Nov. 19, 2010
 
COMMENTARY: Out Of The Closet In Record Time
 
By Tom Stark
 
Senator Joe has come out of the closet with his first two votes! First he votes with the liberal block bent on destroying the coal industry, and then he drives a stake through the heart of our state's small farm operators.
 
The question one needs to ask is how will those farmers and their Farm Bureau react to this sell-out of the thousands of family farms that visit the Parkersburg Farmer's Market or other farmers' markets across ours and other states when they cannot sell because they have not filed the required "plan" for their farms to prevent food-borne illness. A plan that could cost thousands of dollars to produce
 
Foolishness? To begin with, that is the only word that can describe this alleged Food Safety Bill. The saddest part about the bill is that IF you believe the government should have responsibility for the food supply (not that I agree at all, but let that argument hold sway for the moment) then the simple - one page or less and cheap to implement - answer to this problem is to require farmers to EITHER submit a plan or post a sign anywhere their products are sold stating that they have not submitted such a plan. The only reason that this idea would not fly is that it invokes an element that liberals vehemently oppose...PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY... both on the part of the farmer to maintain generally sanitary conditions and on the part of the consumer to make the decision regarding where they feel comfortable purchasing their food!!
 
How will the voters react to this sell-out when JoeBama comes up for re-election in 2012? He could (excuse me) should wind up the second Senator in a row to serve less than six years! He could also wind up ensuring that West Virginians take a more conservative approach in 2012 resulting in our having two Republican Senators. How's that for real change! These actions are most important for West Virginia voters to consider because it is then that they have their last chance to reject the liberal loyalties of Senator Manchin before he becomes entrenched in that seat that never belonged to Robert Byrd but rather still belongs to the people of West Virginia.
 
Now, looking back a month, what you have to ask yourself is where did all that "conservatism" that Manchin used to get elected disappear to when he got to Washington. Where are the cartridges he used to put holes in the energy legislation? Could it be that he was lying through his teeth and is truly a modern day Democrat in every way? The next two years should provide a better picture, but the preliminary sketch he has already provided does not promise an attractive final rendering.