Political Tidbits…5.17.13

May 17, 2013

Quiet time for politics seem to end this week…WV House Speaker Thompson resigned…Obama sandals get noisy…the media is looking for a new Watergate [if your old enough to recall it]…some young hungry reporters have visions of being the next Woodward & Bernstein [key players in Watergate]…and WV political types are looking to the future…where to begin?

Most interesting…what could have moved Thompson to leave as Speaker now…it was well known Delegate Doug Skaff (D-Kanawha) has long had an eye on the Speakership…BUT was moving to become a serious candidate for the 2nd congressional seat…could this be a Manchin machine maneuver to get Skaff out of the congressional race…Sen. Manchin endorsed Nick Casey when he announced a run for Congress…Skaff’s political base in Kanawha could be an obstacle to Casey in the primary…nothing in politics is without purpose.

Where is the strong Democrat candidate…for the Rockefeller Senate seat…Congresswoman Captio is everywhere…the race may be over before a strong Democrat emerges…or will Captio peak too soon?

Gone but not forgotten…former AG Darrell McGraw and his wife Jorea Marple [State School Superintendent fired for no reason] will  be honored tonight in Charleston…McGraw will receive the Si Galperin in Defense of Democracy Award…Marple is getting the Don Marsh Public Award.

State Republicans are getting a daily dose of news…Executive Director Ward is putting together a collection of WV & national political news…it is called WVGOP Press Pass.

Rob Alsop who is leaving as Chief of Staff to Governor Tomblin built an impressive public policy & political record…while at the Governor’s side.

NOT TOO FAST…there is talk of Obama’s sandals turning into another Watergate…even of impeachment because of them…it should be remembered Watergate started slow…just a minor break-in at the Watergate headquarters of the Democratic National Committee…even in today’s fast moving 24/7 news & blog cycle Republicans should use caution…let all this mature…news organization will do the job…they like to sell newspapers and increase their TV ratings.

With Republican House of Delegates members breathing down the neck of their Democratic colleagues…don’t look for a family feud over who will be the next House Speaker… Democrats well know the GOP only needs to hold current seats and five victories to elect a Republican Speaker after the 2014 election.

After Conrad Lucas defeated fellow candidate Bob Adams [among others] to chair the State Republican Party…Lucas announced Adams would lead a major email fund raising effort…would be interesting to know if the WV GOP effort took place…but Adams is filling up the email boxes across the country using Benghazi & impeachment of Obama raising funds for Revive America USA.