Tempest in a teapot

Trey Greyson and Rand Paul are currently locked in a life or death struggle. Each of these gentlemen would like to get the GOP nod for the U. S. Senate. That this is a state-wide office means that these gentlemen must make an impression on every area of the state. In Eastern Kentucky, this involves a two-pronged effort: One; give the impression that you more than support coal, you live, eat, breath, sleep in and dream of coal. And two; give the impression that your opponent is a weasel that is just biding his time to drive a shiv into the back of coal.

To this end, each candidate has come out with competing campaign commercials that shows that only one candidate can be trusted to keep coal’s best interest in mind, and that would be the one that produced the commercial you happen to be watching. Trey claims that Rand would consort with the Devil (Barack Obama, in case anyone didn’t know) himself to outlaw coal and replace it with anything, or nothing, as the idea is to just get rid of coal altogether. For his part, Rand insists that Trey intends to see the Commonwealth replace coal-fired electricity with power generated by nuclear power plants, and that such a move would also see the end of coal.

Why would either of these candidates resort to such tactics? Well, in order to give the impression that they have the best interests of the inhabitants of the eastern coalfields in mind, most candidates, like these two, figure that a pledge of support to coal is all that is needed.

But in an article in the Appalachian News-Express that contained all the gory details of this little feud, it was also speculated that this time, there is one other benefit from having the voter imagine that a candidate is behind coal, and that is the public relation campaign being conducted on the behalf of Big Coal. By associating himself with coal, either candidate hopes to be included in the warm and fuzzy feeling those commercials for coal would presumably engender in their viewers hearts.

Of course, as has been noted, there is precedence a ‘plenty for such behavior. Heck, all the local politicians also make it plain that they, too, are strong supporters of coal. But unlike those candidates for state-wide office, the locals recognize that there are other issues that confront the population in Eastern Kentucky, and these candidates sometimes even make an effort to address them.

For instance, there is the endemic poverty that still exists here. When 75% or so of a local elementary school is eligible for free or reduced meals, this speaks volumes about this problem. And there is the large number that lack access to health care. The many patients that the Remote Area Medical clinic attracts each year is enough of a testament to this. And then there is the lack of jobs in the area. The current out-migration of the area’s graduating students demonstrates this.

Yes, Trey and Rand are following the example of all who have come before them. But the issues that beset this area require deeper thinking than is contained in a few cheap attack ads. Some real solutions for very real problems would be helpful.