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State GOP chairman Doug McKinney said Wednesday that this week’s announcement by Sen. Robert C. Byrd regarding the ending of earmark appropriations is the height of hypocrisy.
“No one has abused the art of earmarks more than Robert C. Byrd,” said McKinney. “More than any lawmaker in history, Sen. Byrd has mastered the art of earmarks and pork. For him to lead the fight against wasteful spending is putting the fox in charge of the henhouse.”
According to an Associated Press story this week, Byrd and Rep. David Obey, D-Wis, jointly announced they would remove billions of dollars in earmarks from bills passed on to them by Republicans. Byrd and Obey were quoted as saying, "There will be no congressional earmarks."
But as recently as September, Byrd was outed for leading the effort to try to hide earmarks from the public. The Chicago Tribune wrote in September that Byrd was one of two senators outed by an Internet watchdog “for bottling up a bill meant to help the public track how its tax dollars are spent.”
Under arcane Senate rules, Byrd was anonymously blocking a bill sponsored by Sens. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) and Barack Obama (D-Ill.) that would create a searchable online database of federal grants and contracts.
When he was finally outed as one of the senators blocking the bill, Byrd finally released it.
“For Sen. Byrd to blast Republicans for earmarks is laughable,” said McKinney. “Byrd may not have invented earmarks, but he certainly made it an art form.”
In fact, Byrd has long campaigned on his ability to bring home the pork, referring to himself as “Big Daddy” for his skill in delivering the bacon.
“Would West Virginians have been as anxious to reelect Sen. Byrd if he had made it known he was going to lead the fight against pork spending?” asked McKinney.
“Just how disingenuous the Democrats are on this issue is demonstrated by the very fact that Sen. Byrd is supposedly leading the fight. With Byrd in charge, earmarks aren’t going away anytime soon.”
McKinney: Height of hypocrisy for Byrd to decry pork
'Marshall' film emotional for Albee crowd
Tuesday's premiere of "We Are Marshall" at the Keith- Albee Theatre in Huntington revealed a well-done bio-pic of a defining moment in West Virginia history, but the screening was often overshadowed by the scenes playing out in the audience.
Quiet crying and low murmers of grief were audible as the story unfolded on screen. Obviously, countless audience members were reliving a painful experience.
Also interesting were audience reactions to several scenes -- often humorous -- featuring moments that will likely resonate in the Mountain State more than with other audiences elsewhere, particularly those referencing West Virginia University.
During one stretch in the storyline, Marshall coaches travel to various high schools on recruiting missions, only to be closely tailed by WVU scouts at every turn. One by one, players commit to WVU over Marshall.
In another scene, Marshall coaches Jack Lengyel and Red Dawson actually call on then -WVU coach Bobby Bowden to ask for help with a particular offense. Bowden's initial reaction of disbelief at this request is soon replaced by sympathetic assistance.
In both instances, the crowd at Keith Albee laughed and applauded roundly, but the poignancy will likely be less felt where the WVU-Marshall rivalry is not as appreciated.
Local, personal touches like these permeate the film, and it is director McG's (yeah, that's his name) attention to such detail which has won him and his film such affection among West Virginia natives.
As for the film itself, it is good. Not necessarily great, but very good, very solid, very watchable. Unlike too many films today, it is not overly long, clocking in at just over two hours. However, there is a sense that the story ends too abruptly, with the surprise victory over Xavier bringing us to a voiceover filling us in on Marshall's football history from then to present day, and a coda regarding player Nate Ruffin's burial alongside six former teammates who were killed in the fateful crash.
Matthew McConaughey and Matthew Fox are impressive in the lead roles of Lengyel and Dawson, but David Straithairn as Marshall President Dedmon might be the most memorable characterization. Straithairn portrays Dedmon as a man who knew and cared little for football itself, but understood the emotional impact of the plane crash and struggled with the notion that rebuilding a team so soon was the best way to proceed.
In the end, the true story itself carries the day. Many films must embellish the facts to add enough dramatic impact to deliver the proper emotional punch. In the case of the Marshall tragedy and its aftermath, little embellishment was necessary -- something the filmmakers seemed to realize with their opening line that, "This is a true story," rather than the typical, "Based on a true story."
"We Are Marshall" is a film that Marshall and the state of West Virginia can adopt with unabashed pride -- because it is a true story.
Matthew Fox, left, as coach Red Dawson, and Matthew McConaughey as coach Jack Lengyel in "We Are Marshall."
West Virginia has no qualms with sponsoring
Notes from the Tuesday premiere of "We Are Marshall"...
...Among "sponsors" of the big evening were none other than the State of West Virginia, the West Virginia Lottery and Brickstreet Insurance. Why Brickstreet -- the state's only choice in workers comp coverage -- should be spending a dime on sponsorships or advertising is a true mystery...
...Gov. Joe Manchin did not let the opportunity pass to address the 2200 in attendance at the Keith-Albee Theatre, and stayed onstage to pose with the actors and others connected with the film...
...One individual who sat near the stars during the screening said that at the conclusion of the film, as he walked past actor Matthew McConaughey's seat, he had to kick several empty beer bottles out of his way...
...Some audience members who had known former player Nate Ruffin said they were particularly impressed with actor Anthony Mackie's portrayal.
State Dems spent nearly a million, with Byrd, Rahall giving over half of it
By the end of the 2006 election cycle, the West Virginia Democratic Party raised and spent nearly one million dollars -- and more than half of it came from Sen. Robert C. Byrd and Congressman Nick Joe Rahall.
According to FEC reports filed this month, Byrd gave the state party $298,000, while Rahall ponied up $225,000 from their respective campaign accounts.
Additionally, the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee and the Democratic National Committee transferred more than $170,000 to the state party.
In turn, state Dems spent hundreds of thousands for TV, radio and mail, with Maple Creative, The Phillips Group, and a San Francisco mail firm called AMS Communications reaping the bulk of the funds.
In total, the state party raised $967,051.45 during the 2006 calendar year. The bulk of its spending occurred during the final three weeks of the election, with more than $600,000 spent during the "post General" reporting period, which actually overs the period of October 19 forward.
The spending report drives home the fact that a strong state Democrat Party was able to offset the efforts of one individual, Don Blankenship.
According to reports with the Secretary of State, Blankenship ended up spending more than $5 million in electioneering communications and independent expenditures. More than one million dollars in independent expenditures was just reported Dec. 7 on Blankenship's post-General report.
By contrast, the state Republican Party spent just about $160,000 all told from its various accounts, which should drive home the point that a strong state Democrat Party can only be countered by a strong state Republican Party.
Blankenship spent more than $5 million, reports say
In particular, the state's GOP elected officials and candidates need only to look at the state Dem reports to see that in addition to Byrd and Rahall, most Democrat legislators also ponied up to the state party, understanding the value of a strong get-out-the-vote effort from a centralized source.
The Democrat Party was able to demonize Blankenship because of the vacuum created by a poorly-funded Republican Party.
Meanwhile, Secretary of State Betty Ireland on Wednesday released final voting figures from the election. According to official turnout numbers reported by each county in West Virginia, early voting is steadily increasing in popularity since its inception in 2002. More than 62,000 voters took advantage of no-excuse early voting in the 2006 General Election; or 13 percent of the total turnout. “Early voting is steadily increasing in popularity,” Ireland said.
Kanawha County had the largest number of early voters with 6,074. However, Roane County had the highest percentage of early voters with over 28 percent of its total turnout attributed to early voters.
Official results show that 473,014 West Virginians exercised their right to vote during the 2006 General Election; that’s 41.5% of the state’s 1,137,371 registered voters. Turnout was average for the last four non-presidential elections except for the 1994 General Election where West Virginia had nearly 50 percent turnout.
“We didn’t see a huge increase in the turnout this year compared to other non-presidential elections,” Secretary Ireland said. “However, we did see a huge jump in turnout from the primary to the general.” Usually turnout from the primary to the general increases by 10 percentage points. This year the turnout jumped 15 percentage points from 26.2 percent turnout in the primary to 41.5 percent in the general.
