The West Virginia Republican Party was not a factor in West Virginia Politics until the last few years. To understand how this Electoral College mess arose is quite lengthy. It is the story of why the WV Republican Party chose Robb...
Read about the overall current WV political situation on wvyoungrepublicans.org/wvtoday.html
Our state was cut by loyal Western Virginians during the Civil War.
It was at first a Republican state with the most of the population living in the northern parts of the state (Wheeling, Parkersburg, Clarksburg, Grafton) What is now the southern coalfields was virtually uninhabited except by a few mountain men and livestock farmers.
West Virginia survived on glassmaking, gunpowder, and livestock farming until the very late 1800's. The coal industry popped up from the railroad counties and took over the southern 2/3rds of the state, which was then very desolate and sparsely populated. The out of state coal companies did in fact set in place a nice little empire where roads and schools were built where the coal barons wanted them.
(I am not one of the socialist anti-business A**Holes - I am quite conservative in my beliefs on regulating business, and I am quite sympathetic with the plight of the coal industry today. I am not one of the tree hugging hippies or UMWA-ocrat thugs who denounce Massey Corp. and threaten the lives of nonunion miners)
Back then the coal companies needed labor and coal mining at that time was akin to slavery. They imported immigrants from Eastern Europe, who were herded like cattle straight to the coal camps. Many were shanghaied while they were drunk and passed out in an alley in cities like Prauge or Minsk.
They lived in the company house, were paid in company currency (scrip), and had every need met in the company school, store, or clinic. Miners were expected to work a minimum of 80-90 hours a week and the mortaility rates were akin to WWI infantry. (In fact coal miners were so important, they were not allowed to enter the draft and were encouraged to stay underground rather than fight by the Government)
For a time, in many coal camps if you disobeyed the foreman, you were dead. As a dreg from the poorest regions of Europe, no one cared what happened to you in the coal camps.
The Unions moved in at the turn of the century and the bloodiest internal civil strife since the Civil War took place in the West Virginia the early 20th Century as the UMWA fought Mine Operators. (Read about Blair Mountain – largest post Civil War land battle in US, watch the Movie “Matewan”, or read Bloodletting in Appalachia by Howard B Lee) The gangster wars of Chicago and the Wild West had nothing on Bloody Mingo or Logan.
As a result of the attrocities of some coal companies being made public in the media and the blame of the Depression on Hoover, West Virginia moved into the Democrat column in 1928-1932 and had remained there until today.
Republicans lost WV not on people switching parties, but by hundreds of thousands of European immigrant mining families gaining citizenship and the right to vote. They wanted big brother Government and its New Deal to protect them from big evil capitalists. This is why in West Virginia, the older you are, the more likely you are to be a Dem and quite a fan of the nanny state, counter to the rest of the Country. This older generation is rapidly dying off and Republicans are SLOWLY catching up in registration. It was almost three to one D-R in the mid-80's, it will soon be less than 2-1 D-R. As a rule in WV, GOP candidates win when a county is only 2-1 Dem-GOP.
Despite being what can be considered the most socially conservative state this side of Utah, WV voters bought into new deal socialism more so than any rural region of the country.
This led to crap like:
First consumer sales tax in nation. Not to mention the first food stamps handed out in Country.
Nation's worst workers comp system (government run system - highest premiumns in US, over twice of what CA's were)
Nation's Number One Tort Hell since Haley Barbour passed reform in MS.
An open hostility to business - very pro union attitudes.
(We are changing this attitude slowly but surely)
WV Teacher's Retirement System, the most indebted public employee pension plan in US
10 billion dollars in Government Entitlement Debt in a state of only 1.8 million people.
A drop from 32nd in per capita income in 1930 to the 49th of 2000 and the sure fire 50th in 2010. (We are likely to end Mississippi's 80 year reign as the poorest state in US.)
The slowest growth in Gross State Product since 1978 of any state.
Robert Byrd and his welfare state agenda, Rockefeller and his socialized healthcare ambitions.
Vote buying on a scale that would make Kingfish or Dailey proud. More money was probably trucked into Logan by Joe Kennedy in the 1960 Dem Presidential Primary than was handed out on the streets of Chicago in the Nixon-Kennedy General.
AND NEGATIVE POPULATION GROWTH. (2.2 million in 1950, 1.8 million today. We have actually lost almost a million people, because there were 500,000 more births than deaths in WV over that period of time to go with the net change of 400,000. Some counties have lost well over 60 per cent of their population)
Now how does this tie into today?
The Republican Party had NO MEANINGFUL ACCOMPLISHMENTS from 1932 until 2002. Dems owned over 3-1 advantages in legislature for most of last 75 years. (We were narrowing the gap - right before Watergate) Democrats won 24 of 25 elections for Supreme Court and were 101-7 in elections for Statewide Executive Office.
Republican Governors Moore and Underwood won by securing backing of Democrats who were displeased with their party’s nominee. Moore actually won union endorsements. They did not help build the GOP during their tenure. When they ran, their staffers tried to convince county party chairmen not to recruit candidates with the hopes that the local Dems would stay neutral in the Governor's race. This did not work and let to countless disaster after disaster on Election Day. I have been in many an argument with GOP old timers who still buy into this crap of not fielding candidates to avoid angering the Dem bosses.
Republicans had stopped fielding legislative and countywide candidates in over half the state over the decades, leaving the Dems with control of the Capitol and Courthouse after the Primary Election.
George W. Bush won with Conservative Democrats, Gunowners, and Coal Miners who did not by the crap spoon-fed to them by Cecil Roberts, UMWA president, the man who handed Kerry the shotgun that he voted to ban on labor day. Bush's 2000 victory has actually sparked the belief that we can go GOP. Remember, we went Dukakis in 1988 and Dubya in 2000. How many states can make that claim?
Since then however, a fellow named Kris Warner became State Chairman and things have started to happen. He expanded the staff of GOP HQ from one part time employee to over ten today.
His team and party activists recruited a post depression record number of legislative candidates in 2002. We reached a post Watergate high water mark in the state house and senate and can actually stop the suspension of the rules in senate. For the first time since 1932, we actually blocked legislation and forced better bills though in 2003-4.
We knocked off the Dem Senate Finance and Judiciary Committee Chairmen in 2002.
We forced the Speaker to remove his Education Chairman in order to save his own hide a few weeks ago, and we are very confident the scandals over the Senate Majority Whip and House Majority Leader will bring them down. (Check back in November, this is not BS)
In 2004, we have recruited the first full legislative, state executive and judicial office slate by any WV political party in over a century. This state chairman has served us well, and we have a better than 50/50 shot to take over the state house of delegates this year and elect 2-3 state office holders, the most since 1928. (Including first two women in state history.)
Kris Warner on balance has been a great state chairman, perhaps the first one to make a difference in the past century, however on this elector business; he (and others) may have made a serious misjudgment in this matter. (I do not think this warrants removal of the Chairman)
We had either Cecil Underwood or Arch Moore as our Gubernatorial Nominee for every term since 1956 with the exception of 1992. (Moore and Underwood still have bad feelings for each other over 1968 primary, their factions fought each other more than the Dems for the better part of 1968-2001)
Our party had been controlled by one of these two factions over this period. Warner is the only man to get these two in the same room to help raise money and build party unity.
His brother, a recently retired Army Colonel won the primary for Governor with less than 30 per cent of the vote. He faced a field with many qualified or quasi-qualified opponents.
Dan Moore - Millionare Car Dealer and Banker
Doug McKinney - Head of WV Med Association, Dr's are very important here in influencing the oldest population in country. Doctors support will kick out the Dem incumbent in Supreme Court race this year.
Larry Faircloth - Longest serving Republican legislator who is from most Republican region of state.
Rob Capehart - Former tax and revenue commissioner who had best campaign staff and organization - mostly volunteers!
Richie Robb - Longest serving mayor in state. Vietnam war hero and football letterman at Marshall U back when they sucked. He is an oddball who has not been good for the party, but he has been an outstanding mayor. His city has a million dollar surplus with the best city services, while the rest of the Kanawha Valley cities are struggling to survive)
Robb ran against Kris as GOP Chairman in 2003 and garnered less than 10 votes on a committee of 120. Robb had opposed candidate recruitment, until it was successful. I know, I was cussing him in my mind when I read his quotes on the matter in the Charleston Pravda- err Gazette.
Having a state chairman and gubernatorial nominee being brothers created some tensions among the factions of the primary losers. Remember, 70 percent of Republicans voted for those losers. The state chairman decided to appoint the losers as electors to build unity and it seemed like a good idea at the time to most everyone. (As a person in a leadership position of the State Party, I could've sought the opportunity to be an elector before this proposal was made, but I went along with the chairman's recommended appointments as did the rest of the six hundred convention delegates did at the state convention in June - there was NO objection to these appointments by anyone.)
I do think it was a major mistake that no one screened these guys for blood oaths and loyalty pledges. I will make damn sure that is done before I ever support anyone for elector.
I wish I or someone else had brought this up, but no one did and I share the sense of embarrassment that the rest of us West Virginian Republicans feel. Kris Warner, and his brother Monty may have erred in this matter, but our state is struggling to survive and these guys are too important to remove from critical positions over what amounts to a mistake of youth.
I have checked the State Code. Electors can only be appointed by parties at State Conventions in the months of June, July, or August with 60 days notice of the event sent to the County Committees to nominate delegates. Since it is September, we could not legally hold a convention and rescind and renominate new electors if we tried. (Democrat State Supreme Court, Secretary of State, and Attorney General will not allow us to deviate from code, and they are VERY partisan)
The state party has no recourse once the elector nomination certified by state elections board. We are stuck with him. In fact, he can not remove himself, he can only refuse to show up to the capitol in December.
The only recourse is that if Robb does not show, the other electors can elect another elector by majority vote. Robb is kind of like John McCain, he is quite unpredictable. He may not show, or he may yet vote for Bush after sending out a press release expressing his grievances.
As for his political career, it is over. He has no idea how many people will want to see him gone from elected office and the state republican committee (elected in primary). He is functioning on the pre-2000 paradigm that Republicans do not matter in West Virginia, he will be disappointed.
We do not have recall in WV, but there can be an impeachment motion filed to remove him as mayor if he breaks the law, by voting against the people as an elector.
We Republicans have great potential in West Virginia, but we have only been a viable party here for two years, we have come farther than anyone knows. Five short years ago, no one would give a damn who our appointed electors were, because "we would only vote Republican in a Reagan-Mondale style landslide."