Bernie Sanders
Related: About this forumSANDERS, CLINTON COURT WEST VIRGINIANS Hit by Coal Decline, New York Times, May 10
CHARLESTON, W.Va. With West Virginias economy battered by a coal industry in free fall, Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont is hoping that a strong showing in this states Democratic primary on Tuesday will keep him a force in the partys politics by showing that his message still resonates, even though his rival, Hillary Clinton, has an almost insurmountable lead in delegates.
As Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Sanders have campaigned here in recent weeks, they have found frustrated voters who express the kinds of anxieties heard all across the country only with a far greater degree of urgency and pain, as they see their communities wither before their eyes.
We just dont want to be forgotten, said Betty Dolin, who co-owns a restaurant in Danville, about 20 miles southwest of Charleston, where customers tucked into hearty meals like meatloaf and country fried steak with gravy.
She pointed out the empty tables that would once have been filled. We cant have coal? Bring us something else, she said. And I dont mean job training. A lot of these men are too old to train for another job.
Presidential primaries tend to bring attention to local issues as candidates move from state to state, and as the candidates have come to West Virginia to campaign, coal has been no exception.
These communities need help, Mr. Sanders said last week at a food bank in McDowell County. It is not the coal miners fault in terms of whats happening in this world. In some ways, Mr. Sanders is not a natural candidate to be courting the votes of coal miners: He is outspoken on climate change and advocates moving away from fossil fuels.
But his message of economic fairness has been embraced by white, working-class voters.
Mr. Sanders has proposed legislation that would provide $41 billion to help coal and other fossil fuel workers and their communities, offering support like financial assistance and job training.
Mrs. Clinton has her own $30 billion plan to help coal miners and their communities, including a program to provide funding to local school districts to help make up for lost revenue. But what people here bring up is a comment she made about coal workers in March, when she said during a televised forum, Were going to put a lot of coal miners and coal companies out of business. She was talking about providing opportunity through clean energy, and she emphasized that coal miners must not be left behind, but the sound bite was a damning one.
When Mrs. Clinton visited Mingo County last week, she was met with chants of Go home! from protesters. At a round-table event, Bo Copley, a 39-year-old father who had lost his job in the coal industry, told her, I just want to know how you can say youre going to put a lot of coal miners out of jobs and then come in here and tell us how youre going to be our friend.
Mrs. Clinton called her comment a misstatement and expressed regret. But it offended voters in struggling coal communities, and a candidate for West Virginias Supreme Court even used it in a campaign ad.
A lot of people that I know are laid off, and you know that had to hurt the people, said Janet White, 80, a librarian whose husband was a coal miner. ~ Con't.
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