Eighteen years ago, in 2006, when Twitter, now ƵXƵ was launched, George W. Bush was president and the Sago mine disaster killed 12 West Virginia miners, I wrote a column in this newspaper criticizing Don BlankenshipƵs pronouncements that essentially said the Democrats were responsible for all the stateƵs ills and that only Republicans could improve West VirginiaƵs status. In the intervening years, Republicans have taken political control of West Virginia and Blankenship lost his power as the CEO of Massey Energy and spent a year in federal prison. While not easy to do, BlankenshipƵs recent political actions continue to alienate voters of all political persuasions.
Since the Republican Party took over the state legislature in 2014, the state has not shown the type of improvement that Blankenship promised. Recent surveys from WalletHub, US News and BeckleyƵs ƵNS show that West Virginia has the most overdose deaths per capita in the nation, is 45th out of 51 in infant mortality rate, education is rated 47th out 50 states and there are still over 6,000 children in foster care.
Politics are often self-serving. BlankenshipƵs candidacy in the May 14 Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate seat from which Sen. Joe Manchin is retiring is a case in point. The good news is that Democrats, Republicans and independents, who rarely agree on anything, seem to agree that this man should not represent the state.
For years, Blankenship was the powerful head of Massey Energy, which owned and operated many coal mines. Following the Upper Big Branch Mine disaster in 2010, in which 29 miners lost their lives, he was found guilty of violating federal mine safety laws. He was fined and spent one year in prison on a misdemeanor charge. Released in 2017, heƵs regularly been seeking high political offices.
In 2018, still a Republican, he ran for the partyƵs primary for the U.S. Senate seat, and he came in third. West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey won, Rep. Evan Jenkins came in second and Manchin won the November election. Two years later, Blankenship ran for president of the United States as the Constitution PartyƵs candidate.
Next Tuesday, Blankenship will be on West VirginiaƵs Democratic primary ballot for the U.S. Senate seat now held by Manchin. This man, who worked diligently to see Republicans take over the state legislature, now wants to pretend heƵs a Democrat. Fortunately, Democrats have other choices, including Wheeling Mayor Glenn Elliott, who Manchin is endorsing. However, the winner of the Republican primary Ƶ Gov. Jim Justice or U.S. Rep. Alex Mooney Ƶ is expected to be ManchinƵs successor.
Many people view BlankenshipƵs constant running for high-level political positions to free himself from the prison sentence stigma following the Big Branch Mine disaster. My guess is that few West Virginia residents, and certainly no one who was affected by the mine deaths, would vote for Blankenship for anything. In 2006, I said that there are many positive things people with BlankenshipƵs power and money could do to help others and improve their image, but that doesnƵt seem likely now any more than 18 years ago. To see Blankenship on the Democratic ticket is ludicrous. The voters of all parties will tell him that.
Diane W. Mufson is a retired psychologist and a regular contributor to The Herald-Dispatch Opinion page.
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