Yesterday, 25 workers died in a horrific mine accident in Montcoal, West Virginia. Four of the workers remain missing and rescue efforts are underway as I write this. Despite the many advances we have made over the last two hundred years, mining remains one of the most dangerous professions in the world. My grandfather, for a time, worked as a coal miner in the Virginia appalachian mines, as did his father. My heart goes out to the families of those who have lost loved ones in this tragedy.
And, in news that should shock no one, the Democrats in the Virginia blogosphere have not even waited 24 hours before turning this story about tragic deaths of miners in West Virginia into a tool to bash Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli. Over at Blue Virginia, Lowell Feld writes “The fact is, Ken Cuccinelli and others in Virginia government – overwhelmingly Republican – are deeply in the pocket of Massey Energy and Don Blankenship, far more concerned with doing their bidding than in protecting workers, the environment, etc.” Ben Tribbett at Not Larry Sabato argues that Cuccinelli should open an investigation on Massey Energy’s mine in Tazewell, Virginia, and basically daring him not to.
This is pathetic. We have no idea what happened at this mine yet. Recovery operations are still underway. The bodies of the dead aren’t even cold yet, much less buried, and already the Democrats are out with their claws, trying to turn this against the Attorney General. Have they no shame? Have they no sense of what is right and appropriate? We have no idea what is going on here, yet they are quick to point the fingers at the Attorney General.
Why? I have no idea. Regulation of mines – particularly the health and safety – is generally handled at the federal level, by the Mine Health and Safety Administration of the Department of Labor. They are primarily responsible for regulating health and safety in mines, and the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977. While states aren’t preempted from regulating mines, if the provisions of the state law contradicts federal law, federal law wins. Why aren’t Lowell and Ben attacking Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis? She’s in charge of mine safety at the federal level. Why focus on the Attorney General of a state where the accident didn’t even occur?
I am sick and tired of Democrats using tragedies to advance their political agenda. They do this every time there is a mass shooting (gun control). They do this every time there is a natural disaster (global warming). As Rahm Emanuel says, “don’t waste a serious crisis.” So instead of being respectful, mourning the dead and letting the investigation determine what exactly happened, they rush out to condemn whichever Republican is at the top of their hit list. It’s wrong and it’s deplorable. Lowell even went so far as to ask “why, in the year 2010, we are still stuck in a 19th century energy economy (coal and other fossil fuels) instead of a 21st century one (energy efficiency, wind, solar, geothermal, etc.)” It’s just ridiculous.
Both Ben and Lowell should apologize to the families of the victims in West Virginia and to the Attorney General for not even waiting a day before trying to turn a tragedy into political fodder. And people wonder why so many are disgusted by politics?
UPDATE: President Obama just spoke on the accident – he asked people to pray for the safe return of the missing workers and “sending the deepest condolences” to the families. He didn’t mention Ken Cuccinelli. Go figure.
NOTE: This post was originally posted on Too Conservative on April 6, 2010.
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