Here's Your Sign...

Yesterday, Governor Manchin finally reconsidered his firm stance regarding the hideous slogan "Open For Business" on our Welcome Signs and opened up the decision to you.

Please visit this site and express your opinion.

I suggested a classic for the permanent slogan: Wild, Wonderful West Virginia and I would ask you to consider doing the same.

No one wants free market capitalism more than I, but putting "open for business" does not reform our antiquated early 20th century tax code, nor does it ease the massive government control the state exercises on "economic development". The truth is that his slogan is nothing more than window dressing.

Once again, Manchin waited for several months or weeks after the firestorm dies down on an issue and takes the popular action when everyone forgot who raised the issue in the first place. Joe now wants credit for conducting the poll to take down the signs, to try to get credit for removing the eyesores he erected.

Just to remind you, as most of the media won't with any controversy involving Joe, the unpopularity of the signs became a news item when WVU Student D. Logan Wheatcraft created the online petition. More than anyone, Logan deserves credit for the Governor's action yesterday.

A quick check at the online petition this morning shows that close to 30,000 people ultimately expressed their displeasure with the Governor's Welcome Sign slogan.

When we are really "open for business", we won't need a stinking sign.

Thompson's First Ad

Fred is up with his first ad! Look for his announcement at imwithfred.com and Jay Leno!

Owning the issue - not just for politics anymore

Interesting quote from the normally level-headed Hoppy Kercheval, in which he demonstrates that his B.S. Detector is usually a little off when the topic is our esteemed Governor.

Now consider our current governor, who would have been the quarterback for WVU in the 60s if not for a blown-out knee.

I am sure some of the Governor's former teammates and contemporaries have repeatedly fed Hoppy this line, and some of them may actually believe it. But anyone who has seen the way Joe Manchin has handled Logan's Law, or the recent special session regarding the Mullins decision is well aware of the Governor's ability to warp reality.

Simply put, if Manchin is not hero of the day, the issue is not allowed to advance until enough time had lapsed that the media would give Joe credit, when he fact HE was the main impediment.

I guess that if he would have performed better on the vision test, he would have been the first man on the moon.

It's Official! Fred will be running in West Virginia!

The West Virginia Republican Presidential Convention, Inc announced that 10 candidates have filed to participate in our state's convention on "Super Duper Tuesday" (Feb 5th) I suggest that everyone check with http://www.wvmetronews.com/ throughout the day for latest news as it it released.

Landing all the big names for this convention is huge for West Virginia Republicans and the whole state. Props to Bob Fish, Chairman McKinney, and the countless other Republican leaders and activists for making this happen. Credit also goes to West Liberty President Robin Capehart, who set this in motion when he was Chairman of the WVGOP.

As predicted this past Thursday, Fred did indeed decide to participate, and I will now offer my next bold prediction, Fred will prevail on Feb. 5th and win the 18 delegates to the national convention.

Here is a copy of the release sent out by the WVRPC, Inc this morning....

WVGOP PRESIDENTIAL CONVENTION
For Immediate Release
September 4, 2007
Contact: Gary Abernathy 304-344-4671

Attn: Political Editors and Reporters

TEN GOP CANDIDATES REGISTER FOR WVGOP PRESIDENTIAL CONVENTION TO BE HELD FEBRUARY 5, 2008
Charleston, WV – The West Virginia Republican Presidential Convention, Inc. announced today that ten Republican presidential candidates have registered to participate in the state convention that will determine the majority of West Virginia’s delegates to the Republican National Convention in the summer of 2008. The deadline to register for the convention was September 1, 2007.

The following candidates have registered for the convention:
Sam Brownback
Rudy Giuliani
Mike Huckabee
Duncan Hunter
Alan Keyes
John McCain
Ron Paul
Mitt Romney
Fred Thompson
Gene Zarwell

“I am extremely pleased with the number of Republican candidates who recognize the important role that West Virginia will play in the 2008 presidential race,” said Bob Fish, CEO of the WVGOP Presidential Convention, Inc. “It is clear that these candidates realize that West Virginia may indeed be the tipping point on ‘Tsunami Tuesday’ since we will report the results of our convention by late-afternoon, hours before the other states with primaries on February 5.”

The next step in the convention process is the filing and election of state convention delegates. Over 1400 delegates have been allocated to West Virginia’s 55 counties. The deadline for filing is November 30.

In addition, prior to being certified, the presidential candidates must designate the 18 national convention delegates to be certified should they win the state convention. This designation must be completed, along with their final certificate of candidacy, by December 31, 2007.

Convention CEO Bob Fish will be available for interviews today for interested media.

- ### -

PAID FOR BY WVGOP PRESIDENTIAL CONVENTION, INC.

Countdown to September 6th

Less than a week until Fred is in!
Update from Imwithfred.com the official Fred Thompson exploratory committee website:


Fred to Announce September 6
Posted on August 30th, 2007By Sean in Announcements

Next week, Fred will announce he is running for President of the United States. The internet has been buzzing these past few hours and excitement continues to build as we near the day of his announcement.

The plan is Fred announcing September 6 by a webcast at www.imwithfred.com. Then Fred will head out on a five-day campaign tour through Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Florida before his homecoming in Lawrenceburg, Tennessee.

It’s exciting for everyone who has been supporting Fred these past few months, but this is just the beginning. As Fred said, “we have an opportunity to change politics in Washington and across the country.” Supporters from all over the country can now devote their time, energy, and resources to supporting a man who wants to keep America secure, unite us, and push for continued prosperity.

The first step begins September 6. Join us on this journey. Sign up to be a Friend of Fred. Put widgets and buttons on your blogs and MySpace pages. Tell friends and family why you think Fred would be great for America.

Gather with your friends and family at one of the thousands of national house parties for Fred September 6. Together we can show our support for a leader who will help keep America secure, unite us, and keeps us on a path of prosperity.

A lawsuit I can get behind

Even a big tort reformer like me can get by this lawsuit against Alan Mollohan's buddy north of the Mason-Dixon line.

A retired military man like Murtha should know better. With his record of service, he understands the impact of Washington politicians who use blatant hyperbole against our troops in a time of war to forward their own aims. He apparently has decided to place his new found antiwar base ahead of the troops formerly under his command.

This man is no better than the Berkeley, CA hippie scum that spit in the face of soldiers getting off the plane after a tour in Vietnam. At least ignorance was their excuse, he has none.

I'm back, and the wait is nearly over!!!

I am back from an extended break from blogging to get my leisure time in before the 2008 Campaign starts gaining steam. Just like Fred, I found that jumping into the center of the Presidential Campaign in the summer of an odd numbered year to be pointless.

With a September 1st deadline looming to register as a candidate to the West Virginia Republican Party Convention, Fred Thompson has approximately 48 hours to register here.

My prediction is that he WILL participate in the West Virginia Convention, and I suspect his internal meeting today may be to inform his troops that his FEC papers are in the mail and that he will be announcing the day after the September 5th debate. He may even tell them the papers to participate in West Virginia are on their way also.

Did our state's deadline encourage him to set things in motion now so that he could participate here? I don't know, but that would be cool. It is hard to get used to WV as a key battleground state in Presidential politics. After all the defining moment of the 2004 Presidential Election took place in Huntington.

Guliani, Romney, Huckabee, McCain, and company have all been in the race for several months now, and the only significant developments has been the very predictable collapse of McCain and the emergence of Ron Paul as the official GOP hippie magnet (anti-war and pro-drug legalization)

Newt was right, it is pointless to have spent all of this Spring and Summer criss-crossing the country begging for attention.