Endorsement: Greear the clear choice May 12, 2008
Look, I understand that I have served in the Legislature with and work for Dan Greear, but holy smokes, I can’t imagine a clearer choice for the Republican nomination for Attorney General.
I strongly urge you to vote for and support Dan Greear in his quest to oust current AG Darrell McGraw.
OK, first, there isn’t much that’s left to be said about Darrell. He is, simply put, an embarrassment to our state and an absolute negative to our state’s business climate.
His abuses of the offices are well-documented and the funny part is Darrell doesn’t care. He is so used to using the office for his own personal gain and as his own personal perpetual campaign that he doesn’t even bother any longer to pretend that there is any line between where his constitutional office ends and his campaign begins. It’s all one and the same.
The state needs rid of Darrell McGraw, that’s obvious and clear to most Democrats as well. They just simply know that they can’t beat him in the primary, so we are reliant on the Republican nominee to end Darrell’s putrid time in office.
So, the choice comes down to Hiram Lewis or Dan Greear. And, other than a McGraw-Greear matchup, the choice could not be clearer.
Dan Greear is far superior candidate in this race from an intellect, electability, and the most crucial aspect - the ability to do the job.
Hiram’s claim to fame is that he ran a close race to Darrell last time and he did. But, to me, that’s actually more of a negative. If we would have had a credible candidate, who would have raised more than the $38,000 Hiram did in ALL of 2004, we would have a Republican AG today. Period. He has run for statewide office after statewide office and it always struck me as a shame that he didn’t run for House of Delegates and gained some experience before ending up on the gadfly circuit of running for every and any office available - and always coming up short. He has an impressive resume on the surface that could turn into a House seat, that could turn into a Senate seat, that could turn into a higher office. But, in politics, you can’t take loss after loss after loss after loss and expect people to come around one more time to support you.
So, instead of a credible candidate for AG, we had Hiram. Should Hiram win, my hope would be that Hiram would put good people around him who could actually run the office.
My point is - why risk it? Why risk throwing Hiram out there again. He obviously struggles to raise money. Clearly, the business community and the folks who want Darrell ousted would be extremely unlikely to go “all in” with Hiram on the Republican side. And, my guess is, IF they even contributed to Hiram, overall they would sit on the sidelines.
Would outside, independent groups spend money on this race when the nominee is someone OTHER than Dan? I don’t think so.
OK, I have voted AGAINST Darrell every time I have voted.
This time, I will actually be voting FOR someone. Dan Greear.
Every organization who has endorsed has backed Dan. He won the endorsement of West Virginians for life, gun owners, the WV Chamber, farmers, doctors, 28 Republican legislators, the Huntington Herald-Dispatch, the Charleston Daily Mail, and on and on… well, like I said pretty much anyone who objectively looked at the race determined Dan would be the best nominee to go against Darrell in the fall.
My guess is a monkey, dressed in a business suit and running on the Republican ticket woud get 45% against Darrell, because that’s how many people want McGraw gone.
But, to get to 50.01%, we need someone on the ballot we can actually vote FOR.
And, I won’t repeat Dan’s resume or his ability to lead or his hard-charging campaign prowess. I don’t have to. I won’t recite any information about Dan’s wonderful family, his wife Amy, his character, or the fact that he is one of the best people I have ever met.
No, I will recite what Dan wants to do. He wants to take the AG’s office back to what it is actually supposed to do… drum roll please… represent the state.
What a radical concept.
He doesn’t want to use it as a class action lawsuit firm tagging businesses as their welcome to the state. He doens’t want a liberal interpretation of any ruling under the sun as Darrell gives.
All that he wants is to do the job of Attorney General, imagine that.
He doesn’t want to take over the roll of state police investigators and send out “mobile crime labs” that county prosecutors don’t want, don’t need, and especially when his office doesn’t have the authority or expertise to take the Attorney General’s office in another silly direction.
AGAIN, I know this is a crazy concept… All that he wants is to do the job of Attorney General.
Dan is the clear choice. And, the best hope we have had in a long time in unseating Darrell McGraw. Now is the time… I’m hoping everyone will make Dan their choice.
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11 Responses to “Endorsement: Greear the clear choice”
You also failed to mention that Dan Greear is one of your clients.
Also, if Dan Greear is such a great candidate why has he only raised $48,330, which includes a $15,000 personal loan to the campaign.
This campaign will have to work hard to convince business friendly Democrats to pony up the $$$ if Greear makes it through the Primary.
We also have to remember the reason that Hiram came close in 2004 was because of the heavy anti-McGraw ads that ran. Who can forget the radio ad of Waren screaming in Racine? At the end of the day, voters went into the booth to vote Against Waren McGraw and many voted against Darren as well, because, frankly they were voting against anyone who had the McGraw last name just to play it safe.
Mr. Jackson, there is no such thing as a “business-friendly Democrat”….unless, of course, it’s one of THEIR businesses. Democrats like McGraw have kept WV poor while they continue to prosper on a personal level.
Being business-friendly means supporting tax cuts and elimination NOW, enacting meaningful tort reform, and eliminating the gas, sales, and food taxes. …and that’s just the start.
“Business Friendly Democrats” What an Oxymoron !
Mr. Jackson,
I don’t normally respond to comments (I usually just let you all have it down here!), but I feel compelled to after your comment.
The very first line in my commentary says… “Look, I understand that I have served in
the Legislature with and work for Dan Greear..”
My read of that is that, well… I work for Dan Greear. I’m not sure you believe I “failed to mention” that when it was the first line of the commentary…
In addition, Dan has raised now well over $50,000 in addition to his $15,000 loan. The $48,000+ you site was from the last report and was exclusive of the loan. Most candidates throw the loans with other contributions to get a “total Contributions.” The Greear campaign chose not to count it that way.
If we really have to CONVINCE business-friendly Democrats that Darrell McGraw is unfriendly to business, then we are in big trouble. And, that was the overall point of the commentary. We actually have a candidate this time we can vote FOR, not just vote against Darrell. But, beating Darrell will be difficult to say the least.
And, I can unequivocally say whether I worked for Dan or didn’t, I would wholehartedly support him in his race for AG. He is a good man, a brilliant attorney, and someone who I believe can finally topple Darrell.
Thanks,
Vic
Vic,
I’ve been really impressed by Dan’s optimistic and positive campaign, until now. What is this, good cop, bad cop? Dan goes around the state being positive while he has you to do the dirty work back in Charleston. Looks like politics as usual. Your endorsement has had an adverse effect on me. Sorry Dan.
Hiram’s trouble is that he aims too high when it comes to running for office…
In fact, I believe it was Albert Einstein that once said insanity is “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” Case in point: Hiram Lewis
DAN GREEAR FOR ATTORNEY GENERAL!
If a voter chooses Hiram Lewis over Dan Greear it is very apparent that he or she has never had an opportunity to meet Dan Greear. Hiram just wants to hold an office, he doesn’t care which one, and this time he just happens to have his sights set on the office of Attorney General. Hiram provides no substance when he speaks and after viewing his website it seems he is unaware of the authority of the Attorney General , he is proposing to do things that are outside of the realm of the AG’s authority. We already have an Attorney General who exceeds the powers of the office; we do not need another man to take the job who needs to be educated about the powers of this office.
People who are supporting Hiram because they consider him a personal friend remind me of people who support Dan Wells because he is a friend of theirs. I know Danny Wells and I speak to him every time I see him, but I would never vote for him because I do know several things about him that led me to believe he is unfit to represent anyone in the WV Legislature. I believe the same is true for Hiram Lewis; the few who support him are doing so because they are a friend not because they believe Hiram is the best candidate to beat McGraw and run the AG’s office. SHAME ON YOU if you vote for a candidate for any reason other than believing he or she is the best candidate.
I believe this was the point in Vic’s post today, Vic is a personal friend of Greear and Greear is also a client, but even if those things were not the case, Dan Greear would still be the only choice for Attorney General.
If you do the right thing and choose the best candidate it’s easy, you’ll be voting for DAN GREEAR
If you people think a Republican can win in this state without Democrat support (financially and at the polls) good luck.
When I say business friendly Democrats I do not mean Democrats that serve in the West Virginia Legislature and throw the business community a bone now and then. Business friendly Democrats help fund statewide races, the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce, West Virginians for Life, and many other statewide organizations that will spend millions this election cycle in West Virginia on candidates that will benefit the business community.
Senator, you know very well Dan Greear will need money from business friendly Democrats to win this race. If Dan Greear plans to depend on the Republican Party for it’s fundraising apparatus it will end up like the State Party…broke and unable to compete.
I wish Dan the best of luck. I only hope he doesn’t blow the opportunity. I don’t think he has convinced Democrats he can beat McGraw. When he does, fundraising will not be an issue.
for what it is worth, i have voted early for Dan Greear and encourage others to vote for him as well. He will be good for the people of November, good for WV, and an outstanding AG.
Edward R Burgess
Saint Albans
Mr. Jackson,
Why do you believe Dan Greear cannot get the support from Democrats?
Who suggested that Greear will not try to get there support?
Just a taste of inside information tells me that the Greear campaign has already gained support from business leaders who typically support Democratic candidates.
Are there some unfounded ill feelings you harbor?