Did Earl Ray Tomblin Sell Out West Virginia?

Recent news stories about the AFL-CIO’s endorsement of Earl Ray Tomblin raise the question: “Did Earl Ray Tomblin sell out West Virginia by refusing to fight Obamacare in order to get the union’s endorsement?”

Consider:

  • The AFL-CIO endorsed Tomblin on Saturday, September 3.
  • On Tuesday, September 6, Tomblin says he would not join the legal battle against Obamacare as governor. This was Tomblin’s first admission that he wouldn’t fight Obamacare in the courts.
  • On Wednesday, September 7, the Charleston Daily Mail reported that the AFL-CIO endorsed Tomblin “particularly” because of “Maloney’s vow to have West Virginia join a legal battle seeking to stop the Obama administration’s health care overhaul.”
  • When asked about the reason for the AFL-CIO change of heart, Tomblin cracked a smile and waved off the question.

 

After shunning West Virginia Acting Governor Earl Ray Tomblin in the May primary, the AFL-CIO recently performed a 180, endorsing Tomblin in the special election over his Republican opponent, Bill Maloney.

“In May, the West Virginia AFL-CIO launched a TV ad attacking acting Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin in the Democratic primary. In the ad, the AFL-CIO family of unions said Tomblin was only ‘acting’ like he was a friend of West Virginia’s working families. It was designed to help labor’s favored candidate, House Speaker Rick Thompson, who came in second among Democrats in the May 14 primary. Now fast forward to this month. In an about-face, the state’s largest collection of unionized workers is endorsing Tomblin in the Oct. 4 general election.” (Ry Rivard, “Fear Drove Union Back To Tomblin,” Charleston Daily Mail, 9/7/2011)

The AFL-CIO President said the union endorsed Tomblin primarily because Maloney vowed to have West Virginia fight Obamacare.

AFL-CIO President Kenny Perdue attributed the unions’ change of heart to fears about Tomblin’s Republican opponent, Bill Maloney. Perdue said in a telephone interview Tuesday he was “scared” by Maloney’s “right-wing” positions, particularly Maloney’s vow to have West Virginia join a legal battle seeking to stop the Obama administration’s health care overhaul.” (Ry Rivard, “Fear Drove Union Back To Tomblin,” Charleston Daily Mail, 9/7/2011)

What’s Tomblin smiling about?

“Asked Tuesday why the unions had changed their minds about him, Tomblin cracked a smile. ‘I guess they just had a vision,’ Tomblin said of the unions, waving his hand over his face.” (Ry Rivard, “Fear Drove Union Back To Tomblin,” Charleston Daily Mail, 9/7/2011)

Even though a lawsuit could effectively stop the implementation of ObamaCare, Tomblin passed the blame on Congress.

“Maloney reiterated his position that he would join 26 other states in a lawsuit seeking a repeal of President Obama’s recent health care bill, which he labeled, ‘government run amok.’  While Tomblin said he disagreed with the law’s mandate that people buy health insurance, he said he didn’t think a lawsuit was the right course of action. ‘Filing a lawsuit simply is not going to change that federal law; it’s going to take an act of Congress to change the provisions of the bill,’ he said.” (Jared Hunt, “Gubernatorial Candidates Tell Contradicting Tales Of State,” Charleston Daily Mail, 9/7/2011)

“Maloney has said if he were governor, West Virginia would join more than two dozen other states suing over some aspects of the law. Tomblin has said he would not join such a suit.” (Ry Rivard, “Fear Drove Union Back To Tomblin,” Charleston Daily Mail, 9/7/2011)