West Virginia: Moderate

...by a hair, according to a Gallup survey of 1,230 state residents conducted between January and June.

The poll found 40 percent identifying their political views as moderate, while 39 percent said conservative and 18 percent said liberal.

Gallup's overall finding from the national survey: "a significantly higher percentage of Americans in most states -- even some solidly Democratic ones -- call themselves conservative rather than liberal."

The Blame Game

The special session's failed "bonus" bill provides further evidence of differences between Gov. Joe Manchin and his fellow Democrats who control the House of Delegates, while also spurring a flurry of finger-pointing, The Associated Press and others observe.

"It showed divisions that had been hinted at during the regular session," the AP article said. "A number of education bills Manchin wanted, including changes to how the school calendar is set, were caught up in wrangling between the House and Senate and failed to pass."

But AP's Tom Breen also writes that "the apparent disorder, though, masks the fact that legislative leaders and Manchin all probably gained from the dispute in different ways. And not even the state employees caught in the middle will definitely lose out, since all sides agree the bonus could come back before the Legislature this fall."

The Charleston Gazette heard from groups who represent state workers, expressing "anger and dismay" that the measure didn't pass. They blame Manchin for concluding that the more generous House version of the "bonus" bill exceeded the scope of the special session call.

"It's a pretty universal perception that he's very arrogant and very haughty in how he deals with state employees, and this is more evidence of that," Gordon Simmons, an organizer with the state Public Employees Union UE Local 170, told the newspaper.

But both The Gazette and MetroNews note that one of these critical groups, the American Federation of Teachers-West Virginia, had endorsed the governor's $500-per-full-timer proposal.

"There was not an opportunity to build consensus prior to the special session," AFT-WV President Judy Hale told the latter. "So when the House wanted to, rightly so, add all state employees then they got into a mess."

MetroNews also has dueling legislative perspectives (and audio) on the failed bill. The Charleston Daily Mail also has coverage, while The Register-Herald of Beckley has dueling articles (here and here).

Impasse Dooms "Bonus" for W.Va. Workers

Gov. Joe Manchin had initially proposed his $500 bonus-like payment to full-time state employees for the 2010 regular legislative session. He then decided to include it in this week's special session for extending jobless benefits.

The result: "a legislative tug-of-war over whether to give $500 payments to all state workers, some state workers or all state workers and retirees," The Associated Press reports.

"The version favored by Manchin and the Senate would have used surplus funds from the previous fiscal year to pay $500 one-time bonuses to active state employees at a total cost of roughly $34.7 million," AP's Tom Breen explains. "The House, though, amended the bill to include an additional $11.1 million for state employees in higher education and county jobs not covered under the state school aid formula," as well as "$13.3 million for one-time bonus payments of $266 for state retirees."

In the end, "Manchin and the Senate balked at these additions, saying they overstepped the bounds of the special session call, and therefore also violated the state constitution," AP reported. "After refusing to concur with the House amendments, the Senate adjourned instead of appointing a committee to try and reach a compromise."

AP also covered Manchin's response to the outcome, as did The Register-Herald of Beckley, MetroNews, Public Broadcasting (with audio), the Charleston Daily Mail and The Charleston Gazette.

Special Session Starts

Gov. Joe Manchin has launched his third special legislative session of the year, The Associated Press and others report.

The state Senate passed the two key measures from the governor's agenda: a bill qualifying the state's unemployed for 20 more weeks of federally funded benefits; and a $500 bonus-type payment to each full-time state worker.

While the jobless benefits measure passed unanimously, Sen. Clark Barnes called the other "an attempt to buy West Virginia's largest voting bloc for a mere $500," AP's Tom Breen reports. "Ultimately, Barnes and Preston County Republican Sen. Dave Sypolt cast their votes against the proposal, which passed 30-2."

AP's Breen sets the scene for the House's reception to the proposals. Others with coverage include The Charleston Gazette and MetroNews.

What They Did on Their Summer Vacation (Updated)

U.S. Rep. Nick Rahall, D-1st, earned a mention in the lead paragraph of a Wall Street Journal article regarding " a dozen taxpayer-funded trips by lawmakers during Congress's monthlong summer recess."

Rahall is "leading about a half-dozen lawmakers on a 10-day trip to the Pacific. They are reviewing how immigration laws are applied in the Northern Marianas, a U.S. territory," the newspaper reported. "The lawmakers plan to visit American Samoa, Hawaii, Palau, the Northern Mariana Islands and Guam."

The trip so far has earned Rahall mention on Guam's KUAM as well as Pacific Daily News, the Saipan Tribune and the Pacific News Center (video; reference corrected).

U.S. Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., is meanwhile co-hosting a forum on health care with AARP's West Virginia chapter, Public Broadcasting reports.

"Conservative protesters are planning greet" those at the University of Charleston event, the report said. "The event is closed to the public, after already filling up the available space. The AARP and other sponsors invited people to the event, which required an RSVP and was full as of Monday morning."

The piece (audio here) also notes that "Other such events across the country have been disrupted by people opposed to overhauling the nation’s health care system. Officials at the University of Charleston say they’re prepared for any protests, and had already stepped up security because of Rockfeller’s visit."

(Update: AP has coverage from the Tuesday forum.)

The office of Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, R-2nd, has issued a press release regarding her August recess whereabouts, "Capito Returns from Trip to Israel, Palestine."

Update II: Rep. Alan Mollohan, D-1st, is holding a Town Hall meeting Friday at Wheeling Jesuit University to discuss health care, The Intelligencer reports.

Manchin at Odds with U.S. DoD

As co-chairman of the National Governors Association, Gov. Joe Manchin has co-written a letter to a top Pentagon official "opposing a new Defense Department proposal to handle natural and terrorism-related disasters," The Hill reports.

The bi-partisan group of governors believe "that a murky chain of command could lead to more problems than solutions," and "would hinder a state's effort to respond to a disaster," the article said.

"Current law gives governors control over National Guard forces in their own states as well as any Guard units and Defense Department personnel imported from other states," the newspaper reported. "The letter comes as the Pentagon proposes a legislative fix that would give the secretary of Defense the authority to assist in response to domestic disasters and, consequently, control over units stationed in an affected state."

Security at W.Va.'s Capitol

With an armed police force, concrete barriers and myriad cameras amid its features, security at the West Virginia state Capitol has made strides within the last decade or so, The Charleston Gazette reports.

The article recalls a series of eyebrow-raising incidents from the 1990s:

• Someone hauled away an ATM containing nearly $20,000 from the Capitol's East Wing;
• $7,000 worth of camera equipment was stolen from the photo lab in the Capitol basement;
• 13 personal computers "disappeared" after being delivered to Building 3's loading dock;
• A contract security guard pleaded guilty to stealing more than $62,000 from Capitol Complex parking meters;
• Members of a state employees' union took the Senate Judiciary Committee hostage, refusing to allow committee members to leave unless they voted for a collective-bargaining bill.

The story follows up on coverage of a proposed 6-foot-tall, 960-foot-long fence "around the Governor's Mansion, past the Holly Grove mansion and up Greenbrier Street to the mansion driveway. Four contractors have bid on the project, with bids ranging from $478,000 to $868,161."

W.Va. Tea Party Movement Attracts Attention

West Virginia's Tea Party Movement has developed a political profile as the state's most visible critic of Obama administration proposals involving cap-and-trade and health care, The Associated Press reports.

The group's members have been courted by the nascent West Virginia Conservative Foundation, while U.S. Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, R-2nd, spoke at its July rally targeting cap and trade.

But while the movement has raised questions about the cost and jobs impact of such proposals, allegations raised by some of its top organizers "appear to go beyond policy disagreements," the article said.

E-mails from the group "promote demonstrated untruths" about some of this legislation, and also "recycle other rumors and allegations about Obama, his family and other Democrats previously debunked by the likes of FactCheck.org and PolitiFact.com."

Several of the e-mails "have raised questions about President Barack Obama's place of birth and eligibility to serve," AP reported, adding that "late last month, state officials in Hawaii said they once again checked and confirmed that Obama was born in Hawaii and is a natural-born American citizen, and therefore meets a key constitutional requirement for being president."

The author of a number of these e-mails was asked about their content.

"I have just about come to the conclusion, because of the newspaper articles at the time of his birth, that Obama may well have been born in the US," the author told AP. "However, rumor is that he went to college as an exchange student, which would be a felony offense and thus would disqualify him for serving. All of those records are sealed."

Wrong again, according to FactCheck. It concluded in May that a "transparent April Fools' Day hoax" complete with a faked AP story to allege that Obama received a Fulbright scholarship for foreign students. "The claim is false and the story is a hoax," FactCheck found.

Tamarack to Pay Off its Debts

Tamarack, the arts and crafts showcase built along the West Virginia Turnpike by the roadway's parent agency, has set aside the $6.9 million it needs to pay off the bonds that funded its construction, The Register-Herald reports.

But as both the Beckley newspaper and MetroNews observe, that will not necessarily trigger the transfer of Tamarack to another agency of state government as Gov. Joe Manchin has proposed.

"We continue to look for ways for Tamarack to either break even or make money," Manchin aide Jim Pitrolo told MetroNews (audio here). "Once we get that business model in place we can move Tamarack anywhere."

And as the Turnpike just hiked its toll rates to raise more revenue, the Beckley paper noted that "by setting aside the cash from its economic development tourism account, the West Virginia Parkways Authority is able to invest another $1.2 million a year in turnpike upkeep."

He Voted for You: Cash for Clunkers

U.S. Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., helped approve an additional $2 billion for "cash for clunkers," which The Associated Press described as "the economy-boosting rebate program that caught the fancy of car buyers and instantly increased sales for an auto industry long mired in recession."

U.S. Sen. Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va., did not take part in the 60-37 vote, though he did help confirm Sonia Sotmayor's nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court that day.

AP explains that the program "gives consumers up to $4,500 in federal subsidies if they trade in their cars for new, more energy-efficient models," and that it had exhausted its initial $1 billion.

"Without action, lawmakers risked a wave of voter discontent as they left the Capitol for a monthlong vacation," AP reported. "Supporters of the program hailed its effect on the auto industry -- which had its best month in nearly a year in July -- as well as its claimed environmental benefits."

But critics included Sen. Judd Gregg, R-N.H., who said that "what we're doing is creating debt. ... The bill to pay for those cars is going to come due on our children and grandchildren," the article said.

Jefferson To Vote Dec. 5 on Table Games

Charles Town Races & Slots is getting a second shot at getting casino table games approved for its track, The Associated Press and others report.

AP set the stage for Thursday's Jefferson County Commission meeting, at which racetrack officials successfully requested a Dec. 5 referendum on the question.

"A vote on whether to install poker tables, roulette wheels and other games alongside 5,000 slot machines at the Eastern Panhandle facility failed two years ago, but officials with the Pennsylvania-based parent company, Penn National Gaming Inc., believe the odds are now in their favor," the article said.

The Journal covered the meeting, noting that "in early July, residents and local business leaders announced that they were forming a group known as Vote Yes Jefferson County. The alliance, which is being led by Eric Lewis, said the ailing economy and new legislation that gives more revenues to local communities make it all the more important to approve the games this time around."

The Martinsburg newspaper also reports separately on community sentiment toward the proposal. "Rev. John Bethard, of Charles Town Presbyterian Church, spoke out against the games," that article said. "He still has concerns about the temptation they could pose for those struggling with gambling problems, but in light of region's ongoing economic downturn, he said the games may be beneficial."

MetroNews also has an item on the upcoming vote. AP also reported earlier on the push to re-visit the table games issue in Jefferson County.

They Voted for You: Sotomayor

U.S. Sens. Robert C. Byrd and Jay Rockefeller, both D-W.Va., helped confirm Sonia Sotomayor to the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday.

The Senate voted 68-31 to allow President Barack Obama's first high court nominee to become its first Hispanic justice as well as its third woman and its 111th justice overall.

The Associated Press reports that "Democrats praised the 55-year-old Sotomayor as a mainstream moderate. But most Republicans voted against her, saying she'd bring personal bias and a liberal agenda to the bench."

But "in the final tally, nine Republicans joined majority Democrats and the Senate's two independents to support Sotomayor's confirmation," the article continued. "Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., suffering from brain cancer, was absent."

AP also reported that "the Senate chamber was heavy with history as senators cast their votes in turn. Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., 91, the longest-serving senator who has been in frail health following a long hospitalization, was brought in in a wheelchair to vote. "

Politico also noted that "The confirmation vote brought back the Senate’s oldest and longest-serving member, Robert Byrd, who has been recovering from an illness for the past several weeks."

Manchin to Convene Special Session for Jobless Benefits

Gov. Joe Manchin expects to call the Legislature into the third special session of 2009, this time to extend the duration of unemployment compensation benefits, The Associated Press and others report.

The legislative change sought by the governor would qualify West Virginia for the necessary funding, provided through the federal stimulus package enacted earlier this year.

As AP reports, "the National Employment Law Project estimates than nearly 4,000 jobless West Virginias will otherwise exhaust their benefits by October. That figure is projected to rise above 6,100 by year's end."

The governor plans to have the session start Tuesday, while lawmakers are already in town for the month's series of interim study meetings.

The New York Times recently highlighted the projected exhaustion of unemployment benefits, as did the Charleston Daily Mail.

Others with coverage of the special session include The Charleston Gazette and MetroNews.

Quote of the Day

"All the attention is going to those three Republicans... you just watch as this bill diminishes. Those three won't be there when the bill passes."

-- U.S. Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., opining on the GOP contingent of the Senate Finance Committee's so-called "gang of six" senators negotiating a bipartisan health care reform bill, as reported by Politico and relayed by Political Wire.

W.Va. DHHR Falling Under Judicial Scrutiny

The state Department of Health and Human Resources, and the programs it operates, are ending up in West Virginia courts.

The Associated Press' Tom Breen reports on observations from state Supreme Court Chief Justice Brent Benjamin that DHHR "is suffering from a 'systemic' lack of resources that regularly results in a failure to meet its legal obligations."

Benjamin addressed the topic in a concurring opinion in "a case in which the DHHR successfully sought a Supreme Court ruling that blocked a lower court from dismissing the agency's move to terminate a woman's parental rights."

"I am deeply troubled and concerned about this continuing resource problem," Benjamin wrote, "a problem which I sense may be worsening and may be becoming systemic. This underlying resource problem perhaps deserves the court's fuller attention."

The AP article also cites last month's move by Kanawha Circuit Judge Duke Bloom to revive "an independent court monitor position to track how the state provides care at (Mildred Mitchell-) Bateman and West Virginia's other public psychiatric hospital, William R. Sharpe Hospital in Weston."

The Charleston Gazette updates that situation, reporting that Bloom has appointed Ombudsman for Behavioral Health David Sudbeck as monitor.

Obama Labor Chief Visits W.Va.

Obama Labor Secretary Hilda Solis came to West Virginia for "her first tour of an underground mine...flanked by business and labor leaders seeking her ear on such issues as climate-change legislation and the administration's approach to regulating mining," The Associated Press reports.

The party included Gov. Joe Manchin, Rep. Alan Mollohan, D-1st, Patriot Coal Corp. CEO Rick Whiting and United Mine Workers Union President Cecil Roberts.

Others with coverage include the Times West Virginian of Fairmont, Public Broadcasting (with audio) and MetroNews (ditto).

NRCC Targeting Mollohan for 2010 (Updated)

The National Republican Congressional Committee is including the seat of U.S. Rep. Alan Mollohan, D-1st, among the 70 it views as ripe for a takeover in the next election, the state GOP says in a news release.

While citing the district's strong showing for Republican nominee John McCain in last year's presidential race, the release cites the spectre of a possibly pending federal investigation into Mollohan's finances and earmarks benefiting nonprofit groups he helped create and staff.

But the NRCC also launched early against Mollohan during the last election cycle, with August 2007 radio ads invoking the federal scrutiny. Mollohan ended up running unopposed the following year.

Update: Larry Sabato's Crystal Ball casts a skeptical eye at the 70-seat list, labeling it "something of a charade" and a "calculated gambit."

While not mentioning Mollohan by name, the analysis does cite how nine of the Democrats on the list had no GOP opponent last year, while most of the others attracted votes above the "widely accepted threshold" of 55 percent.

"While the GOP is almost assured to pick up seats next November, putting 70 Democratic seats into play and retaking the House, at this point, are more pipe dreams than realistic goals," the analysis said.

W.Va. Gets a Smidgen Bluer. Sort Of.

Gallup Poll Daily interviewed 1,230 West Virginians and found that 53 percent identified themselves as Democrats or as independents who lean toward that party, while 33 percent identified themselves as Republican or GOP-leaning.

That 20 percent gap is 1 percent wider than the one measured by Gallup in 2008, though it noted then that the Republicans had just won West Virginia's electoral votes for the third consecutive time.

The latest findings, part of a nationwide survey of political leanings conducted during the first six months of 2009, are also contrasted by the state's voter registration figures (from the 2008 general election). Those show nearly 56 percent of voters registered as Democrats, while 29 percent were Republican.

As for Gallup's national findings, "only four states show a sizeable Republican advantage in party identification, the same number as in 2008. That compares to 29 states plus the District of Columbia with sizeable Democratic advantages, also unchanged from last year."

Lawmakers Protest Turnpike Toll Hike

A trio of West Virginia legislators picketed a Turnpike toll plaza Saturday to protest that morning's increase in rates.

MetroNews and The Register-Herald of Beckley offer coverage, and photos, of the turnout by Delegates Clif Moore, D-McDowell, and Mercer County Republican delegates Mike Porter and John Shott.

Update: Critics of the Turnpike's tolls have often observed that no other West Virginia highway has them. But as MetroNews reports separately, that appears destined to change.

Obama Labor Secretary Coming to W.Va.

U.S. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis is scheduled to visit the Patriot Coal's Federal No. 2 mine Tuesday with Gov. Joe Manchin and other officials, The Associated Press reports.

"Solis is scheduled to tour the underground Monongalia County mine and an airtight rescue chamber and have a round-table discussion with miners," the article said. "Federal No. 2 is one of West Virginia's largest underground coal mines."

The tour was announced ahead of Monday's news that Patriot "is closing its Samples mines and has told 314 workers they will lose their jobs Oct. 1," AP reports separately.