In this election season 2008, the coal mining industry has given almost twice as much to Hillary Clinton’s campaign as it has to Barack Obama’s. Those contributions came almost all in the form of individual contributions. Most of that money came, as it does every election season, from two states: Kentucky and West Virginia.
In those states, coal giants such as Arch and Massey Energy have been able to bust unions, pollute streams and relocate entire neighborhoods. They conduct massive public relations campaigns to fill the impoverished people dependent on the coal industry with fear that they'll lose their jobs. They have also controlled elections, and will try to do so again. So it’s important, heading toward the November election, to correctly diagnose the problem in those states.
Full articleThis is a very good article and well worth the read.
