“All extreme positions are wrong including this one.”
This cliche is complete and correct in so many ways.
Turn on the television, open the social media or your postal mailbox and you’ll see politicians from the same party telling you why their opponent is wrong, and how they voted for will lead our city/state/nation into decline and disaster.
No, I don’t believe that the governor is the leader of the Dylan Mulvaney fan club no matter how many postcards and cheesy TV advertisements his opposition runs. And I’m not listening to his dog who’s allegedly selling him out, either.
Nor do I believe that our State Senator is a trans activist as his lying opponent claims publicly, and then refuses to cite the legislation that supports his bold-faced lie.
Both men were faced with a piece of bad legislation proffered by the extreme right and said “No, I can’t and won’t dothis.” We need to thank them for standing up and making good, solid decisions.
Extreme positions – they are just wrong. Justice and Weld had the resolve to say NO, and to vote it, and make it part of the public record. They did the right thing.
Know that the negative advertisements are not about changing anyone’s position; they are about getting the most hateful voters in the voting booth.
Do this, or it’s the end of America as we know it. I wonder what they held back for the general election where they face an opponent from the other party?
The campaign season in West Virginia is becoming downright mean. It’s beyond “contrasting” and has crossed into being rude, crude and socially unacceptable. I’m not the only pundit who’s mentioned it, either.
It is Republican vs. Republican – which likely brings out the worst accusations and the most hateful “protected” speech.
I don’t want to hear one more “Real Conservative” or “True Conservative,” or playing the “Trump Endorsed” card. Or “She’s a RINO.”
Exactly who determines that? It reminds me of grade school, and the taunt on the playground: “I’m moreconservative than you are.”
Sure. Whatever. Grow up.
Why don’t you tell the voters what you stand for? And if you’ve never held office, your voting record is a black hole into which you’re asking the voters to throw their votes. You want them to do that because the incumbent made hundreds of good votes, but there is one you think you can make hay with. That dog just might not hunt.
Let me tell you how many of us really feel. Tell me why you and not how the other person is awful. We, the voters, are smart folks. We will figure it out. If not, you’re going to start finding that we are going to be voting against those slinging the most vitriolic, negative mud.
That includes the third-party political action campaigns that, wink–wink, have no affiliation with the candidate they are promoting. If you believe that, I can make you a terrific deal on a bridge.
West Virginia is at a critical juncture. The Republicans are in complete control, and vehemently argue among themselves, scuttling perfectly good legislation.
The Democrats have so completely poisoned the well that they can’t seem to get elected.
They were a well-organized party that was successful at pushing forth their agenda. Right up to the point, that is, when the party’s coastal elites went after God, country, coal and the manufacturing sector.
The self-proclaimed “party of the working man” decided that worshiping at the altar of climate change was more important than taking care of their relationships with organized labor, and more importantly, their members.
After the November election, both of the West Virignia Senate Democrats will be able to easily caucus in a phone booth. The handful that will remain in the House of Delegates won’t have enough critical mass to offer amendments to extreme legislation.
West Virginia needs a vibrant opposition party. For decades, the opposing party provided a foil to the group think of the majority party and kept them from being dragged to the extremes. Both parties were huddled around the same goal – a better state of our city, state or union.
Both parties accepted we are a center-right nation, and you could agree with most of the platform without being branded as sub-human. Until,. Of course, that stopped happening, and negative, hateful speech became the standard of the day.
Right now, we are witnessing a single party at the control of our state, and that party is fracturing. It’s becoming “Traditional Republicans” vs. “The Extreme Right.” They have their very own echo chamber which amplifies whatever is trending at that moment.
Nature abhors a vacuum, so something will happen. It is inevitable. It could be a resurgent Democrat party, but I don’t think their National Committee will let them stray too far from their dogma.
That something may be splitting the Republican Party.
The traditionalists on one side, and the extremists on the other.
I think you’ll find the traditionalists who support a measured, pragmatic approach have less and less in common with the extreme right who are inflexible, negative, and demand the most draconian legislation. If you’re offended by this statement, it’s a good thing, and you know exactly where you belong.
There is a lot more to be had for the people of West Virginia if this is a managed process, as opposed to something that happens spontaneously, or in response to some manufactured outrage.
It’s going to happen.
The change is inevitable and necessary for good governance.
Who will lead the charge to make it happen?
