Are the times changing or is this just WV politics?

From an op-ed piece by Democratic gubernatorial candidate Booth Goodwin in this morning's Charleston Gazette-Mail:

Coal bosses don’t care about us. This is the clear message Murray Energy CEO Robert Murray sent to the People of West Virginia last week when he called for the Legislature to slash coal severance taxes in the middle of a state budgetary nightmare. According to Murray, coal has paid more than its fair share to West Virginia. Really? He wants to go there? West Virginia miners have consistently been on the losing end of the deal when coal companies shut down mines or go bankrupt.

Goodwin goes on to discuss the recent Alpha Natural Resources bankruptcy and what it did it for its executives at the expense of the miners. He concludes:

Mr. Murray’s recent comments demonstrate more than his knack for bad timing, they demonstrate a blind obsession with building piles of money for himself and other coal operators while the rest of West Virginia pinches pennies. The call to slash severance taxes now, in the midst of this historic budget crisis, is simply wrong, selfish, and just plain stupid.

Goodwin is not subtle -- actually, it's his total lack of subtlety that stands out. I'm sure his piece will not go unnoticed.