Following a loss of Republican members in the House, Republicans chose the true gentleman of the legislature, Tim Armstead, as their leader. Although Delegate Armstead may be more socially conservative than his predecessor, this choice brings with it continuity.
What has dramatically changed is the Democrat leadership in the House of Delegates. Richard Thompson as Speaker of the House puts back-benchers in control. Immediately following the Democratic caucus when Thompson was chosen, a supporter announced to the media, "the inmates have taken over the asylum."
The trial lawyers and labor unions had been successful in electing their candidates in the 2006 Democratic primary election. Then, in the general election, the gambling industry assisted the lawyers and unions in defeating Republican legislators.
Gov. Joe Manchin spent some of his political capital in this effort to defeat Republicans. By doing this, he diminished his potential legacy.
The legislature had made progress prior to the Manchin administration. We built upon that progress during his administration's first two years. That effort is now at a standstill. The governor is left bragging about accomplishments that occurred during the end of the Wise administration and during the beginning of his.
Unfortunately, West Virginia is still considered one of the worst places to do business. Will there be more progress to reform our state?
When we pushed Gov. Bob Wise into passing medical liability reform because doctors were fleeing the state, what was this new Democratic leadership doing? The new Speaker of the House and his supporters were fighting reform. These trial lawyer legislators were trying to protect their piece of the victim's award.
When we forced Gov. Wise to reform the most broken worker's compensation system in the country, what were the new Speaker and his leadership team doing? They were fighting against reforming the fraudulent system that the labor unions supported.
Then under Gov. Manchin, when we passed insurance reforms that have resulted in lower home and auto insurance premiums over the past two years, where were they? Delegate Richard Thompson and his followers were fiercely fighting these reforms. We helped you, the consumer. The trial-lawyer legislators were fighting to protect their own wallets.
We kept casino gambling just out of reach of the gambling industry. That was then; you know the rest.
The current leadership in the House had opposed the positive reforms that had been so overdue yet difficult to achieve. It seems inevitable to lose that positive momentum.
Now, the governor will not have to challenge himself by taking political risks in order to reform the state. Observers understand that the current West Virginia Legislature is unlikely to be receptive to further reform. They may not comprehend that the governor had a hand in creating this situation.
It must be comfortable for a Democratic governor to know that he won't have to stand up to the labor unions or trial lawyers. At the same time, he gets a pass from the business community that must guard itself from losing ground. Efforts from the House of Delegates now seem focused on making it easier to unionize the work place.
With his popularity sky high, there is hardly any pressure on Gov. Manchin to produce results. What a shame for his legacy to rest upon the laurels of his first two years. What a waste.
CINDY FRICH is a former, two-term, Republican member of the state's House of Delegates. She can be reached via e-mail at opinion@dominionpost.com.