Elizabeth Warren in Mingo County, WV

[Staph]

I'm more than 70 miles away from Kermit, West Virginia, on windy two-lane roads, so I watched her appearance on the local television station's live feed. The speech was held at the Kermit Fire Department, with a full house of 150 folks on folding chairs inside the garage.

She spoke for about 30 minutes, in what sounded like a fairly standard stump speech. She talked about her life, about her mother taking a minimum wage job at Sears after her father's heart attack, a job that paid just enough for the family to survive and pay the bills. She talked about wanting to be a school teacher and earning a scholarship to go to college, though she dropped out to get married at 19. She went back to school (at $50 a semester!) and became a special needs teacher. She was forced to quit teaching when she got pregnant.

She later went to law school ($450 a semester!) and then went back to teaching, as she said, big people instead of little people.

Her stump speech went on to talk about billionaires vs the rest of us, how the very rich pay about 3.5% of their worth in taxes while the rest of us pay more than 7%. About the notion of the wealth tax, two cents on the dollar for every dollar beyond $50 million. About all of the things that could be financed by that tax - universal childcare, universal pre-K for three- and four-year-olds, student loan forgiveness for 95% of all student loans, all kinds of infrastructure upgrades, and, oh, yeah, $100 billion to fight the opioid crisis.

She then took three questions, all intentionally about the opioid crisis. The town of Kermit is ground zero for opioids. This town of 400 recently had 3 million opioid prescription drugs shipped to a single pharmacy over a ten-month period, more than 10,000 pills per day. These folks want and need help, and their questions were about the specifics of how and when they can get that help.

Elizabeth was bouncing around the center of the garage, speaking to everyone with great energy. The crowd was very enthusiastic, with one exception, a thirty-something guy in a ball cap who sat in the front row, with his arms tightly folded, listening intently. He was actually politely applauding by the end, which I count as a win.

One last comment -- one of the questioners mentioned that she was the second presidential candidate in history who had come to Kermit. The first? John Fitzgerald Kennedy! She then said that, though she rarely mentions this on the campaign trail, that she is holding the Senate seat previously held by Teddy Kennedy. And before him, by JFK. She knows because their names are carved into her desk. When she needs some inspiration, she opens the desk and rubs her fingers over those names.

(For those of you who want to discuss Warren vs other candidates, knock yourself out. That's what this Democratic Primaries forum is all about. And I have no skin in the game, as I'm still undecided, though quite impressed by what I saw today. For those of you who want to take this post as a chance to put down the people of West Virginia, fuck off.)

[mcar]

1. Thank you for this report

I'm glad Warren is going to these non-traditional campaign stops.

[NurseJackie]

2. WV... that's a hard row to hoe.

Good luck!

[DemocracyMouse]

10. It's hard row to hoe BECAUSE, as was commented, no one ever goes there to circulate fresh ideas.

This country needs trains to circulate the bodies/information, and better food to circulate the blood....

[jalan48]

3. I have only been to WV once but found the people to be very friendly.

[BeyondGeography]

4. Excellent summary...thanks

I can easily see her resonating there.

[KPN]

5. Excellent info. Thanks ... and love your moxie.

[Duppers]

9. As do I.

Liz has moxie too, a ton of it.

[Staph]

16. "She's got spunk."

"I like spunk!"

(Okay, it's not a perfect quote from Mr. Grant, but I happen to like spunk!)

[Duppers]

18. 😅

I remember.

[appalachiablue]

6. WARREN 2020. In 1960, WV gave JFK the Dem. primary pres. nomination and he was grateful.

https://www.jfklibrary.org/visit-museum/exhibits/past-exhibits/winning-west-virginia-jfks-primary-campaign

"I would not be where I now am, I would not have some of the responsibilities which I now bear, if it had not been for the people of West Virginia." - President John F. Kennedy, June 20, 1963



(JFK Presidential Library & Museum). Religious bigotry was one of John F. Kennedy’s greatest adversaries in the 1960 Presidential primary campaign. In West Virginia, he confronted the issue head-on and defeated it. In early April, JFK arrived in West Virginia, a rural state with a struggling economy, to discover that a strong lead in a state poll tracked four months earlier had evaporated. He now trailed his opponent, Senator Hubert Humphrey, by 20 points.

JFK’s campaign in West Virginia was all-out. He traveled up and down the state—meeting thousands of voters, listening to their stories and speaking at large events and small gatherings. He shone a national spotlight on their plight and detailed a plan for economic recovery. He commended their strength in the face of adversity. He affirmed the separation of church and state. And on May 10, 1960, the people of an economically distressed, overwhelmingly Protestant, hardscrabble state in Appalachia put their trust in the elegant, young Catholic senator, who spoke in a Boston accent about a brighter future. He won their votes, and they won his heart.

(3 mins).'JFK IN WV,' June 20, 1963. President Kennedy addressed West Virginians at the capital in Charleston on the 100th birthday of the Mountaineer State. At the outbreak of the Civil War in May 1861, West Virginia separated from Virginia which had joined the Confederacy, and in 1863 WV became the 35th state in the Union. Bill Kelley, retired West Virginia Public Broadcasting producer and cinematographery filmed the President's address, while employed by WSAZ-TV.
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~ WV ancestors from the Mingo area served in the Union Army during the Civil War like many other men from there and eastern KY. Two brothers fought together in Va. campaigns, were captured and then imprisoned in Richmond's notorious Libby Prison. They survived and walked home to SW West Virginia. The Union was preserved and slavery abolished.

[appalachiablue]

7. Warren's talk in Kermit, WVa. today, May 10:

(47 mins). Intro., Senator Warren at 1 min. mark

[crazytown]

12. Somethings happening out there.

The media isn't on to it yet but Elizabeth is going from s strength to strength.

[Blue_true]

15. She is everywhere, has energy and a ton of smarts.

Plus, she is authentic as hell. That breaks down barriers.

[appalachiablue]

17. She's terrific, the real McCoy!

[KSNY]

8. Love Liz Warren...she is authentic and compassionate

plus she has very well thought out ideas for what she would do if elected.

[stuffmatters]

11. Thank you for this wonderful report. I was moved to tears.

[sheshe2]

13. Kick and Recommend!

Thanks Staph.

[ehrnst]

14. K&R!