Big Surprise

It comes as no surprise the United Mine Workers endorsed Rick Boucher and Jim Webb yesterday. Sen Allen and Bill Carrico did not attend the meeting. Why would they? The UMW is nothing but a mouthpiece for the Democratic party. Boucher did address some coal issues at the meeting. Webb, a union member himself, talked about Iraq.

What is the impact of this endorsement in my area? Zilch. The UMW is powerless in the coalfields. Maybe that is why Jim Webb chose not to hang around and campaign in the area. As far as I know Jim Webb has not visited the coalfields since his 4 hour stay at the dismal kickoff in Gate City. Fellow coalfield blogger Brain Patton is happy about this endorsement. He speaks of Kaine's endorsement in his post. I will say that with all of Kaine and Webb's union endorsements they both lost in the coalfields. Jerry Kilgore and Harris Miller easily carried the area as a whole. As I said the impact of this is zilch. Now we wait and see who the employers support. That carries the real weight in the coalfields.

Technorati : Jim Webb, Rick Boucher, United Mine Workers