Governor Manchin held a press conference today to announce the filing of a complaint later today against EPA and the Corps of Engineers, alleging that they have unlawfully interfered with coal mining in West Virginia. The state will be represented by Ben Bailey, a well-regarded attorney who has represented the state before in matters involving the DEP. The West Virginia record report is found here, and the AP report is here.
Gov. Manchin is in an unusual position. He remains very popular in West Virginia, where he has done an excellent job as governor. In fact, the Republicans are running ads praising his work as governor, suggesting he should stay in the state to continue that work. I've heard a number of people say the same thing - the state could keep a good governor, and send a vote against Pres. Obama to the Senate in the form of Manchin's opponent, John Raese. Who would have thought that a popular governor would be defeated because he was too good? This lawsuit may be part of the Manchin counterattack, to show he wouldn't be an Obama yes-man, but to be fair it can't be solely a political ploy, as it was being discussed in the state before Sen. Byrd even died.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment