EDITORIAL: What Exactly Has (WV Gov. Joe) Manchin Accomplished to Merit U.S. Senate Seat?

Huntington News ^ | 7/11/2010 | Editor

[Qbert]

Governor Joe Manchin oozes charm and a touchy-feely warmth with constituents. Many eat this up, especially after living through the more distant occupants of the Governor's Mansion in recent years. Plus, the Governor and his attractive wife, Gayle, must appeal to many middle-aged West Virginians, who find in the First Couple fit representatives of their generation.  

But as the Governor prepares to abandon ship and cut his second term as the state's Chief Executive short for a run for U.S. Senate, a retrospective look at his tenure in office is on order. For starters, after his impressive bipartisan effort to reform the Workers Compensation Fund very early in his first term, the state has been waiting for Manchin's second act.

  We're still waiting. Six years later, Manchin has accomplished nothing like that helpful effort for West Virginia's business climate. Many thought that Manchin would follow up with more necessary actions to help West Virginia remove itself from the bottom of the fifty states' business climates. After all, Manchin touted for years his own business background, first as the owner of Manchin's Carpet Warehouse in Fairmont, then as a coal broker.

  But it never happened, and job creation has continued to stagnate across the Mountain State. This is particularly scary as we approach the day when more baby boomer state employees--teachers, highway workers, statehouse employees--head towards retirement. Without new young workers finding jobs in West Virginia, who will be paying the taxes to keep these retirees' pension plans and health care benefits afloat.

[napscoordinator]

This really could be fun but I am going to refrain. But man this is rich!!!!!

[Midnight Matador]

He has accomplished more than Obama did, so that makes him over qualified.

[pnh102]

That's why we said in a recent editorial that Manchin hasn't proved himself enough yet to ascend to the highest office we have as West Virginians: Robert Byrd's former seat in the United States Senate.

Heck. The same thing could be said about Robert Byrd. You'd think that since he'd been in the US Senate since practically the founding of this nation that he would have done far more for West Virginia than just name practically everything there after himself.

But a majority of people there kept sending Byrd back to the Senate, by very large margins. They must be quite happy with getting nothing for their trouble.