Don Blankenship and the Republicans Were Dishonest
about West Virginia Democrats

During the 2006 election, Don Blankenship and West Virginia Republicans twisted procedural motions made during the legislative session to suit their political purposes.  They used motions to discharge committees of the West Virginia Legislature from their official duties as votes against legislation.  These votes were not on the merits of the legislation, but rather votes on procedure.  Discharging a committee of its duties is very serious and is virtually never done and certainly not done just to influence an election. 

They flat-out lied about the Democratic record.

What they did was outrageous and West Virginia voters let them know it on election day. 

Democrat Legislators voted to prevent parents from knowing that their underage daughter was seeking an abortion.

The truth is that West Virginia Democrats first passed parental notification legislation with House Bill 1278 in 1984.  It was updated in 1995 to require that parents be notified 24 hours before their underage daughter receives an abortion.

Democrat Legislators voted to allow same sex couples to marry.

The truth is that Democrats passed House Bill 2199 in 2001 that defined applicants for marriage may be only one female and one male and declared marriage as "a loving and lifelong union between a man and a woman.  The West Virginia Supreme Court has refused to hear any challenge to the law.

In addition, all states, including West Virginia, are protected from recognizing a same sex marriage performed in Massachusetts - currently the only state that allows it - by The Federal Defense of Marriage Act, or DOMA, Pub. L. No. 104-199, 100 Stat. 2419 (Sept. 21, 1996), codified at 1 U.S.C. ﾧ 7 and 28 U.S.C. ﾧ 1738C.  DOMA is a federal law of the United States passed by Congress and signed by President Bill Clinton on September 21, 1996.

The law provides:

First, it allows each state (or similar political division in the United States) to deny Constitutional marital rights between persons of the same sex which have been recognized in another state.

Second, for purposes of federal law, it defines marriage as "a legal union of one man and one woman as husband and wife" and by stating that spouse "refers only to a person of the opposite sex who is a husband or a wife."

Democrat Legislators voted to expand gambling in West Virginia.

The truth is that In 2001, the Democrats passed House Bill 102 which greatly reduced illegal gambling in West Virginia.  Before the Act passed, there were an estimated 25,000 illegal video poker machines in bars, grocery and convenience stores throughout the state.  The machine operators were making illegal payouts to players and the machines were in settings with children present.

The Democrats supported legislation to reduce, restrict and regulate the machines.  It reduced the number of machines to 9,000, placed them in adult only settings and used the proceeds to fund the PROMISE Scholarship Program which has allowed more than 14,000 young West Virginians to attend in-state colleges and universities.

When it was recently revealed that coin pusher machines were cropping up in West Virginia, much like the gray machines did in the 1990s, the Governor immediately moved to crack down on the machines. 

Democrat Legislators voted to allow drunk drivers on West Virginia Highways.

The truth is that Democrats passed legislation to lower the legal limit for blood alcohol content from .10 to .08 percent.

Democrat Legislators voted against removing the tax on food.

The truth is that the Democrats are following Governor Joe Manchins plan to gradually remove the tax on food.  Democrats reduced the tax on food by 33.2% or 2 cents. 

The Democrats also are aggressively paying down state debt.  In 2006, Democrats paid more than $718 million towards the unfunded pension obligations, more than $300 million more than required by the debt service plan the legislature adopted in 1994. 

Balancing tax relief and debt reduction is the most responsible approach to managing state resources.  The Charleston Daily Mail called it an historic turn, heaped special praise on Speaker Bob Kiss and President Earl Ray Tomblin and said that, "state leaders acted responsibly."  Charleston Daily Mail, 3/27/2006