West Virginia’s a state with one of the country’s highest per-capita populations of veterans. Service in the military — including the various branches of the National Guard — has long been seen not just as a patriotic duty, but as an economic lifeline, particularly in some of the poorer parts of the state.
Financially, the Guard is a good deal for young adults. The bonuses can help put them through college, the pay from monthly drills and annual training are much-needed money in their pockets. And then there’s the extra pay from deployments, like the one to D.C., where the West Virginia Guard has more soldiers per capita than any other state.
Despite the state’s enthusiasm for the military and the voluntary nature of the D.C. deployment, Republican Gov. Patrick Morrisey has found himself on the defensive about it. Amid reports that troops are being employed in tasks such as trash pickup and landscaping instead of security, as the White House has suggested, West Virginia Democratic lawmakers have sharply criticized Morrisey for signing off on it. Several state newspapers have echoed that sentiment on their opinion pages.
You can keep trying to drip feed hope but republicans will only vote republican or they’ll stay home. Being a republican is a cultural identity not a political choice. They still think this was biden’s fault, still hate immigrants, and they will suddenly have memory worse than a goldfish when this is over because they’ll vote republican then too.
Roseanna Groves, who lives in Webster Springs and is related by marriage to Beckstrom was outraged that the man charged in the attack — an Afghan national who worked with the CIA — had been let into the U.S. at all. She blamed former President Biden, although he was let in under Trump’s administration.
I’m 41. Grew up in Kansas. We were a Republican family. So glad I listened to all the brain tickles over the years that sounded like complete bullshit. Once I learned to think for myself, I’ve been a much happier person.
I’ll take them staying home. It’s close enough to victory for my tastes.
or they’ll stay home.
Good enough for me.
They were fine with the Guard being used to terrorize people but when the terror come back in their direction they question it. Why didn’t they question the deployment before the attack?
Because cruelty is the point.
I mean, cruelty on those other than “us” is the point.
Yep. Even some hard R’s I know are starting to question it. And one of my buddies (also a firm R) who was in the guard is shaking his head and saying they never should have been there. When he was deployed stateside, it was to help people after floods, storms, or other times of need.
I’m not gonna delude myself into thinking this is gonna shift this backwards-ass state I call home, but at least, maybe, some people will open their eyes.
Republican Gov. Patrick Morrisey
He really is the worst Patrick.
I’m not gonna delude myself into thinking this is gonna shift this backwards-ass state I call home, but at least, maybe, some people will open their eyes.
Maybe a few, here and there, but mostly they’ll be like Roseanna here.
Roseanna Groves, who lives in Webster Springs and is related by marriage to Beckstrom was outraged that the man charged in the attack — an Afghan national who worked with the CIA — had been let into the U.S. at all. She blamed former President Biden , although he was let in under Trump’s administration.
I wish the state wasn’t so abused and now full of hate, because it really is a beautiful place.
They really need to embrace tourism more. Instead of being known for being exploited, uneducated, dying young, making the worst choices for themselves, toxic water and landfills, mountaintop removal, get their shit together and be a huge attraction for the beauty of their remaining mountains. There are tens of millions of people within driving distance: they need to ask themselves why we’re not clamoring To vacation there, to spend our money in their state
LAMF
