That didn't take long -- one day to be precise (see the last paragraph of the previous post). This morning's Intelligencer editorial is back to praising West Virginians for being smarter than everyone else and for fighting the good fight on the use of coal:

West Virginians were reminded Tuesday night of why, when it comes to defending reasonably priced electricity, we fight virtually alone. Few other Americans seem to be aware of how President Barack Obama’s war on coal affects them.

The editorial notes that most of the networks carrying the Republican National Convention decided to switch to their talking heads rather than carry Shelley Moore Capito's convention address. Consequently, according to the editorial, they missed a chance to inform the nation on the financial consequences of shifting from coal to natural gas and alternatives:

She attempted to shine a spotlight on what Obama’s administration is costing each and every American. Federal regulations take thousands of dollars from every family each year, she pointed out.

Thousuands of dollars? Of course, the Intelligencer would never fact check Capito. However, yesterday's Charleston Gazette-Mail did and found:

Policy-wise, Capito’s focus was largely on federal regulations, which she said cost each American household $15,000 a year, repeating the figure four times. That number comes from the Competitive Enterprise Institute, a conservative think-tank, which admits it is a “back of the envelope” calculation that does not account for any of the benefits of regulations.

Back to the editorial's premise that West Virginians are so much more knowledgeable than everyone else:

West Virginians and East Ohioans know all that. Most Americans affected by the shift seem unconcerned because they are not aware of the policy’s effect on them. National news media outlets are not telling them. And, when people such as Capito try to deliver the message, they are ignored either actively or passively.

That's quite a conspiracy and it apparently includes Fox News since they also skipped her speech. Here's a simple alternative scenario: Americans (even a majority of Republicans - see here, for instance) know that natural gas and a number of alternative energy sources are now cheaper than coal while causing less damage to our environment. For them, the war is over.

If you'd like to view the Capito speech, it's available from a number of sources. Here for instance.