Maynard says he wants to protect coal industry

HUNTINGTON — The war on coal is still ongoing, according to Elliott “Spike” Maynard, the Republican candidate seeking to knock off Democratic incumbent Nick Joe Rahall II in the U.S. House.

During an editorial board meeting Tuesday at The Herald-Dispatch, Maynard said that while people in Cabell County may not be coal miners, they’re still coal people.

“What happens to our miners directly and dramatically impacts everyone, what happens with coal has a direct impact on our pocketbooks,” he said.

Maynard talked about the abolition of surface mining and described that possibility as “crazy.”

“In the midst of the worst recession in 50 years, you’re going to do something that cuts 40 percent of jobs? That’s four of 10 jobs in southern West Virginia and Cabell County, too. We can’t let them do that. We have to win this battle,” he said.

The solution, Maynard offered, starts not in our backyard, but in Washington D.C.

“The single best thing we can do for coal today is fire Nancy Pelosi. It’s the speaker and the president who are waging this war. My opponent voted to make her speaker and will vote for her again,” he said. “I think we need to cut the head off of the snake.”

Maynard also proposed a coalition across districts and states uniting all areas that represent carbon in any form.

“We need to make this grand alliance, shut off the money to the EPA and block their funding,” he said. “You cannot put four of 10 out of a job and there be no consequences. We need to let them know if they’re going to fire coal miners, we’re going to fire them.”

The state of West Virginia is capable of regulating its own Department of Environmental Protection and water quality programs, Maynard added.

“We’re capable of governing ourselves and that’s what I think we need to do, frankly. We don’t need the federal government doing that for us,” he said.

With mine safety on the forefront of everyone’s minds since the Upper Big Branch Mine disaster that killed 29 miners in April. Maynard said government needs a fact-based approach to safety concerns, not a reactive position in the aftermath of a disaster.

“I think we need to mine all the coal we can mine. We can’t mine enough to meet all the energy needs of this country, but we need to do it as safely as we can,” he said. “I would propose a panel made up of real coal miners and engineers with coal experience — a reasonable solution based on common sense and science.

“I think OSHA and MSHA are well-intentioned and want to do the right thing, but they need to listen to working coal miners and engineers, and also be really careful of over-regulation.”

In the hour-long meeting, Maynard also touched on job development, tax cuts and budget deficits.

“The second stimulus package was squandered and wasted. It created jobs in China. Why didn’t those jobs come here? Why didn’t that money come here? I think that’s an outrage,” he said.

Maynard said he does not believe tax hikes are the answer to any financial woes.

“In the midst of the worst recession there’s ever been, it doesn’t make sense to raise anybody’s taxes right now. People are really hurting. If you raise taxes, you will lose jobs and we can’t afford to lose jobs,” he said. “It would be devastating to the economy. This is no time to be adding taxes on people. It’s like pouring gasoline on a house fire.”

In an attempt to correct a $13 trillion national deficit, Maynard said there’s a common-sense solution to the problem.

“You don’t spend money you don’t have,” he said. “You fix this by tightening your belt in all spending, government and consumer. If you love this country and want the same type of place for your kids and grandkids, you’ve got to tighten your belts.”

Maynard also spoke out against the Obama health care plan, calling it “one of the most horrific pieces of legislation in the history of the world.”

“There is so much wrong with that bill,” he said. “The costs that will be imposed on businesses is one problem, but the real issue is that its unconstitutional. We are a free people and I find it offensive for government to force me to buy the insurance policy they select or face fines or the possibility of going to jail. That’s wrong and there’s no precedence for it.

“There’s also an issue with it cutting $500 million out of Medicare,” he continued. “We have an older population in West Virginia.

“You don’t have to destroy the current health delivery system to give insurance to 30 million uninsured people who don’t have it,” he said. “We can’t repeal the bill, so the best option is just to not fund some of it.”

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