— Disputing state Democratic Chairman Nick Casey's assertion, two GOP delegates insisted Friday that coal mogul Don Blankenship never appeared before a Republican caucus in the House of Delegates with a plan to leave egg on the leadership's face with committee discharge votes they knew wouldn't get to first base.
Stopping Thursday in Beckley during a five-city flight to counter Blankenship's threatened campaign against Democrats, Casey accused the GOP of conspiring with Blankenship to embarrass the majority party with discharge votes.
Voting almost exclusively on party lines, the Democrat-run House rejected four bids to discharge committees last winter and bring key issues to the floor for votes. Casey suggested the moves were orchestrated by Blankenship and the GOP in the latter's caucus, mindful the Democrats wouldn't override committee decisions against sending out the marriage protection amendment, parental notification in abortion, electing Public Service Commission members and eliminating the 5 percent tax on groceries. "We did not allow Don Blankenship into our House caucus," Delegate Kelli Sobonya, R-Cabell, fired back. Casey ripped apart an oversize, mock check from Blankenship, calling on Republicans to reject his $1,000 donations to them and saying he is attempting to "buy" an election.
"We don't control Blankenship or his money," Sobonya said.
"If they want to complain about the $1,000 contributions several of us were given, then let's discuss the $1,000 contributions to their candidates from the trial lawyers, gambling interests, labor unions."
Delegate Cindy Frich, R-Monongalia, likewise said the Massey Energy chief never appeared before the GOP caucus, but several Democrat leaders did, including Gov. Joe Manchin, House Speaker Bob Kiss, D-Raleigh, and Finance Chairman Harold Michael, D-Hardy.
"Democrat leaders were sponsors of the parental notification bill and marriage amendment resolution that we made discharge motions on," Frich reminded.
"Where is the courage of their convictions? Introduce legislation and then vote against it."
Frich suggested Casey destroy checks sent to members of his party, adding, "Tearing up trial lawyers' checks alone would give me peace of mind in my district."
Sobonya defended Blankenship's right to inform voters how certain incumbents voted in the Legislature. "Educating voters on legislative voting records is called accountability and every American citizen has the right to shine the light regardless of their personal wealth," she said.
"It's called America."
Long before Blankenship entered the political arena, she said, Republicans opposed same-sex marriage, wanted to dump the food tax and supported the parental notification bill.
"If Don Blankenship embraces our Republican agenda, then God bless him and any other person who wants to stand up for what is right," Sobonya said.
Casting the Democrats' defensive words back at them, Sobonya said, "If they are proud of their records in the Legislature, what do they have to fear of Don Blankenship exposing their votes?"
Casey emphasized he wasn't concerned about telling voters about voting records but said he feared Blankenship would distort the meaning of each, especially on the procedural vote of discharging committees, and leave a false impression with voters in a massive ad campaign. GOP delegates say Casey wrong about Blankenship at caucus http://www.register-herald.com/apstorysection/local_stor.
Delegate Patrick Lane, R-Kanawha, threw some grim statistics out after Delegate John Pino, D-Fayette, speaking for Democrats collectively at Casey's airport rally, said, "We've done a wonderful job."
West Virginia imposes the sixth-highest tax burden, has 49 percent of its children in low-income families, lets 13-year-old girls get abortions while their parents are in the dark, has gambling joints on every corner and drains working families of 18 days of free food by collecting a grocery tax, Lane said.
"I could go on all day long ...," Patrick added.
Raleigh County GOP Chairman Joe Long found it interesting the Democrats can afford to fly a plane into five cities to complain about Blankenship "exercising his rights as a citizen."
"The Republican Party is supposed to be the party of the rich," Long said.
"Our state party doesn't have enough money in its coffers to hardly have gas to go the airport, let alone fly around the state complaining about a citizen's rights."
Blankenship has vowed to spend "whatever it takes" to dump some 30 delegates, and Long defended his right to engage in the election.
"He's only doing with his money what many West Virginians should be doing with their vote — putting people out of office who aren't really doing what's in the interests of West Virginia," the county chairman said.
Long faulted Casey for saying the coal leader wouldn't dictate "our system," saying, "Does he think the Democrats own that system that's in place? I thought it belonged to the citizens of the state."
"I'm sorry if it (discharge motions) embarrassed them," he said of the Democrats.
"It's a known fact that Republicans attempted to get some of these things out. Debate is a wonderful thing."
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