Wonderful, Beautiful, Beneficent, Clean, Healthy, Godly, Nourishing Coal!!! (WV GOP Senate Race)

[hatrack]

EDIT

All three candidates—Rep. Evan Jenkins, state Attorney General Patrick Morrisey, and former coal baron Don Blankenship—have the same basic agenda for coal: They want to relax environmental rules to promote mining, open more mines across the state, and increase coal exports to foreign countries. “It’s a race to the right and to find space on Donald Trump’s coattails,” said Hoppy Kercheval, longtime West Virginia political observer and radio host with West Virginia Metro News. “There continues to be not a significant amount of difference among the three on broad issues.”

EDIT

Still, the three men had difficulty separating themselves on coal policy during the May 1 debate. One exception was a minor disagreement over Morrisey’s idea to eliminate the Department of Energy. Jenkins blasted the idea as out of touch. “We’re in Morgantown, West Virginia,” Jenkins said. “Hundreds of jobs right here [are] under the Department of Energy to find a future for coal. We don’t need to eliminate the Department of Energy. We need to find a coal future.”

Blankenship said he supported the plan, too, except for a skeleton Energy Department crew of 200 employees. “All three ignore the real culprit in the decline of coal: natural gas,” Tom Susman, a political consultant with TSG Consulting in Charleston, told Bloomberg Environment.

EDIT

The topic of environmental protection has barely surfaced on the campaign trail. It was mentioned only once during the May 1 debate, when Blankenship said in passing that imported products should be “looked at in terms of human rights violations, environmental stewardship, and whatever else you want to consider.” “This is West Virginia,” Susman said. “It’s not an issue.” Susman did note, however, that some third-party ads have been attacking Blankenship for a Massey Energy-related coal sludge overflow into a stream. The ads are sponsored by the Mountain Families PAC, a super PAC that has the backing of the national Republican Party, according to media reports.

EDIT

https://www.bna.com/west-virginia-senates-n57982091772/

[procon]

1. They're going backwards.

Next it will be coal fired clipper ships to bring in whale oil to light our homes.

Why isn't anyone talking about modernization and skills need for new jobs in the 21st century?

[hatrack]

2. 'Cuz Daddy was a coal miner, and Grandpappy before him, and Great-Granddad, and . . . "

"Forget it, Jake. It's Charleston."

[procon]

3. Adapt or perish.

It's still survival of the fittest and as the world changes life must change with it. Those people have decided to make themselves extinct, but their replacements will be smarter and more adaptable and change will progress regardless of how desperately they try to cling to the vanishing past.