WV Politics - Not for Sale
For the first time since I’ve been voting in the primaries, WV is going to have a say in the presidential primaries.
This means that for the first time in years, lots people are going to actually be voting in the state and local primaries.
Which is why I would like to point out that Chief Justice Elliot “Spike” Maynard is up for reelection this year. (Yes, WV elects supreme court justices. That’s another subject entirely.) Previously, I had no problems with Spike Maynard. But that was before his ties to Don Blankenship became public knowledge.
Who is Don Blankenship?
He is an out of state coal baron who spent millions of his own money in an attempt to put his own people in WV politics. Luckily, last election this backfired. Unfortunately, he’d already bought a seat on the Supreme Court.
Before you think he’s just some guy who is interested in WV politics because he works in the state, this is a man who assaulted an ABC reporter. “If you’re going to start taking pictures of me, you’re liable to get shot“. He helps to run non-union mines that have had a high number of fatal accidents in recent years. And ran a nasty campaign under the aegis of for the sake of the kids when he had in fact no interest in helping WV children. “You talk about the silo near the Marsh Fork School as if it were a negative. You should know that the silo, if anything, is an improvement for the school.”
So yeah, I think local politics are pretty important. And although we haven’t heard anything from Blankenship so far, we need to keep in mind who his friends are, and make sure they don’t end up helping to run the state.
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April 24th, 2008 at 8:22 am
At some point I am going to have one of you guys explain the concept of your political system to me. The whole idea of an “election” that runs for what seems like 2 years is confusing. Or at least confusing to me. I do agree with your statement that you do need to keep an eye on not only the candidates, but their “associates” as well.
April 24th, 2008 at 8:37 am
Well, I hate the fact the primary has gone on for so long, so you’ll only get a really cranky explanation from me on that subject. :)
The primary season for WV politics has only been going on for the past 3 or 4 weeks. Which is plenty reasonable I think.
As far as this rant, if one doesn’t know the history of WV, one might not understand why Blankenship is so troubling. If you go back a century, WV mines were owned by out-of-state coal barons who used the land and the men without care for either. Typically men were paid in script that could only be used at the company store, conditions were deplorable, and one lived and worked at the whim of the mine owner.
This lead to the mine wars, which were an ugly and troubling time in state history (see Matewan), and is one of the reasons that WV is and has been poverty stricken for so long.
So when people like Don Blankenship come in and start treating the state like a personal fiefdom–like a land that can be bought and sold at their whim, and who treat their workers more like chattel than humans… well, I get upset.
April 24th, 2008 at 10:23 am
I hate that judges are elected instead of appointed. At least, in this case, you know something about the guy. I always find myself standing in the booth looking at the names of folks running for judge and say, “Who the fuck is this guy…or that one.” I always abstain.
April 24th, 2008 at 2:44 pm
Kim: I
attempted to explain it to non-USians a while back on my blog (since my non-UCF audience has a high proportion of non-USians). Lemme know if that helps, and if it doesn’t please tell me so I can add clarifications.
April 24th, 2008 at 5:56 pm
Thanks..I am off to take a look!
September 1st, 2008 at 10:07 pm
[...] I agree with little they stand for, and on a state and local level the party is just horrible, with many members taking money from Don Blankenship. [...]