Column: Justice’s debate falls flat

Justice appeared to have spent the preceding days studying tape of Donald Trump, which contrasted uncomfortably with Cole’s obvious preparation and understanding of the job he hopes to win. In fact, Cole seemed to anticipate Justice’s strategy of sweeping generalizations and familiarities by asking how he will bring in all those “jobs, jobs, jobs. What’s your plan, plan, plan?”

In answer, Justice — who was supposed to be introducing himself to voters — began with a story about having watched Arnold Palmer’s funeral on television. He said he saw a choir give tribute to “the good Lord and America. …” while the audience waited for him to remember he was participating in a political debate.

Eventually, he got around to flattering the residents of West Virginia and state government workers and leaders by saying they are a team that makes the governor’s job easy. “This job is not that hard,” he said.

Of course, if it is done right, the job of leading West Virginia through the next four years (at least) is going to be very difficult. It will require the “heavy lifting” and willingness to cut the “graft, corruption and waste” in state government Cole has spent two years preparing to handle.

In fact, Cole presented a picture of West Virginia’s transitioning economy in which the role of governor is to be the chief sales officer for the state — knocking on board room doors to attract businesses who want to work in and with a Mountain State that has a streamlined and modernized government that gets out of the way.

Justice’s response was so Trump-like — even down to the hand gestures — that I stopped taking notes for a moment just to watch:

“I know this stuff. I know something about this,” he said. “Can you imagine the contacts I have? And I don’t flaunt those. Can you imagine the doors I can knock on?”

As you might have guessed by now, Justice did not follow that by talking about specific doors on which he could knock, or businesses he would like to attract to the state.

He did come to himself quite a bit later in the debate … in the midst of answers to a question about the role of higher education in West Virginia, and which is preferable in a changing economy — technical/trade schools or four-year colleges and universities. Unconnected to any of his previous sentences, Justice blurted out, “We need a cracker!”

It was as though he realized he meant to mention that earlier, though, again, no word on how he might work to make that happen.

Meanwhile, Cole was forced to point out how little it seemed Justice knew about the role of governor, or the way the state legislature works. Attempting to pin the blame for decades of bad government on Cole and the Republican majority that has had a grand total of two years to get anything done, Justice also seemed to believe Cole is in charge of the entire legislature. To be clear, there was little Cole could have done to supercede Speaker of the House Tim Armstead, R-Kanawha, and the bickering House of Delegates over the past year.

Both Cole and Justice are businessmen — employers — by the way, though it is true Cole does not have the word billionaire in front of his name just yet. But only one of them has the slightest idea how to get things done within state government in West Virginia.

Justice may have chosen to distance himself from fellow Democrat Hillary Clinton, whom many West Virginians simply loathe, by emulating the vague bravado and pretended kinship with the average Joe that is quickly falling apart for her opponent. That is a mistake.

The difference is precisely the kinds of voters who have been driven away by Clinton’s vow to further cripple our state will be driven toward Cole’s determination to make government work for West Virginians again — to lift us back up. If he does not come up with specifics — and a little fortitude when it comes to facing the absolutely essential task of cutting waste in state government — Justice is in for a rough few weeks.

Christina Myer is executive editor of The Parkersburg News and Sentinel. She can be reached via e-mail at [email protected]