Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Isn't It About Time for Rahall to Go?

For a guy from an energy-producing state, 3rd District good ol' boy Nick Joe Rahall doesn't seem to much support domestic energy production. He sponsored the Clean Energy Act of 2007 which, among other things, would hurt domestic energy production and increase reliance on foreign oil.

Rahall has been in Congress for thirty-nine years, making him one of the longest 'serving' politicians in the history of the Mountain State. No doubt Mr. Rahall has accomplished some things in his tenure, but his current stance on energy and its importance to our economy would make one wonder which side he's on, the hard-working men and women of his own state, or the the hard-working environmentalists that would like to see our coal mines and oil rigs replaced with windmills and solar panels.

As mentioned, the Clean Air Act of 2007, along with his back-and-forth on cap-and-trade legislation, rather than fighting tooth and claw against it, even in the face of undeniable questioning of the effects of human processes on global temperature fluctuations, tends to put Rahall somewhere near the top of the anti-energy crowd. Surely this is not a good thing for the economy in the state he so proudly 'serves'.

But what other choices do we have? Well, there's ex-Democrat Elliot “Spike” Maynard. Mayard is by far the most experienced challenger Rahall could possibly face with time both as a Circuit Court Judge and Supreme Court Justice. Maynard is plain-spoken, well-liked, and has a reputation for honesty and fairness.

Sure Maynard is now a Republican in a state that doesn't take kindly to elephants in Congress, but possibly, with the national trend heading away from Democrats, coupled with Rahall's obvious stance against the people of his own state, he may just be the man  to beat in 2010. With West Virginia still ranking near the bottom in every important economic category after all these years, what do we have to lose?