In an attempt to appear independent from the Democrats in Washington and the Obama Administration, West Virginia’s Governor Joe Manchin, who is “the Democratic nominee to replace the late Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.)[,] actually fire[ed] a bullet through a piece of paper meant to symbolize last year’s House-passed cap-and-trade bill.” In his advertisement, Governor Manchin seems to channel the Tea Party more than the Democratic Party. According to The Hill, “Manchin is trying to illustrate his independence from Washington lawmakers and the Obama administration as he finds himself trailing or — at best — in a dead heat, with Republican John Raese for Byrd’s seat.”

However, Governor Manchin’s political advertisement is ridiculous. How can anyone be against “a bill to create clean energy jobs, promote energy independence, reduce global warming pollution, and transition to a clean energy economy?” In reality, there’s nothing radical about a prudent energy policy that reduces greenhouse gases and moves his state and our country towards the utilization of proven renewable energy sources. Rather than attempting to capitalize from West Virginians’ fears and ignorance, Governor Joe Manchin should be campaigning and educating people about the merits of an energy policy that moves his state and our country away from polluting fossil fuels towards a future that’s cleaner and more sustainable. Instead, Governor Manchin plays politics at the expense of the environment. For example, “Manchin announced last Wednesday that the state is suing the Environmental Protection Agency over its crackdown on mountaintop-removal practices by the coal-mining industry.”

Of course, the people that work in the coal industry (and the oil industry) who don’t want cap-and-trade legislation or any legislation that reduces greenhouse gases and promotes the adoption of renewable energy, don’t want prudent energy legislation, because they benefit from polluting the environment and making people sick. However, that doesn’t give them the right to force all Americans to continue to be disadvantaged by an imprudent energy policy that comes at a high price.