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All opinions are those of The Republican Gazette and its editor, Gary Abernathy, except letters or commentary signed by others, and do not reflect the views of anyone else, including clients of Abernathy Strategies.
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Monday, April 28, 2008 "When news breaks, we fix it" Serving West Virginia since 2005.
(From Press Release) Morgantown, W.Va. — WVCDL-PAC, the political action committee of the West Virginia Citizens Defense League, Inc. (WVCDL), has announced that it has endorsed the following Republican candidates seeking election to the West Virginia Legislature. The PAC also made a number of endorsements of Democrats.Among Republicans endorsed by the PAC:Senate
District 1: Chris Wakim
District 14: Gary Howell
District 15: Clark Barnes
House of Delegates
District 1: Pat McGeehan
District 3: Bill Hefner
District 9: Larry Border
District 10: Tom Azinger
John Ellem
Ed Long
District 13: James McCormick
District 15: Carol Miller
District 16: Kelli Sobonya
District 25: Mike Porter
District 27: Linda Sumner
District 32: Ron Walters
District 38 : Steve Moneypenny
District 39 : Bill Hamilton
District 44: Cindy Frich
District 48 : Allen Evans
District 52 : Craig Blair
District 53 : Jonathan Miller
District 57 : Betsy Dungan
WVCDL is a nonpartisan, nonprofit, all-volunteer, grassroots organization of concerned West Virginians who support an individual’s right to keep and bear arms for defense of self, 
Mylan, Inc.
Joe Manchin
Governor, beneficiary of major financial support from Mylan.
Heather Bresch,governor's daughter, COO of Mylan.
Nick Casey,
lobbyist for Mylan, attorney for Manchin, chairman WV Democrats.
Mike Garrison, WVU president, longtime friend of Manchins, former Mylan lobbyist.
Mylan Inc.'s long reach
Mylan Inc. is a powerful company with tremendous influence in West Virginia politics and government. The firm is WVU's biggest booster, and the football stadium bears the name of the company's founder. A major financial supporter of Gov. Joe Manchin, the company employed his daughter, Heather Bresch, very early in her career, and most recently gave her the position of chief operating officer. Bresch was a major backer of Mike Garrison's bid for WVU president, and at least two members of the search committee that recommended Garrison had direct ties to Mylan. Meanwhile, Manchin's personal attorney, and chair of the West Virginia Democratic Party, Nick Casey, recently became a lobbyist for Mylan -- a job Garrison formerly held.
McKinney, Weeks call for resignation of Mike Garrison
West Virginia Republican Party Chairman Doug McKinney and GOP gubernatorial candidate Russ Weeks today jointly called on West Virginia University President Mike Garrison to resign his position, and called on the WVU Board of Governors to make a clean sweep of all other individuals responsible for the embarrassing actions connected to the Heather Bresch degree scandal.The pair noted that the resignation of Provost Gerald Lang announced Sunday was appropriate, but the issue goes to the core of the leadership at WVU.“When you fill the presidency of the state’s major university with a purely political appointment, it is not surprising when political scandals are the result,” said McKinney, a WVU alum. “The only way to put this behind us and begin to heal is for a clean sweep of everyone involved in this travesty.” “Newspapers across the state are calling for accountability in this matter, and I agree. If something like this happened on a ship in the Navy, the captain would immediately be relieved, and a full investigation would be underway,” said Weeks, a Navy veteran.The special investigative panel that decided whether Ms. Bresch had been properly awarded an eMBA degree found that there was “palpable pressure” to “not rock the boat.”“The boat is rocking now, and the waters need to be calmed,” said Weeks. “The only way to restore confidence in the university, and to convince every West Virginian that WVU takes this as seriously as it should, is to make an immediate change at the top.”McKinney added, “Already, donors are threatening to withhold their support, and faculty members are expressing their outrage. This needs to be dealt with quickly and decisively. The university was quick to award a degree that had not been earned. I hope it will be as quick to fix the apparent cronyism that allowed that to happen.”Will Starcher next ask to play 'Simon Says?'
Justice Larry Starcher's odd fixation on fellow Justice Brent Benjamin continued last week, with Starcher refusing to recuse himself from a case involving Massey Energy unless Benjamin also recused himself.Will he refuse to take a restroom break unless Benjamin does, too? Will he decline to take his place on the bench unless Benjamin is already there? Will he demand a game of "Simon Says?" The "Countdown to a Starcher-less Court" is a reminder that brighter days are ahead.WVCDL makes legislative endorsements
family, home and state, and for lawful hunting and recreational use.
During the 2008 legislative session, WVCDL was instrumental in defeating proposed legislation that would have substantially increased concealed handgun license fees and prohibited law-abiding citizens from carrying any weapon in the casino area of the state’s four racetracks.In its endorsement process, WVCDL-PAC evaluated the records of incumbent legislators and asked all legislative candidates to complete a questionnaire on their views concerning several legislative issues important to gun owners. WVCDL-PAC continues to receive responses to its candidate questionnaires and will issue regular updates to this list as it evaluates the completed candidate questionnaires it receives.
WVCDL-PAC continues to welcome responses from all candidates as it continues the endorsement process for districts in which it has not endorsed a candidate (or seats in multiple-member delegate districts in which WVCDL-PAC has not made endorsements for every seat).WVCDL-PAC Chairman Jim Mullins said:"We have received a tremendous response to our questionnaires. There are many quality candidates of both political parties, challengers and incumbents alike, who have demonstrated their firm commitment to protecting the rights of West Virginia gun owners. We made very difficult decisions in a couple of races where several candidates were equally good choices. I would encourage every candidate seeking the support of gun owners to respond to our questionnaire, as our endorsement process will continue through the general election."
