repubgazette8-8-07politicianreactioniraqvietnammojosub

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As a follow up to yesterday's item about the fact that the number of active duty military casualties under President Bush has not been that different than under President Clinton (Larry Messina has more up to date numbers on his blog), the chart at left serves as a reminder that Iraq is no Vietnam, or even Korea.

One can only imagine how quickly we might have abandoned World War II if the country had been subjected then to today's liberal network newscasts, or Democrat presidential candidates who worry mostly about whether the rest of the world likes us.

Kanawha County voters have already turned out in record numbers in regard to early voting, and on Saturday the actual election day will finally tell the tale of whether county voters will give the go-ahead for table games at Tri-State Racetrack, or send a message that they expect their elected leaders to offer them more economic development strategies than turning the state over to the gambling industry.

If Kanawha County voters say no to the gambling industry on Saturday, the reaction of politicians who have been front and center in pushing the referendum will be telling.

The most obvious and expected reaction will be one of anger. You can almost hear certain Charleston city officials coming forth with something like, "OK, everybody who didn't want this to happen, show me where you're coming up with 1,000 new jobs. It's up to you now."

Or you can already hear certain county officials saying something like, "Kanawha County had its chance. It's extremely sad that the voters fell for the lies told by the opponents of this issue."

What would be better, and actually demonstrate some leadership, would be a reaction along the lines of, "The voters have spoken and I respect their decision. I hear them loud and clear. They expect real economic development, not more maids and blackjack dealers. Let's get to work."

McKinney responds to pro-gambling newspaper ads

Dr. Doug McKinney, chairman of the West Virginia Republican Party, responded Tuesday to newspaper advertisements placed by advocates of the table games issue indicating that Republican “organizations” were urging a “yes” vote on the referendum.

McKinney pointed out that the official platform of the state GOP specifically supports “establishing a freeze on the further expansion of gambling, with education on its addictive and detrimental family effects, with strong vigorous enforcement of all existing laws dealing with gambling.” (Article 1, Section U, adopted June 5, 2004.)

McKinney also said that while some individual Republicans may well be supporting the referendum, he was aware of no GOP organization doing so, and noted that many leaders of the Kanawha County Republican Party have been at the forefront of the fight against the referendum.

In full page ads appearing in Charleston newspapers this week, the pro-gambling faction claims that the referendum “is supported by a number of organizations, many who don’t typically agree on issues…but they all agree on this YES vote.” Among the “organizations” listed after that statement is “Republicans.”

McKinney said the ad is misleading at best, and called on advocates of the table games referendum not to insinuate support from organizations where it does not exist.

Former State Senator Lisa Smith entered guilty pleas Tuesday to various charges relating to failure to pay income taxes that had been withheld from her employees, and also to charges regarding campaign finance statements.

Everyone who knew Lisa has been saddened all along by the turn of events which came to light after she resigned from the Senate in 2004.

I will always remember the first time I met Lisa. It was the night of the filing deadline for the 2002 election, and as the deadline drew near, former state GOP Chairman Kris Warner and I were watching candidates sign up at the last minute, and trying to twist Lisa's arm into foregoing a reelection campaign to her safe House of Delegates seat so she could run against Senate Finance Chairman Oshel Craigo instead.

I had only been on the job as executive director of the party for a couple of months, but Kris had spoken several times about trying to get Lisa to take on Craigo. She was extremely reluctant, but Kris kept the pressure on. I remember Lisa asking Kris if he would promise that the state party would help her raise money. Kris promised the party would do everything in its power to help raise the funds she would need.

The campaign against Craigo was interesting and somewhat bizarre, but I described it in "Elephant Wars" and won't bother revisiting it here.

It was a big risk for Lisa to leave the House seat to take on Craigo, seen by many as unbeatable. But for Republicans, two of the biggest victories of the 2002 election -- among many big victories that year -- were Lisa beating Craigo, and Russ Weeks taking out Senate Judiciary Chairman Bill Wooton.

I came to know Lisa as feisty, outspoken, sometimes irreverent, and often unpredictable. But I also came to really like her, and everyone who knows her prays for her to have the strength and fortitude to survive this ordeal and return to a happy and productive life.

OK, after two straight pretty tough trivia questions -- no one has yet identified the man in the picture of Elvis exiting the Daniel Boone Hotel -- here's an easier one. Big Ed Wheeler, a Boone County native and a new inductee into the West Virginia Music Hall of Fame, wrote what song that Elvis recorded and released as a single in 1974? Email answers here. First two correct answers to arrive win.