West Virginia Junior Senator Joe Manchin III and Governor Earl Ray Tomblin have sidestepped the issue of whether or not they intend to vote for President Obama in the general election citing their dissatisfaction with the Obama Administration's alleged "War on Coal." Today the Senator, Governor and Congressman Nick Rahall (WV-03) announced that they would not attend the Democratic National Convention citing the need to spend time working on West Virginia's problems. Rahall has previously said that he will vote for Obama. Manchin, Tomblin & Rahall to skip Democratic Convention
Just last week at their state convention, WV Democrats overwhelmingly backed a resolution to "endorse all party elected officials, "including the head of the Democratic Party and our president, Barack Obama." More than just support for the President, the resolution was the Party's attempt to chastise Manchin and Tomblin. According to the Charleston Daily Mail
For their countless equivocations about Obama, Manchin and Tomblin faced withering criticism from convention delegates.
Many West Virginians, both Democrat and Republican, see this as nothing more than a political ploy to curry favor with both the coal industry and the Republican Party.
TPM has this to say:
But if Sen. Joe Manchin, Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin and Rep. Nick Rahall — all Democrats — thought pulling out of the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte this September would earn them the respect of Republicans, they’re wrong.
“The fact that they’re running and hiding from the Democrat convention when everybody knows that the only reason they’re doing it is so they don’t have to answer the question yet of who they support for president shows a profound lack of leadership,” said WV GOP Executive Director, Ray Holland.
So how will this latest development play out in West Virginia? Will Manchin's latest grandstanding further alienate more Democrats? Will his Republican support dwindle? Will it bring in more campaign cash from the coal industry? What will Crazy John Raese have to say about it? And what of Earl Ray and Nick Joe? Stay tuned.