By VIC SPROUSE
CHARLESTON -- I have been getting a kick out of the Democrats newfound outrage over Ron Thompson not showing up to Legislative sessions.
Speaker Rick Thompson has vowed to kick no-show Ron (no relation) Thompson out of the House.
The union group with big pockets, the Affliated Construction Trades Foundation (ACT) has vowed to file a lawsuit to remove Thompson.
Of course, after Ron went AWOL after last Legislative session nary a word was spoken about him. Why?
Well, the Democrats certainly didn't want to lose that seat in November, so the "outrage" was put on hold.
But, what does this say about at least a few thousand of the voters down in Raleigh County.
Here's Thompson, he spends no money, he doesn't campaign, he doesn't show up to any events, the newspaper reports that he's AWOL and never seen, and he STILL wins by a wide margin. Unbelievable.
The point is, Joe C. Ferrell took the entire year off last year and there wasn't a whisper. Ron took off the entire campaign season, yet you still had Nick Casey and Joe Manchin down there stumping for him.
And, lo and behold, now all of a sudden -- once the Democrats kept the seat, of course -- everyone is outraged.
I always liked Ron and thought he was good guy. We didn't always agree, but I thought he was a good Delegate.
That being said, Thompson should be tossed. But, he should have been tossed by the voters, not the unions or the House leadership.
Of course, the unions and the House leaders see an opportunity to get a good, strong trial lawyer or union official appointed.
Who will it be? If Randolph McGraw wants it, he would fit right in with the current House leadership.
In fact, Randolph was the unquestioned leader of the dissidents when he was in the House. Had he maintained his seat, he most likely would be Speaker today instead of Thompson. While he probably won't get it, it would be fun to watch if he did.
His appointment would be one final slap in the face to Kiss' leadership team.