Nope. Not talking about Drumpf. This time, it's West Virginia Democrats: West Virginia Democrats Just Nominated A Climate Denying Coal Baron Billionaire For Governor <> In November, West Virginians will have two choices. A a party-switching, self-funding, brash billionaire who denies climate change and loves coal, and a lawmaker who talks about bringing jobs back to the state. And that’s just the gubernatorial race. On Tuesday night, Jim Justice easily won the West Virginia Democratic gubernatorial primary and will face off against Republican state Senate President Bill Cole in the general election. Justice is the richest man in West Virginia — the state’s only billionaire. He made his money as a coal executive and developer in his family’s businesses, and became a household name in the state after buying the state’s Greenbriar resort and making it profitable. He also told West Virginians that he will make sure the state “mines more coal … than has ever been mined before.” He denies the scientific consensus on climate change, telling the Register-Herald editorial board that he welcomes the discussion but just doesn’t know: Until we have really accurate data to prove (that humans contribute) I don’t think we need to blow our legs off on a concept. I welcome the scientific approach to it and the knowledge. I would not sit here and say, “absolutely now, there’s no such thing” or I would no way on Earth say there is such a thing. I believe there’s an awful lot of scientists that say, “no, no, no, this is just smoke and mirrors.” I welcome the discussion, but I don’t know, I just don’t know. Justice beat former U.S. district attorney Booth Goodwin and state Senate Minority Leader Jeff Kessler, netting 51 percent of the Democratic vote, boasting a seven-fold monetary advantage largely due to his own funds. Kessler raised the least in campaign donations, and made a name for himself speaking forcefully about the need to take climate change seriously. He supported Sen. Bernie Sanders in the presidential primary, who won the state and suggesting that firm commitment to climate action was not a disqualifying trait for West Virginia voters. Booth, endorsed by former Sen. John Rockefeller (D-WV), made a name for himself prosecuting former Massey Energy mine owner Don Blankenship for willfully conspiring to violate federal mine safety standards at the Upper Big Branch mine, where 29 people died in the worst mining disaster in almost a half-century. <> More at the link. Unbelievable that anyone would listen to this self-serving sociopath's line about "an awful lot of scientists" who supposedly deny climate change and then fully accept it. Text book example of cognitive dissonance. Sure, West Virginia is mostly uneducated rural folk who only know how to dig out coal for a living. And climate change certainly threatens the continuation of those occupations. To which I say, "tough cookies." If you live long enough in our society, you'll be forced to retrain for a new career with new skills at least once before you die. I've done it. Twice. It's just the way things are, and have been since the demise of manufacturing in the U.S. But these folks don't want to be like everyone else and retrain or relocate just to survive another day. Oh no. They expect the rest of us to kowtow to them and give them everything they want, i.e., the ability to further feed the destruction of the ozone and atmosphere with the burning of fossil fuel. Specifically, the fossil fuel that they have dug out of the ground. Not another state. Not another country. But them. West Virginia. You know... God's Country.
