Election in 2012, Justice Davis says she has decided she wants to stay on the Court.
"I think I would better serve the State of West Virginia and the people of West Virginia doing what I do best which is working with the law," Davis said as she made the announcement on Wednesday's MetroNews Talkline.
Gaston Caperton. Gaston Caperton to the courtesy phone please.
I'm Regan Bartley. My small business now has 39 stores in the region that employ 250 people. And I need your help.
Every day, over three-fifths of our customers use plastic, and when they do, we're charged a "swipe fee." We understand the principle involved in paying a small fee for this convenience. But with a credit card duopoly the fees have skyrocketed unaccountably, and small business has felt the pinch.
Small businesses are currently plagued with swipe fees. These swipe fees are accrued when customers use a debit or credit card for a purchase. Big banks and credit card companies charge an "interchange cost" on each purchase to process the transaction. Swipe fees can add up quickly, especially for small business owners.
I am one of these small business owners. Whenever someone comes into one of my stores and uses a debit or credit card to make a purchase, I - along with all other business owners - must pay a swipe fee. To add insult to injury, even if the item purchased is just a few dollars, the fee paid out to big banks can actually wipe out any profit I would have made on the purchase.
For most small business owners, swipe fees account for the largest expense right behind payroll and healthcare. The big banks and credit card companies that taxpayers bailed out just a few years ago have had a stronghold on the interchange system, enabling them to charge out-of-control fees that continue increasing. The situation has become increasingly grim for small business owners as these swipe fees have close-to tripled over the past decade.
Last summer, there was light at the end of the tunnel. Legislators took action to alleviate this unfair fee on businesses and passed common-sense swipe fee reform to rein in these excessive fees, and ensure that they are reasonable and proportional to the actual cost of each transaction.
Here's why it's impossible to take Sen. Joe Manchin (Coal) and others seriously when he talks about cutting the deficit by cutting spending but not raising taxes.
the fact remains: the economic downturn, President Bush's tax cuts and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq explain virtually the entire deficit over the next ten years (see Figure 1).
The deficit for fiscal year 2009 - which began more than three months before President Obama's inauguration - was $1.4 trillion and, at 10 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the largest deficit relative to the economy since the end of World War II. At $1.3 trillion and nearly 9 percent of GDP, the deficit in 2010 was only slightly lower. If current policies remain in place, deficits will likely resemble those figures in 2011 and hover near $1 trillion a year for the next decade.
The events and policies that pushed deficits to these high levels in the near term were, for the most part, not of President Obama's making. If not for the Bush tax cuts, the deficit-financed wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the effects of the worst recession since the Great Depression (including the cost of policymakers' actions to combat it), we would not be facing these huge deficits in the near term. By themselves, in fact, the Bush tax cuts and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan will account for almost half of the $20 trillion in debt that, under current policies, the nation will owe by 2019. The stimulus law and financial rescues will account for less than 10 percent of the debt at that time.
Instead of attempting to close Planned Parenthood, if West Virginia for Life was really for West Virginia or for LIFE, it would be pushing to increase spending on maternal and child health care servcies.
NEW YORK (AP) -- The best place in the world to be a mom is Norway, where maternal and child mortality rates are low, women's life expectancy and years in school are high, and the average maternity leave is about one year, a new study measuring the well-being of mothers and babies shows.
Australia and Iceland join Norway at the top of Save the Children's 12th annual Mothers Index, released Tuesday. Afghanistan comes in last, and the United States places 31st.
snip
It said the U.S. and other industrialized nations could do more to improve education and health care for their own disadvantaged mothers and children.
The survey noted that the United States came in at 31 mainly because its maternal mortality rate of 1 in 2,100 is among the highest of any industrialized nation.
Granted, we're about the only industrialized nation without that evil known as "socialized medicine" so there is that. So we're saved from that even if it means people die as a consequence.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Legislation backed by Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., will prove disastrous for middle-class Americans and states like West Virginia, critics say.
snip
Ted Boettner, director of the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy, said CAP and related proposals will make "deep cuts in Social Security and Medicare that will impact thousands of West Virginia seniors. The CAP Act is a Trojan horse for radically redistributing wealth from the middle class to the rich."
Sean O'Leary, a policy analyst for the Center on Budget and Policy, released an "issue brief" on Wednesday stating, "While on the surface, the plan looks like a benign proposal to handle the federal deficit and debt, it would eventually lead to major cuts in Medicare, Medicaid and possibly Social Security."
CAP's broad proposals, O'Leary added, completely ignore major factors driving increased spending, such as our aging population and rising health care costs.
"Cuts to these programs are of particular concern in West Virginia, where we have 380,000 Medicare beneficiaries, 330,000 Medicaid beneficiaries and 436,000 Social Security beneficiaries.
Larry Matheney, secretary-treasurer of the West Virginia AFL-CIO, said, "I am terribly disappointed that Sen. Manchin would support a back-door approach to the Ryan budget plans. I don't view his proposal to create caps any differently than I look at GOP proposals to starve out safety-net programs."
I remember when he was governor, Joe Manchin would get upset about movies and commercials portraying West Virginians as stupid, backwards, ignorant hicks.
There's only two possibilities about Manchin's support of CAP on federal government spending. Either Manchin is being a stupid, backwards, ignorant hick now that he's in Washington, D.C., or he cynically thinks people back here in West Virginia are.
Now I don't think Manchin is an ignorant hick. That means he thinks we are.
While claiming he wants to protect Social Security and Medicare, he's supporting a program that will gut them.
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