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[btrboyev]

Dude was always a republican. He turned Dem in 2015 to run for office.

 

[Stinkles]

Hey yall what side of history we on?

 

[shaowebb]

Folks here support coal and anyone who was for it fanatically because they sorta have to.

Its all about jobs. The only industry left in WV is generally tied to Coal unless you have a degree that lets you work in the chemical farms in the chemical valley. Many folks in Northern WV can take a basic education, local name power and in some form or another quickly find themselves in a coal related field making around $20 an hour.Be it trucking things to and from, working on rail, working on machines for them, or diggin that shit up. All our industries stem from it here.

Outside of coal...we got nothing. Like literally. I grew up in southern WV. Bout 45 minutes to a grocery store. A little over an hour to get out of the "holler" and up to maybe Cabel or Logan county where "all the jobs are" and those are all 100% retail and food service work. We have no entertainment or digital sectors. We have no manufacturing outside of a single Toyota plant that downsizes workers off and on that is exceptionally hard to get on at as it takes a temp program called " Manpower" to get in there exclusively and then its all temporary work with callback potential.

When you drive through most of the state for hours and you barely even see things outside of houses and trailers buried in the mountains and the occassional fast food joint where the hell is everyone working at? The only places they can. Southern WV is outta any work outside of entry level no growth stuff or the extreme opposite of highly trained pro in a chemical field and northern WV is all thats left with industrial work that you can slip into with a basic education. Even general labor jobs in construction and stuff are hard to come by here and most result in frequent out of area travel as a contractor which most can't afford because, lets face it, if theres already zero money how in the hell do you afford a car that can run long distance and not fall apart? Theres no cash for upkeep.

Coal is fanatical here in WV because its all thats left locally that may lead you far enough from the other side of our extremely lopsided state economic situation. You're either floating from entry level making under $30k a year for life here, on welfare (which pays better and has benefits compared to entry level stuff sadly), or working in a field that is either directly or indirectly kept afloat by the coal industry.

It sucks...it is what it is though. I can't blame folks for defending their only hope of a decent life. Its not easy goin hungry and draggin your family down starving with you. Its not like our local government makes it possible for new businesses to flourish either. They frontload so many taxes to new business permits that its insane. We ran both Nascar, and 2 airports outta this state by being backwards about how they support new growth. We literally think putting a giant "Open for business" sign at the border is taking care of encouraging growth instead of just reworking the taxation of local businesses. And no I'm not joking...our state has a giant open for business sign on its border trying to lure in business development. We're that backwards and stupid about how things work.

 

[digdug2k]

Is this one of those guys who just ran as a Democrat so that they could sideline the real democratic primary and prevent people in the state from having any actual choice at all?

 

[Stinkles]

I'm just pointing out the slippery slop that we're on. The W Virginia governor was a "democrat". Did he get voted cause he was a democrat, or was it due to the issues that he supported?

A slippery slope is literally the most obvious logical fallacy.

 

[Wowfunhappy]

Why would changing parties trigger a special elections? The remedy is to vote him out when the time comes. This change also is meaningless, as in this specific case, it changes nothing about his positions or actions. He's been all over Trump before, during, and after his election.

I can't speak to someone named """"Jim Justice"""" living in somewhere called West Virginia because I've never heard of either of those things and I'm not confident they exist, but in general while party switchers are on a trajectory for a while before they switch, they also have a jump or discontinuity in policy positions and more importantly procedural votes when they do switch. You see this with Jeffords and Specter and Dick Shelby, for example. While I'd say it applies less to governors in general, my guess would be that people rightfully feel that transitions are not smooth and continuous things.

On the subject of special elections, I'd be inclined to think that they ought not be required -- the choice to have them or not is mostly about whether we think it's a good use of resources, not some cosmic right or wrong. But someone switching immediately after being elected (as opposed to a year or two into their terms) should probably be subject to existing recall procedures if they exist and the voters want it. That particular category is a pretty sleazy thing to do.

I think it's important to remember in all of this that political parties are not mentioned in the constitution at all.

 

[shaowebb]

Is this one of those guys who just ran as a Democrat so that they could sideline the real democratic primary and prevent people in the state from having any actual choice at all?

I think he used to be a Republican before. He's really just a guy who found work in politics and does whatever it takes to stay there. He's a business guy who hitches his start to whatever will get him votes in WV. Right now its largely Trump because Hillary said she was gonna crush coal jobs in the election campaign. Thats all folks remember so he's trying to distance himself from that party.

 

[A.J.]

Folks here support coal and anyone who was for it fanatically because they sorta have to.

Its all about jobs. The only industry left in WV is generally tied to Coal unless you have a degree that lets you work in the chemical farms in the chemical valley. Many folks in Northern WV can take a basic education, local name power and in some form or another quickly find themselves in a coal related field making around $20 an hour.Be it trucking things to and from, working on rail, working on machines for them, or diggin that shit up. All our industries stem from it here.

Outside of coal...we got nothing. Like literally. I grew up in southern WV. Bout 45 minutes to a grocery store. A little over an hour to get out of the "holler" and up to maybe Cabel or Logan county where "all the jobs are" and those are all 100% retail and food service work. We have no entertainment or digital sectors. We have no manufacturing outside of a single Toyota plant that downsizes workers off and on that is exceptionally hard to get on at as it takes a temp program called " Manpower" to get in there exclusively and then its all temporary work with callback potential.

When you drive through most of the state for hours and you barely even see things outside of houses and trailers buried in the mountains and the occassional fast food joint where the hell is everyone working at? The only places they can. Southern WV is outta any work outside of entry level no growth stuff or the extreme opposite of highly trained pro in a chemical field and northern WV is all thats left with industrial work that you can slip into with a basic education. Even general labor jobs in construction and stuff are hard to come by here and most result in frequent out of area travel as a contractor which most can't afford because, lets face it, if theres already zero money how in the hell do you afford a car that can run long distance and not fall apart? Theres no cash for upkeep.

Coal is fanatical here in WV because its all thats left locally that may lead you far enough from the other side of our extremely lopsided state economic situation. You're either floating from entry level making under $30k a year for life here, on welfare (which pays better and has benefits compared to entry level stuff sadly), or working in a field that is either directly or indirectly kept afloat by the coal industry.

It sucks...it is what it is though. I can't blame folks for defending their only hope of a decent life. Its not easy goin hungry and draggin your family down starving with you. Its not like our local government makes it possible for new businesses to flourish either. They frontload so many taxes to new business permits that its insane. We ran both Nascar, and 2 airports outta this state by being backwards about how they support new growth. We literally think putting a giant "Open for business" sign at the border is taking care of encouraging growth instead of just reworking the taxation of local businesses. And no I'm not joking...our state has a giant open for business sign on its border trying to lure in business development. We're that backwards and stupid about how things work.

There's actually a big expansion for FBI ad FBI contracting work here in the Clarksburg area (North Central WV). A lot of Jobs for Engineering and computer based jobs coming in over here, so it isn't all bad if you have the right degree.

 

[Xe4]

No one should be surprised. He switched to the democrats just two years ago to get elected.

well the guy is literally switching sides tonight, so....

and the south has had their own version of the Lost Cause(of the Confederacy) that they've been holding on to that did more damage than any outside perceptions could have.

No, he's not. This thread is about Jim Justice, but you were quoting a post about Joe Manchin.

 

[Koomaster]

You think this based on what?

This guy has been conservative/republican for a while. His views were well known before switching parties yet again to Democrat. Yet Dems want to keep funding/running these moderate/conservative guys with views opposite that of the party. Why? Well this is what they deserve, egg on their face. Hope the democrats who voted for him are feeling the sting of this. Supporting/voting for people like this is a losing strategy.

 

[MechDX]

Kyle Griffin‏Verified account
@kylegriffin1

Democratic Governors Association: "Jim Justice deceived the voters of West Virginia."

Of course he has Russian ties just because

 

[akira28]

No one should be surprised. He switched to the democrats just two years ago to get elected.


No, he's not. This thread is about Jim Justice, but you were quoting a post about Joe Manchin.

oh. heh. you're right. sorry. what kind of fucking name is that though? Who names their kid Jim Justice?

 

[ezrarh]

Wow coal must cause brain damage or something, I thought it was just lungs

Lotsa heavy metals in coal ash and whatnot.

 

[mlclmtckr]

There's actually a big expansion for FBI ad FBI contracting work here in the Clarksburg area (North Central WV). A lot of Jobs for Engineering and computer based jobs coming in over here, so it isn't all bad if you have the right degree.

👏🏾LEARN👏🏾TO👏🏾CODE👏🏾POORS👏🏾

 

[Eusis]

I'm going to be REAL interested in following the polls for this guy now that I know he was just elected, and had only switched 2 years ago. It ends up kind of coming off as hoodwinking the voters rather than just drifting in stances.

 

[Byakuya769]

This isn't the case for me, but I'm registered independent. Also, this happened in South Dakota, a deep red state, last election:

-Source

It failed, but could have a future in other states.

So instead of lazy people just voting based on party affiliation (which has a nexus to substantive issues), they'd vote on name recognition and celebrity ($$$$$$$$$$$$$).

Neat.

 

[Sulik2]

Folks here support coal and anyone who was for it fanatically because they sorta have to.

Its all about jobs. The only industry left in WV is generally tied to Coal unless you have a degree that lets you work in the chemical farms in the chemical valley. Many folks in Northern WV can take a basic education, local name power and in some form or another quickly find themselves in a coal related field making around $20 an hour.Be it trucking things to and from, working on rail, working on machines for them, or diggin that shit up. All our industries stem from it here.

Outside of coal...we got nothing. Like literally. I grew up in southern WV. Bout 45 minutes to a grocery store. A little over an hour to get out of the "holler" and up to maybe Cabel or Logan county where "all the jobs are" and those are all 100% retail and food service work. We have no entertainment or digital sectors. We have no manufacturing outside of a single Toyota plant that downsizes workers off and on that is exceptionally hard to get on at as it takes a temp program called " Manpower" to get in there exclusively and then its all temporary work with callback potential.

When you drive through most of the state for hours and you barely even see things outside of houses and trailers buried in the mountains and the occassional fast food joint where the hell is everyone working at? The only places they can. Southern WV is outta any work outside of entry level no growth stuff or the extreme opposite of highly trained pro in a chemical field and northern WV is all thats left with industrial work that you can slip into with a basic education. Even general labor jobs in construction and stuff are hard to come by here and most result in frequent out of area travel as a contractor which most can't afford because, lets face it, if theres already zero money how in the hell do you afford a car that can run long distance and not fall apart? Theres no cash for upkeep.

Coal is fanatical here in WV because its all thats left locally that may lead you far enough from the other side of our extremely lopsided state economic situation. You're either floating from entry level making under $30k a year for life here, on welfare (which pays better and has benefits compared to entry level stuff sadly), or working in a field that is either directly or indirectly kept afloat by the coal industry.

It sucks...it is what it is though. I can't blame folks for defending their only hope of a decent life. Its not easy goin hungry and draggin your family down starving with you. Its not like our local government makes it possible for new businesses to flourish either. They frontload so many taxes to new business permits that its insane. We ran both Nascar, and 2 airports outta this state by being backwards about how they support new growth. We literally think putting a giant "Open for business" sign at the border is taking care of encouraging growth instead of just reworking the taxation of local businesses. And no I'm not joking...our state has a giant open for business sign on its border trying to lure in business development. We're that backwards and stupid about how things work.

The government should be paying for relocating these people and paying for their education in fields where they can get work in more prosperous states. Just letting a state die and rely on a collapsing industry without doing anything to help is a giant failure of the federal government.

 

[KHarvey16]

This guy has been conservative/republican for a while. His views were well known before switching parties yet again to Democrat. Yet Dems want to keep funding/running these moderate/conservative guys with views opposite that of the party. Why? Well this is what they deserve, egg on their face. Hope the democrats who voted for him are feeling the sting of this. Supporting/voting for people like this is a losing strategy.

And the other democrat choices were who? And this is one governor's race in a republican stronghold.

Let's think about this logically. Chances are, a progressive democrat with Massachusetts policy positions will not do well in a West Virginia governor's race. So there's no point in demanding we only support that. So we find ourselves in a position where we can find someone popular enough to win who also aligns with democrats on as many issues as possible, or just lose to a republican. The choice is obvious and simple, even if we account for a small chance of this kind of switch happening.

 

[badcrumble]

And the other democrat choices were who? And this is one governor's race in a republican stronghold.

Let's think about this logically. Chances are, a progressive democrat with Massachusetts policy positions will not do well in a West Virginia governor's race. So there's no point in demanding we only support that. So we find ourselves in a position where we can find someone popular enough to win who also aligns with democrats on as many issues as possible, or just lose to a republican. The choice is obvious and simple, even if we account for a small chance of this kind of switch happening.

People who believe in this strategy must be getting tired of all this winning.

 

[borghe]

I was talking with a friend about this and it just feels greasy. I told him I'd be pissed if I voted for someone who ran under one party and was elected, then switched parties and took on their ideology (though he's been doing that apparently). My friend agreed and said there should be some type of special election if it happens.

Any reason why that wouldn't work out that me and him aren't thinking of?

this should be a 100% valid case for a recall election. Politicians have been in recall elections for WAY less. He essentially just dishonored every single voter that won him the election.

I mean he can switch parties, but he is an idiot if he doesn't think he'll be recalled on it.

 

[Shadybiz]

How are those coal jobs coming along? Oh right.

 

[KHarvey16]

People who believe in this strategy must be getting tired of all this winning.

The defeat of the skinny repeal was a great win for this strategy.

 

[Lumination]

The government should be paying for relocating these people and paying for their education in fields where they can get work in more prosperous states. Just letting a state die and rely on a collapsing industry without doing anything to help is a giant failure of the federal government.

This really made me think. I'm not sure whether or not to agree with you. Imagine a state/local government that doesn't care to invest in the future of the state. The governor acknowledges that they would rather exploit more coal now than plan for solar, wind, etc. They enjoy high employment rates while edging closer and closer to the proverbial cliff. Is it the federal government's responsibility to bail them out? Essentially, the state politicians can reap the success of their poor decisions and socialize the cost. I'm not sure I have a good answer for that.

 

[cameron]

From yesterday, WSJ: West Virginia Gov. Justice Asks Trump for $4.5 Billion to Save Eastern Coal

West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice is asking President Donald Trump to extend his support for the coal industry by providing some $4.5 billion a year in federal funding for Eastern coal, a proposal miners in Western states say goes against free-market principles.

The governor, who days ago switched parties to Republican from Democrat, said in an telephone interview Wednesday that Mr. Trump’s elimination of burdensome regulations have been very helpful in starting to get the U.S. coal industry back on its feet. But he said Appalachian region coal mines specifically—and the thousands of jobs they provide—remain at risk because of rising competition from natural gas and less-labor-intensive coal mines in Western states such as Wyoming, the nation’s leading coal producer.

If the Eastern coalfields were to disappear altogether, he said, then any disruption to the power grid in the East because of terrorism or other reasons could lead to tragedy because there would no longer be a nearby, abundant and easily-accessible energy source.

“The survivability of the Eastern coalfields is very, very iffy,” he said. “And if you lose the Eastern coalfields, you are putting the country at risk beyond belief.” He insisted his funding proposal isn’t for a subsidy, but rather a “homeland security incentive.”

Mr. Justice said he made the proposal directly to President Trump in the Oval Office recently. It calls for federal funding to pay Eastern power plants $15 for each ton of thermal coal they buy from the Central or Northern Appalachian region, which includes states such as parts of West Virginia, Ohio and Pennsylvania. This, for example, would allow a utility to pay something like $50 a ton to a mining company, but in actuality only be paying $35, he said. At 300 million tons a year, that could cost the U.S. $4.5 billion annually, he added.

“In the scope of things, that would be a drop in the bucket to protect ourselves,” Mr. Justice said. “And looking at the other side, you would put thousands and thousands and thousands of people to work, and the net-net of that is that the $4.5 billion would get eroded tremendously, so that it may end up costing almost nothing.”

Travis Deti, executive director of the Wyoming Mining Association, said “we certainly understand” Mr. Justice’s desire to defend and preserve jobs and industry in his region of the U.S. But he said the proposal seemed misguided. “We very much think it’s best when the government’s not involved, and feel the free market instead should be allowed to work,” Mr. Deti said.

“We need to stick together,” Mr. Deti said, referring to the overall U.S. coal industry, adding that he believes Mr. Justice should perhaps allow more time for Trump’s regulatory relief to the coal industry to take effect.

 

[lush]

Hilarious how entitled these people(rural WV whites) are between wanting handouts for the coal industry, handouts for their healthcare, and handouts for their drug epidemic all from big government.

But the free market!

 

[Silent Chief]

its west virginia

I googled West Virginia and then switched to images.

Oh, boy.

 

[Palette Swap]

I guess it's not handouts when it's coal.

I googled West Virginia and then switched to images.

Oh, boy.

I just did and the most shocking thing here is that the second recommendation from google to complement the image search is "mountain people inbreeding", right between "scenery" and "people". What the fuck.

 

[JORMBO]

Do you guys have some other weird shit stored in your search history or something? Looks fine to me...

 

[Futureman]

They want $4.5 billion to sustain "thousands of jobs" for a dirty fuel when there's cheaper, cleaner, safer alternatives. Ok....

 

[Skiptastic]

Hilarious how entitled these people(rural WV whites) are between wanting handouts for the coal industry, handouts for their healthcare, and handouts for their drug epidemic all from big government.

But the free market!

If it wasn't the same story over and over again, I'd say it was unbelievable.

 

[Omegasquash]

They want $4.5 billion to sustain "thousands of jobs" for a dirty fuel when there's cheaper, cleaner, safer alternatives. Ok....

Precisely. It's money here and now(ish), and fuck the longer term outcomes.

 

[Eusis]

Do you guys have some other weird shit stored in your search history or something? Looks fine to me...

Maybe they mistook it for a discolored scroctum...