Ogden newspapers

A look at the state of the West Virginia economy: send in the cheerleader

This weekend's Wheeling News-Register carried an op-ed by the President of the conservative Cardinal Institute for WV Policy, Garrett Ballengee, who bragged about what great strides West Virginia has made since the Republican Party took power in 2014:

It boggles the mind what’s happened to West Virginia since 2014.

There is no doubt since Republicans became West Virginia’s legislative majority in 2014, the state’s policy landscape has changed in ways the average West Virginian in 2013 would scarcely believe. The past nine years have been replete with conservative reforms that were — and remain — needed to help the state climb out of its deserved historical reputation as a high poverty, big government, and low opportunity state.

In just two years, 2015-2016, West Virginia passed sweeping legal reforms which allowed the state to abandon its long-time “judicial hellhole” moniker, and legislators gave workers the freedom to choose whether to join unions with a policy known as “right-to-work” in a state long known for its historical ties to labor unions. At the time, these reforms were deeply contested and hotly debated, but each reform was necessary for the state to get on a more competitive playing field compared to booming states like Tennessee, North Carolina, and South Carolina.

Any evidence, Garrett? How about the highly regarded CNBC annual state rankings of the top states for business published each summer? In July, I discussed the rankings in a post and included a chart that demonstrates how West Virginia has fared since those “sweeping” reforms were passed by the Republicans. Here is that chart (Ballengee's would want us to look at the 2014 column (before) and the 2023 column (after) which would reflect the "sweeping" progress the Republicans made):

Ballengee concluded his op-ed:

These kinds of reforms do not lend themselves to headlines, parades, or ribbon-cutting ceremonies . . .

Just a thought, Garrett: perhaps there is another reason why there are no headlines or parades.

Another example of Intelligencer editorial hypocrisy

Earlier this week, a Wheeling Intelligencer editorial sharply criticized Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose for trying to manipulate Ohio voters on the Issue 1 abortion issue. The editorial, however, does not mention the role that the Intelligencer and Ogden Newspapers played in aiding and abetting LaRose’s misrepresentation of the Ohio amendment issue. From this week’s editorial:

Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose repeatedly assured voters his role in developing November 2023 ballot language for Ohio’s Issue 1 was to write truthful and unbiased language. But even the Ohio Supreme Court ruled one disputed element of the original ballot language was misleading.
LaRose told the Strongsville GOP that he had consulted with three anti-abortion groups while drafting the language used to describe Issue 1.

As reported by various Ohio sources, LaRose did this back in May. In July, however, the Wheeling Intelligencer editorially supported Issue 1 and favorably quoted LaRose without any mention that the amendment was about preventing the passage of a right-to-abortion amendment to the Ohio constitution. (Which is what the editorial criticizes LaRose for doing. I wrote about it here). Yes, quite clearly, the Intelligencer, like LaRose, was misleading its constituents.

The editorial concludes:

Buckeye State residents can hope and think even more carefully about their choices in the next election.

Sadly, Wheeling residents don’t have that luxury when it comes to newspapers.

News from the West Virginia Trump Party

Last week, this Christmas wish from WV District 1 congressional candidate, Derrick Evans, garnered a good deal of online attention:

WEST VIRGINIA: A Christmas tweet from Derrick Evans, who resigned from the WV house after being charged for his role in the insurrection 👇🏽

He says he is now running for congress. pic.twitter.com/kouf7Sebjd

— The Tennessee Holler (@TheTNHoller) December 25, 2023

I looked but could not find any criticism of Evans by any WV Republican official.

Pepperoni rolls

Finally, but most importantly:

This is a real statement from the Episcopal Diocese of West Virginia. #DukesMayoBowl pic.twitter.com/1LkFq679LT

— Daniel Burbank  (@DanielBurbankTV) December 28, 2023

Have a good new year!