Paula Jean Swearengin-- A Coal Miner’s Daughter, Granddaughter, Niece And Stepdaughter

West Virginia was the ultimate blue state starting with FDR's first election in 1932. Two years earlier, the Democratic Party won the state House and held it, uninterrupted from 1930 to 2012. The state's voters even went for Adlai Stevenson against Eisenhower in 1952, for Hubert Humphrey against Nixon in 1968, for Jimmy Carter against Reagan in 1980 and for Michael Dukakis against George H.W. Bush in 1988. The last time a Democratic president candidate won in West Virginia, though was in when Bill Clinton beat Bob Dole in 1996. The state suddenly turned so red after that that Hillary won just 26.4% of the state's vote in 2016. The only state that was less supportive of her was Wyoming. Democrats held the state's two Senate seats from 1958 until Shelley Moore Capito won one of them-- on Jay Rockefeller's retirement-- in 2014. Capito is the daughter of former 3-term Republican Governor Arch Moore, a corrupt sack of crap who was sentenced to 6 years in prison on extortion charges to which he plead guilty.

The party registration, though, still favors Democrats, at least on paper. In November, 2016, as Hillary and Trump faced off, Democrats outnumbered Republicans 44.74% to 31.21% (with 20.91% registered voters unaffiliated with any party). Last month, the secretary of state reported that 39.62% of registered voters are Democrats, 33.76% are Republicans and 22.81% are unaffiliated. In November Capito will fight her first reelection battle. DC pundits rate her seat "safe." She has already raised $3,419,526.

Capito's most serious opponent is Paula Jean Swearengin, a strong Berniecrat who is part of the West Virginia Can't Wait movement, which seeks to rescue the state Democratic Party from the clutches of corrupt conservatives with more in common with the Top than with the FDR Democrats who were so popular in West Virginia for so many decades. Today Blue America endorsed Paula Jean and we've added her to out 2020 Senate page which you can access by clicking on the ActBlue thermometer on the right. I asked her to help us understand why she's running for the Senate as a strong progressive in a state that went so strongly for Trump. More than almost any other candidate I've spoken to, she really and truly is... one of us.


Guest Post
-by Paula Jean Swearengin

As a native of Mullens, West Virginia my coal mining roots run deep. I’m a coal miner’s daughter, granddaughter, niece and stepdaughter. As a child, I was taught to have  a deep sense of pride in our state. West Virginia's hard work powered our nation through the Industrial Revolution, and kept our factories running through World War II. America was built on our coal-- it was built, in part, on the backs of Appalachians.

Like so many other families in Appalachia, my family paid a steep price. I’ve lost family and friends to poverty and the healthcare crisis in Appalachia. I’ve watched as family members, neighbors and community members suffered with addiction, cancer and poverty.

When my stepfather lost his job at the coal mine, he moved our family to North Carolina as he tried to find a new line of work. A few years later I came back home to take care of my grandfather. What I saw when I came back disturbed me. I saw entire communities left in the dust when a mine shut down, small businesses drying up, miners and their children struggling with diseases brought on by the industry that we turned to for security. I saw a whole generation struggling to find reliable, safe jobs that would put enough food on the table. As a single mom of four boys, I had to do something about it.


I was driven to speak out for a brighter future for my family, my friends and my community. I went to town halls and confronted legislators for protecting corporations, instead of workers. I stood with families who were begging for clean water to flow from their taps. I rallied with teachers, healthcare providers, coal miners and other union members who were calling for fair wages, healthcare and decency.

Eventually I felt our calls for change were continuing to be ignored by our representatives. Something had to be done. That’s when I decided, in order to make change, I had to step up and fight from within. 

When I mounted a campaign for Senate in 2018 we rallied volunteer and support from across the state and country. We spread our message of economic diversity, healthcare and basic human rights from the Western Panhandle to the Southern coalfields and across the state.

Our race broke state records by garnering nearly 50,000 votes, the highest votes in a primary in West Virginia in 75 years.

The industrial revolution was built on the backs of coal miners, their families and our communities. I am tired of watching my state suffer after we have sacrificed so much.


West Virginia is one of the poorest and sickest states in the country. Our people have been keeping the lights for our nation for more than a century. The industrial revolution was built on the blood, sweat and tears of Appalachian laborers. While corporations have gotten wealthy off the backs of our workers and our communities, industries drained our state and left us ravaged by pollution and poverty.

I am running for 2020 to finish what I started. My first grandchild was born in January and I have to fight for his future.

How Badly Will The TrumpCare Circus Hurt Republicans In West Virginia?

Over the weekend we looked at how well Bernie had done with Monongalia County primary voters. It's the third most populated county in West Virginia-- Morgantown is the county seat-- and on primary day last year these were the results:

• Bernie- 8,096
• Trump- 5,971
• Hillary- 4,963
• Kasich- 943
• Cruz- 851
• Rubio- 207

There are all or parts of twenty counties that make up WV-01 and the 5 with most of the voters are Harrison, Monongalia and Wood. In 2012 Obama was wiped out in West Virginia and lost every county in the state-- as Clinton did last year. But...local Democrats are very competitive. Joe Manchin was elected to the Senate in a landslide and took all 3 counties-- Harrison with 57%, Monongalia with 51% and Wood with 63%. The Democratic gubernatorial candidate, that year, Earl Ray Tomblin also won and was essentially tied with the Republican in those 3 counties. Last year Bernie won all 3 in the primary and then Trump romped in the general, beating Hillary 68.0% to 26.4%. She under-performed Obama by 10 points. Democratic gubernatorial candidate, Jim Justice, won all 3 counties. Mike Manypenny, a former state legislator, a dedicated populist and Bernie supporter, did better than Clinton, but still lost badly to Republican incumbent David McKinley 163,469 (69%) to 73,534 (31%). Clinton had reverse coattails for Manypenny. He came close in Monongalia but got swamped in Wood and Harrison counties. The only county he won, and just barely, was Taylor. The DCCC ignored his race entirely. McKinley spent $1,067,358 against him and he was only able to respond with $27,876.

Apparently Manypenny is going for it again and is aiming at a rematch with McKinley, a 100% rubber stamp (literally) for Trump's agenda. Including the incredibly unpopular "healthcare" bill stalled in the Senate. Sunday afternoon, Bernie did a "Care Not Cuts" rally at the Morgantown Event Center in Monongalia County. You can watch the whole thing at the video up top.

As you can see in the video, Bernie specifically called on Republican Senator Shelley Moore Capito-- the most popular politician in West Virginia-- to help him kill the deadly Republican healthcare bill. Monday morning she responded in the affirmative! She had already helped force a pissed-off McConnell to postpone a vote on the bill. And now she says she's willing to be the deciding vote to kill the thing entirely!

[I]f Capito is feeling the heat in a state that Trump won by more than 42 percentage points, she isn’t showing it. Back here in West Virginia, where more than 30 percent of families rely on Medicaid, she doesn’t hesitate at the prospect of casting the vote that kills the GOP’s repeal effort.

“I only see it through the lens of a vulnerable population who needs help, who I care about very deeply,” the 63-year-old lawmaker said in an interview. “So that gives me strength. If I have to be that one person, I will be it.”

Capito’s resolve illustrates how intractable the debate over replacing Obamacare has become for a Republican Congress nearly seven months into a repeal effort that GOP leaders initially hoped would take just weeks.

Her record, meanwhile, illustrates why Republican leaders thought they could get repeal done quickly: Capito voted more than 40 times to dismantle Obamacare as a House member. As West Virginia transformed from a Democratic stronghold into a reliably Republican state, Capito won her Senate seat in 2014 by one of the largest margins in state history. The following year, she voted with virtually all Senate Republicans for a bill repealing major parts of Obamacare-- without a replacement-- that they knew President Barack Obama would veto.

Capito remains perhaps the most well-liked and politically secure lawmaker in a state where more than two-thirds of voters backed Trump for president, polls show. And yet, with the GOP on the precipice of tearing down Obamacare, she appears further than ever from budging on the Senate bill.

West Virginia has big health care problems, she said, and the GOP’s current proposal doesn’t do enough to address them, even after Republican leaders agreed to earmark $45 billion over a decade to fight the opioid crisis. Addiction experts say that sum falls well short of what’s needed to reverse the epidemic.

Capito harbors deep concerns about rolling back funding for Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion amid the opioid epidemic. More than 40 percent of funding for drug abuse and mental health treatment in the state comes from Medicaid expansion covering low-income adults.

She’s also alarmed at projections that the legislation could leave thousands more in West Virginia without coverage or paying far more for it. West Virginia has long ranked among the country’s sickest states, placing near the bottom in life expectancy as well as obesity and tobacco use. But it’s what’s happened over the past few years, as heroin swept across the state and created a full-blown health emergency, that complicated Capito’s path to “yes” on any repeal bill.

In 2015, West Virginia counted 725 fatal drug overdoses, the nation’s highest rate by far. That number climbed to 879 last year, the vast majority of which involved at least one opioid.

...“We are the No. 1 state with the problem of heroin addiction and opioid addiction,” said Kevin Knowles, a Martinsburg city councilman.

Knowles became the area’s first recovery-services coordinator last year, taking on responsibility for connecting residents with rehab facilities, running support groups and serving as the primary lifeline for addicts across hundreds of square miles in the state’s easternmost region. He runs the operation on a $70,000 annual grant-- just enough to hire two additional employees.

Martinsburg and surrounding Berkeley County are among the state’s hardest hit by an opioid epidemic that’s spread indiscriminately through the community. Last summer, a candidate for Berkeley County sheriff needed to be revived twice in 12 hours from apparent opioid overdoses.

The GOP repeal effort “would affect this state tremendously, in a negative way,” said Knowles, a Democrat.

...That Capito still opposes the repeal bill, even after Republican leaders added the extra funding for opioids, has heartened those trying to beat back the crisis. And so far, even Republicans in the state are holding off going after one of their own.

“I think Sen. Capito is finding the best approach,” West Virginia GOP Chairman Conrad Lucas said, adding that he believes Capito recognizes how important it is for the state that Republicans dismantle Obamacare.

But Capito is questioning whether Republicans can pass a bill on their own. On Thursday, after a long day with Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin as they accompanied Energy Secretary Rick Perry around the state, she made a case for working with Democrats on a compromise bill focused on fixing the health care system’s flaws. McConnell last week also suggested Republicans could soon turn to fixing Obamacare-- presumably with help from Democrats-- if they can’t repeal it.

“Collaborating with Democrats on the other side, to me, is not an exercise in futility,” Capito said, noting that she has spoken with Manchin and other Democrats about tackling health care together. “That may be where we end up, and so be it.”

Speculating further than that, she added, is premature. Senate Republicans could quickly strike a deal, pass a bill and follow through on their seven-year repeal pledge before the month is out.

“I think that remains to be seen,” Capito said. “That’s the eye of the needle, and I think it’s being tried to be threaded. But I’m not sure.”

How Badly Has Paul Ryan Screwed Up The GOP's Chance To Repeal Obamacare?

The other day, Alex Samuels reported in the Texas Tribune that Barbara Bush, the daughter of George W. Bush, was the keynote speaker at a Planned Parenthood fundraiser in Ft. Worth on Wednesday, where she insisted that the work the organization is doing is especially important after the ascension of the Trump Regime. She told the thousand guests at the Planned Parenthood of Greater Texas' annual luncheon that "In October when I was asked to speak, I said yes and I was thrilled, but I was under the assumption that history was going to go differently. That was not meant to be a political statement; I just thought the cards were going to fall in a different way. I’m so happy I said yes because this work could not matter more... Our belief that health is a human right is not reflected in today’s reality. Millions of people's potentials and futures are undermined simply because they do not have access to the health care that they deserve. We have these incredible tools to solve problems, yet health systems are weak, and we need new leaders to fix them... To me, Planned Parenthood is a one-stop-shop for everything that has to do with women’s health and all social problems that don’t have to do with women’s health. I hope you all realize the incredible investment that you’re making for both women and also their kids, their kids' education and their income level. And that is unique and incredible. It’s a silver bullet, if you ask me."

And Barbara Bush isn't the only Republican uncomfortable with their party's bizarre jihad against Planned Parenthood. The idea of tying it to repealing Obamacare looks, in fact, like a poison pill of some kind. I doubt it will matter that much among House Republicans-- from where the idea comes-- but it could kill the package in the Senate. In 2015 Susan Collins (R-ME) voted against repealing the Affordable Care Act precisely because defunding Planned Parenthood was in the bill. There's no reason to think she's changed her mind and recently she was quoted saying that she doesn't think it makes sense to link the two issues. "If the House Republicans want to bring it up, it should be in a separate bill. I would oppose that bill, but it further complicates the negotiations to have it included in this bill."

And it's not just Collins. Ever since the national GOP stabbed Lisa Murkowsky (R-AK) in the back in 2010-- supporting Tea Party sociopath Joe Miller instead of her-- she's felt pretty independent for a Republican. Miller has the official Republican Party ballot designation, but she beat him-- and a weak Democrat-- as a write-in candidate (with 39.5% of the vote). Ever since, she's been one of the half dozen Republicans most willing to cross the aisle-- thumbing her nose at Miss McConnell on the way-- and vote with the Democrats. A couple of weeks ago, she addressed the state legislature and told them she's likely to vote against repealing Obamacare for two reasons-- the rollback of Medicaid expansion that the legislature had approved and which is extremely popular in Alaska, and the defunding of Planned Parenthood.

"As long as Alaska wants to keep the expansion it should have the option," Murkowski said. "I will not vote to repeal it."

Other parts worth preserving, Murkowski said, are provisions that prohibit insurers from discriminating against pre-existing conditions, aim to ensure mental health parity and allow young people to remain on their parents’ health insurance up to the age of 26.

Murkowski also stood in support of Planned Parenthood, which she said has no place in the ACA debate.

"Taxpayer dollars should never be used to pay for abortions, but I will not vote to deny Alaskans access to the health services that Planned Parenthood provides," said Murkowski.

Planned Parenthood provides health care for 7,700 Alaskans annually. Yesterday Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) told Chris Cuomo and CNN viewers yesterday that she had been "very forceful in repeatedly saying that the expansion of Medicaid is tremendously important to 184,000 West Virginians. That is something-- every time we talk about how has it moved to change-- I am constantly talking about." When Cuomo pressed her about whether or not Medicaid expansion is preserved in Ryan's secret bill, she said "it better be." That, of course, is at odds with GOP extremist who would just as soon abolish Medicaid altogether. One more Senate Republican bails-- for whatever reason-- and Obamacare repeal goes back to the drawing board... if it even gets off the drawing board. No one knows at this point because Ryan has "the plan" under lock and key. He wouldn't even allow Senator Rand Paul-- who says he's inclined to "leave it," not take it-- to look at it Thursday.



Kansas' gigantic, empty 1st congressional district takes up most of the state-- 61 full counties and part of two others. There are no actual cities although in includes Dodge City (pop- 27,340), Salina (pop- 47,707), Manhattan (pop- 52,281), Emporia (pop- 24,916), Liberal (pop- 20,525), Hutchinson (pop- 42,080) and gets into the western suburbs of Topeka. With a PVI of R+23, it's one of the most reliably Republican congressional districts in the country. Romney beat Obama there 70-28% and last November Trump beat Hillary by an even great margin-- 69.3% to 24.3%. And at the same time they elected a new congressman, replacing radical right lunatic Tim Huelskamp with... radical right lunatic Roger Marshall. With the surreptitious help of Paul Ryan, Marshall beat Huelskamp in the primary 58,808 (56.5%) to 45,315 (43.5%).

It isn't likely you've heard of Marshall, a natural born back-bencher destined to have no impact on anything ever, unless you live in one of the farms or towns that make up KS-01. He seems right out of the 1950s, a small town obstetrician delivering babies in a 79% white district, harboring frightening and antiquated ideas about healthcare. In an interview in Stat Friday, that ugly, mind-numbing, narrow-minded ignorance was on full display.

The law’s Medicaid expansion, which Kansas has not adopted despite support from many hospitals, including some of Marshall’s former colleagues, is one of the big sticking points for Republicans. Many GOP-led states adopted it and want to see it preserved in some form.

Marshall doesn’t believe it has helped, an outlook that sheds light on how this new player in Washington understands health policy.

“Just like Jesus said, ‘The poor will always be with us,’” he said. “There is a group of people that just don’t want health care and aren’t going to take care of themselves.”

Pressed on that point, Marshall shrugged.

“Just, like, homeless people… I think just morally, spiritually, socially, [some people] just don’t want health care,” he said. “The Medicaid population, which is [on] a free credit card, as a group, do probably the least preventive medicine and taking care of themselves and eating healthy and exercising. And I’m not judging, I’m just saying socially that’s where they are. So there’s a group of people that even with unlimited access to health care are only going to use the emergency room when their arm is chopped off or when their pneumonia is so bad they get brought [into] the ER.”

...“Our vision was that we would look more like a hotel with customer service that delivered five-star health care,” he said. “So our cafeteria looks more like a coffee shop than it does a sterile hospital dining room. We have bright windows everywhere, and outside of every window there’s a garden. Thinking that healing is more than just a knife and a needle.”

Shelley Capito Isn't The Only Conservative Being Targeted By Lunatic Fringe Teabaggers

West Virginia Republican Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, a career-long tool of the mining industry, has already announced that she's running for the West Virginia Senate seat currently held by Jay Rockefeller in redder and redder West Virginia. (Rockefeller, who will be 77 in 2014 has been long thought to be on the verge of announcing his retirement.) The Tea Party and the far right extremists in the GOP seem unhappy with Capito's announcement.

Interestingly, Capito's ProgressivePunch vote score for the 2011-12 congressional session is identical with defeated Tea Party fave Allen West's (4.76 out of 100). And 107 Republicans have had more progressive voting records this session, including Tea Party favorites Ron Paul (TX-35.94), Justin Amash (MI-26.57), Tom McClintock (CA-17.29), Raul Labrador (ID-12.11), Mick Mulvaney (SC-11.78) who is being pushed by teabaggers to challenge Lindsey Graham, Paul Broun (GA-11.42), who is being pushed by John Birchers to challenge Saxby Chambliss, Joe Walsh (IL-10.77), Jason Chaffetz (UT-9.30), Rob Bishop (UT-7.57), Connie Mack (FL-7.49), Tim Huelskamp (KS-7.04), Tea Party Queen Michele Bachmann (MN-6.77), and even Louie Gohmert (TX-6.75)!

All the crazy extremist groups that helped the Democrats win difficult Senate races by winning primaries for out-of-the-mainstream fanatics like Christine O'Donnell (DE), Ken Buck (CO), Todd Akin (MO), Richard Mourdock (IN) and Sharron Angle (NV) are already attacking Capito as "too liberal." Radical right Club for Growth and Jim DeMint's lunatic fringe group, the Senate Conservatives Fund, are leading the way. DeMint's Executive Director, Matt Hoskins: "Congresswoman Capito is not someone we can endorse because her spending record in the House is too liberal. If Republicans in West Virginia want to save their country, they need to find another candidate with the courage to say ‘no’ to more spending and debt.”

Standing history on its head, Club for Growth spokesman Barney Keller, claimed that “Our point is simply that the formula of party bosses picking big-government Republican nominees has not proven successful.” The Club blames the GOP bosses for nominating Establishment hacks who lost this year-- Rick Berg (ND), Heather Wilson (NM) and Denny Rehberg (MT).

When PPP surveyed West Virginia in October, 2011, they found Rockefeller very vulnerable, particularly to Capito:

2012's not looking great for West Virginia Republicans on the picking up a Senate seat front but 2014 might provide more promise. Jay Rockefeller's approval rating is 47/41, ok numbers but unimpressive compared to Manchin. And he would trail in a potential bout with Capito by a 48-44 margin. Rockefeller does worse against Capito than Manchin does across the board but the disparity is particularly large with GOP voters-- they support Capito by only a 43 point margin over Manchin (64-21), but would give her a 68 point advantage over Rockefeller (80-12). Rockefeller and Manchin are pretty similarly popular with Democrats but when it comes to independents/Republicans the disparity is wide.

Manchin, who voted with Republicans more frequently than any Senate Democrat other than now retiring Ben Nelson, won reelection over teabaagger John Raese 61-36%. On the same day, Obama was obliterated by Romney by a similar margin, 62-35%. Astoundingly, Obama lost every single county in the state, even the most Democratic counties. Machin won every county but 3, Grant, Preston and Doddridge.

Funny how the most popular Republican up for reelection anywhere in the country, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, is especially hated by the radical right. If you watched the Rachel Maddow video above, you saw how wrong the clueless Beltway conventional wisdom media types have the post-election, "chastened" GOP. If anything, the radicals who control the party, have been driven insane and are more radical and more extreme than ever! And yesterday TPM explained how the far right RINO hunters are out stalking mainstream conservatives again. "After two disappointing election cycles," wrote Benjy Sarlin, "Republican leaders demanded that conservative groups end their war on electable primary candidates or risk handing the Senate to the Democrats in 2014. This week, the groups delivered their reply: 'Nuts!'”

The West Virginia race is exactly the kind of juicy pickup opportunity that Republicans blew in recent cycles by nominating subpar candidates. Already some in the party are feeling déjà vu.

“The last time Republicans elected a senator in West Virginia was 1956,” former Rep. Tom Davis (R-VA) told TPM. Davis, who used to char the NRCC, said, “Shelley Moore Capito is their only hope of electing a Republican senator and a conservative this cycle. So the fact that you have some groups opposing her I think explains why we are in the minority in the Senate.”

Conrad Lucas, chair of the West Virginia GOP, told TPM that while the state party wouldn’t interfere with the primaries, Capito was an unambiguous recruiting coup.

“She’s clearly the most popular Republican in the state-- by far-- and is a very strong candidate,” Lucas said. He added that her critics on the right were “not representative of West Virginia” where Capito’s reputation within the party is sterling.

Both the NRSC and Karl Rove’s American Crossroads are considering a more active rule in 2014 to protect their favored candidates against extreme or inexperienced primary challengers. Capito could be a test case for this new approach if her critics on the right recruit a challenger.

The GOP’s RINO hunters-- the enforcers of ideological purity who have helped drive out more perhaps general election-friendly Republican candidates in past cycles-- say they’re ready to go to war with Rove and the NRSC if necessary.

“Going forward, our focus will be on supporting good candidates and of course, we hope that we are not going against the NRSC or any other groups involved in the election process,” Amy Kremer, chair of Tea Party Express, told TPM. “However, we will not waiver on our principles in choosing candidates to support and endorse.”

Tea Party Express has a history of upsetting the Republican establishment. The group backed Christine O’Donnell’s Delaware Senate run in 2010 and got behind Richard Mourdock’s primary challenge of Sen. Richard Lugar (R-IN) this year. Kremer said it was “way too early to make any decisions on what races we will be involved in during the 2014 cycle,” and declined to weigh in on Capito other than to say she was “aware” Capito had launched her campaign.

Social conservatives say they’re ready to fight Republican attempts to ostracize them after the 2012 cycle as well. Over the weekend, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) became the latest top Republican to express concerns over the social issue debate, saying the GOP should “leave the issue alone” when it comes to abortion rights.

Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the anti-abortion Susan B. Anthony List, told TPM her side isn’t going to take talk like McCain’s sitting down. If social conservatives need to fight off the Republican establishment in a brutal primary, so be it. Dannenfelser blames the problems the GOP had with its social message on fear among Republican candidates when it came to talking about abortion and other topics. Had Republicans been more proactive on social issues, they never would have been stuck “on the defensive,” she said. Dannenfelser said her group will go to war with Republicans who try to back candidates unwilling to engage on social issues.

“To the extend that they want to repeat what we just saw in this election, yes, we will be insisting ‘do not proclaim a truce ahead of the [general] election again.’ That’s what we just saw,” she said. “So if the truce gets proclaimed again then, yes, there will be a very lively argument.”

In the days since Nov. 6, most of the focus has been on how the GOP needs to moderate in order to improve its performance in 2014 and beyond. But with Capito kicking off the next cycle with her announcement Monday, the conservative groups who’ve successfully dominated Republican politics recently made it clear they’re not going away without a fight.

Imagine lunatic fringe candidates like John Bircher Paul Broun or anti-Choice sociopath Karen Handel unseating arch conservative Saxby Chambliss on Georgia. Or Joe "You Lie" Wilson taking on prominent GOP closet case Lindsay Graham. And speaking of Republican closet cases, Miss McConnell is likely to draw a teabaggy opponent as well. If Susan Collins doesn't retire-- she promised she would-- she will certainly have some crazed teabagger running against her in the Maine GOP primary. It's important for Democrats to have viable candidates lined up... just in case. No one thought Blue Dog Joe Donnelly would have any chance to beat Richard Lugar, but right-wing radicals saved his career by replacing Lugar with Mourdock. It's a model teabaggers and neo-fascists intend to replicate everywhere.

MEET STATE SENATOR JOHN UNGER, THE MAN WHO CAN FINALLY TAKE BACK WEST VIRGINA'S 2nd CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT FROM THE REPUBLICANS

My friend Clem Guttata writes for the respected blog West Virginia Blue. I was intrigued when he and several other West Virginia progressive activists tried to draft my pal Christy from FDL to run for the congressional seat being held by ineffective rubber stamp Republican Shelley Moore Capito. Christy doesn't live in the district and she passed-- but progressives have found another really excellent candidate, one who does live in the district, and represents much of it in the state senate. I asked Clem if he'd write up a report on this important race. He just sent this along:

West Virginia State Senator John Unger is a progressive Democrat who needs our support to successfully challenge vulnerable Republican Rep. Shelley Moore Capito (WV-02). Early Netroots support can make a major difference in this race.

In early 2006, I moved to WV-02 and became an active volunteer for the Democratic challenger. Through our mutual efforts on that campaign I met Carnacki, a long-time district activist and well-known member of dailyKos. One major contribution WV-02 Dems made in '06 was forcing Rep. Capito to buy an easy win (57% of vote). She panicked, stopped funding other candidates and even held two fund-raisers in DC the last week of the election.

Still, it was a disappointing outcome here in the district. The challenger never had money to get his message out, the voters were once again duped and we're stuck with two more years of mis-leadership for WV-02.

The curse of Capito fell over our district in 2000 with the ill winds of Pres. George Bush's installation to office. Vulnerable Republican Rep. Shelley Moore Capito is the daughter of the former Rep., W.Va. Gov., and ex-con Arch A. Moore. Her path from college career counselor to W.Va. legislator to U.S. House was paved with her middle name. Like George Bush, it's long past time her public dis-service ended.

As a four-term incumbent, Capito has accumulated remarkable little power or prestige. Her greatest legislative accomplishments are founding the Civility Caucus and, just last month, passing a law making something already illegal, well, still illegal. Scratch behind the ear of any Republican Rep. under indictment, investigation, or incarceration and you'll find she's gladly received money from them (she was the single largest recipient of Tom Delay PAC funds) and her good friend Bob Ney is now sitting in a W.Va. prison.

A moderate-in-name-only, Capito has shown her true colors by supporting Bush in his greatest time of need. She has a nasty penchant to talk out of both sides of her mouth. She said she was against the surge, but refused to vote against it. She said she supports worker's rights, but refused to vote for the Employee Free Choice Act. She said she believes in oversight and accountability in Iraq, but votes against it.

The day after Election '06, Carnacki and I started actively laying the groundwork to knock her off this cycle. One thing missing in W.Va. was an online progressive voice--we started West Virginia Blue to help fill that void and sustain progressive candidates at all levels in W.Va.

We strongly endorse John Unger as a progressive voice for WV-02.

Unger is a rare combination of someone who was both the Netroots activists' and the DCCC's first choice. After West Virginia native Christy Hardin Smith spurned our efforts to draft her for the WV-02 race, we turned to recruiting W.Va. State Sen. John Unger. Carnacki lives in his district and has known him for several years.

Unger is newly introduced to the Netroots. He just recently read "Crashing the Gate" and has welcomed our support for his campaign. Since he announced, Carnacki and I have met with for extended dinner conversations lasting late into the night. He's comfortable meeting on our turf--the same Waffle House Carnacki and I meet at every few weeks to plot Capito's downfall!

Unger has already been a fast learner of one key Netroots lesson: fight back hard at baseless right-wing attacks. In an optimistic sign for 2008, when John Unger fired back at a smear attempt by the W.Va. GOP last month, the largest paper in the district called out the Republicans for their "hateful tactic".

Unger has a compelling personal biography. He was the first in his family to attend college yet he took time off from school to work with Mother Teresa in the slums of Calcutta. He's a Rhodes Scholar. In his 9 years as a State Senator he has passed hundreds of pieces of legislation. He's provided aid to refugees in Hong Kong and Turkey. In 2003, he spent 3 months in Iraq working with Save the Children. He's a person of compassion and competence. He has strong moral and intellectual integrity.

These experiences shape his political beliefs. Unger help deliver aid to the Kurds after the Gulf War in 1995 and aid to the Iraqis during our occupation in 2003. He advocates we turn Iraq over to the Iraqis and bring our troops home from Iraq immediately. Unger would be one of the few Reps. with on-the-ground experience in Iraq. [Perhaps the only one with NGO experience?] He knows there needs to be a political solution in Iraq, instead of a military solution.

He is a progressive Democrat--he embraces that label. John Unger's life experiences demonstrate his commitment to social and economic justice. He is strongly against any form of discrimination against anyone, including discrimination based on race, religion, gender, and sexual orientation. In a recent meeting, he spoke with passionate about hate crimes being not just crimes, but crimes against humanity.

Unger is an accomplished legislator. Elected to the W.Va. Senate at age 28, he's been an independent, effective, results-oriented state senator. He's passed over 230 bills including the West Virginia Water Resources Protection Act, the Voluntary Farmland Protection Program and legislation that created the West Virginia Division of Energy. Unger is running on a platform of getting out of Iraq, energy independence, and universal healthcare. He's a bit of an economic populist. One of the best lines in his stump speech goes like: "if we can import food from communist China, and import cooking oil from a dictatorship in Venezuela why can't we import prescription medication from a democracy in Canada?"

These qualifications are in sharp contrast with vulnerable Republican Rep. Shelley Moore Capito. The path to her mis-leadership was paved by her middle name. The path to John Unger's leadership was been paved with hard work, a strong moral core and exemplary competence.

Capito consistently prioritizes the needs of Pres. George Bush and the GOP "team" first. John Unger lives a life of public service, prioritizing the needs of constituents first. Crapito demagogues. Unger gets results.

In summary, John Unger is the kind of progressive Democrat that can win WV-02 this cycle. The field is clear for him in the Democratic primary. He needs financial support to get his progressive message out past the conservative-dominated state media. We're working hard every day to turn WV-02 from Red to Blue.

As strong as our candidate is, we face an uphill battle. The power of incumbency and a conservative-dominated state media is strong. Entrenched interests in West Virginia cross party lines. Still, we've got a real chance this cycle. We've got a smart hard-working candidate-- he just needs the resources to get the job done. This is our best shot. Unfortunately, if we don't unseat her now, Capito could maintain the seat for life.

Please help end the Bush-Capito reign in WV-02. Help send progressive Democrat John Unger to Washington in 2008. Your contribution of any size will make a difference.

Clem Guttata

WV-02 Volunteer Netroots Activist

West Virginia Blue

http://www.wvablue.com