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Wednesday, June 25, 2008 "When news breaks, we fix it" Serving West Virginia since 2005
Russ Weeks: An American Life
Dems refuse probe of WVU
Democrat lawmakers on Tuesday refused to investigate the scandal at West Virginia University that led to the daughter of Gov. Joe Manchin being awarded an eMBA degree she did not earn.Del. Jonathan Miller, R-Berkeley, requested the investigation by the Joint Judiciary Committee, and asked for bipartisan support, but Democrats voted down Miller and fellow Republicans in a voice vote, signaling their willingness to turn a blind eye to the scandal in their efforts to protect the governor.
WVU receives about one-third of its annual operating budget -- or more than $200 million -- from state appropriations, but Democrats apparently do not believe that level of public funding includes any responsibility for oversight.Some Democrats openly scoffed at Miller's resolution, while others appeared visibly angry, both during and after the vote.Manchin caves to trial lawyers, adding campaign finance bill to special session
McKinney: Effort to rush campaign law an attack on First Amendment
West Virginia Republican Party Chairman Doug McKinney on Tuesday blasted the efforts of two trial lawyers to try to re-write state campaign laws less than five months before the 2008 General Election.“Just because they are unhappy with Judge Faber’s ruling shutting down their first attack on the First Amendment doesn’t mean they should come back at it again in a hastily called Special Session and make the same mistakes over again,” said McKinney.McKinney said everyone is in favor of transparency in the election process, “but we also need transparency when putting together legislation. There has been no input on this bill from citizen groups, or unions either, for that matter.”McKinney said the legislation proposed by Sen. Jeff Kessler and Del. Carrie Webster — two trial lawyers with a vested interest in the reelection of Attorney General Darrell McGraw and liberal judges across the state — is an insult to voters and an attack on the First Amendment.“Legislative leaders should hold hearings, consult with outside groups, and gain input from citizens before trampling on the First Amendment,” said McKinney. “They should open up the process instead of rushing through bad legislation just to achieve their personal political ends.”Governor breaks word about kinds of items that can be addressed in special session, allowing campaign finance bill, greyhound track issue
In recent weeks, Gov. Joe Manchin has refused to consider adding a variety of issues to this week's special session, saying such sessions are reserved for funding issues.But Manchin has now opened to the door to just about any issue under the sun being added to special session agendas by agreeing to include a campaign finance bill and a proposal for new greyhound training tracks.When GOP gubernatorial candidate Russ Weeks challenged Manchin to add an anti-abortion bill to this month's special session agenda, the Beckley Register-Herald reported:Manchin’s communications director, Lara Ramsburg, said special sessions are devoted to emergency funding matters, and that the abortion issue is a policy matter that should be discussed in a longer, regular legislative session.Apparently, writing new campaign laws to protect Attorney General Darrell McGraw is considered an "emergency funding matter," as is a plan to provide the West Virginia Greyhound Breeding Development Fund more money for a pair of new training tracks.Weeks warmly welcomed at Capitol, discusses WVU scandal at length on afternoon talk radio
Republican gubernatorial candidate Russ Weeks visited the State Capitol on Tuesday and was warmly welcomed by his former colleagues, including several Democrats who offered him words of encouragement.Weeks made the rounds of the rotunda, and at one point was asked whether he would enter the Senate chambers when that body reconvened, and where he would be recognized due to his status as a former Senator. Weeks declined, saying, "I don't do that kind of thing."Weeks later appeared on the "58 Live" talk show with hosts Mike Agnello and Rick Johnson, discussing at length the scandal at West Virginia University and his plans to take politics out of the WVU system. Weeks called for getting rid of the current Board of Governors and replacing them through a system that provides more input from a variety of sources.Weeks is traveling to Cabell County Thursday and Friday to meet with various state employees at their request, and on Saturday will be in Wood County for a Republican Women's picnic event.Beakes says he's building staff
and recruiting
Ben Beakes, recently named executive director of John McCain's campaign in West Virginia, told Metro News on Tuesday he is beginning to build his staff and recruit volunteers for the McCain effort.Beakes said McCain and West Virginia are a good fit, with both being independent in nature.Beakes pointed out that while the McCain campaign is getting up and running, the campaign of Barack Obama seems so far to be dormant in the state. You can hear the interview here.Full text of Russ Weeks' remarks in Flatwoods
Both Russ Weeks and I have received countless requests from attendees of Saturday's West Virginia Republican Convention in Flatwoods for a copy of Russ' remarks that day. Here they are.What a great privilege it is to stand with so many Republicans here today who care so much about the future of our state, and are so dedicated to bringing about the changes we desperately need.I want to thank Dr. Doug McKinney and the members of the Republican State Executive Committee for their leadership and tireless efforts on behalf of our Party. I want to thank Betty Ireland and Shelley Moore Capito for their devotion to our Party and the people of West Virginia. I want to thank each of the county chairs and members of all the county committees for the work they do at the grassroots level every day. I want to thank our Republican state legislators for their dedication to making our state a better place, and for their friendship and help during this campaign.I want to express my appreciation to all the candidates carrying the Republican banner in this election.It’s an honor to stand by your side.
It’s one of the great honors of my life to serve as your nominee for Governor of the Great State of West Virginia. And as I travel across our state, I constantly remind myself that I am not just representing Russ Weeks.I am representing every Republican in every town and every county across West Virginia.
And let me fill you in on a little secret. The people of this state are ready to make a change in the governor’s mansion. That might be hard for some of you to believe. But if you could follow me around every day, everywhere I go, it wouldn’t take long for you to figure out that Governor Manchin is in for a big surprise come November.There’s hardly any place I go where I’m not approached by teachers who are upset at broken promises made by the governor, and they’re ready to vote for a new direction. There’s almost no event that I attend where I’m not approached by state highway workers anxious to tell me the truth about what’s going on at the Department of Highways. There’s no place I go where I’m not asked to meet privately with healthcare workers who have horror stories about the poor care of patients and the lack of oversight from the state. There’s seldom a county I visit where I’m not taken aside by alumni and faculty of West Virginia University who are fed up with the cronyism and corruption and are ready to vote for honesty and integrity instead.There are some things we already know about this campaign. We know that my opponent will outraise me when it comes to campaign finances. He’ll outraise me ten to one. Maybe twenty to one. Maybe a hundred to one.Pick your number.
But what we know is that if money was all that mattered in campaigns, Ross Perot would be president. Or Michael Bloomberg. Or Steve Forbes. Or Bill Gates, for that matter.Money is a great thing to have in a political campaign. I wish I had more of it. Each of you can be a big help in that regard. I’d be happy to leave here today with a check from each one of you. Or you can visit my web site at www.russweeks2008.com and make a donation online.But there’s something much more important than having money on your side. I’d rather have what I already have on my side. And that is, knowing that I’m right when I call for immediate tax cuts to make West Virginia competitive again. And knowing that I’m right when I call for an end to taxpayer funding of elective abortions. And knowing that the right thing to do is to end the cronyism and corruption that are the real reasons our state remains in 49th and 50th place in almost every economic category in the nation.My opponent in this race is a very good politician. I think he’s one of the best I’ve ever seen. So if you want to elect a good politician, vote for Joe.But if you want to elect someone who wants to do the right thing, and put the people of this state ahead of his own agenda and his own cronies and friends, then vote for me.You know, one of the hazards of running for office is that there are people who will spread lies about you.I’ve heard several lies spread about me. And I’ve heard several lies spread about my opponent. One of the worst lies I’ve heard spread about Joe Manchin is that he’s really a Republican. They say that Joe Manchin is just a Democrat in Name Only, or a Republican in Democrat clothing. That, my friends, is a vicious lie.
I ask you — does a Republican stand against eliminating taxes so our state can grow and prosper?Does a Republican go out and campaign for liberal candidates to try to fill the State Legislature with as many Democrats as possible? Does a Republican promise the pro-choice lobby that he won’t fight hard for pro-life legislation? Does a Republican refuse to suspend the gasoline tax, and then say to Republicans who favor that idea to go talk to their rich buddies in the oil industry? Does a Republican run under the banner of a party that favors gay marriage, abortion on demand, higher taxes and backing away from the War on Terror? Does a Republican support Barack Obama for president of the United States? Please don’t ever tell me that Joe Manchin is really a Republican.
My friends, I know what it means to really be a Republican. And I am here to tell you today that I am the only candidate who really is a Republican.When I served my country for twenty years in the United States Navy, I tried to uphold the Republican ideal of being proud to be an American, and being proud of everyone who wears the uniform of our country. And when I was a recruiter, and I talked to young men and women about serving their country, I didn’t feel I had to make any apologies for the United States of America. I proudly served under the colors of our flag, and I still proudly salute and honor that flag today.And when West Virginians for Life talked to me in 2002 about running against the Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee who had been holding up important bills to protect and save the lives of the unborn, I took on that fight, because that’s what a real Republican has to do. And when my Party needed a candidate for governor, and no one else was stepping up to the plate, I decided to take on that challenge, because I am a real Republican, and I love my Party, and I love the things my party stands for. And I make no apologies for that.But there’s something I love even more than my Party. And that is the State of West Virginia. And as we celebrate our state’s birthday, our celebration is somewhat subdued this year, because one of our most beloved institutions has been under a dark cloud.There are those who say it’s wrong to make the scandal at West Virginia University a political issue.I agree. I agree that it was wrong to make the selection of the president of WVU a political decision. It was wrong to award grades to a student at WVU just because of her political connections. It was wrong to have a system where the WVU Board of Governors is stacked by a governor who fills the positions with political cronies.
So I am sorry that the WVU scandal is a political issue. But we’re not the ones who made it a political issue.I promise you this, though. When I’m governor, I’ll take the politics out of West Virginia University. I’ll fight for a new method of selecting the Board of Governors, and a much more open process of finding a new president for WVU.
And I won’t be trying to interfere in the football program, or the basketball program, or the search process for coaches and professors and presidents. A governor should have better things to worry about.
As governor, I’m going to focus on issues that matter more to the everyday lives of West Virginians. There are millions of dollars in wasted public money in nearly every agency of state government. I’m going to find that money, and make sure it is accounted for. Because it’s not the governor’s money. And it’s not the state’s money.It’s your money. And you deserve to be treated with the respect of having your money handled wisely and honestly and openly.
If I accomplish nothing else as governor of West Virginia, there’s one big item, one major endeavor, on which I will stake my claim. I want to make the people of West Virginia proud of their government. I want to change the widespread perception — a perception that reaches far beyond the borders of our state — that West Virginia is a place where crooked politicians thrive. Where corruption is expected. Where a handful of families rule with an iron fist. Where the law is a mere inconvenience, like a game where the winner is the one who’s best at finding his way around it.I want our next generation of West Virginians to grow up knowing a different kind of government than most of us grew up with. I want them to look at our leaders in Charleston with respect and admiration, instead of suspicion and dismay.It won’t be easy, and I can’t do it alone. But I can do it with your help.We stand at a crucial moment in our state history.We know the opponent we face.The fact is, our opponent is not any one man, any one candidate, or any one Party.Our opponent is a history of corruption.Our opponent is the perception that nothing will change.Our opponent is the low expectations of a beaten-down population.Our opponent is a deep-rooted distrust of government, and the acceptance of the status quo.I’m asking you today to help me fight that opponent. I’m asking you to examine your own commitment and love for our state, and join me in taking on the biggest opponent we will ever have. There’s nothing that destroys the human spirit more than indifference and ambivalence. The leaders of the other Party have no motivation or reason to lead the fight for change. They are the ones benefitting from the spoils of being the entrenched ruling class in West Virginia, even at the expense of the rank and file members of their own party.Our Party is the only Party in this state that has the motivation and the will to do what is right for the people of West Virginia — for Republicans, for Democrats and for independents — whose lives cry out for a new attitude, a new commitment to honesty and integrity in government, a new hope, and a new direction.I invite you — I challenge you — to join me in leading this state in a new direction.That duty is ours.That opportunity is at hand.That moment in history is now.Thank you, God bless you, and God bless the Great State of West Virginia.