What did we actually get?
The 2024 legislative session is history and it appeared to be largely an act of Schadenfreude — that malicious pleasure some people feel when they see another suffering — rather than an organized government body working to move our state forward.
We are all familiar with Schadenfreude: Most of us have been the brunt of a “joke” generalizing characteristics of West Virginians as hillbillies. Or, think of Mountaineer basketball fans relentlessly chanting jeers of “airball” and “left-right-left-right” as a player fouls out. Public humiliation is the point.
Looking at it in those terms, it is easy to recognize how a group of people can get lured into participation. However, if this hate-speech mentality is applied to rile up one group against another, then the result too often is a loss of empathy and an indulgence in malicious pleasure at another’s expense.
But think: What if you’re in the recipient’s shoes? Many vulnerable West Virginians are.
According to a 2024 poll conducted by Mountain State Spotlight, the top five concerns West Virginians have are:
- economic issues
- health care
- environmental concerns
- children’s well-being,
- social issues, including gun reform, women’s rights, LGBTQ+ rights and immigration.
This Legislature was filled with politicians elected on promises of better roads for economic development, improvements to our educational systems, protections for children and families and solutions for the opioid crisis, childcare deserts and the foster care crisis.
What did legislators spend time on? Not those things. Instead, we heard fear mongering and hate speech with precious little empathy for our fellow citizens. All this worked to remove focus from priorities. Perspective to process solutions rationally was lost.
One thing has become clear in West Virginia (and America): We cannot evaluate candidates solely by campaign promises or vote solely by party affiliation as our grandparents and parents may have done. Nor can we trust that elected representatives will operate in the best interests of their constituents. In the West Virginia Legislature, most bad policy is enacted with bipartisan approval.
West Virginia continues to fall in standings nationally on all the issues that citizens rated as their highest concerns.
With elections coming up, you need to know if candidates’ priorities are in line with your own. We urge all voters to investigate their legislators’ voting habits on important bills. The League of Women Voters of West Virginia worked tirelessly during the legislative session to follow bills related to protecting voting rights, human rights, children and families and the environment. You can follow LWV-WV on Facebook.
Some other sources to follow the actions of your representatives are ballotpedia.org, politifact.com and wvlegislature.gov.
What else can voters do? Actively question your candidates. Ask them: How will you implement your campaign promises? What specific legislation or policies will you write and introduce next session to achieve your priorities?
This pertains to all candidates, whether they serve in Charleston, in Washington, on your local school board, county commission or city council. Listen carefully to their responses. Do they answer the question or do they just spin your question into a canned talking point? Do they turn your question into an attack on their opponent to avoid answering?
Persistent low voter participation in West Virginia leaves us vulnerable to the actions of a few imposing their will upon the masses. It is time that we take back civility in politics. It is time to elect government officials who run to represent their constituents, who can exercise the diplomacy required — and expected — of their positions and will act in a manner appropriate to the sacred trust granted to public servants.
Please join us April 24 from 6:30-8:30 p.m. for a Monongalia County School Board candidate forum and a voter education speaker from the Monongalia Public Defender’s Office on the role of public magistrates and their duties. The forum will be held at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, 5000 Green Bag Road (Mountaineer Mall). We welcome all to attend.
