Posted on 10/15/2007 6:58:26 PM PDT by Clintonfatigued
I love WV; Good solid people some of my fav after NC, and (real) VA, many Christians, Conservatives (though they still vote like “Dixicrats”); thanks for your assessment and telling me what’s going on there. The only think I ever disliked when going through WV was everything and their brother was named “Robert W. Byrd..” (well other than driving on the interstate through Charleston, especially at Rush hour..)!
Blessings,
J.S.
One thing is for certain, WV certainly atrophied on Byrd’s watch. The state reached its population zenith of about 2 million at the time he was elected in 1952 (to the House), and after that the bottom fell out of the mining industry (which caused most of the relatively populous southern counties to plunge in their numbers, with the most dramatic example being McDowell County, which had 100,000 people at that time, now has only about 23,000 (!) today. I travelled through it about 14 years ago (it still had over 30,000 people then, so it continues to rapidly decline and may fall below 20k by 2010). To drive through that county and see towns that had thousands of people, and in the case of Welch, its county seat, a densely-packed downtown lined with 5-story buildings that looks more appropriate for the center of a population of tens of thousands, almost completely deserted and boarded up is one of the saddest sights in the eastern US. Forget the western ghost towns, these are the REAL ghost towns to see). WV has never regained its population since, although the population has notably shifted, as most of the growth is up in the area nearest to DC. They didn’t have a lot of folks back in the ‘50s but are filling in rapidly today.
Jim Ogonowski ping.
The WV Dems might have a shot to move up to Byrd’s Senate seat in five years. He’ll be 96, and it would be insane for him to run again (if he’s still alive by then. His wife died not too long ago, and that is generally very tough on the widow or widower who’s very old. Then again, being in Washington and bringing home the pork may well be the driving force in his life that keeps him going.)
But as you said, Rahall and Mollohan aren’t spring chickens either. It may end up being Gov. Joe Manchin that succeeds Byrd.
I’m in Boxborough, near Littleton. Littleton is definitely America, Acton-Boxborough have a lot of Cambridian wannabees.
I don’t wear tee-shirts or sport bumper stickers, out of habit. My wife likes one that poke liberals in the eye, I tend to be mellower. For one thing, my disagreements with Liberals may be specific, but they stem from first principles. Liberals argue about specifics, I don’t accept their premises and assumptions, they aren't even aware they have assumptions.
I’m pulling for an upset today!!
Links to results?
I don’t know of any yet.
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