The Dominion Post: Capito gets nod in Senate race

— *** Newspaper Endorsements 2014 ***—

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — The Dominion Post endorses Shelley Moore Capito for U.S. Senate with exception.

Capito ’s experience in Congress and her knowledge of domestic matters and foreign policy give her the tools needed to accomplish much on behalf of West Virginia. If she prevails Nov. 4, she will fill longtime U.S. Sen. Jay Rockefeller ’s seat, who is retiring.

Her 14 years in the U.S. House of Representatives and four years in the state’s House of Delegates provide her a keen knowledge on how the legislative branch of government works and how to get things done.

However, her stance on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) plan to reduce carbon emissions by 30 percent during the next 15 years, based on emission levels from 2005 — a major plank in her campaign platform — makes us pause. (The EPA proposal is in a yearlong
review period.)

We agree the coal industry is the backbone of energy generation in our nation, but we do not find reasonable EPA regulation a bad thing.

It is a concern that government must intercede to ensure the energy industry operates as good neighbors, employers and stewards of clean air and water.

History tells us, though, that industry needs a watchdog.

Our community’s own Decker ’s Creek—tainted by runoff from a long-closed mine —is a constant reminder as to why that is so.

Capito, who currently represents the Second Congressional District, said any effort to cut carbon emissions must be a global one to have any impact.

“If you’re a leader and no one’s following, then you’re just taking a walk,” Capito pointed out.

We disagree. Our nation has a history of leading the way toward a better quality of life through leadership and influence around the world.

We believe environmental issues should not be an exception to that legacy.

In January 2010, Capito, co-founded the Congressional Coal Caucus just months before the Upper Big Branch tragedy —the one a positive reminder of coal’s promise, the other a remembrance of coal’s dark side.

Today, as she vows to evoke a spirit of bipartisanship in Congress, we urge her to take a like approach to the precarious balance in the coal industry of affordable energy and potential hazard.