BILLBOARD News Now
A Better Ride
(Editor’s note: Jim Lees attorney and former candidate for Governor of West Virginia submitted this thoughtul commentary. We are pleased to publish.)
Twenty-six years ago I was running for Governor of West Virginia. My wife
and I had four children and I truly wanted to make West Virginia a better place for
people to work and live and love. I did not want my kids to grow up and, like
thousands before them, leave West Virginia for greener pastures elsewhere. I knew
running for office was hard, and I knew politics is a brutal business. But to say I
was unprepared for the depth of that brutality would be a gross understatement.
I was at the time an ordained Elder in the Teays Valley Presbyterian Church.
Our family regularly attended church each Sunday morning as did thousands of
people all across West Virginia. As my family left the church that Sunday morning
in May we noticed all the cars in the parking lot had flyers stuck under the
windshield wipers of the cars. I pulled one out from under my wipers as my family
piled into our mini-van and saw in bold print the message: JIM LEES WANTS
TO KILL BABIES.
The Flyer of course was referencing my support for the then law of the land as
expressed in Roe v. Wade of giving women the right to terminate a pregnancy
during the first trimester. I believed then as I believe now that the Supreme Court
had fashioned an imperfect but workable solution to an extremely difficult issue
that divided Americans almost exactly in half, balancing a woman’s right to control
her own body with the beliefs of many that life begins at conception. Recognizing
that there is no middle ground in deciding this issue based upon faith and belief,
the Supreme Court nevertheless created a middle ground predicated upon the
realities of keeping a civilization from tearing itself apart on such an issue.
I knew from having attended and spoken at hundreds of fire halls and picnics
and church socials the strength of conviction West Virginians held in their positions
on this issue, and as a candidate I did my best to recognize those differing views
while at the same time honestly articulating my own views on the issue. But on
that Sunday morning, with my four children climbing into the family van after
leaving church and seeing hundreds of flyers all saying that Dad wanted to kill
babies, I had an epiphany: we are killing ourselves over our differences to the point
where no rational person with any sense of sanity would ever subject themselves to
this process. It simply is not worth it.
Which brings me to last week. Two different men, in two different places,
spoke to us. One was Ben Sasse, former Republican Senator from Nebraska. The
other was Victor Glover, NASA astronaut and pilot of the Artemis II spacecraft that
flew around the moon. One of the men, Ben Sasse, was speaking in an interview
with a New York Times podcaster. The other, Victor Glover, was speaking in an
interview from his spacecraft on national TV.
One of the men, Mr. Sasse, is dying from terminal cancer. The other, Mr.
Glover, was living the adventure of his lifetime. And what each had to say is worth
revisiting. Senator Sasse, his face actively bleeding from experimental chemo
treatments he is undergoing to attempt to add a few months to his life, said:
“We’re all on the clock, and I wanted to have prioritized better. Whether I really
only have three or four months left, or if I get nine to twelve months left, I want to
prioritize better…”
And then reflecting upon human frailty he said, “I can’t keep the planets in
orbit. I can’t even grow skin on my face.”
Mr. Glover, speaking from his tiny spacecraft deep in space, said, “I think these
observances are important, as we are so far from Earth and looking back at the
beauty of creation. I think for me, one of the really important personal
perspectives that I have up here is I can really see Earth as one thing.”
He then went on to say, “You guys are talking to us because we’re in a
spaceship really far from Earth. But you’re on a spaceship called Earth that was
created to give us a place to live in the universe, in the cosmos…..in all of this
emptiness-this whole bunch of nothing, this thing we call the universe-you have
this oasis, this beautiful place that we get to exist together.”
Finally, in noting that we were about to go into Easter Sunday, Astronaut Glover
said, “…this is an opportunity for us to remember where we are, who we are, and
that we are the same thing, and that we got to get through this together.”
Two men, each at very different places in their lives, speaking to us from
perspectives that provide each man unique insight into the human condition. We
will never have the perspective of being out in space seeing the Earth from a tiny
spaceship as has Mr. Glover, yet we understand completely his point: everyone on
this planet is in this together, living on Spaceship Earth, and we are unique.
Surrounded by the vast nothingness of space we have somehow been given this
lifeboat, a lifeboat that we must share to survive.
Mr. Sasse speaks from a perspective all of us will experience: being at the end
of his life on this planet. From his perspective is a realization that all the things we
spend so much time fretting about and worrying about and thinking about because
we believe we can control them; that we can somehow shape and control the things
that happen around us, is illusory. At the end we control nothing except our own
thoughts and feelings.
I do not want to kill babies. I never have wanted to kill babies. Today I do not
want to kill people living in Iran, and I certainly do not want them to kill me or
people I love. I have no control over either. My children all grew up and now live
somewhere other than West Virginia. I did not make West Virginia a better place
for them to grow up, and I now make my home somewhere other than West
Virginia.
Mr. Glover has reminded me of the uniqueness of what we share as human
beings: Spaceship Earth. Mr. Sasse has reminded me that at the end we have little
to no control over the behavior of other people and other events. But what each of
us as human beings do have is the ability to control one thing: ourselves. Perhaps
if everyone on our Spaceship paid more attention to controlling ourselves and less
time trying to control the behavior and thoughts of others we might just have a
much better ride on the lifeboat we call Earth.
Use icons and envelope above to forward this post to your friends.
Follow us on Twitter (X), Bluesky, Instagram, Facebook or Threads.
“Me and Mrs. Palin”
My hobby is following the national political news. This weekend I saw where Vanity Fair will hit the newsstands nationwide on September 8th with an article “Me and Mrs. Palin”. No doubt Levi Johnston – father of Bristol’s baby – has earned real money for this one. ...
West Virginia Voter Surveys
Our readers have asked if I could get a copy of the recent voter opinion surveys conducted by Mark Blankenship Enterprises (MBE). I gather not all the media have reported on the findings. The first survey addresses political favorability ratings and economic...
Democrat Governor’s Race Continues in Central WV
Central West Virginia Democrats must think the primary election for Governor is near. Serving as Marshal of the Grand Feature Parade at the Barbour County Fair this week was House Speaker Richard Thompson (D – Wayne, District 17). The Speaker is known to be...
Manchin Traveling, Tomblin Moving North
A West Virginia tradition has been for the Governor to crown the Queen at the Mountain State Forest Festival in Elkins. The Inter-Mountain has reported Governor Manchin will be on an out-of-country trip. Senate President Earl Ray Tomblin (D – Logan District 7th) will...
Democrats Can Retreat On Healthcare
Columnist Dick Morris offered an interesting perspective on how Democrats can retreat on healthcare. His theory comes from a criticism Senator Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) offered on the Obama healthcare initiative. I thought I would share the Morris piece. In the...
Keep Your Guard Up On Cap-and-Trade
The writers of the Politico piece “Obama’s Big Band could go bust” posted here earlier implies diminished prospects for winning final passage of a cap-and-trade legislation this year. I have been thinking this may not be the case. If President Obama loses the...
Republicans Don’t Get Excited
It may seem President Obama is about to replace Jimmy Carter….you know what I mean. Or, that healthcare will bring about another 1994 congressional election in 2010. Republicans don’t get excited. There is a national election atmosphere being created by the...
Perdue Is Running for Governor
A reader telephoned to share that State Treasurer John D. Perdue has announced his candidacy for Governor. Not an unexpected development. It appears he is quietly visiting county Democratic Executive Committees seeking support. In so doing he told one that he is a...
Obama’s Big Bang
For the political junkies that read phillipsbillboard.com I came across this Politico piece. I thought it was an interesting explanation of Team Obama’s policy strategy. West Virginians will be pleased to read these writers believe passage of cap-and trade’s...
Act One for WV Democrats
Act One in the 2012 Democratic gubernatorial primary played out yesterday in the Legislature. House Speaker Richard Thompson (D-Wayne) and Senate President Earl Ray Tomblin (D-Logan) both are known as wanting to be Governor. Labor supported Thompson for Speaker in...
West Virginia Wins in Senate
It has been a while since I thought about the strength of Rural America in the U. S. Senate. Today the Outlook section of The Washington Post provides an excellent insight into how small states can influence the outcome of legislation in the United States Senate. It...
New Tone in Health Care Debate
Members of Congress look forward to August when they go home. It has become a tradition. But 2009 is different. The debate in Washington over health care has now spilled over to the towns and villages throughout America. Peggy Noonan points out in her Saturday Wall...
BILLBOARD Archives
It’s Time for a Real Republican Summit
Over the weekend I participated in the Underwood Interns Republican Summit. The exchange of information was productive and the new faces were exciting. Driving home I thought it is time for a real Republican Summit. Nothing is getting done by the State Party. The...
A Call from Washington
A former colleague (non-political) from my days in Washington telephoned. They wanted to know if I had seen the piece “The Squandered Stimulus” in today’s The Washington Post. After reading it I thought this has to be shared. Remember this came from The Washington...
Governor Manchin Increases State’s Influence On National Level
West Virginia’s number one salesman Governor Joe Manchin has moved into a leadership role as Vice Chair in the National Governor’s Association (NGA). All of us should be proud to see our Governor in this role. He is positioned to influence policy and the direction...
Melody Potter leads for Republicans in Satellite Voting Questions
Every West Virginia voter should thank Melody Potter for raising important questions about satellite early voting. The Republican Party of WV really owes Ms. Potter. State party leaders never even appointed a committee or form a task force to look at the...
New Approach to Lobby Cap and Trade
Emails were flying asking West Virginians to contact their Representative when the U. S. House of Representatives considered the Cap and Trade legislation. The effort was successful and all voted no. But the bill passed. The action now is in the Senate. I bet there...
Thoughts on Improving the WVGOP
Doug McKinney, Chairman of West Virginia Republican Party, sent a newsletter asking for thoughts on improving the WVGOP. He asks specific questions. Since readers of this blog are interested in a two-party system in our State I thought I would share my respond to...
Majority of Republicans don’t think Palin’s qualified for President
Political observers across the country have been wondering what impact Governor Palin’s unexpected resignation would have on Republicans if she decided to make a bid for the Republican nomination in 2012. I came across this piece on the CNN Political Ticker this...
Governors Race Moves to Mountains
Is there a more beautiful place than the mountains of Tucker County to campaign? A Friends of Blackwater fund raiser was hosted Friday by Steve White and Chuck Smith two former chairs of the State Democratic Party. When two Democrats gather these days you can expect...
History Lesson on Political Comebacks
One of my objectives as a blogger is to put forward “think pieces”. One caught my attention in The New York Times “Week in Review”. It provides a history of how both national political parties have come back from bad situations. Those interested in the future of...
Young People Setting An Example
Two experiences I had this weekend provided encouragement about West Virginia’s young people and our leaders for the future. As a judge for a Future Farmers of America (FFA) project I meet nine outstanding young people from various parts of our State. Each were...
Corridor H Gets Good News
Senator Robert C. Byrd still has Corridor H on his agenda. This is exciting news. Governor Manchin was in Washington to brief Senator Byrd and his staff on highway needs. He reported on his telephone visit with Senator Byrd. “The first thing he wanted to know was...
What’s Going On, Sarah Palin?
A brilliant media strategy was executed by Governor Palin on Friday. She used one of the slowest news days other than Christmas to inform the political world she is changing course. Time will reveal if her political strategy (if there is one) was as smart. When my...