West Virginia Blue
The Best Blogging Community in West Virginia Democratic politics, progressive policies, the good life and free living in Wild, Wonderful West Virginia.
Looking back over the site's history, I allowed the trolls too much leeway. Ironically, one of the commenters who often encouraged me to get rid of Republican trolls then became just as disruptive until he too was banned. The small number of people banned before the election weren't banned for advocating for the Mountain Party. When you look back at the archives you can see how many diaries they posted before they were banned. They were banned for making personal attacks on others and behaving trollishly.
Although I don't make the point very often, it says in the masthead what this site is about: "Democratic politics, progressive policies, the good life and free living in Wild, Wonderful West Virginia."
Since the new policy began, I think the level of the commentary, even when disagreements occurs, has improved tremendously.
I did some (major) re-arranging on the side bars today. It is still a work in progress. I ran out of time to finish, so it's just going to be stuck in mid-renovation for the rest of the day.
I'll put the blog roll back again later. I want to clean it up (there's a bunch of dead links), reorganize, and update it.
Meanwhile, let me know if there's anything broken.
Hoppy Kercheval, the so-called "Dean" of West Virginia political punditry:
West Virginia has a recent tradition of third party candidates in statewide races. Rarely have they made a difference in the outcome, but that could change this year in the U.S. Senate race.
It's self-evident that either Democrat Gov. Joe Manchin or Republican John Raese will win, but Mountain Party candidate Jesse Johnson and Constitution Party candidate Jeff Becker are also on the ballot.
snip
But if you split the difference and call the race even, and if Johnson can count on the base of the support he's built in the last two elections, then it's possible that the Mountain Party candidate will affect the outcome of this historic election.
Clem Guttata:
WV-SEN: Johnson won't break 3%. Probably not even 2%. I predict 52 Manchin / 45 Raese / 3 other
Actual results. 53.4 Manchin, 43.4 Raese, 1.9 Johnson, 1.2 Becker.
The story behind how the Rooster became a symbol of the Democratic Party seems highly relevant for today.
A reader emailed a question:
I'm a recent transplant to WV and would like to know why the Republican logo is an eagle and the Democrats' is a rooster on the ballot?
Bill Schleier
Just as Sen. Robert C. Byrd's nickname "Big Daddy" came from an ill-mannered rival's attempt to insult him and instead became a term of endearment for his supporters, the rooster became a symbol of the Democratic Party.
In West Virginia, where we have straight ticket voting, you'll have many old-school politicians encourage people to "Scratch the Rooster."
The Rooster is not just the symbol of the West Virginia Democratic Party, but of the national party.
In 1840, Democrats were down and a Democratic leader in Indiana had encouraged Democrats running for office to "crow" as though they were winning even though they weren't.
The Whigs seized upon it and jeered at a Democratic candidate for the Indiana legislature to "crow."
But what they meant as derision, quickly became a rallying cry for his supporters.
Strange to say, this idea of gameness, daring, or tenacity, expressed in the order "Crow, Chapman, Crow!" caught the popular fancy of the Democrats; they liked its ring. They were in sympathy with their leader, Mr. Chapman, and the expression "Crow, Chapman, Crow!" was taken by them as complimentary to their leader rather than a term of ridicule, as the Whigs had used it. Notwithstanding this avalanche of criticism, or the handwriting on the wall, of the parties approaching defeat, Joseph Chapman fought on, and while the Democracy went down in defeat in the National election, he was elected Representative to the Indiana Legislature.
The phrase spread and the rest is history.
There is a historical marker to the Rooster as Democratic symbol in Indiana.
As to why the Republicans use the Eagle as their symbol, I don't know. I would guess because they haven't had an original thought since President Lincoln's administration so they simply adopted the national symbol as their own.
I couldn't find the real story behind the Republican's use of the Eagle, but the Elephant symbolism is detailed here.
Basically even Republican cartoonist Thomas Nast realized Republicans are easily spooked like an elephant. That remains true today as we saw how quick they were to toss aside centuries of Constitutional rule to embrace torture and authoritarianism after the Sept. 11th attacks to try to ease their fears. Perhaps the new symbol of the Republican Party shouldn't be teabags, but a cry baby.
I remember before the last election you sent out an e-mail -- a 4th and Goal, Henry V at Agincourt burst of insight and inspiration -- do you have any more in you? I know we're all getting near the finish line and we're tired and the national news isn't making us feel any better. Will you reach deep and see what you can do?...
Fire Us Up!
Thanks!
Donn
...
You know what? When a Donn Marshall asks you to do something you give it your best shot.
Let me tell you about Donn Marshall. I wish every elected official in this country was of Donn Marshall's caliber. I am not alone in thinking that.
I would single out first and foremost (Donn's) demonstrated personal integrity and moral courage... He is energetic and purposeful, knows how to plan and implement, has shown an unusual capacity for working with people of differing backgrounds ... and has a keen sense for what is important.
Samuel V. Wilson Lieutenant General, U.S. Army - Ret.President Emeritus, Hampden-Sydney
Donn Marshall worked for the Defense Intelligence Agency as a civilian analyst on the Southeast Asia drug trade. His wife also worked for the DIA and on Sept. 11th, 2001, she was among those killed at the Pentagon.
Donn could have let his grief take over. He was widowed with two young children. He came to West Virginia and found a home here for them.
But he has done more than that. He's gotten involved, founding a charity in his wife's memory to help others. I have seen him volunteer to help other campaigns and this time he is running himself for state delegate.
There is not a candidate any where who has worked harder to be a public servant. I've walked to the post office and run into him. I've seen him going door to door and I've seen him working events. He has seemingly been everywhere in the district.
And in all the times I've run across him, he always had a smile on his face. He always took time to listen to the people.
I saw him today at the Berkeley County Democratic Headquarters. He looked tired.
This is a candidate who is leaving it all on the field.
I know many of you are tired. Some of our candidates have left us disappointed and the odds we face seem overwhelming.
Many of you have been out there day after day week after week month after month.
Too many of us have been punched, kicked, curb stomped, brutally detained and all for standing up for democracy and the nation.
We're told we're fighting a lost cause, that the odds are overwhelmingly against us.
I've said it before and I'll say it again:
It is not the size of the dogs in the fight that matters, it's the size of the fight in the dogs.
We took on the news media, too many of our own Democratic strategists, and often our family and friends and we held our ground.
We cannot give up. There is too much at stake.
Forget the polls. In all of those historical endeavors I listed above, from the bridge at Concord to the segregated deep South, the odds were overwhelmingly against those who achieved incredible victories.
Those of you who are active, keep going. Those of you not active, get involved in any way that you can.
Those people with you at your local campaign office or at the rally or canvassing across the street, those people are your brothers and sisters. If you are weary, remember them. If you are discouraged because of your last phone call or the door you knocked, remember them. If the news has you too down, remember them. Let them lift you up as on the wings of eagles.
You are not campaigning for the candidates, you are campaigning for them.
You are campaigning for the Donn Marshalls of the world.
We have done the impossible before and that made us mighty. And it is time for us to do it again.
Progressive, independent-minded West Virginians considering to vote for a candidate other than Democratic Gov. Joe Manchin for U.S. Senate, should pay heed to what U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders is doing:
Yet Sanders will do all he can to help Democrats win this fall, and therein lies the paradox for progressives. It's true that many on the left are frustrated with White House calls for them to buck up and grow up. Jane Hamsher, who blogs at Firedoglake, sees the administration's taunts as setting up the left as a "fall guy" if Democrats lose.
But progressives keenly understand how much their aspirations would be set back if an increasingly right-wing Republican Party won one or both houses this fall.
That's why liberal blogs are rallying behind scores of Democratic candidates. It's why the "enthusiasm gap" about this year's election is slowly closing. It's why labor and civil rights groups have organized their One Nation Working Together march this Saturday. (And, yes, it's another sign of Fox News' continuing ability to set the mainstream media agenda that you have heard far less about this rally than you did about Glenn Beck's.)
I was for Ken Hechler for U.S. Senate before he even announced. Now I'm for Gov. Joe Manchin even though I strongly oppose him on many of his positions. The reason is because I can find more common ground with Manchin than I can with Republican John Raese. And the reality is a protest vote against Manchin for Mountain Party perennial candidate Jesse Johnson might as well be a vote for Raese in the tight race.
There are many I know and respect who don't want to vote for Manchin because of what he did in 1996 after losing to Charlotte Pritt or because he supports mountaintop removal and other conservative positions. But many of those same people have supported and voted for Sen. Robert C. Byrd *, Rep. Nick Rahall, Sen. Jay Rockefeller, for holding the same views on mountain top removal as Manchin.
So it really seems to come down are you willing to take a chance of giving up Democratic control of the U.S. Senate because Manchin was wrong 14 years ago in not supporting Charlotte Pritt's gubernatorial bid?
Sadly, even his strongest supporters do not think the Mountain Party candidate has a chance of winning. Both third-party candidates combined are drawing in the low single digits in polls. But the Mountain Party candidate's supporters advocate to vote for him not because he's a viable candidate who has a real chance of winning and promote progressive causes, but because it's a vote against Manchin.
Considering how much damage the Republicans could do to the country again, that seems like a lot of misery to inflict on the poor, the needy, the national economy and progressives everywhere in order to have that satisfaction against Manchin. Because those are the people who would be punished. Manchin would remain in the governor's mansion and simply run again for Senate in the future. Meanwhile Raese would be in the Senate, possibly joining a Republican majority, working to privatize Social Security, and end the minimum wage, gut workplace safety regulations and abolish any environmental protections. How long would it be until a Republican-led Senate launched investigations into Obama's birth certificate?
Manchin may be far to my right on many policies, but Raese is by his own words an angry man with an extremist agenda.
We can, and should, do even more to build up support for progressive policies inside and outside of the Democratic party. I hope everyone who is advocating for third-party candidates today return on November 3 to do just that.
This site has advocated against mountaintop removal and other egregious policies week after week for years. Many of us here didn't show up just weeks before an election to do so.
Meanwhile, I'm going to be be doing everything I can to keep a Democratic majority in Congress to support President Obama. I hope you'll join me.
You may remember me from the late Capitol Hill News Open Thread with the very capable and newly graduated with advance degree Casual Wednesday. Now another kossack, jlms qkw, asked for volunteers for this series.
It will be my honor to contribute. The woozle has gone and fallen for a troop.
We are waiting for them all to come home. I'll share a story from my spouse's family tomorrow.
(This was written for Orange. Forgive me for all their links)
Up there in our blog header it reads, "Democratic politics, progressive policies, the good life and free living in Wild, Wonderful West Virginia." Most of that sentence is self-explanatory, yet every now and then someone asks, "what exactly makes someone a progressive?"
I don't have a good short answer to that question, but I am glad to share a longer answer from The Commonweal Institute They did a study on "What Do Progressives Believe?" (PDF). Here's the executive summary of that study (I added the numbering):
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:
1) Support for the term "progressive" has increased over time.
2) 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.
3) Progressives are protective of civil liberties.
4) When asked to choose between equality and freedom a majority of progressives say that equality is more important.
5) Progressive tend to support government efforts to safeguard the environment.
6) Progressives are less religious on average than other ideological groups.
7) Progressives tend to be unwilling to tolerate government regulation of morality.
8) Progressives tend to have positive views of immigrants.
9) Progressives are committed to diplomacy as the cornerstone of foreign policy.
10) Progressives tend to be better educated and to earn more money than the average respondent.
11) Progressive identification is most popular with respondents under the age of 50 and men.
12) Progressives pay a great deal of attention to politics.
Overall, I think this is a pretty accurate description of what I see as progressive policies.
Key issues for me include economic policies related to regulation of corporate excesses and policies to reduce income inequality (e.g., #2), protections of civil liberties (#3), marriage equality and other forms of non-discrimination (#4), environmental safeguards (#5), keeping government out of the bedroom (#7), welcoming immigration policies (#8), diplomacy over guns (#9), and a believe in the value of citizen engagement (#12).
How about you, what do you think of when you someone calls themselves a progressive Democrat? What does it mean to you to be a progressive?
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