Posted on 10/22/2012 4:02:15 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
GRUNDY, Va. -- More than 5,500 people turned out Sunday afternoon at a mountaintop park in remote Buchanan County to show their support for coal.
With the "War on Coal" rhetoric that's been on a lot of Republicans' lips this election season, a lineup of political speakers that included Matt Romney, son of Presidential hopeful Mitt Romney, came to talk about the resource that powers both the electricity and the economy here.
"Right now our country is in dire straits," Matt Romney said, promising that his father, if elected, would make the nation energy independent by 2020. "We can't ignore the vast natural resources we have in this country: coal, natural gas, oil."
In coal country, the issue is complex. On one hand, the Appalachian coal industry has been steadily losing jobs in recent decades, due in part to mechanization and declining reserves. On the other hand, new policies implemented by the Obama administration have had a painful, immediate impact.
It was clear in the mood of the crowd Sunday. Some talked about how thousands of recent coal industry layoffs have impacted their families and communities; others said they go to work every day wondering if they will still have a job when they get there.
"The only promise Obama kept was to kill coal," said Jerry Shortt, a coal miner from Richlands who was laid off temporarily right after Labor Day -- and learned Friday that for him, along with 189 other employees at the mine where he worked, the layoff would be permanent.
(Excerpt) Read more at spectator.org ...
obama announced the war on coal before he was elected and yet these stoops voted him in
along with Manchin his puppet
Sorry they’ll be freezing AND starving in the dark while the rest of us are just freezing in the dark
There’s one benefit of having five sons — they can make campaign appearances for you!
“Obama’s war on coal will help him lose Virginia”
I sure hope so
You know, everywhere Obama shows his ugly mug, there should be ten thousand people carrying torches and pitchforks.
Maybe some enterprising manufacturer can make Anti-Tyrant pitchforks with a barrel? With a popout flag saying “BANG!”?
One has even been invited to mop up the floor with Lawrence O'Donnell.
Don't these people listen to their union leader anymore....?
The War on Coal is more than rhetoric, it’s a fact.
Ms. McCown should leave her cloistered, inside-the-beltway cocoon and venture out into the real world.
the coal country in VA needs numbers to overcome Northern Virginia which is a powerful Obama power - government workers or employees of companies which depend or government pap.
a lot of those employers and employees are defense contractors and they know which way the wind is blowing if obama is elected
about the biggest growth agency will be the IRS
There's a reason why both Union Pacific and BNSF Railway spent many billions of dollars expanding track capacity out of the Powder River Basin coalfields--coal from this region is highly-desired because of its clean-burning properties. And new, improved technology has made it possible to burn "dirty" coal from east of the Mississippi very cleanly, too.
Indeed, even in Japan there is now talk that using the latest power plant technology, Japan could revive using coal for power generation on a large scale. Many abandoned coal mines on Hokkaido could become operational again, which would be a boon to Hokkaido's economy.
At least half and perhaps more of the PAC and Romney ads being broadcast into South West Virginia from the East Tennessee based TV stations are coal and energy related.
There are two ads being played over and over.
The Obama ads have pretty much stopped, sometime last week
Do you know the terminus of the increased track capacity?
Is the coal headed for existing terminals and ports?
BIG THANKS!!! to all you coal miners out there... you guys (galls included) risk life and limb to produce our nation’s most dependable energy source... and some of our nation are either indifferent to the toil of your souls or worse, hostile. May God bless you all, and may we as a nation right this wrong of vilifying the coal industry. We need this energy now as much as ever... I stand with you all in spirit... Thanks!!
The MSM would show pics from a Helicopter and call them supporters.
Seriously, they would. They showed up at an Obama rally to support change. lol
I'd add West Virginia and Pennsylvania to that statement.
I’m going to revisit this thread to comment on Grundy. They had a Romney Rally in Grundy. Matt went.
To recognize Grundy is a great compliment to the ground game of the campaign. You can’t get to Grundy on the way somewhere. All directions from Grundy are the way back.
Grundy is a small town tucked beside a river in a narrow valley. New Orleans like, it was terribly flooded, several tmes. The remedy was to relocate the town that grew in the flood plain safely across the river. The problem was the mountain. Years were spent moving the mountain to create enough flat land for the moved town.
Grundy is a coal town, or was. The derelict mine tipples and old buildings are testimony to what was. On the high ground, up a hollow back off the river is of all things a new law school. There is lots of money and it bought a law school. The money bought a magnificent gym for training the state champion high school wrestling team. They don’t take kindly to the death of coal.
Good for Grundy..... leading the way to Romney
WV is definitely a lost cause for 0. It would be great if the War on Coal costs 0 PA too but I don’t see it happening.
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