McGraw

Surely you’ve heard this comment: “There’s not a dime’s worth of difference between the Democrats and the Republicans.” Or, maybe it was phrased like this: “There’s only one political party in this country, the Money Party, and it has two branches, the Democratic branch and the Republican branch.” If you labor under the illusion that there’s little or no difference between the two major political parties, come to West Virginia, and we’ll enlighten you.

The Attorney General of West Virginia, Democrat Darrell McGraw, is seeking a fifth term this year, having been elected in 1992, 1996, 2000 and 2004. Two Republicans, including Hiram Lewis, who was defeated by McGraw in the 2004 General Election, are also running for Attorney General this year.

I heard Hiram Lewis on the radio today, ranting about how “bad for business” Darrell McGraw is. Lewis pointed out that McGraw sues companies that sell defective merchandise, rip off consumers and take other harmful actions. Can you imagine that? McGraw actually believes that he should defend the citizens of our state against fraud!

Lewis, however, says that he’ll emphasize “crime prevention.” Presumably, Lewis would have us believe that criminal activity by corporations is not really crime, that stopping unscrupulous businesses from cheating hard-working, law-abiding West Virginians is “bad for business.”

No difference between Democrats and Republicans? I don’t think so! Democrats believe in the words of the Preamble to the West Virginia Constitution, which inspire us to “seek diligently to promote, preserve and perpetuate good government in the State of West Virginia for the common welfare….” Republicans (or at least Republicans like Hiram Lewis) apparently believe that protecting the common welfare of our citizens is “bad for business.”

For his whole adult life, Attorney General Darrell McGraw has stood up against those who, for almost 145 years, have been cheating us; polluting our air, land and water; and stealing from us. He’s not “bad for business”; he’s bad for cheaters, polluters and thieves. Count me on the side of McGraw and against the cheaters, polluters and thieves.