 | ||||
Abernathy Strategies
RepublicanGazette
Monday, April 7, 2008 "When news breaks, we fix it" Published daily except some days
Submissions welcome
The Republican Gazette welcomes Emails to the Editor and press releases. All submitted items must include the name and contact information for the author of the article, and all articles will only be published with the author's name included. Thank you for reading and participating in The Republican Gazette, another of West Virginia's most biased publications.
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.
-------
Search the Republican Gazette ---->
CHARLTON HESTON
Heston was superstar of GOP celebs
Charlton Heston's death over the weekend deprives the Republican Party of its most famous celebrity supporter.In a world where being a Hollywood star is usually synonomous with being a liberal Democrat, the GOP happily welcomed Heston's support of its candidates and its issues. There have been other stars who have identified themselves as conservatives, but before Heston, only John Wayne was a superstar.Always a conservative, Heston did not formally become a Republican until 1987. He most famously was an advocate for the right to bear arms, and his declaration during an NRA meeting that they would have to pry his rifle from his "cold dead hands" drew disdain from the left and cheers from the right.Like many Republicans, I had the pleasure of meeting and talking with Heston. During a campaign visit he made to Portsmouth, Ohio, in 1994, I was with a group of six or eight folks who found themselves bantering with the actor on the porch of the host of the fundraising event. Heston had already made his formal remarks and was relaxing with some casual conversation among small groups at a time.One individual told Heston how much they loved him in "The Ten Commandments." Another mentioned that "Planet of the Apes" was one of their favorite films.Heston smiled, and said, "Good grief, haven't you seen anything I've done lately?"I had by coincidence recently seen "Tombstone," in which Heston basically had a cameo role as a rancher who offers to hide out Doc Holliday for a day or two, and I said, "You were great in 'Tombstone,' except for the fact you didn't have a bigger role." "Thank you!" he exclaimed loudly, drawing laughs from the guests. During his formal remarks, Heston told a story about the making of "Ben-Hur." He recounted how he practiced for days driving a team of horses around a track for the famous chariot scene in that film.Finally, the director told him it was time to film the scene. "But I don't think I'm ready yet," Heston said, to which the director replied, "You just stay in the chariot, and we'll make sure you win the race."Heston undoubtedly told that story hundreds of times and was always rewarded with a laugh. I was particulary amused a few years later to see Heston in a Miller Lite commercial, which opened with Heston saying to a bar full of laughing patrons, "The director said, 'You stay in the chariot, and we'll make sure you win the race.'"Like another Republican icon, Heston fell victim to Alzheimer's disease in his last years, and the famous voice was publicly silenced. But Republicans will forever be grateful for the one legitimate Hollywood superstar who was proud to call himself our friend and ally.Weeks' suit on per diems has good chance of victory
30-day notice on lawsuit will be filed this week
The lawsuit that will be filed by Republican gubernatorial candidate Russ Weeks has a good chance of succeeding, especially considering a precedent that Charleston Gazette columnist Phil Kabler reminded his readers about on Sunday.Back in 2001, the Legislature passed a bill that increased per-day payments to legislators from $85 to $115, and that increase - like the current hike to $131 a day - was to be retroactive.However, before the first checks could be cut, Charleston lawyer Jim Lees threatened to sue, arguing that the state constitution forbids retroactive compensation.He argued at the time that increases in compensation can only occur on or after the date that the compensation law takes effect, and that the constitution doesn't allow backdating any increases......the 2001 lawsuit never came to fruition. Senate President Earl Ray Tomblin and House Speaker Bob Kiss put the issue to rest with an announcement that they would not recognize the retroactive provision in the law.Weeks intends to file the 30 days notice of his lawsuit early this week. State code requires that "at least thirty days prior to the institution of an action against a government agency, the complaining party or parties must provide the chief officer of the government agency and the attorney general written notice, by certified mail, return receipt requested, of the alleged claim and the relief desired." (§55-17-3)Finding an attorney willing to take on the State Legislature and Gov. Joe Manchin has not been easy, even among Republicans. Weeks and others in his organization have spoken with several attorneys in recent days, all of whom are extremely busy right now, it seems. If necessary, Weeks will file his 30 day notice with or without an attorney in tow.Workman, Bastress' claim of a light case load for the court shows their judicial philosophy
Democrat candidates for the Supreme Court Bob Bastress and Margaret Workman have made the lighter case load of the high court an issue to claim the current justices are not doing their jobs.(Workman) noted that when she served on the five-justice court, from 1989 to 2000, it heard many more cases than it does now. It still should, she said, because it is the only appellate court."We had record numbers of cases," Workman said.Bastress said the court formerly heard as many as 300 cases in a year, between 40 and 50 percent of those appealed. The current court hears only about 120 cases annually, he said."I think they need to get to work," he said.Both Workman and Bastress demonstrate their judicial philosophies with such statements. In fact, one of the main problems with the court over the years has been its willingness to hear just about every case that was appealed its way, especially workers comp cases. The Supreme Court is not designed to second guess the decision of every case heard by the lower courts. Otherwise, cases might as well just be filed at the Supreme Court in the first place. Being more circumspect about which cases it will accept on appeal is a positive change in the court over the past three years. It is no reflection on the number of cases the court considers, which is still high. What has dropped are the cases it accepts, to the benefit of the state as a whole.That Bastress and Workman openly say they want to accept more cases is tantamount to announcing that the court will sink back into the abyss from which it is slowly emerging, if they are elected.Equally amusing is the constant refrain from a third Democrat candidate, Menis Ketchum, who claims he is a "moderate" and who was quoted in that same Gazette story as saying, "I think that our court philosophically is deeply divided between the left and right," and calling for a move "back to the middle ground."Menis Ketchum seeking the middle ground? Ketchum is one of the biggest trial lawyers in the state. His areas of expertise are listed as personal injury, products liability, medical malpractice, MaritimeFederal Employers' Liability Act (FELA), and coal mining injury. Sound like a middle ground guy to you?
It will be interesting to see from his campaign finance reports whether his support is coming from the "middle ground" or from the left. A safe bet would be "from the left." WV Chamber joins forces with Democrat Gov Association to help defeat GOP candidates
The fact that the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce long ago became a de facto cabinet department of the Manchin Administration has been well documented and long reported here.In fact, the Chamber's allegiance to Manchin is so accepted and established that any additional evidence confirming as much is really no news at all, which is why this story is near the bottom of this page and not near the top.However, in a move that slams the door shut on even the slightest doubt about the Chamber's loyalties, the Chamber has led off its April 2 email newsletter with nothing less than the letter from the Democratic Governors Association and signed by Manchin soliciting healthcare horror stories for use in future campaigns against Republicans.The DGA is exactly what its name implies -- just like the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and the Democratic National Committee itself, the DGA is in the business of electing Democrats and defeating Republicans. It has no other purpose. That the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce would actually circulate its plea for healthcare horror stories is astounding. In fact, the DGA should now be forced to list the Chamber's assistance as an in-kind contribution.As reported here several days ago, Manchin, in his role as chairman of the DGA, signed a DGA letter asking people to send him their stories of how difficult it is for them to obtain proper healthcare.When the stories are collected, the DGA will of course use them to blast President Bush and Republican candidates, and to bolster liberal healthcare plans proposed by Democrats. Your West Virginia Chamber of Commerce dues at work.