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VISIT NO MO MOJO
In the text box below, nominate your West Virginia Republican of the Year, and describe in a few words why he or she should be selected.
REPUBLICAN OF THE YEAR
UPDATED DAILY!
Mojo9/24/08
9/24/08GET YOUR 'DEGREE!' (Click image for details!)
Court kills Dems'
bad campaign bill
Manchin, Democrats wasted $100,000 of tax dollars
FROM LATE FRIDAY: As Republicans predicted he would do, a federal judge on Friday struck down provisions of a campaign finance bill forced into law by Democrats in a special session called by Gov. Joe Manchin back in June. West Virginians for Life had challenged the bill.Judge Thomas Johnston ruled that the new law -- like the old one -- remains "unconstitutionally vague" and cannot be enforced, as reported by The Associated Press.During the special session, Democrats roundly criticized the GOP for refusing to suspend the rules and allow the legislation to be passed in one day. But as Senate GOP leader Don Caruth said at the time, "As much as it might be exciting to portray this as a political issue, we think it's a good government issue." Some Democrats have apparently already been making the issue part of their campaigns against their Republican opponents, but now Republicans have turned out to be right.As GOP lawmakers explained at the time, they support full disclosure as much as anyone, but such elements must be written in such a way that withstands constitutional muster, and the new bill clearly did not. Democrats primarily forced the bill into law in an effort to protect Attorney General Darrell McGraw from third party attacks in this election.Delegate Craig Blair, R-Berkeley, tried to save taxpayers roughly $100,000 wasted by Manchin and the Democrats in June, saying then that “Unlike our Democrat counterparts, and unlike their chairman, Nick Casey, most Republicans have paid attention to changing circumstances.” 
Armstead:
Court is protecting free speech
(Press Release) House Minority Leader Tim Armstead (R), Kanawha, has issued the following statement regarding the Preliminary Injunction Order issued by United States District Judge Thomas Johnston on Friday, October 17, in Center for Individual Freedom, Inc., v. Betty Ireland, et al., in which Judge Johnston blocked enforcement of key provisions of HB 219, relating to electioneering communication, passed during the Special Session of the West Virginia Legislature in June 2008:Republican legislators argued during the debate on this bill that it was nothing more than a legally flawed attempt by Democrat leaders to silence political debate under the guise of disclosure. I am extremely pleased that the court has protected the Constitutional rights of all West Virginians to voice their opinions in the political arena. The members of the Republican Caucus in the House of Delegates were outraged that Governor Manchin and the Democrat Leadership of the House and Senate chose to push through this vague and unconstitutional legislation in a hastily called special session. ARMSTEAD
BLAIR
Blair: Cost for session should be paid by Joe
(Press Release) Del. Craig Blair (R-Berkeley) said Friday that Gov. Joe Manchin or the West Virginia Democrat Party should repay the state for the tens of thousands of taxpayer dollars wasted in a special session back in June to pass a campaign finance bill that was shot down Friday in federal court, as Republicans predicted it would be.Back in June, Blair said, “Unlike our Democrat counterparts, and unlike their chairman, Nick Casey, most Republicans have paid attention to changing circumstances. A federal judge shot down a large part of the 2005 bill. The United States Supreme Court just this week made it clear that compelling disclosure for the sake of compelling disclosure will not likely hold water.”Blair and his GOP colleagues were proven right on Friday when Judge Thomas Johnston shot down the bill that was passed in June, once again citing provisions that were “unconstitutionally vague.” In fact, Blair noted that in essence the entire bill was shot down, since the only part that was upheld has been accepted law for 30 years.“Everyone knows this bill was nothing but an effort to help Attorney General Darrell McGraw get reelected,” said Blair. “Joe Manchin and his cronies in the Legislature are complicit in wasting tens of thousands of taxpayer dollars for purely political purposes, with a bill that had no chance of withstanding scrutiny in court. Either the governor or the state Democratic Party should repay taxpayers from their campaign accounts.”Blair noted that some Democrats have been running ads criticizing their GOP opponents for “wasting taxpayer dollars” by refusing to suspend the rules during the special session, such as ads being run by former state Sen. Mike Ross against incumbent Republican Sen. Clark Barnes.“As it turns out, it was the governor and the Democrats who wasted the money, just as we said at the time,” said Blair. “They should apologize and repay every taxpayer in the state.”Republican legislators have long supported efforts to make the electoral process more open and transparent. Our members were certainly willing to sit down with other legislators and interested parties in preparation for the 2009 Legislative Session to discuss possible changes that would clarify and strengthen disclosure requirements in a Constitutionally sound and legal manner. Instead, the Governor and Legislative leaders decided to ramrod a flawed bill through the legislature in a Special Session, costing the taxpayers of West Virginia at least tens of thousands, if not a hundred thousand or more, of their hard-earned tax dollars. Incredibly, Democrat leaders criticized Republican members of the Legislature for refusing to bow to demands that the bill be put on a fast track and rushed even faster through the process. The court’s decision recognizes the glaring Constitutional flaws in the bill and these flaws were raised by Republicans during the debate on the measure. In his order, the Judge describes terms contained in the bill as "unconstitutionally vague" and "facially unconstitutional." When the bill was under consideration by the Legislature, Democrat members of the House, on a near party-line vote, overwhelming defeated amendments to the bill offered by Republicans that would have corrected at least some of the legal flaws that were readily apparent in the legislation.Republican legislators will continue to fight for more integrity and transparency in the electoral process, but we will never sacrifice the Constitutional rights enjoyed by all West Virginians to express their views. Fair and open elections are a cornerstone of our government and changes that involve complex Constitutional issues should never have been railroaded through in a last-minute special session, especially in the middle of a hotly-contested political campaign season. This was simply wrong and I am pleased that the court has stopped this effort to infringe on Constitutional rights.Weeks scores again in debate
MIKE TEETS
Teets calls on Douglas to explain half mil double dip
(Press Release) Agricultural Commissioner candidate J. Michael Teets called on Agriculture Commissioner Gus Douglass to offer a thorough accounting to the public following news reports that Douglass has collected half a million dollars in retirement benefits from the state, while also collecting $75,000 a year as agriculture commissioner. "Gus Douglass owes West Virginia taxpayers an explanation," Teets said. "For nearly 20 years he has collected half a million dollars in retirement from the state while also earning a high-paying salary for the same position. He has been double dipping for nearly two decades."
"I call on Gus Douglass to stand in front of the cameras and face reporters' questions about this shameful violation of public trust," Teets continued. "Under Douglass's watch, the Department of Agriculture has wasted taxpayers' dollars time and again. Now we learn that the biggest offender may be Douglass himself. It is past time for Gus Douglass to explain his actions."The Charleston Daily Mail, on Friday, reported that Douglass has collected $509,930 in benefits through the Public Employees Retirement System. Douglass "retired" as agriculture commissioner in 1988 after losing in the Democratic gubernatorial primary that year and began collecting a pension. Yet Douglass ran again for agriculture commissioner, at the first opportunity, and was reelected in 1992. He has collected a state paycheck and a pension ever since. A spokesman for Douglass attempted to excuse Douglass's double dipping by claiming that Douglass, "thought he was done with politics (after his 1988 gubernatorial bid.)." In response, Teets pointed out: "Gus Douglass could have been truly done with politics anytime after 1988, yet he has run for election five times since them. This is a weak excuse to justify selfish behavior. Time and again, for 20 years, Gus Douglass decided to double dip and come back for another state paycheck. And it's the taxpayers who have suffered."We have West Virginia public employees with underfunded state pensions, yet Gus Douglass enjoys the benefits of retirement as well as a handsome state salary. We have West Virginians losing their jobs and their retirement plans as a result of the global economic crisis, yet Gus Douglass enjoys a guaranteed state pension and a guaranteed state paycheck. It's time for the voters to retire Gus Douglass once and for all." Manchin skips Dem bus tour for party ticket
Last week, the West Virginia Democratic Party sent an email touting a bus tour across southern West Virginia over the weekend, and the email promised that on the bus would be the entire statewide ticket, leading off with Gov. Joe Manchin.Lo and behold, turns out Manchin was about as interested in riding a bus across the southern part of the state to cheer-lead for Barack Obama as he is watching football in the Governor's Mansion on a 13-inch black and white screen.Instead, Mojo showed up just as the bus was about to leave port, wished everyone well, and headed back home.
EARLY CHRISTMAS
Gov. Joe Manchin is traveling around West Virginia handing out government gifts to organizations of every size and stripe.
You better watch out, you better not cry,
you better not pout, I'm telling you why,
Mojo Claus is coming to town
Is there an election on the horizon?Apparently so, based on Gov. Joe Manchin's activities in recent days and weeks where he has adopted the character of "Mojo Claus" and traveled far and wide to personally hand out government gifts to organizations in countless West Virginia communities.Apparently sensing a failure with the Post Office that seems to serve most of us just fine, Mojo is taking no chances that the check might get lost in the mail, or that local officials are capable of handing over an envelope. According to a blurb from Manchin's own press release Friday, "Gov. Joe Manchin today awarded $1,833,094 in Strategic Prevention Framework State Incentive Grant (SPF SIG) funds for 18 projects statewide. These funds will help implement local prevention efforts or help to continue local prevention planning efforts, associated with the SPF SIG program."On his way to and from the Eastern Panhandle last week, the governor personally made several stops along the way to pose for local media photos, engaging in "grip'n'grin" handshake pictures as he handed over the checks.Nothing like having the state and sometimes federal treasury at your disposal to make a good impression with an election just a couple of weeks away. Grand Jury: WVU 'ethical, moral' issues
A Monongalia County grand jury has found that "ethical and moral boundaries were violated'' in the scandal at West Virginia University involving the improper awarding of a degree to the daughter of Gov. Joe Manchin.The grand jury did not return any criminal charges.Separately, "...ethics complaints have been filed against former WVU President Mike Garrison and Alex Macia, the university's former vice president for legal affairs," the Associated Press says.Watch the debate again tonight at 9 p.m.
Manchin hints at tax hikes in future, says WV cannot give coal revenue to its citizens
Russ Weeks scored another victory in his third gubernatorial debate, promising to eliminate taxes immediately, give residents money from mineral extraction as is done in Alaska, and clean up the cronyism that led to the degree scandal at West Virginia University.Gov. Joe Manchin said the state cannot follow Alaska's example, again denied any role in his daughter receiving an unearned diploma from WVU, and hinted at tax hikes in the state's future, saying, "We will not, this year, have to increase any taxes or reduce services."After the debate, televised by Public Broadcasting and moderated by Scott Finn -- who did a good job with only a half hour format to work with -- Weeks issued a press release expressing surprise at Manchin's comment and promising that as governor, no tax increases would be levied against people or companies.Weeks also chided Manchin for hording a huge "rainy day fund," saying, "Look out the window, governor, it's pouring." Weeks said extra state funds on hand should be given back to residents now, especially to help with the coming home heating season. Here's the Associated Press story.