BACK PEW: Beware of the factions
By Stephen Baldwin, RealWV
My fellow Americans, a very happy President’s Day to you. This is a day to honor American democracy and the virtues of the American experiment, including our best leaders and their peaceful transfer of power to the next generation.
Former Senator Charles Trump had a tradition, while serving in the West Virginia Senate, of making a rousing speech on this day each year to impose upon his colleagues the importance of the American ideals which guide our laws, institutions, and values. I always looked forward to it. It was an important reality check for those who were too caught up in the current moment to see the bigger picture. It was also a rare moment of unity, when we could all get behind a nation and ideals greater than ourselves.
Those days seem long gone, even though they were only a few short years ago. We have become factionalized beyond the degree to which Lincoln warned about. To the point that I’m not sure a sincere party could name the real policy priorities of the legislature today.
PRIORITIES. The truth is that 134 legislators have at least 134 priorities, and getting everyone to work together is easier said than done. I don’t envy Speaker Roger Hanshaw at all. He’s the smartest guy in the capitol–and I bet he’s pulling his hair out–but he better read the room across the state. People see the disconnect between the campaign slogans of his members and the reality of how they spend their time in Charleston. And the bad PR that comes as a result significantly hinders the good work the Speaker, Brad Smith, and others are trying to achieve for West Virginia. For example…
SERIOUSLY? You may have seen the WV Watch headline that seemed unreal: “WV House passes bill to explicitly outlaw sexual contact with animals.” But it was very real. That’s what our delegates spent the morning doing. While thousands of citizens lack access to clean drinking water each day. While foster kids are housed in hotels and Airbnbs. While young people leave the state. While schools are consolidated. While coal jobs dry up. While our incomes dive and our health problems rise.
COAL LAYOFFS. A group of Republican legislators skipped town this past week and headed to DC to visit the White House for a celebration of coal. The next day, more than 500 coal miners were given WARN notices of impending layoffs in West Virginia. Operators blamed market conditions. Which, of course, means tariffs. They’ve crippled coal. Yet the lobbyists and legislators cheer them on.
MIXED REACTIONS. Reactions from legislators I’ve talked to across the political spectrum are decidedly mixed more than halfway into this session. The new school Republicans are frustrated their bills haven’t really moved. The old school Republicans are annoyed with the factions within their supermajority that make passing a unified agenda nearly impossible. The few remaining Democrats are just happy that little harm has been done…so far. In comparison to previous years, the committee and floor schedules have been light in 2026. Marathon meetings, debating policies, hearing witnesses, and crafting amendments seem to be as rare as bipartisanship. Why?
THREE MAIN REASONS. I would point to three major reasons. One, it’s an election year. Many politicians are focused on winning their next election, as opposed to policy nuances, which may not help their reelection chances anyway. Two, there’s real strife between the Republican legislative megamajorities and the governor’s office. They genuinely don’t like each other. To the point Gov. Morrisey is recruiting candidates and funding them via political action committees. (It will cause him problems getting the votes he needs in the short run, for certain, so he must think it will be beneficial in the long run. I think it’s a real gamble which could lead to him losing the gubernatorial primary in 2028.) Three, there’s also real strife among Republicans in those legislative megamajorities.
THE WELL-OILED MACHINE IS OUT OF ORDER. I wrote two weeks ago, “The more things change, the more they stay the same,” of politics around Charleston. While that’s true in some ways, a former legislator reached out to discuss that notion with me. He rightly pointed out that at least one major change over the last six or so years: the well-oiled Republican machine is out of order.
When it came to charter schools or banning abortion or any of the other major issues over the last few years since the Republicans took power, they locked it down, ran the bills, whipped the vote, and made it happen. It was a well-oiled machine, built on polling and implemented by leadership and supported by third party interest groups. They all worked in lockstep. But not anymore. The factions are growing.
Now, they are celebrating coal the day before 500 miners are laid off. Prohibiting sexual contact with animals while people go without water. Looking to raise interest rates on debt while people receive power bills they can’t begin to pay off anyway. It’s the twilight zone.
A WORD OF CAUTION. But a word of caution. It’s still fairly early in the session. While we’ve passed the halfway mark, most of the major legislative work will come in the final weeks and days. Everyone who is happy or unhappy with the session so far shouldn’t count their eggs before they hatch. A lot can happen in a few days. Good or bad. Will our leaders find their footing? Stay tuned.
That’s the view from the Back Pew. May God bless you and our legislators this year.
Stephen Baldwin is a Presbyterian minister and the former Senate Minority Leader from Greenbrier County. He is the publisher of The Real WV.
