I am saddened by the way the Underwood campaign hides behind "values." As a lifelong conservative, I embrace family, prayer, the Ten Commandments and am proudly pro-life. It is probably safe to say that my values on "social" issues more closely resemble that of the national Republicans. Of course, here in West Virginia, one could argue that both parties are socially conservative.
It really upsets me to see the smear campaign waged against Bob Wise. Listening to the rhetoric, I would assume that Wise, Pritt and Hillary are "clones." Nothing could be further from the truth.
There is no doubt that Bob and I differ on at least one important social issue. But, in general, Bob's values are the same as most West Virginians. The national race may be about values, but the state race must be about our economy.
I believe that our state is again on the edge of crisis. My differences with Bob on social
issues do not allow me the luxury of remaining a "single-issue" voter. If our economy is so great, why do we continue to lose high-paying industrial jobs with benefits? Underwood claims to have "created" a ton of low-paying service jobs to replace them.
This election should be about leadership and vision. Will West Virginia continue down the same tired path, or will someone strike a new course? The rising tide of national economic fortune has lifted us off the sandbar. Who will captain our boat when the nation's economic tide retreats?
