...and maybe get better cooperation from Joe Manchin.
Bernie Sanders Goes "All In" in West Virginia
Bernie Sanders in Trump Country
Back in the early days of the Trump administration, after the primaries and the campaigns, Bernie Sanders made an appearance at a town hall in Welch, West Virginia with Chris Hayes from MSNBC's "All In With Chris Hayes." Yes, in Welch, West Virginia, in McDowell County in the heart of the state's coal country, a county that voted 74% for Trump in 2016.
The big issue was the overall impact of poverty on residents of rural America, but health care and the opoid crisis got a lot of attention. And there were some things that came out of that meeting to which Democrats should have paid more attention.
One of the panelists was a self-described Democrat who said he voted for Trump because of his promise to revive the coal industry.
"McDowell County doesn't need to be left behind, we need to be included. We need drug rehab. We need it so badly. We need jobs. We need infrastructure. We need drinking water that's clean. We need housing. We need so many things. West Virginia was built on the backs of McDowell County coal miners. Now, whether people believe that or not, it's true. This was the billion dollar coal fields. The coal that came out of here made the steel across America, the tanks for the war. "
Honestly, I think that says it all. West Virginia was once a reliably blue state because of miner's unions. Any politician who demonstrates an understanding of that, regardless of their party affiliation, is going to at least have the ear of most of the voters. Sanders certainly did, and it showed in the votes he got in the primary. Trump didn't deliver on the coal industry revitalization, nor did he deliver on his jobs promise. And the Build Back Better plan is predictably popular.
A Hand Up, Not A Hand-out
West Virginians, for the most part, aren't looking for a hand out. They'd rather work and earn a living. The evidence of that is all around, everywhere you look. The economy, dependent on coal, agricultural and the chemical industry everywhere except in the state's Eastern Panhandle, has been boom or bust since World War 2. The steel industry, which once also boomed, is all but gone. And as a result, the population has also declined. It was one of the states which will lose a congressional seat as a result of the 2020 census, diminishing its political power.
My parents were both natives of West Virginia. My Dad is a naval veteran from a working class family whose Democratic party roots go back to Roosevelt and Truman. Most of his family were union members and laborers in Clarksburg's carbon plant. My mother was from Doddridge County, one of the most rural counties in the state, from a farm family. She worked as a hotel housekeeper prior to getting married. They knew the value of a dollar because they had to work for what they had. They are the kind of people you still find everywhere in West Virginia. They were Democrats until the day they died because they believed Democrats supported the working people.
Democrats still do. But somehow Trump stole that line and convinced people he did.
The key to understanding West Virginia politics is to understand people like my parents, or like the man from Welch whom I quoted. It's not so much about loyalty to party as it is loyalty to people. Talk about jobs, about affordable health care, about helping people build their own lives and they'll listen. They are good people and they will give you everything they've got to help you out. They know things are changing and they want the people of their state to have the same opportunity everyone else does. Our federal government exists to help people and this is an opportunity for Democrats to win back the trust of West Virginia voters.
Most West Virginians have a lot of pride in their state and in their accomplishments. I don't think they liked Trump as much as they disliked Hillary Clinton and they were still buying into the orange menace in 2020 because they think Democrats are now trying to put the coal industry out of business. They're looking at their livlihood and it looked like Trump was interested. He wasn't. So if Build Back Better provides jobs, fixes infrastructure, and provides resources to help with rural health care and the opioid crisis, it has the potential to change enough voters' minds to make a difference.
Why Democrats Need Each Other and Need to Work Together
The fact that one of the most liberal senators in Congress was able to go to one of the most conservative counties in West Virginia and resonate with voters is a huge hint for Democrats. Look at everything in that town hall. Chris Hayes, who is one of my favorite journalists by the way, asked honest questions and got honest answers. They found out that Trump wasn't exactly as universally popular as the vote totals he gets in the state might indicate. They thought he would do more for them than Clinton, who more or less wrote the state off when she made herself an enemy of the coal industry.
But Sanders hit the nail on the head, addressing the big issues to West Virginia voters. Biden's proposal covers everything Sanders talked about and more. Manchin would be a shoe-in for re-election if he listened to his constituency and got on board with this proposal. Outside interests must be pretty shrill to bring about this kind of resistance from him, regardless of positions he's taken in the past on spending. Flood his office with contacts and we'll see if he moves. If not, then someone else, probably with a lot of money, has his ear. Sending Bernie Sanders to West Virginia, a liberal senator from Vermont, and having him resonate with the people in coal country would put a lot of pressure on Manchin.
If it were me, and I really wanted to put the pressure on, I'd sit down with Bernie and have a conversation about doing a whistle-stop speaking tour of West Virginia. He could start in Williamson, in Mingo County, which just lost its hospital, forcing people to drive an hour to the closest emergency room. Then he could go back to Welch, where unemployment surged under Trump, mines closed and people are having a tough time. And where the opioid epidemic is raging, as it is in Williamson as well. Most rural counties either have struggling local hospitals or they've lost them. Infrastructure is in desperate need of repair. So are water systems. It's clear this would be a major boost for the "Billion Dollar Coalfields" and beyond.
Does West Virginia Really Matter?
The state has been in population decline since World War 2. It is losing a congressional seat and has to redistrict for the next mid-term, so it has jut four electoral votes. It would be easy just to recognize that it's now a deep red state and not bother with spending the time and energy it will take to get it back, since that looks like a difficult long shot.
But I think it not only is worth it, but that there is an opportunity for Democrats to win in one election cycle and this is it. Pay attention, get the right people involved and show them that this is more about them than it is the politics. Talk like Democrats used to talk and work like Democrats used to work, with the working class. It's about jobs, it's about infrastructure in places like Parkersburg, where the water system was poisoned by chemicals from the nearby Dupont plant that manufactured teflon. They're looking for a hand up not a hand out.
If you win in West Virginia, that means you win in a lot of other places, where the issues are similar. Joe Biden and Build Back Better have the potential to make the Democrats the party of the people again, and that's how this gets done. There's the evidence, go make it work.
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