D'oh!
Posted on 05/02/2012 6:38:38 PM PDT by neverdem
West Virginia’s Democratic Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin said he is not endorsing President Barack Obama for re-election, saying the president “has apparently made it his mission to drive the backbone of West Virginia’s economy, coal and the energy industry, out of business.”
Tomblin is running for re-election in the heavily Democratic and major coal-producing state this year. He won a special election for the governorship last year after Gov. Joe Manchin was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2010.
“As a loyal member of the Democratic party and as governor for our state, I will continue to do everything I can, including suing the EPA, to get the president to change the misguided policies that are hurting West Virginians,” Tomblin added in his statement.
Tomblin said he is not supporting presumptive Republican nominee Mitt Romney either, but it is generally presumed that most elected officials would support the nominee of their party. Manchin has also declined to back a candidate at this point.
Democrats outnumber Republicans in party registration in West Virginia by 2-1, according to the Associated Press. However, the state has voted Republican in the last three presidential elections. Of potential significance is West Virginia’s proximity, bordering three key battleground states of Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia.
The governor’s campaign issued a statement Wednesday that asserted neither Obama nor Romney has earned his support.
“I do not believe that either candidate has a real understanding of what is important to West Virginia,” Tomblin said in the statement. “As governor, I go to work every day to stand up for West Virginians and create jobs. As governor, I know that I must work hard every day to earn the trust and the votes of my constituents. Neither President Obama nor Governor Romney has earned my vote at this point.”
He first criticized Romney.
“On the one hand, Mitt Romney is supporting policies that will end Medicare and Social Security as we know it,” Tomblin said. “His policies will put more burdens on West Virginia families who are simply trying to make ends meet.”
He then went on to address the president of his own party.
“On the other hand, President Obama has apparently made it his mission to drive the backbone of West Virginia’s economy, coal and the energy industry, out of business,” Tomblin said. “That will not only hurt thousands of West Virginia families, it will destroy the economic fabric of our state.”
uh, duh, Earl Ray, suh, what was your first clue? duh.
Will Comrade Tomblin keep this stand after a private conference with the Chicago Gang?
Low hanging fruit... They always say that, and it never turns out. The Dems there have gotten away with creating an image that they don’t agree with the Dem Party, and then after being elected, rubber stamp everything they do.
I will believe it when November rolls around and he still isn’t supporting/endorsing Obama.
D'oh!
Golly - imagine that - after Obama promised to bankrupt the coal companies in 2008 - it took him only four years to catch on.....
Uses his soundbites now against him in both Virginia and elsewhere.
Despite all his BS, five-to-one that ol' Earl Ray casts a straight Democrat ballot.
“West Virginia’s Democratic Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin said he is not endorsing President Barack Obama for re-election, saying the president “has apparently made it his mission to drive the backbone of West Virginia’s economy, coal and the energy industry, out of business.” “
DUH....
What this moron’s FIRST CLUE to that???
What happens if neither candidate of the two major parties is seen as representing the needs of the average hard-working American who is paying four bucks a gallon for gas and getting squat on investments.
*******************************************************
He dismissed it as campaign rhetoric.
...saying the president "has apparently made it his mission to drive the backbone of West Virginia's economy, coal and the energy industry, out of business."
Whoops, Tomblin. [blush]
He should video his vote in the ballot box
Another Rat shaking the money tree. Once enough money comes fluttering down, the endorsement will be quick to follow.
Or maybe fearful of a very angry voting public come this November.
“I will believe it when November rolls around and he still isn’t supporting/endorsing Obama.”
Obama has become to the general party what BJ Clinton was in 2000 - toxic. Many Dems didn’t want Clinton to campaign for them, and in general they fared better than Dems who did use him. The fact is that whatever rose-colored image the media paints of Clinton today, the American public vented on him the only way left open to them in 2000 - by voting against his VP.
Even today the sexual harassment suit settled by Clinton (for $850K with a woman he pulled his penis out in front of)has been broomed under the carpet; when his character is brought up it is all about Monica instead of Paula Jones (whose lawyers had subpeonaed Monica to begin with, hence breaking the story).
Someone correct me if I’m wrong, but aren’t West Virginia and Arkansas the last states left where the old conservative Southern Democrats dominate the state?
Maybe there are opportunities. After all, there was a day when people thought Gingrich was crazy to believe people in Georgia would vote for a Republican.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.