Don Blankenship, a disgraced and formerly imprisoned former West Virginia coal baron, is hoping to fill the seat of retiring Senator Joe Manchin in 2024. After running unsuccessfully as the GOP Senate Candidate in 2018 and as a Constitution Party candidate in 2020, this time the Appalachian Strip-Mining Baron, who was once
[[{“value”:”Former West Virginia coal magnate and shamed Don Blankenship is hoping to take Senator Joe Manchin’s soon-to-be-vacated seat as the longtime Democratic lawmaker retires in 2024. The Appalachian strip-mining baron, who previously referred to himself as” Trumpier than Trump,” is running as a Democrat after repeatedly running for the GOP Senate in 2018 and the Constitution Party in 2020.
According to Blankenship, the Republicans spread false information about him and were never properly concentrating on his state’s opioid crisis, which is why he switched parties out of personal animosity. Opioids are the leading cause of death in West Virginia.
His announcement was not well received by state Democrats. In a statement to news organizations, West Virginia Democratic Party Chairman Mike Pushkin said,” I do n’t care what letter he has after his name this week,” adding that” Don Blankenship is no Democrat and does not represent the values of our party.”
Blankenship once referred to himself as” The most despised man in Mingo County.” Blankenship, the CEO of the sizable coal company Massey Energy, contributed to the development of a program for mountaintop removal, an intense form of strip mining in which ridgelines and mountain tops are destroyed in order to mine coal more affordably. Removal of mountaintops has serious repercussions for the environment and for anyone who does n’t own stock in the mining company. These can include contaminating nearby water sources and raising the risk of flooding, both of which occurred in Mingo County ( large floods occurred repeatedly ).
In a 2015 profile, my colleague Tim Murphy stated that Blankenship worked tirelessly to ensure that the harm he caused to the state went way beyond environmental destruction after being charged” for allegedly conspiring to commit own safety violations, conspiracy to cover them up, and providing false statements about his company’s safety record.”
The stone workers union, which was baptized in Blankenship’s backyard, was crushed. He presided over a business that increased its profits by managing some of the riskiest workplaces in the nation, according to extensive court records and government investigations.
This led to the worst mining tragedy in decades, as was to be expected:
Blankenship, a symbol of the worst excesses in the coal industry, invested millions of dollars in West Virginia’s democratic system to advance an anti-regulatory agenda and win over state legislators and officials. Massey, however, finally proved to be Blankenship’s downfall by relentlessly pursuing profits. Prosecutors started gradually building a case against the wealthy tycoon after Massey’s Upper Big Branch mine explosion on April 5, 2010, which killed 29 workers and was the worst mining disaster in the United States in 40 years.
After being found guilty of conspiring to break stone safety regulations, Blankenship was sentenced in 2016 and served a year in prison.
The senatorial hopeful now revealed to WV News that he was running for office” to help residents realize that “our enemy is the government and the politicians, and which party you’re in does n’t really matter.” He was eager for a new challenge. The newly-minted Democrat has received criticism from previous miners and the families of those who were killed while he was in charge of Massey Energy, according to AP. He is “assertive” and a “man of integrity” to others in the state’s coal community.”}]] Former West Virginia coal magnate and shamed Don Blankenship is hoping to take Senator Joe Manchin’s soon-to-be-vacated seat as the long-time Democratic lawmaker retires in 2024. The Appalachian strip-mining baron, who previously ran unsuccessfully for the GOP Senate in 2018 and the Constitution Party in 2020, this time
Don Blankenship, a disgraced and formerly imprisoned former West Virginia coal baron, is hoping to fill the seat of retiring Senator Joe Manchin in 2024. After running unsuccessfully as the GOP Senate Candidate in 2018 and as a Constitution Party candidate in 2020, this time the Appalachian Strip-Mining Baron, who was once
Former Massey Energy CEO and West Virginia Republican Senatorial candidate, Don Blankenship during a town hall on Jan. 18, 2018. AP Photo/Steve Helbe. Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.. Disgraced and once-imprisoned former West Virginia coal magnate Don Blankenship is hoping to occupy Senator Joe Manchin’s soon-to-be-vacated seat, as the long-time Democratic lawmaker retires in 2024. Having run unsuccessfully in 2018 as the GOP Senate candidate, and in 2020 as a candidate for the Constitution Party, this time, the Appalachian strip-mining baron, who once called himself “Trumpier than Trump,” is running as a Democrat.. Blankenship explained to WV News that he switched parties because of personal animus: the Republicans pushed false stories about him, according to his telling, and were not properly focused on his state’s opioid crisis. West Virginia has the highest rate of deaths from opioids in the country.. State Democrats did not cheer his announcement. “I don’t care what letter he has after his name this week,” West Virginia Democratic Party Chairman Mike Pushkin wrote in a statement to news outlets, “Don Blankenship is not a Democrat and does not represent the values of our party.”. Blankenship once called himself “The most hated man in Mingo County.” As the head of Massey Energy, a massive coal company, Blankenship helped lead a program of mountaintop removal—an extreme form of strip mining that involves destroying mountain tops and ridgelines to be able to mine coal more cheaply. Mountaintop removal has dire consequences for the environment and for anyone who doesn’t have equity in the company doing the mining. These can include poisoning nearby drinking water sources, and increasing the likelihood of flooding—both of which happened in Mingo County (large floods happened multiple times).. As my colleague Tim Murphy revealed in a 2015 profile, after Blankenship was indicted “for allegedly conspiring to commit mine safety violations, conspiring to cover up those violations, and providing false statements about his company’s safety record,” the magnate worked overtime to make sure that the damage he inflicted on the state extended far beyond environmental devastation.. Blankenship crushed the mine workers union that was baptized in his backyard. Voluminous court records and government investigations show that he presided over a company that padded its profits by running some of the most dangerous workplaces in the country.. This, predictably, resulted in the worst mining tragedy in decades:. A mascot of the coal industry’s worst excesses, Blankenship pumped millions of dollars into West Virginia’s political system to promote an anti-regulatory agenda and curry favor with state lawmakers and officials. But Massey’s pursuit of profits at any cost ultimately proved to be Blankenship’s downfall. When, on April 5, 2010, an explosion at Massey’s Upper Big Branch mine killed 29 workers—the worst mining disaster in the United States in 40 years—prosecutors began slowly building a case against the powerful mogul.. Blankenship was sentenced in 2016 and spent a year in prison after being found guilty of conspiring to violate mine safety regulations.. Now, eager for a new challenge, the senatorial hopeful told WV News, that he was running for office in order “to help residents realize that ‘our enemy is the government and the politicians, and which party you’re in doesn’t really matter.’” Former miners and family members of those who were killed while he was in charge of Massey Energy have criticized the newly-minted Democrat, AP reports. For others in the state’s coal community, he’s “assertive” and a “man of integrity.”
