West Virginia Senator Rockefeller(D) retiring

[oragator1]

This should definitely be a pickup for the pubs when his seat is up, that state has trended right a whole lot since he was first elected.

http://www.politico.com/story/2013/01/jay-rockefeller-retirement-a-boon-to-gop-86061.html?hp=l10

[gatorman_07732]

Pretty strained relationship between him and Obama because of his attack on the coal industry

[theorangebluewinagain]

All the rats are jumping off the ship now that we are headed to 23 trillion in debt. It is just the beginning of the exodus, both D and R. A holes, all of them.

[rivergator]

All the rats are jumping off the ship now that we are headed to 23 trillion in debt. It is just the beginning of the exodus, both D and R. A holes, all of them.

He'll be 77 when the next election rolls around with three decades in the Senate. I'm not sure that qualifies as rats jumping the ship.

[candymanfromgc]

Who cares, he will just be replaced by another career politician who knows what is best for you.

[mdgator05]

This should definitely be a pickup for the pubs when his seat is up, that state has trended right a whole lot since he was first elected.

http://www.politico.com/story/2013/01/jay-rockefeller-retirement-a-boon-to-gop-86061.html?hp=l10

I'm not sure about that. Democrats have continued to be very successful locally in West Virginia. The Governor, both current Senators, the state House and the State Senate all currently have Democratic majorities, and the House delegation is evenly split.

A lot will depend on who steps into the contest from each party.

[gatorman_07732]

I'm not sure about that. Democrats have continued to be very successful locally in West Virginia. The Governor, both current Senators, the state House and the State Senate all currently have Democratic majorities, and the House delegation is evenly split.

A lot will depend on who steps into the contest from each party.

Any democrat running better not be in lock step with Obamas agenda with regard to the coal industry. That is their bread and butter

[rivergator]

Any democrat running better not be in lock step with Obamas agenda with regard to the coal industry. That is their bread and butter

Not the 'war on coal' myth again.

[gatorman_07732]

Not the 'war on coal' myth again.

Fact of the matter is Obama is not viewed as positive in WV and that is the fact of the matter. You can pout all you want about war on this and war on that.

[DaveFla]

I'm not sure about that. Democrats have continued to be very successful locally in West Virginia. The Governor, both current Senators, the state House and the State Senate all currently have Democratic majorities, and the House delegation is evenly split.

A lot will depend on who steps into the contest from each party.

That, and how badly the media decides to smear the GOP candidate.

[mdgator05]

That, and how badly the media decides to smear the GOP candidate.

Nothing like a GOP victimhood complex.

[DaveFla]

Nothing like a GOP victimhood complex.

Is it your claim that there is no bias in the media?

[JerseyGator01]

So when does his son or daughter become a US Senator? He's been living off of the government for 42 of his last 45 years.

NEPOTISM RULES!!!!!

[rivergator]

Fact of the matter is Obama is not viewed as positive in WV and that is the fact of the matter. You can pout all you want about war on this and war on that.

http://www.wvgazette.com/mediafiles/thumbs/275/613.83928571429/coaljobsobama1col_I120517211845.jpg

[gatorman_07732]

http://www.wvgazette.com/mediafiles/thumbs/275/613.83928571429/coaljobsobama1col_I120517211845.jpg

Why exactly is he so unpopular there?

[gatorman_07732]

Do you every care to research before putting things out there

W.Va. Democrats unload on Obama EPA over new layoffs in coal industry

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/oct/30/epa-green-rules-cited-latest-coal-layoffs/

[rivergator]

Why exactly is he so unpopular there?

Well, the rightwing has certainly pushed the phony war on coal story over and over. West Virginia is one of the least educated states in the country and I suppose they're more likely to be fooled by it.

[gatorman_07732]

And this from your favorite paper

Alpha Natural Resources Closing 8 Coal Mines, Cutting 1,200 Jobs

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/18/alpha-natural-resources_n_1892828.html

[rivergator]

And this from your favorite paper



http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/18/alpha-natural-resources_n_1892828.html

no one said there's never been any layoffs. food lion closed all its jacksonville stores last years. does that mean Obama is conducting a war on food?

[gatorman_07732]

In otherwards your graph conveniently stops in 2011.

[rivergator]

In otherwards your graph conveniently stops in 2011.

thru the third quarter of 2012:

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The number of coal-mining jobs in West Virginia dropped by nearly 900 during the third quarter of the year but remained larger than when the Obama administration began a series of new regulatory initiatives, according to new data from the U.S. Department of Labor.

link (http://wvgazette.com/News/Business/201211060040)

[gatorman_07732]

Yeap those EPA regulations are starting to kick in

Report: Up to 17,000 jobs lost from coal plant shutdowns

http://dailycaller.com/2012/10/04/report-up-to-17000-jobs-lost-from-coal-plant-shutdowns/

With 205 coal-fired generators shutting down in the coming years due to increased competition from cheap natural gas and stricter environmental regulations, costing the U.S. between 13,000 and 17,000 jobs, according to the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity.

The natural gas is fine but the environmental regulations are a knife in the heart.

[mdgator05]

Is it your claim that there is no bias in the media?

No. There are millions of asymmetric biases in different media members. But I don't think that is the true essence of your question.

If you are asking whether there is a market-wide, multi-organizational bias against conservative political opinion, the obvious answer is no. Basic econ teaches that each individual can be irrational, but markets as a whole trend towards rationality. Media members provide information as their economic contribution. Therefore, as a whole, the "media" provides information in a rational profit maximizing manner.

The conservative paranoid belief in media bias against themselves has led to one of the biggest problems with modern conservative thought: the inability to deal with any events that challenge their ideas. For example, in the past election, conservatives could not handle that polling was giving them information that they did not want to believe. So they invented another market-wide, multi-organizational bias against themselves, this time by polling firms. This viewpoint was definitively proven wrong (which unfortunately can't occur with some of the other market-wide conspiracy theories invented on the right due to the nature of the specific markets).

It is amazing that a group that professes the strength of the market in dealing with a multitude of issues is unable to see how their beliefs in this gigantic market-wide multi-organizational conspiracy flies in the face of their very own ideology. If the market can effectively deal with a variety of issues such as racism and sexism (as claimed by many on the right), how would it not be able to deal with this massive irrationality? Unfortunately, amongst many on the right, these paranoid beliefs are becoming more important than the underlying ideology favoring market solutions.

[DaveFla]

No. There are millions of asymmetric biases in different media members. But I don't think that is the true essence of your question.

If you are asking whether there is a market-wide, multi-organizational bias against conservative political opinion, the obvious answer is no. Basic econ teaches that each individual can be irrational, but markets as a whole trend towards rationality. Media members provide information as their economic contribution. Therefore, as a whole, the "media" provides information in a rational profit maximizing manner.

The conservative paranoid belief in media bias against themselves has led to one of the biggest problems with modern conservative thought: the inability to deal with any events that challenge their ideas. For example, in the past election, conservatives could not handle that polling was giving them information that they did not want to believe. So they invented another market-wide, multi-organizational bias against themselves, this time by polling firms. This viewpoint was definitively proven wrong (which unfortunately can't occur with some of the other market-wide conspiracy theories invented on the right due to the nature of the specific markets).

It is amazing that a group that professes the strength of the market in dealing with a multitude of issues is unable to see how their beliefs in this gigantic market-wide multi-organizational conspiracy flies in the face of their very own ideology. If the market can effectively deal with a variety of issues such as racism and sexism (as claimed by many on the right), how would it not be able to deal with this massive irrationality? Unfortunately, amongst many on the right, these paranoid beliefs are becoming more important than the underlying ideology favoring market solutions.

Given this, which part of my original statement are you having difficulty with? Perhaps I can help?

[mdgator05]

Given this, which part of my original statement are you having difficulty with? Perhaps I can help?

That an entire industry is going to systematically victimize the GOP?

[JerseyGator01]

If many media members actually operated in a truly free market, then yes the possibility of real media bias would be quite small. But unfortunately many parent companies of media outlets do not operate in that environment.

[Swampmaster]

he was as crooked as robert byrd, wasting billions in all this pork for west va.