Caputo compliments Stuart’s ‘wonderful campaign speech’ after another anti-Biden resolution proposal

By Matthew Young, RealWV

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – “Things like this reassure me that I made the right decision not to run for re-election.”

That’s what Sen. Mike Caputo, D-Marion, said from the Senate floor while delivering a scathing indictment of SR 42, a proposed resolution to support “Texas Governor Greg Abbott and Texas’ constitutional right to self-defense.”

Sen. Mike Stuart, R-Kanawha, authored the resolution. And in similar fashion to the candidate for attorney general’s proposal to remove Pres. Joe Biden from West Virginia’s primary and general election ballots, SR 42 is a direct criticism of the current administration.

“This resolution does nothing except provide campaign material for those who are running for office in a state where Pres. Biden lost by 70%,” Caputo railed. “I don’t think you’re gonna get any more than that, but you can go out and say, ‘By God, Pres. Biden, he’s this and he’s that and he’s not doing enough.’ And that’s real good stuff to talk about in West Virginia.”

“Is that what we’re here for?” Caputo continued. “This is not what these (legislative) bodies were about 28-years-ago when I came here. These bodies were about policy. […] We attacked the office, we attacked the policy, we attacked the vision – but we never attacked people by name. […] The respect is gone.”

According to Stuart’s resolution, the Biden Administration has “left Americans and our country completely vulnerable” by allowing “deadly drugs” and “terrorists” to freely cross the southern border. The resolution further states that, “The West Virginia Senate stands in solidarity with Governor Greg Abbott and the State of Texas in utilizing every tool and strategy, including razor wire fences, to secure the border.”

“Of course there’s bad people,” Caputo said. “But we’re going to support using every tool – including razor wire fences. For innocent children that are being brought here by others, we’re going to support using razor wire fences.”

“Have we lost our minds?” Caputo asked. “Have we lost our minds? There’s not one of us in this chamber who doesn’t care about children. Razor wire fences – that’s insane.”

Prior to Caputo’s impassioned remarks, Stuart rose to advocate for SR 42, saying, “I think this is a really important resolution in terms of the statement this body can issue and the support it can issue to Texas Governor Abbott.”

“Since Jan. 20, 2021, as best we can tell – I say ‘as best we can tell’ because we don’t know the numbers – at least 8 million illegals have crossed across that border,” Stuart continued. “Who’s coming across that border? We don’t know. We know that there are folks on the terrorist watch list coming across that border. Human traffickers, child predators, violent criminals.” 

“We also know there are a lot of really good people coming across that border, looking for a better life,” Stuart added. “What Texas Governor Abbott is trying to do is provide some defense of that border, not only on behalf of Texas, but on behalf of all states including West Virginia.”

Stuart argued that the U.S. Constitution affords individual states the right of sovereign defense, noting that the immigration crisis may be felt “perpetually for the rest of our existence.”

“Some would call this an invasion, others call it illegal entry,” Stuart said. “Let’s not forget the challenges of the Biden Administration, fighting every single effort by Texas to secure that border.”

At the conclusion of Stuart’s remarks, Caputo told him, “That was a wonderful campaign speech, and that’s what I think this resolution is all about.”

“I certainly support a secure border, and what is happening down there is horrible,” Caputo said. “We do need to do a better job to get our hands around that. But I want to remind everybody that when this country was first discovered, every one of us was illegal. We marched into this country, and we didn’t learn to speak Navajo or Cherokee. Things were different, but nobody wants to talk about that anymore.”

Caputo explained his belief that the current political climate has become a never-ending battle to “one up” each other, adding that it is coming from “both sides of the aisle.”

“I might be the only no vote, and I’m not ashamed of that,” Caputo added. “I’m not one bit ashamed of that because I’ll feel good about my vote, and I’ll feel good about my career here. But I don’t feel good about the direction we’re heading.”

The Senate adopted SR 42 by a vote of 31 to one. Caputo was, in fact, the only no vote.