West Virginia Politics

Cabell County Sheriff Candidates

I just put the poll up so it works but the page is not yet pretty. I programmed the poll software so that it only allows one vote per IP address. No IP outside of the USA is allowed to vote. There are a number of controls to prevent results tampering by foreign bot networks. The results are instantly available as they are calculated by the machine. Overt attempts at cheating by using contiguous IP's will be deleted.

Nobody claims this poll is in the least bit scientific. But the small number of safeguards against digital ballot box stuffing A.K.A. cheating make it more reliable than a poll of the candidates friends, conducted by a candidate.

West Virginia's Chief Supreme Court justice Elliott E. 'Spike' Maynard agreed Friday, Jan. 18, 2008 to recuse himself from a pending case involving Massey Energy Co and Massey's President, CEO and Chairman Don Blankenship. The recusal happened after pictures of Don Blankenship and Spike Maynard became public. The pictures taken and made public were joint poses of Spike Maynard and Don Blankenship while vacationing in Monaco in July 2006. IN light of the role that Don Blankenship played in the election of Justice Benjamin in the last supreme court election in the state of West Virginia. Many in West Virginia are wondering when Justice Benjamin is going to follow Maynard's example and recuse himself as well.

It is a well known matter of common knowledge in the State of West Virginia that Don Blankenship is one of the most controversial and politically vindictive coal barons in the history of this state. Don Blankenship has promoted an extreme right wing agenda that makes most Conservatives republicans look liberal in contrast to Don Blankenship. The relationship between Don Blankenship and the West Virginia Democratic Party is one of extreme animosity. As the CEO of Massey Energy, Don Blankenship is a serious economic player.

It was an extreme lapse of judgement for Chief Justice Maynard to have pictures made with Don Blankenship that cause the citizens of West Virginia to question the integrity of the West Virginia Supreme Court. It was not illegal to have ones picture taken with Don Blankenship, however it was poorly thought out. Chief Justice Maynard should have known well that Don Hatfield would exploit any and all political angles.

What the citizens of West Virginia are afraid of, is a supreme court judiciary with extremely poor judgement.

Local politics in Cabell County WV is pretty much business as usual as we approach election 2008. there is not too much to report because every political fiasco in the county seems to be professionally covered up and well whitewashed. So much for political commentery from a liberal democrat. I often wonder if I am the last remaining liberal democrat in West Virginia.

As I was driving across the famous pink bridge in Huntington the other day. I could not help but notice how much it looked like a big bottle of Pepto Bismol. I have no idea how that particular obnoxious shade of pink was obtained. I can only speculate in the political blog that operates as a sub section of my main blog.

I do have a theory as to how the blasted bridge got so pink.

1, Somebody went to city hall and said the blasted bridge needed to be painted.

2. The Mayor said it has to be painted from existing colors in the city paint inventory.

3. So the prospective painter said "give me all the paint you have".

4. City council came up with 20 gallons of white-wash. the same stuff they use to white wash budget errors and scandals and foul ups with purchasing contracts.

5. The painter said this not enough paint. We are a quart of paint short of the amount I need to do the job.

6. The city finance department then came up with a quart of red ink, the very same red ink that the use to write the city budget with.

7. The painter said "Oh my Gawd" as he poured the red ink into the whitewash. I want to paint a bridge in the park, and this hideous pink color is worthy of the out-house at a cat-house! Is this the best the city can do?

8. The Mayor then told the guy that he should be grateful for the whitewash and the red ink. That was the first time the finance department and city council had ever coopererated on anything! That shade of pink was symbolic of a new era of cooperation at city hall.

9. The frustrated painter then asked the Mayor as to the date of the next election. The Mayor replied that the election is a ways off in the future but I hope you will remember me on election day.

10 The painter then told the Mayor that in the next election, he and all of his friends would "help the Mayor out".

Stephanie Heck on TV This Weekend

I am quite thrilled that the Democratic Party has had a massive victory in the November 2006 General Election. I am further thrilled that Don Blankenship's arrogant attempt to buy a Republican Legislature was soundly rejected by the fair minded voters of this state of West Virginia.

Stephanie Heck

Don Blankenship wants us all to believe that filthy rich coal barons have the best interest of the children at heart, in much the same way they want us to believe that they have the best interest of the coal miners at heart.
Coal Baron's have historically raped this states resources and treated its citizens poorly. I have absolutely no reason to believe anything has changed.

Every time I see Don Blankenship on TV, the old song "16 Tons" by Tennessee Ernie Ford comes to mind. Coal Barron's and politics are like guns and whiskey, they just don't mix.

The Buffalo Creek Disaster due to the negligence of coal executives is not such a distant memory. To forget history is to abandon the potential for repetition.

Coal Baron's have had well over a hundred years to show this state how much they care, and all of a sudden Don Blankenship wants to throw a hundred years of exploitive and malific precedent to the wind and lead us to a better way of living? No way...No Sale! Don says he wants to make the state a better place. If he really meant that, he would do the right thing and jump off of his wallet and make the state of WV a better place.

The politics of Don Blankenship overshadow the the WV-GOP in magnitude and in budget. Don Blankenship and his money are a political party in their own right and the Democrats know it.

Stephanie Heck

Cabell County

I have recently gone to the HNN Huntington News web site to see the latest absurd ads for John Raese and his silly effort to get people to take him seriously in his efforts to get rid of Senator Byrd. John Raese has political ads all over the HNN website. On the front page of HNN there is a political ad picture of John Raese with a shotgun slung over his shoulder saying "West Virginia Needs A New Gun in Washington".

John Raese does not have the intellectual depth to understand that the old "Byrd Gun" is still very accurate and still has the capacity to nail a few Republican varmint's in the course of upholding the Constitution and the rules of the Senate. I am trying to figure out if John Raese is smart enough to figure it out that his gun-toting ad carries several different potential meanings to the intelligent observer. The first thing that comes to mind is the photograph of Hiram Lewis sitting in Saddam's throne with a rifle in hand. These pictures of gun toting Republican Senate candidates gets very old, very quick, after being bombarded with Hiram Lewis's self professed war hero status during the primary. Is John Raese following Hiram's media style lead due to a lack of imagination in his own staff? Some would see this John Raese advertising faux pas as a blatant appeal to the hillbilly stereotype of the "Jed Clampett" mentality that is alleged to be factual by those political miscreants outside of this beloved state of West Virginia who very wrongly attempt to promote propaganda conveying the allegation that Senator Byrd as an over-educated redneck. Senator Byrd is a law school graduate. This gun toting political ad reminds me of something Hiram Lewis or Don Blankenship would do.

Some would see John Raese in this shotgun toting political ad, as doing a Charlton Heston style NRA impersonation in this political ad. This would indicate to the intelligent voter that John Raese is vastly out of political touch with the modern political landscape in West Virginia. John Raese has made admission that he is a Reagan style Republican and that he freely admits that he has no modern role mode for his politics, and that his closest political role model is from the politics of 25 years ago. If John Raese has a West Virginia role model for his politics in election 2006, he certainly has not gone public with it. I believe his model to be himself.

I remember how West Virginians did without during the Reagan years and I perceive the Raese camps Retro-conservatism to more of a threat to the constitutional rights and economic progress of Americans than any other school of thought.

Democrats acknowledge that Senator Robert C. Byrd IS THE ROLE MODEL for several generations of West Virginia democrats and election 2006 is not going to change that. Senator Robert C. Byrd is not a wealthy man and John Raese is very wealthy. You don't get rich in public service for 60 years. John Raese has mote money than Senator Byrd has ever owned because the service of the state and nation is all that Bob Byrd has ever done. As I look at that absurd gun toting political ad on the HNN website, I see a rich guy playing armed hillbilly with a gun. In the act of appealing to negative stereotypes, John Raese is inadvertently becoming the stereotype. My mind wanders back in media history to another era where I clearly see the precedent for John Raese candidacy, There was once a Reagan era family values TV show called the Duke's of Hazard and John Raese reminds me of a big money version of "Boss Hogg".

Maybe this armed ad on the HNN website is John Raese's way to trying to remind us of of the time VP Chaney shot one of his lawyer buddies on a hunting trip? Republican politicians should not play with guns in close proximity to lawyers according to the bar association instruction manual for evading buckshot. Is this indicative of the candidates position on tort reform? Will someone please tell John Raese to get a clue and learn that gimmick ads and guns don't mix. John Raese needs to lay off the gimmicky ads and stick to statements of substance.

John Raese should seriously contemplate learning to play the fiddle...and he might go somewhere.

Senator Robert Byrd of West Virginia today becomes the longest serving United States Senator in American History this day. Senator Byrd has set the Senate Record. Byrd has been in the Senate since 1958. For a total of 17,327 days in Senate office serving West Virginia. Senator Byrd has dedicated his entire adult life to the service of the constitution and the state of West Virginia. I intend to vote for Byrd to hold the Senate seat as long as he desires to stay in politics. Congratulations Senator Byrd!

I recently had the pleasure of meeting a bright young man named Doug Reynolds. Doug informs me that he is running for the West Virginia Legislature in the 16th. Delegate District.  He seems to be carving out a name for himself in local Cabell County politics and establishing a reputation of being a smart fellow who just so happens to be a moderate Democrat. He has that rare combination of charm, wits, and good looks to see to it that he will have a very bright future in West Virginia Politics in due time. Hopefully sooner than later.

The fact that Doug Reynolds has a charming wife will without doubt be a great asset to his future political endeavors. Mrs. Reynolds seems to be a pretty intelligent lady in her own right. I did not get to speak with her but very little, but I was impressed with the both of them. There are some that are jealous of the fact that Doug is the son of a local successful businessman, but that is exactly what impresses me about this young man is that he is doing it on his own, and not just basking in his fathers shadow, or riding on coattails. He seems to be his own man with an independent mind. That is exactly what this state needs.

I think I am going to vote for Doug Reynolds, as this county and state need bright young leaders to move forward.

I just got finished watching President Bush address what appears to be a handpicked crowd in Wheeling West Virginia. The well choreographed crowd applauded President Bush on numerous occasions.

President Bush wants to convince the citizens of West Virginia that the War in Iraq is predicated on promoting democratic values in the middle east. 

It is my position that a war that is founded on democratic ideals needs no salesman to make it palatable. A war that is not being fought for self explanatory reasons needs no advocate.

The majority of the American people see this war as having its roots in money and oil and has nothing to do with democracy. Large federal contractors with close ties to the GOP are making huge profits.

The perception of some in West Virginia is that the Presidents speech in Wheeling West Virginia was more of a staged political media event rather than an open discussion of the issues. The questions posed to President Bush in Wheeling West Virginia appeared to intend to help President Bush make his point. There were no hard questions posed, and to this extent I perceive the presidents actions in Wheeling West Virginia to be more of a staged political sermon rather than a legitimate "town hall" style meeting.

West Virginia Politics has no place for those who sell war as though it was a commodity traded on the stock market. I very strongly support our troops overseas, however I reserve the right to question the motives of those who set the policies that send the troops to war.

Stephanie Heck / Huntington West Virginia

It saddens me that Delegate Dale Stephens of the Cabell County delegation to the West Virginia Legislature has decided to break democratic party ranks in support of a republican sponsored gay marriage amendment to the state constitution. I have never been one for the politics of bias. The democratic leadership and many members of the legislature determined that existing laws are adequate and a constitutional amendment was not needed. The gay marriage amendment vote went down along party lines with the exception of a small number of democratic legislators who have no allegiance to their party and kissed the GOP elephants posterior.

My position on this is very simple, marriage should be regulated by general statutes and it is absolutely not a constitutional issue at the state or federal level. Any form of prohibition should be done by general statute and don't tamper with the state constitution.

I had no idea that Dale Stephens of Cabell County had such an extreme right wing agenda that he could not be relied upon to support his own party on its civil rights position. Those of us who voted for Dale Stephens in the past thought we were getting a democrat and not a DINO. A Dino is a ( Democrat in Name Only ) A.K.A. "A closet case republican". If Dale Stephens was a republican I would expect him to hold this position. I did not vote for a republican and I resent the trickery and lack of backbone. I resent liberal republicans for the same reason I resent right wing democrats. These people don't have the integrity to say what they really are, and the voter has no idea of what they are getting.

I assure you that I will not make the mistake of voting for Dale Stephens again. I am hoping to vote for candidates that support the positions of the party that elected them. It is not a matter of my position but rather a matter of honesty, I am tired of democrats who are indistinguishable from republicans and vice-versa. I am not angry but very disappointed at the lack of backbone among elected leaders.

I have opened up a new Huntington West Virginia chat room for the community. The software is advanced and full featured. I like to think of it as Huntington's Best Chat Room.

Give it a try: http://sheck.com/chat/

Open forum will be the rule when hosted chat is not being held.

Monday 7-9 PM Familiarization and how to use the chat software. It is fairly basic but it takes a few minutes to learn how to use it correctly. General Hosted Chat along a concensus model.

Tuesday 7-9 PM Local Cabell County and Huntington Issues.

Wednesday 7-9 PM State and federal issues. Debate on the Iraq War and the direction the administration is leading the country.

Thursday 7-9 PM Democrats V. Republican's debate on social issues and the social agenda. Knock Down... drag out rowdy politics. No place for lightweights.

Friday 7-9 PM: Open Chat: Constructive intelligent dialogue is encouraged in a moderated atmosphere.

Weekends: Recovery time.

The chat room will be open 24/7 for those of you who wish to use it to chat with remote family members during the holidy season. There are several private rooms you can use to talk to remote fmily and this is especilly good if you have family overseas in the military.

The chatroom is at the link below.

Warm Regards
Happy Holidays
Stephanie Heck

Bond Election today in West Virginia. Whatever your political position is on this issue, time to get out and vote. The right to vote is precious and shoud be exercised in each election by every citizen in this state of West Virginia . If you dont vote you don't have much of a right to complain, so get out and vote if nothing else but to preserve your right to gripe about the government.

RESULTS: Gov. Joe Manchin's plans to re finance West Virginia's cronic problems with the underfunded state retirement system by selling up to 5.5 billion dollars in bonds was shot down bu the voters today. .Unofficial results from the special election showed the pension bond measure failed 46 percent voting for the bond measure, and 54 percent voting against the bond measure. Joe Manchin lost his arse on this one.

Stephanie Heck

Cabell County Huntington West Virginia 25701

Friends:

Please pass this article along to any and all officials of the democratic party and any other organization who might read it. We need to get this to the DNC so some action could be taken. Cabell County West Virginia has some of the most right wing democrats (closet case republicans) in the country running the county executive committee.

Stephanie

Is this Kosher? Not Hardly.

I was driving down Third Avenue in Downtown Huntington in Cabell County West Virginia when I saw this big billboard that had been posted as a paid political ad by the Cabell County Democratic Executive Committee. This Billboard in Huntington claims that "DEMOCRATS ARE CHRISTIANS TOO". I have no idea why the Cabell County West Virginia Democratic Executive Committee is using party funds to preach a religious message. It would please me enormously if both the democrats and republicans would leave religion alone and quit generating theocratic propaganda. One of the reasons that I am registered as a Democrat is because I do support diversity and pluralism as opposed to the conformist conservative agenda of the GOP that relies heavily on the followers of TV preachers and evangelicals to keep them in office. It is the policy of the Democratic National Committee to support religious diversity and leave religion to the individual as a matter of individual faith and individual rights. The West Virginia Democratic Party is of a similar position to the best of my understanding. The Cabell County Democratic Executive Committee does not seem to get the message that religion and politics are a binary explosive combination that can hurt the party at higher levels when seeking donations and fundraising.

The Billboard in Huntington West Virginia Clearly States "Paid For By The Cabell County Democratic Executive Committee". This christian billboard campaign by the Cabell County Democratic Executive Committee is grossly insensitive to the religious identity if non christian voters who just happen to be democrats. This conduct by the Cabell County Democratic Executive Committee gives the impression that one has to be a "good christian" to be a "good democrat". It also gives the clear impression that non christian candidates cannot expect support from the Cabell County Democratic Executive Committee. This type of gross insensitivity to the non christian voters who happen to be democrats by a county party committee should be brought to the Attention of the DNC and other organizations concerned with religious freedom. Help me get the word out please.

I sent the picture above to several of my Jewish friends who happen to be Democrats, and they were quite offended that the Cabell County Democratic Executive Committee as a county extension of a political party of which they are members, would represent the party as a christian entity, or brag about a christian majority or the religious affiliation of the majority of democrats. To quote my Jewish friends: "It sends a message that non Christians are not quite welcome", and " As a Jewish person I will not donate to a party that puts out christian messages on billboards".

Speaking solely for myself: I am displeased that the Cabell County Democratic Executive Committee is using party funds for this purpose. Non Christians do not desire for their religion to be re-defined by a political party of which they are members. When political parties start endorsing religions, it is not too long before political leaders are forced to toe the religious line to gain the parties endorsement, and I don't think the founding fathers would have liked that. We have seen Far too much of that from the republicans.

In Cabell County West Virginia we have some conservative "democrats" in leadership positions who are D.I.N.O's (Democrats In Name Only), AKA "Closet Case Republicans". If a liberal democrat would run for office in this county, the executive committee is far too right wing and ultra-conservative to support them. The Cabell County Democratic Executive Committee did not even try to organize the Huntington gay community against the Bush Campaign in the last election and made only a half hearted attempt to organize other disenfranchised and marginalized groups. As the result Bush won in West Virginia because regretably Democrats did not work hard enough to win.

It seems as though the evangelical goal of the Cabell County Democratic Executive Committee is to prove that the political "loose cannons" have united to form a loose artillery unit. It is little wonder that the Governors campaign staff shunned the Cabell County Democratic Executive Committee during the last election. The Governor is smart enough to avoid trouble like the plague until such time as the State Democratic Party gets a handle on Cabell County's Democratic Executive Committee, for impersonating a church in a democratic party that officially leaves matters of faith to the individual by official policy at the national level.

This is what happens when ultra conservative D.I.N.O.''s ( Democrats In Name Only ) get control of a County Democratic Executive Committee and go into a bad case of "Stark Raving Republican-itis". There is nothing conservative about Mr. Jefferson's conception of Democracy. True patriotism mandates a liberal broad mind that comprehends that "freedom" is a very liberal rebellion against the regressive arch-conservatism of the defenders of the status quo.

I fully support religious expression for individuals and religious institutions, but not for political parties because they are too closely tied to the electoral process and I respect the separation of church and state. Am I the last remaining liberal Democrat left in the State of West Virginia? One of the reasons I love the Democratic Party is because the Democratic National Committee acknowledges that religion is an individual matter. The Cabell County Democratic Executive Committee does not understand that a religious choice DOES NOT equate to a political choice in a democracy therefore the billboard in question is irrelevant to any legitimate political goal.

Jerry Falwell And Pat Robertson may feel that party affiliation is a religious choice, and by posting that Billboard the Cabell County Democratic Executive Committee is playing the republican game on GOP turf and provoking non christian democrats in the process. The entire purpose of the establishment clause and free exercise clause of the First Amendment is to separate religion and politics and to protect the rights of religious minorities. Religion is not a majority rule proposition like political issues are.

I personally feel that the evangelical movement in the GOP known as the "religious right" is neither religious or right. Just another theocratic political movement under the command of the political commanders who run it with total contempt for the First Amendment.

If the billboard said "DEMOCRATS ARE ATHEISTS TOO" instead of "DEMOCRATS ARE CHRISTIANS TOO" think what an uproar it would create in West Virginia. Religious messages are subject to such a wide interpretation that there is no correct way to present one in a political context. I am not hostile to anyone's faith or lack thereof. I just prefer that the states democrats refrain from the same type of religious sloganeering that the GOP uses. The Theo-politics of the GOP that assumes the holier than thou mentality is contagious around election time. Let us not become what we detest. Non Christians are not in a habit if making a stink for the most part in this state. They will just passively refuse to donate to a party that claims to be christian on its billboards. The results of this sort of thing show up in fund raising reports the next time the state party goes on a fund raising drive.

The pages of political history are best turned in reverence for the way things are, rather than the way we desire them to be. To be pragmatic: Religion is the art of divinely dictated absolutes, and politics is the art of debate and compromise. Religion defies compromise, and politics embraces few if any absolutes. Mixing religion and politics is a recipe for something that can easily come back to haunt you in the next election.

Putting religious messages in a political slogan Billboard cheapens both religion and the sloganeer. All democrats have a vested interest in upholding the integrity of the party. I wish to thank the state executive committee for NOT following the religious example of the Cabell County Democratic Executive Committee on a state wide basis. We would never live that one down. It is because I do care about the integrity of the party that I oppose these Billboards, and those D.I.N.O's (Democrats In Name Only)who advocate undermining the DNC standard of leaving religion to the individual. To advocate political affiliation with the religious majority is to politically undermine religious minorities. For every action there is and opposite and equal reation and I regret to say the laws of physics are relevant to politics as well as the universe.There is nothing conservative about Mr. Jefferson's conception of Democracy. True patriotism mandates a liberal broad mind that comprehends a that freedom is a very liberal rebellion against the arch-conservatism of the defenders of the status quo.

Stephanie Heck

Huntington

Cabell County

West Virginia

West Virginia Political Commentary:

Senator Robert C. Byrd has been in the U.S. Senate since before I was born. I think he has been there since Pharaoh was a pup. I am concerned that the daughter of Arch Moore ( Ms. Capito ) is planning to run against Senator Robert C. Byrd in the 2006 election.

Robert C. Byrd is one of the most accomplished constitutional scholars in the Senate, and is well recognized as an expert in the evolution of the rules, and the history of the Senate as a lawmaking body. A legal, historical, and and senate rules expert with decades of seniority will be hard to beat.

Let us be pragmatic: The United States Senate runs on a seniority system and Pork is the spoils of political warfare. Senator Robert C. Byrd has massive seniority and thus he has the capacity to bring home West Virginia's fair share of federal money. The reputation and seniority of Senator Robert C. Byrd is a tremendous asset to West Virginia that has served this state well for decades. Should Senator Robert C. Byrd choose to follow the example of Senator Jennings Randolph and spend the remainder of his life in the U.S. Senate, I will support him in that choice.

Nothing against Congresswoman Capito, but it will take at least 25 years of Senatorial Practicum to amass the skills necessary to replace Senator Robert C. Byrd in a lawmaking body that rewards seniority and relegates first term Senators to minor positions. There will come a time for a new face in the Senate but that time is in the distant future. Senator Robert C. Byrd spent a lifetime building up seniority and political skills, and in the U.S. Senate... seniority means power... and there is no way around that fact. Why abandon a known entity of proven merit at his political apex, and greatest productive capacity, for a newcomer who will not mature to full potential for 25 years?

My position has nothing to do with gender, but has more to do with mathematics. I just think that a senior ranking senator such as Robert C. Byrd can bring home more Federal money to West Virginia than a freshman senator can possibly hope to do. West Virginia needs money to overcome the huge loss of jobs in this state that has come about as a result of GOP policies that have been implemented to the great economic detriment of this state. The Federal Government has not had a balanced budget since the Democrats left the White House, and I an not quite ready to send another Republican to the Senate to spend our grandchildren into the poorhouse with deficit spending.

The troubles of the current generation are enough to keep a senior Senator like Robert C. Byrd busy defending the very few rights we have left.

There will come a time that West Virginia has a Woman Senator and I desire that in the future. However I will not vote to remove a powerful Senator like Robert C. Byrd to support a matriarchal feminist ideal. A Republican in a skirt is none the less a Republican, and gender is irrelevant. I also advise Democratic Women not to run against Senator Robert C. Byrd so party is really irrelevant too.

If Robert C. Byrd leaves the Senate, the whole state of West Virginia loses, because his seniority is not passed on to the new senator and this seniority is just too valuable an assent to dismiss on a whim.

Senator Robert C. Byrd still has quite a few tunes left to play on his Fiddle in his senior years when he is at the height of his power. I do not know anyone, be they male or female, who is qualified to replace him.

I strongly advise Congresswoman Capito to continue in the House of Representatives until she has sufficient seniority that she can attempt transition to the Senate without hurting the state in the process. A well seasoned house member integrates into the Senate far better than a junior member of the house. The time is not yet right for Ms. Capito to make a Senate bid because she has yet to pay her political dues in the House.

I suggest Congresswoman Capito refrain from running for the Senate until one of our West Virginia senators retires or dies. Ambition should give way to common sense. The pages of political history are best turned in reverence for the way things are, rather than the way we desire them to be. Robert C. Byrd is a very hard act to follow, and there is no feasible way that any first term Senator can fill his shoes as long as the U.S. Senate reserves its best positions for senior ranking members. If by some means Ms. Capito were to defeat Robert C. Byrd and then were not able to bring home the bacon like Senator Byrd does, People would resent her and she would only serve one term at best.

Both of the Senators from this state are very senior in senate ranking, and it is in the best interest of the state to keep it that way.

Stephanie Heck

Cabell County
Huntington West Virginia

It is my understanding that Governor Dean is now the chairman of the National Democratic party. I further understand that the Democratic National Committee desires to make a better political showing in the state of West Virginia to avoid losing to the state to the Republicans in the next presidential election. I wish Governor Dean well in politics. Governor Dean has his work cut out for him in this state of West Virginia due to the regressive nature of the democratic party structure in this state.

During the last election I offered to assist the Cabell County Democratic Executive Committee to organize the local gay community into a voting block that could be relied upon come election day. About 2500 votes in this county. They were more concerned about who my relatives were than anything. I was told that the Executive Committee would never go for that because of the "church people" would be opposed. Does the ballot box know the difference between gay and straight votes?

This forced me to reach the conclusion that the Cabell County Democratic Executive Committee is far too conservative to see the Republicans as a legitimate threat. A massive shakeup is in order to rid the Cabell County Democratic Executive Committee of "Closet Case Republicans" commonly known as D.I.N.O.'s ( Democrat In Name Only ) to assist Governor Deans goals for this state in his role as the leader of the National Democratic Party.

The Cabell County Democratic Executive Committee really blew a golden opportunity to reach out to all minority groups in this Cabell county area and start building bridges of trust rather than divisive local factionalism. The old Democratic leadership is so heavily entrenched that there is no room for new blood. The West Virginia Democratic Party is supposed to be a party with a big tent of diversity.

There was so much division in the Cabell County Democratic Party during the last general election, that the Manchin for Governor headquarters was in a different building from the Cabell County Executive Committees Headquarters.

This happened because the animosities of the primary never solidified into general election solidarity that was required to WIN the election. The Cabell County West Virginia Democratic Party is a house of cards, divided against itself to the point that they could not possibly maintain solidarity with the campaign staff of the gentleman now called Governor Manchin during the last general election. It is not the governors fault.

I saw what happened first hand. I was a campaign volunteer until one of the officers of the Cabell County Democratic Executive committee took it upon themselves to ask some very inappropriate questions about my love life that had nothing to do with politics. I walked out that day and never came back.

West Virginia Governor Manchin is well aware of the problems with the Cabell County West Virginia Democratic Party in his capacity as the states senior democrat. It is my sincere hope that Governor Manchin can address these issues with the cooperation of former Governor Dean to implement change that will have a positive impact on the next election. It is high time to get divisive factionalism that has evolved into fractionalism under unified control to facilitate sufficient political solidarity to win the next election.

Every Democratic Leader in West Virginia must be on the same political page before it is possible to turn the pages of political history for the economic betterment of our state of West Virginia. It is my desire that my words not be construed as a complaint about division and political fragmentation, but I would be honored that my words be given credence as a call for implementing healing unity among divisive elements of the fractured political party that lost the last presidential election.

Common sense teaches us that a fractured political party has much in common with a fractured natural gas well, both types of fractures exponentially increase the volume of hot air and gas. Our leaders need unity of purpose for the sake of the progressive political enviroment.

Stephanie Heck

Huntington
Cabell County
West Virginia

Every time I turn on the television I am seeing a commercial for some sort of pharmacutical medication or drug. The cost of medicine is much too high in the U.S.A. and frequently seniors are forced to choose between food and drugs that they need to stay alive.

I am not normally one for federal regulation as an answer, but we need some sort of advertizing restrictions on the drug industry, to keep the cost of these mega million dollar ad campaigns from driving the cost of medication up so high as to stop grandma from getting what she needs to stay healthy.

I recently heard about a busload of seniors crossing the border just to save money on drugs. This is America and we need to keep the advertizing industry from running up the cost of medicine if for no other reason than to show our respect for the needs of our elders.

Some say an advertixing ban or restriction on drugs is unconstitutional, but I remember that tobacco ads were removed from the radio and television many years ago...and nicotine is a drug is it not? Precedents have been established to justify restrictions.

The money and elderly relatives that are saved may well be our own. As for protecting grandparents from corporate greed, I am all for it.

Stephanie Heck

By Stephanie Heck

When I went into the Military, I took an oath to defend the United States Constitution against all enemies, foreign, and domestic. I still take that oath very seriously. My discharge from the armed forces did not relieve me of my obligations under that oath. I feel that oath is applicable to the office of citizen, as well as to the station of military member. The military just gave me incentive to be a better citizen in retrospect. Good American citizens have a great tradition of profound distaste for injustice. With myself, the distaste is more pronounced due to my philosophy as a civil libertarian.

This is why I am sincere in my belief that Gay and Transgender people have historically suffered to a great degree, due to inequalities of law and custom that exist in diametric opposition to the values of a society that constitutionally mandates equality of protection under rule of law.

Those who practice pompous bigotry within our borders, willfully do so to undermine the equal protection mandated in the bill of rights. They fail to understand that true patriots are humble by nature, this is because the Constitution that they revere mandates that all are entitled to equal protection under the rule of law. What really bothers me is that the bigoted mindset shows crass disrespect for the veterans who died to make the equal protection a reality, in sharp contrast to the Patriots, to whom reverence for the sacrifices of America's deceased veterans, who have in fact made the ultimate sacrifice is not optional. Bigotry is merely a symptom of the deeper problem posed by overt and arrogant rebellion against constitutional principles by American citizens, who are willing to say the pledge of allegiance to the flag, and then piously spit on the constitutional protections for dissenters simultaneously. I find such conduct to be a despicable defect of character.

It is regrettable that some socially conservative extremist American's have selectively obstructed the implementation of the protections and immunities afforded in our constitution for the LGBT community. It is even more regrettable that some think they have a divine right to undermine the separation of church and state to deny other Americans the same freedom that they reserve for themselves. Those same misguided tyrannical people are one and the same lot that Thomas Jefferson referred to as "Tyrants against the minds of men." These are the tyrannical domestic enemies of my country, and of my constitution, that I profoundly swore to defend.

If we are not vigilant, the Bill of Rights will be a fond memory. If we are not pro choice, our choices will be dictated by despotic miscreants, who will surely evolve into malefic dictators. I support the rights of all americans to choose their own path and destiny and that right is not limited to those who agree with my postions but all American's.

A patriot is obligated to defend the rights of all types of Americans, while a tyrant is historically selective in the preferential distribution, and de facto distortion of rights, immunities, and privilege to those who share his innate traits and status.

To a tyrant, the morality, and character, of the opposition is always in question. To a patriot, the right to question, and oppose, is an absolute right that is beyond question. Patriots believe in the diversity and fluidity of ideas, and expressions and lifestyles, while historically tyrants are dedicated to the intellectual stagnation of rigid and repressive ideologies and dogma's that are often laced with ideological propaganda.

There is absolutely nothing conservative about Mr. Jefferson's concept of democracy, true patriotism mandates a liberal and broad perspective of freedom. The constitution is a livin