Coal Country Appears to Reconsider It's Political Futures

[peggysue2]

After being fed a steady diet of fairytales from the Trumpster--how he was going to bring back King Coal to tis glory days--the US Miners' Union is throwing its support and endorsement to two Dems for the 2018 election. Joe Manchin and Richard Ojeda get the nod for WVa's Senate and House spots respectively because the Union feels the two men will fight for those issues important to the coal mining community, as in protecting pensions and (I've read elsewhere) healthcare. There's been an uptick in Back Lung disease. So yeah, healthcare and decent benefits are important, life and death matters.The Union decided the Democrats are more likely to protect those benefits.

Plus, the GOP not immediately batting down a possible run by Blankenship, former Murray Mining CEO, a man who served a year in Federal Prison for gross negligence (willfully violated mining safety regulations) that led to the deaths of 29 miners is beyond disgusting.

People remember.

Ojeda has an interesting position on coal, well said and reasonable. He said he is for increased coal mining particularly for feeding steel furnaces but he also supports biofuels, wind and solar, energy sources of the future. The position reminds me of how Lamb thread the needle in PA and won.

Details can be read here:


https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-coal-endorsements-exclus/exclusive-u-s-miners-union-to-endorse-two-more-democrats-in-coal-country-idUSKBN1GY1YM

[Staph]

1. Massey Energy CEO

Murray Energy CEO is Robert Murray, the guy that unsuccessfully sued John Oliver.

I know, I know, it's hard to keep all of these slime-bucket coal barons straight!

[peggysue2]

4. Oops!

You're right. He was Massey's CEO.

Got the first letter right

[Demsrule86]

8. Finally we see some voting for self - interest which should signal the doom of Republicans...they

don't care about the 'little people' and are most interested in lining their pockets.

[ProudLib72]

2. The Blankenship run is salt in the wound, a twist of the knife

I couldn't believe it when I heard he was actually going to run. I'm glad these people have finally come to their senses (at least for now).

[peggysue2]

5. I couldn't believe it either

What it says to me is that the GOP has learned absolutely nothing from the disaster we're living under the Trumpster. The Republican politicos are only concerned about his electability, not the character of the man or his suitability in office.

Ugh.

[Luciferous]

3. I really like Ojeda and I think he will win.

[peggysue2]

6. Don't know a whole lot about Ojeda yet

But his comment about supporting coal while also supporting renewables of the future impressed me. It's a far cry from the cruel fantasy of telling these mining communities that King Coal will be restored. That's simply not going to happen. We owe these communities their own shot for the future with retraining programs and revitalization because for decades they broke their backs and sacrificed their health to keep the lights on across the country. That being said, pretending we'll return to a past that no longer exists is just wrong as wrong can be.

[mercuryblues]

10. That is exactly what Hilllary

offered them. She was going to push for solar manufacturers to open factories there. They voted for the guy who promised to take away their healthcare and somehow bring back their jobs. He never said how he was going to make people start burning coal to heat their homes again.

[peggysue2]

11. Yes!

Hillary told them the truth. Trump and right-wing, Fox fabulists told them a fairytale. But lost/pinched pensions and reduced healthcare access are a clear warning siren, enough to wake up even the deep sleeper, particularly if you or your loved ones are suffering the physical agony of Black Lung or the myriad of mining-related ailments. Trump couldn't explain how he would bring back King Coal because he never had a plan. About anything. Those speeches were tailored made for each audience to seduce, persuade, bamboozle. The man was a fraud on the campaign trail and he's a fraud now.

My older son recently drove cross country, a job-related thing. But he said the only thing he could get on the car radio was right-wing trash talk and super-max Christian stations. A good portion of our fellow Americans are being fed propaganda on a daily basis. That makes your perspective ripe for carnival barker techniques, glib, empty promises and a bucket of wooden nickels.

I blame the Trumpster, Republican enablers, the hypocritical, venal Evangelical leadership and the plutocrats they rode in on, more than the struggling working class. The latter can be turned around slowly but surely. The former deserve political annihilation.

[mercuryblues]

13. I find it interesting

that they are listening to the exact same message from a man's mouth and backing it.

trump's penchant for lying was well known and they chose to believe him. They never asked for specifics on how he was going to accomplish anything.

It was also well known that he did not care for the workers by the fact he stiffed them every chance he got. Hell, trump cut his own disabled nephew off from healthcare out of shear spite. What made them think he wouldn't do the same to them? On the other hand, Clinton worked hard to get healthcare coverage for kids in Arkansas, Schip, 9/11 rescue workers and her failed attempt for universal coverage. They called her the liar and voted for trump, a known liar.

[peggysue2]

16. That, too

Mercury blues said:

they are listening to the exact same message from a man's mouth and backing it.

There's no doubt sexism had it's time-honored and ugly role to play in 2016. If you recall Chelsea Clinton said as much and was excoriated for the comment. You hear this sort of nonsense in conservative evangelical speeches--women should know their place, should be subservient to their husbands and men in general. Hillary has always been a lightening rod for these twisted, antiquated views because she's a strong, intelligent professional who has refused to 'bend the knee.'

She told this constituency the truth but they turned deaf ears in favor of the fantasy that the Trumpsters and the GOP were more than eager to provide.

So, we agree. Makes me sad every time I think hard on it.

Such a lost opportunity. For everyone.

[hatrack]

7. "Appears To" the key phrase here . . .

I'm sure Coal-Rollin' Abortion-Hatin' Prosperity Jeezus will whip them back into line before the general election.

[peggysue2]

9. Yep.

There's always that, too. But the Union's endorsement is a glimmer of light, a possible recognition that the Democratic Party offers these working communities a path forward. The pension and healthcare factors alone have realtime consequences. From what I've read this uptick in Black Lung is being diagnosed in younger men now. Which calls into question the safety regulations and mining processes these owners may be violating in order to turn a profit in a shrinking market. The mining interest/owners love to blame environmental tree-huggers for their bottom line losses but in truth, degradation of the environment with mountain top removal techniques only adds to the health risks to surrounding communities.

But you're right, those wedge/social issues have a powerful draw and are always whipped up for election purposes.

We shall see.

[oasis]

12. Wake up America!

[Wounded Bear]

14. Coal is a dying industry...

the big (should I say real? ) question is about what to do about the displaced miners.

Typically Repubs say, "Tough shit. Go find another job, or go die quietly where I don't have to look at you or spend any money on you. Oh, and BTW, I want that pension money back."

Dems typically want to provide medical care, protect the pensions, and assist people in finding new jobs, assuming they are capable of working after a career in the mines.

The choice is pretty clear to me.

[Initech]

15. Well they call it "fossil fuels" for a reason!

And that reason is - these companies are run by fossils!