Considerable clouds this morning. Some decrease in clouds later in the day. High near 80F. Winds SSE at 10 to 20 mph. Winds could occasionally gust over 40 mph..
Tonight
Some clouds and possibly an isolated thunderstorm late. Low 66F. Winds S at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 40%.
Gov. Patrick Morrisey’s frustration with this session of the West Virginia Legislature boiled over this week in a post on X. The still-new governor suggested that, if lawmakers do not get busy with his agenda, they will be called back into session over the summer.
Here is what he said on X:
The more work the Legislature gets done now, the less time it will spend in ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä during the long, hot summer.
We are not going to accept West Virginia’s decline any longer.
There’s no excuse for inaction. There’s no excuse for failing to move the needle on issues that…
— Governor Patrick Morrisey (@wvgovernor)
Morrisey’s disparagement of lawmakers landed like a lead balloon. Some lawmakers quietly grumbled, while a few expressed their displeasure with Morrisey openly.
House Speaker Roger Hanshaw, R-Clay, left the podium and took to the House floor to respond to Morrisey.
“To those who are, hopefully, listening outside our chamber today, I want you, on behalf of this body, to know we are doing something,†he said.
Delegate Scott Heckert, R-Wood, posted back at the governor: “Maybe you should start working with Delegates and the Senators more!!!â€
Delegate Kayla Young, D-Kanawha, posted: “Reminder we’re IN session still & special sessions costs taxpayers $35k per day. Why not just run those bills now, Gov? Guess he’d rather threaten us.â€
Several lawmakers, including Sen. Rupie Phillips, R-Logan, have taken to derisively calling Morrisey, “the gentleman from New Jersey,†which is where Morrisey grew up. Phillips did that on the floor after he said Morrisey would not meet with a group on the issue of utility costs.
Morrisey’s press secretary, Alex Lanfranconi, fired back on X by attempting to link Phillips, who used to be a Democrat, to the Obama administration and said, “If anyone is out of place in the conservative state of West Virginia, it sure as hell isn’t the Governor.â€
Lanfranconi’s response ignores the fact that Phillips is one of the most conservative members of the Legislature, as well as an affable individual who is well-liked among his colleagues.
As governor, Morrisey has a lot of power, but the Legislature is a co-equal branch of government, and it is protective of that designation. It also is sensitive to criticism, especially when it comes from the bully pulpit of the governor who belongs to the same party as the majority of lawmakers.
It took former Gov. Jim Justice several years to figure that out. He initially thought he could bully and embarrass lawmakers. His stunt of unveiling a pile of bull manure to indicate his displeasure with the Legislature’s proposed budget in 2017 pushed relations to an all-time low.
Maybe Morrisey is trying to follow President Donald Trump’s example, but Trump has an iron grip on Republican politicians. His word is like a hammer that bends the will of his party. Morrisey does not have that level of devotion, and it is a political miscalculation to try to publicly shame or threaten his fellow Republicans to get what he wants.
Hoppy Kercheval is the retired host of “Talkline,†on MetroNews.
