Bernie Sanders On West Virginia Win, Path Forward Full Interview In MSNBC
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- Think Progress, Climate, HOW ANTI-COAL BERNIE SANDERS WON COAL COUNTRY, May 12, 2016.
..Still, Plein said, Sanders’ win was not all because of anti-Clinton sentiment. There is genuine appeal in many pockets of the state — including coal country — of an outsider, relatively anti-establishment candidate who has consistently appealed to working class people. Plus, the fact that Sanders (like Clinton) has a plan to transition coal communities to a cleaner energy economy doesn’t hurt either.
“There is this growing awareness and acceptance in West Virginia that we are entering into a post-coal economy … and the state is really facing fundamental challenges for community and economic development,” Plein said. “So a lot of what Senator Sanders is talking about does resonate authentically and genuinely with people.”
Janet Keating, the executive director of the Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition, has been working on transitioning coal communities in West Virginia for 20 years. She also believes people are starting to recognize that coal is on its way out, and are beginning to look to politicians — like Sanders and Clinton — who will diversify their economies.
http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2016/05/12/3777329/bernie-sanders-hillary-clinton-coal-country-west-virginia/
- Charleston, WV Gazette-Mail, HUNTINGTON FEELS THE BERN: SANDERS VISITS WEST VIRGINIA, Tues., April 26, 2016 -
HUNTINGTON — Even rain couldn’t dampen the spirits of supporters for Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders as thousands lined Veterans Memorial Boulevard waiting for a chance to hear the presidential candidate speak at Big Sandy Superstore Arena. “The masses are assembled for positive change,” said Nick Johnson, 27, of Nicholas County. Johnson was carrying a wooden sign that read “Don’t fall for Trump change, make a real movement for revolution, Appalachia needs y’all.” He said he wouldn’t be allowed to take it inside the arena. Johnson, whose right hand was dotted with black paint from making the sign, said he was at the rally because he feels like the Sanders campaign is making steps toward positive change. He said he is a socialist and that Sanders, also a socialist, is the best candidate in the field.
Susan Ofsa, 58, of Pipestem, is an elementary school teacher. Her gray hair stood out from the rest of the crowd and she had Sanders’ wild white hair and thick glasses painted on her face in a silhouette. Sanders isn’t far enough to the left for her, but he’s close. “I think he’s going to help the whole country and we’re just going to go right along with it,” she said. Ken Smith, a Huntington resident, has been casting his vote for Democratic candidates for decades. He has voted in every election since 1988, he said. But the 50-year-old said no candidate has ever resonated with him personally like Sanders has. The Vermont senator’s constant focus on income inequality in the United States, Smith said, is an honest representation of the state of the country’s economy.
Donna Morgan, president of West Virginia Public Workers Union Local 170, stood in line with the rest of the avid Sanders supporters, even though she was scheduled to be next to the stage during his speech. She said there was one primary reason she and her fellow union members were out in support of Sanders’ campaign: free health care. If the controversy over public employee benefits in West Virginia has shown one thing, Morgan said, it is that something needs to be done to guarantee quality health insurance for everyone in the country. She called the West Virginia Legislature’s failure to fix public employee benefits “beyond ridiculous.” If large corporations were stopped from offshoring their businesses in other countries and hiding profits in foreign accounts, Morgan said following comments made by the Sanders campaign, the country wouldn’t have a problem affording health care for all.
Harry Smith, 67, has worked in a number of businesses in his life, but he’s retired now. He said he thinks the candidate’s platform of free college would help a lot of people. “I think he could bring jobs here,” Smith said. “I think his progressive stance on jobs is going to bring businesses here.” Gabrielle Gardner, another Huntington resident, said she would cast a vote for Sanders because of his support for making public college free for everyone. The practicing speech pathologist, who sported a shirt featuring Sanders petting a cat, said she doesn’t want future generations to be over-burdened by student loan debt, like she is. “I’ll be paying it off till I’m 50, and I don’t want that for my children,” she said.
Matthew White, a native of Beckley, said Sanders’ campaign matches with his beliefs on more affordable college tuition, women’s rights and the need for an increased minimum wage. White, who is attending Marshall University, said he also appreciates the dialogue that the Sanders campaign has put forward regarding the country’s “racial dilemma.” More,http://www.wvgazettemail.com/news/20160426/huntington-feels-the-bern-sanders-visits-wv#sthash.GwL4dHaP.dpuf
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1280190711
