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VISIT NO MO MOJO
In the text box below, nominate your West Virginia Republican of the Year, and describe in a few words why he or she should be selected.
REPUBLICAN OF THE YEAR
UPDATED DAILY!
Mojo9/19/08
9/19/08GET YOUR 'DEGREE!' (Click image for details!)
Having Fun With Mojo
It's important to
be fair to everyone
Hey kids! Mojo here! I just wanted to check in to make sure everyone was taking full advantage of the opportunity to get their MBA degree from my new university! You all know how important it is to me to be fair to everyone! And what with all the talk from my opponent about cronyism and nepotism, I want West Virginians to be assured that you don't have to be related to me to get a degree you didn't earn! That's why I started the University of Mojo! To get a degree from the University of Mojo, you don't have to go to classes, you don't have to show up at a graduation ceremony, and you don't even have to pick up the diploma if you don't want to! Sound familiar? As you know, our state is last in the nation when it comes to people getting a college degree! But now, we can change that in a hurry! And if a few years from now anyone questions whether you earned it -- like some nosy out of state newspaper -- you just tell 'em to ask me, and I'll vouch for you! So what are you waiting for? Click on the diploma above, and start down that road to success! Manchin says he just wants to keep it positive, but welcomes suggestions
Pressed for reaction this week to challenger Russ Weeks' press conference, Gov. Joe Manchin told anyone who asked that he hopes the campaign can stay "positive."Manchin told WOWK-TV, "I would hope that we would look for the positive. My opponent, Russ, is a good man. I would hope he would see things that need to be done that maybe we haven't, and bring them to my attention."Let us parse Mojo's response. * First, he wants us all to "look for the positive," which suggests that to dare to point out anything about the Manchin administration that is, well, negative, is just not being a good sport.* Next, he assures us that "Russ is a good man," a comment offered in such a way as to suggest that it's a shame that poor ole Russ Weeks is in the unfortunate position of having to run against everyone's favorite benevolent dictator, but let's don't hold it against him too much.* Finally, the gov welcomes Russ' ideas. He wants Russ to see if there are things Manchin might be doing a little better and "bring them to my attention." Shoot, why have a campaign, when all Mojo really needs is a suggestion box?Naturally, Manchin and his supporters will claim that Russ Weeks' campaign is "going negative." They would all rather keep it positive which, of course, leads assuredly to the governor's quick and easy reelection.For several years, there has been a lot of hand wringing about "negative campaigns." But running as a challenger against any incumbent demands pointing out the negatives about the status quo. Who else is going to do it? Is Joe Manchin going to hold a press conference to announce all the things his administration has done wrong? In trying to defeat an incumbent, you are basically asking the electorate to fire someone from his current job. And to convince people to fire someone, you have to give them a good reason why. You can't just make a few "suggestions." You have to identify what you believe to be the most egregious and improper actions or failed policies and hammer them home time and time and time again. And in doing so, a challenger is always charged with running a "negative" campaign, while the incumbent is almost always in a position of being able to stay "positive," and win the admiration of many commentators and observers.But here are some suggestions for the governor, since he asked for anything he might do better to be brought to his attention. * Apologize for the West Virginia University scandal, and admit it was entirely inappropriate for a political crony with almost no pertinent experience to be appointed WVU president by a board stacked with your appointees, and explain how it came to be that out of the hundreds of thousands of WVU grads over the years, it just happened to be Heather Bresch who was wrongly awarded a degree.* Remove everyone you have appointed to office who is a direct relative.* Eliminate the food tax and the business franchise tax immediately.* Quit interfering in the WVU athletic program.* Quit spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on plush furnishings for the governor's mansion.* Quit finding new ways for the government to interfere in the people's lives, from what they eat to whether they talk on cell phones in their cars.Shall we go on? Nah, those are plenty of suggestions for now. Let's wait and see how many Mojo acts on.Chances are, he'll act on none of them, which is why you run a political campaign that sometimes sounds "negative" but in reality is a democratic exercise in pointing out to voters the drastic differences between how things have been done, how they are being done now, and how things would be done differently with a different governor.In reality, doing so is a positive thing for voters. Greear launches Web ad about McGraw's game
(Press Release) Attorney General Candidate Dan Greear announced the launch of his first ad of the campaign season, “McGraw’s Game of Monopoly,” a sharp take on Darrell McGraw’s unethical practice of handing out large lawsuit settlements to his campaign contributors.“This is the first ad we have launched and focuses on McGraw’s record,” Greear said. “In the days ahead, we will be announcing other commercials focusing on where I want to take the office. While many people who follow politics closely know all about Darrell’s mismanagement, many people in the general public do not. This ad clearly lays out how Darrell treats taxpayer money – just like he’s playing a game of Monopoly.”The Greear for AG campaign ad is 49 seconds long and displays quotes from both the Charleston Daily Mail and the Wheeling Intelligencer.“Newspapers across the state clearly understand McGraw’s schemes are hurting our state and our business climate. He has continually lined the pockets of his contributors with multi-million dollar contingency fees. My administration is going to change this practice and stop the shenanigans. We will have transparency in the process and most importantly, we will turn over the money we collect to the state taxpayers to be distributed by the Legislature. Unfortunately, Darrell treats taxpayer money like it’s his to give out as he sees fit. This arrogance must be stopped.”Greear has been crisscrossing the state and has campaigned in all 55 counties. The campaign will run a mix of broadcast ads as well as web ads focusing on the candidates’ differences and the reasons to vote for Dan Greear.(Press Release) Nancy Pelosi's "drilling" plan is a slap in the faces of Americans, the Shelley Moore Capito campaign said Thursday.Drilling wouldn't be allowed within 50 miles of a coast, which is where the oil is. The Interior Department estimates that 88 percent of the 18 billion barrels of oil believed to exist where leasing is banned would remain off limits under the Democrats' bill.What kind of nonsense is that?Capito took to the House floor to denounce the bill.The nation's energy dependence "isn't a Republican problem and it's not a Democratic problem," Capito said. "It demands bipartisanship, yet we just saw the leadership succeed in blocking the only bipartisan bill that came before the House today. To call this situation frustrating would be an understatement."Capito campaign says Pelosi plan a slap in the face
