My grandfather Wiley Davis often used to compare some politicians to beech nuts.
When one would appear on television expressing opinions or making promises that were contradictory, Wiley, a lifelong coal miner, would say the politician was “talking out of both sides of his mouth.” If the politician was especially egregious and pandering, Wiley would take it a step further.
“Beech nuts have three faces,” Wiley often would say, “and he’s talking out of all three of his mouths.” Sometimes, when Wiley knew his audience – even his preteen grandson – understood the reference, he’d just say the politician “has more faces than a beech nut.”
Dickerson
| File photo
Being from southern West Virginia, Wiley also knew unripe beech nuts are toxic. And I’m sure his commentary on certain politicians was meant to imply that as well.
I have been reminded of Wiley’s beech nut analogy this week as West Virginia welcomed new leadership in Gov. Patrick Morrisey.
During his January 13 speech, Morrisey leaned heavily on President Ronald Reagan’s labeling of America as “a shining city on a hill” as he called West Virginia “that shining state in the mountains” while he talked about his plans for education, health reform and the economy.
Like many state leaders before him, Morrisey also talked about negative stereotypes and low expectations that have plagued West Virginia for generations.
“The D.C. elites, the news media, Hollywood, they all look down on us,” Morrisey said during Monday’s speech. “They don’t think we can overcome our challenges. They don’t think we can succeed. They don’t want us to succeed. They stand in our way.
“I have a message for them. We’re going to prove you wrong. We all know that our best days are ahead of us. No longer will we be content to watch other states pass us by. We’re going to lead.”
With good reason, that “us against them” angle always gets fiercely independent West Virginians fired up.
Obviously, we all want a better West Virginia. And we all know the state has a long and arduous uphill battle on many fronts, most notably in terms of economy, education and health issues. We hope Morrisey is wildly successful in helping the state climb those mountains. His idea for a state version of the Department of Government Efficiency, like the federal one spearheaded by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, is desperately needed here as well.
Also, Morrisey clearly realizes the state’s economy is not nearly as robust as former Gov. Jim Justice wanted us to believe for eight years. His administration purposely set revenue expectations exceeding low to make it appear we had these gigantic budget surpluses.
As I’ve said before, look around. Does it look like we live in a state bursting at the seams with money?
But let’s get back to that “us against them” mentality.
“I’m committed to serving every single one of you,” Morrisey said during Monday’s speech. “No matter where you’re from, what you believe, what challenges you face or whether or not you voted for me. …
“To every West Virginian out there today, I see you, I hear you, and I’m in this fight with you.”
The new governor said “every West Virginian will have an important role to play in building this amazing and prosperous state.”
“As a team, West Virginia will win,” Morrisey later said. “We will leave no West Virginian behind. … Every West Virginian will play a role in shaping the next chapter. The so let’s be bold, let’s be courageous, and let’s move forward together.”
He even mentioned “looking after our most vulnerable kids” when discussing the state’s broken foster care system.
Sounds pretty inclusive, right? Unless a vulnerable kid is confused about his or her sexuality or gender, apparently.
“We will eliminate the woke virus from the schools,” Morrisey proclaimed, garnering a loud cheer from the inaugural crowd. “And that means starting now, there will be no more DEI, no more radical agendas, no more brainwashing, no more confusion about the differences between boys and girls.
“Under my administration, West Virginia schools will be for learning, not social experiments.”
Woke virus in schools? I’m not an expert on school policy, but if there is a woke school agenda in, let’s say, Webster County, I would be at a complete loss for words. And one look at almost every city and county government across the state (including state government) would show that West Virginia leaders only think of Dale Earnhardt Inc. when they hear the term DEI.
Morrisey reiterated some of these divisive points the next day when he announced some executive orders. One would terminate any policies promoting diversity, equity and inclusion. Yes, there’s that ol’ DEI again.
“We’re expressly sending a letter to all of our cabinet officials and agency heads and indicating there should be a review of any potential DEI that may exist within state government,” Morrisey said during a January 14 press conference. “We want to have a review of recruiting, of retention, of programs, of policies or any issue which might express an inappropriate preference for race, for sex, for national origin, some of these classes that have been used and manipulated in the past.”
On his second day in office, Morrisey also said his administration will push for strict definitions of man and woman via legislation.
“Men are men, and women are women,” Morrisey said. “And we plan to work with the Legislature to introduce legislation classifying that under law.
“I think that’s common sense and long overdue.”
Here’s something else to consider. Have state lawmakers passed any legislation that promotes the woke agenda? Even before Republicans took control of state government, West Virginia always has been a fairly conservative state. That’s a big part of the reason why West Virginians always have been known to help each other and their fellow man regardless of any differences.
When you get down to brass tacks, it doesn’t matter where you stand on these social issues. The truth is they are not substantial problems in West Virginia. Certainly not issues that should take up any time during the governor’s 25-minute inaugural speech.
The fact that the issue of transgender athletes was the central focus of last year’s Republican gubernatorial primary and, to a lesser extent, the gubernatorial general election still is insane. Is that really what needs to be the focus of our leaders? Again, let’s remember our dismal economy, educational shortfalls, the foster care crisis and our health and health care issues.
Focus on what really matters.
“Today, I’m calling on all of us to put aside our differences and unite for the greater good,” Morrisey said near the end of his inaugural speech. “Every person here or every person watching has a role to play in building the future that we and our entire state deserves. Together, we’re going to make West Virginia a beacon of opportunity, of hope and prosperity for all.”
For all, including beech nuts, the tiny West Virginians who eat Beech-Nut baby food and those older ones who still chew Beech-Nut tobacco.
Yeah, that has a nice ring to it.
Dickerson is editor of The West Virginia Record.