Joe Manchin Loves Coal, Hates Climate Legislation, Proves It With Guns

Brendan DeMelle DeSmog
on

West Virginia Democratic Senate Candidate Joe Manchin, the current governor who is running in a tight race to fill the vacancy left by the death of Senator Robert Byrd, really loves dirty coal. No really, like a lot. So much so that he brandishes a firearm in a new campaign TV spot to โ€œtake aimโ€ at (already deader than a door nail) climateย legislation.ย 

Either Mr. Manchin doesnโ€™t realize that the cap-and-trade bill he slugs in the ad has been dead for months, or he doesnโ€™t care and just wants to shoot a gun at some legislation in a TV ad to appeal to his NRA backers.ย 

โ€œIโ€™ll take dead aim at the cap-and-trade bill,โ€ Manchin says while firing a bullet from his rifle. โ€œBecause itโ€™s bad for West Virginia.โ€ย 

Watch it:

The New York Times Green blog wonders:
โ€œExactly what more Mr. Manchin can do to appear pro-coal, short of grabbing a pickax and heading down into the mines himself, remains to beย seen.โ€ย 

With the endorsement of Massey Energyโ€™s Don Blankenship and theย West Virginia Coal Association, it looks like Joe Manchin is a one-shot cowboy, hitching his hopes for a Senate seat on an all-out blitz to maintain West Virginiaโ€™s deadly and dangerous coalย addiction.

Brendan DeMelle DeSmog
Brendan is Executive Director of DeSmog. He is also a freelance writer and researcher specializing in media, politics, climate change and energy. His work has appeared in Vanity Fair, The Huffington Post, Grist, The Washington Times and other outlets.

Related Posts

Analysis
on

The celebrity investor pitched โ€˜Wonder Valleyโ€™ with no committed investors, no Indigenous partnership, and about 27 megatonnes of projected annual emissions.

The celebrity investor pitched โ€˜Wonder Valleyโ€™ with no committed investors, no Indigenous partnership, and about 27 megatonnes of projected annual emissions.
on

City Council OKs private equity firmโ€™s purchase of Entergy gas utility, undermining climate goals and jacking up prices for the cityโ€™s poorest.

City Council OKs private equity firmโ€™s purchase of Entergy gas utility, undermining climate goals and jacking up prices for the cityโ€™s poorest.
on

With LNG export terminals already authorized to ship nearly half of U.S. natural gas abroad, DOE warns build-out would inflate utility bills nationwide.

With LNG export terminals already authorized to ship nearly half of U.S. natural gas abroad, DOE warns build-out would inflate utility bills nationwide.
Analysis
on

We reflect on a year of agenda-setting stories that charted the political influence of fossil fuel interests in the UK and beyond.

We reflect on a year of agenda-setting stories that charted the political influence of fossil fuel interests in the UK and beyond.