For being such a big man (in every way, shape, form and fashion), West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice sure is small.
Justice, who stands 6-foot-7, seems to operate on the premise that he’s above reproach. It seems to be his business model and his political stance. What that means is:
1. He’s never wrong. Just ask him.
2. If something is wrong, it isn’t his fault. Just ask him.
3. If you disagree with him, you’re wrong.
4. If you publicly disagree with him, you’re going to pay.
Over the last five-plus years, our state has continued to have its share of troubles. Some of them – such as the pandemic – have been unavoidable. Others have been self-inflicted.
But either way, don’t you dare question our governor’s handling of any of these situations.
No one knows that better than Phil Kabler.
Kabler is a recently retired writer and columnist for the Charleston Gazette-Mail. He covered the statehouse for years, and he has a history of ruffling feathers. That’s what a good columnist is supposed to do.
Saying Kabler isn’t a fan of Justice is an understatement. In addition to the Gazette-Mail being a liberal-leaning newspaper in a heavily conservative state, Kabler has been critical of Justice since he took office.
Justice, for his part, has been a vocal critic of Kabler and his writing almost as long.
During his March 7 COVID press briefing, Justice spent most of the hour railing on Kabler’s column from the previous day in which he compared California’s COVID response to that of West Virginia.
Kabler said Justice and the Legislature’s failure to impose mask and vaccine mandates led to more COVID deaths in West Virginia.
“He thought things were so marvelously good there that I wish to God above that someway, somehow he would have gone to California a long time ago, he was on a train when that was happening and it would have been wonderful in my book if the train would have been hijacked and he would have been kept in California forever,” Justice said of Kabler.
Kabler called the governor’s vaccination stance “wishy-washy,” referring to how Justice has told West Virginians to “get vaccinated – unless you don’t want to.”
Justice says he “surely did” promote the vaccine and use of masks and that Kabler’s reporting has caused “damage to the state.”
“Do I think you should be vaccinated?” Justice asked. “Sure. Do I think my feelings should be imposed on everyone and with mandates? No way. …
“Throughout a lot of time, there’s lots of people out there that would argue all day long that Phil Kabler’s damage to West Virginia has been pretty dadgum significant.”
Justice didn’t mention any inaccuracies in Kabler’s writings, and he also went on to say it’s “way, way, way premature” to get into the specifics of the possible lawsuit. Justice also mentioned Kabler’s “lack of religion.”
“We’ll deal with it in court,” Justice said. “Now we’ll see what the game is, big boy.”
We can think of many adjectives to describe how Justice has handled criticism during his time in office, not just from Kabler. But the best one might be petulant.
He can’t stand for anyone to criticize him. He seems to think he is a monarch or, at times, a dictator. He gets short with critics, and then he goes on the attack.
He apparently made sure Kabler’s state Capitol electronic access card was deactivated this week. Kabler still was working out of the Capitol Press Room, but that apparently has been squashed.
It’s his modus operandi. Ignore the media, and maybe it will go away. Ignore the problems in the state, and maybe they’ll go away. Ignore the court ruling that instructed the governor to live in Charleston, and maybe that’ll just go away, too.
He has no regard for the First Amendment, and he has no respect for most journalists.
It doesn’t matter if you’re Republican or Democrat, conservative or liberal. It doesn’t matter if you think Justice did a great job leading the state through the pandemic or a horrible job. It doesn’t matter if you agree with Kabler or vehemently disagree with him about everything he writes.
The bottom line is that Jim Justice uses his position as a bully pulpit, with the emphasis on bully.
Being a reporter isn’t just about lobbing softball questions for our leaders to knock out of the ballpark. Sometimes, you have to ask the tough questions. Columnists sometimes don’t agree with how a situation is handled. That’s the way it is.
What this comes down to is freedom of the press. And in this day when there are fewer and fewer true journalists able to make a living, it’s even more important for them to be protected from petty attacks.
The Legislature was considering banning widows and children from filing wrongful death lawsuits when a loved one was killed in a coal mine or timber accident. Maybe they should consider a similar bill that would bar a politician from filing a lawsuit if his feelings get hurt.