I'm putting the poll up quickly and will update the diary as I write, but I have been thinking about this more and more recently. So vote, and I'll write.
I read a Rasmussen poll tonight that took me quite aback. Senator Obama is only polling at 27% in West Virginia.
I am a native West Virginian, and as my previous diaries will recount, I still remain somewhat active in West Virginia politics news. I also have a very limited activist role.
Let's start with the facts, shall we?
First, West Virginia is primarily a Democratic State and has been since the Coal Mine Wars (see Battle of Blair Mountain) and New Deal Eras. It currently has a Democratic Governor, Joe Manchin, not expected to receive a serious challenge for re-election. Both the House of Delegates and West Virginia Senate are controlled by Democrats and have been continuously since 1933. Both of the U.S. Senators from West Virginia are LONG-serving Democrats including Senator Robert C. Byrd. Two of the three members of the U.S. House of Representatives are long time Democrats as well. Most agree that while Republican Congresswoman Shelly Moore Capito ran on her father's name, her election shows West Virginia is willing to vote for women. The current Republican Secretary of State (a rarity over the last 50 years) is a woman. There has been at least one woman on the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals since 1988.
Unfortunately, I cannot fathom any scenario for either Democratic candidate to single-handedly win West Virginia in November without a unified ticket. Religious conservatives (and a few unions in 2000) helped secure Bush-Cheney victories.
Now, to my biggest concern... the state of the Democratic Party. After reading that James Carville had called Governor Bill Richardson a "Judas" for having endorsed Senator Obama, I wondered if perhaps the Clinton campaign had enlisted Karl Rove's assistance. I worry about the next 4 years unless our party STOPS USING WASHINGTON-STYLE CAMPAIGN TACTICS. I am in my mid-twenties, but I worry about my medical care over the next 4 years if Senator McCain is elected not to mention our courts and our foreign policy.
It cannot be denied that the Reverend Jeremiah Wright coverage has hurt the general momentum of the Obama campaign. If the Obama campaign puts out Reverend Wright's naval service, myriad of profession including medical and theological, vast educational background, and more, it would help. But, it still presents a serious electoral problem like it or not.
The values of the Democratic Party should be enough to sustain victory in November! That isn't going to happen if we do not cool it. As I like to say, "Crymanetly!" Go read what people are saying on AOL message boards!
Did I forget to mention that SENATOR ROCKEFELLER AND CONGRESSMAN RAHALL BOTH ENDORSED SENATOR OBAMA? Go see what life-long Democrats were saying about the two of them in Charleston Gazette. The fighting must stop!