Warner touts value of military experience
By JOSELYN KING
Political Writer
WHEELING - Congressional candidate Mac Warner said he "knows the difference between Sunni and Shiite, Iraq and Iran."
The Republican Warner, 55, describes himself as "a citizen, soldier and small businessman." He is also a West Point graduate who became an international attorney specializing in issues pertaining to Islam and terrorism.
The Morgantown resident is now seeking West Virginia's 1st District congressional seat, which is currently held by Rep. Alan Mollohan, D-W.Va.
"It's time to apply this tremendous talent that has been paid for by the U.S. Army," Warner said in reference to his military education. "It would be selfish for me to not put it to use. I'm properly trained and capable to represent West Virginia's interest in Washington."
A Charleston native, Warner graduated from West Point in 1977 and was commissioned as an artillery officer in the U.S. Army. In 1979, he was one of 25 officers selected to attend law school for the Judge Advocate General's Corps. He would receive his law degree from West Virginia University in 1982.
After a stint as a military defense counsel in Germany, he earned a master's degree in law through the U.S. Army's JAG School in Charlottesville, Va. In 1990, he received a master's degree in international law from the University of Virginia after writing his thesis on trying Saddam Hussein for war crimes.
Warner presently has a son serving in Afghanistan and a daughter who is a student at West Point.
He is the brother of former West Virginia Republican Party Chairman Kris Warner and former gubernatorial candidate Monty Warner.
Warner said current activity in Washington and actions by Mollohan inspired him to run for Congress this year.
"It was watching (Mollohan's) votes and seeing they didn't represent the values of West Virginians," Warner said.
He pointed to Mollohan's vote against cutting funding for the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, or ACORN, and for his hesitance to take a stand regarding "cap and trade" legislation. Mollohan voted "no" on the climate control legislation.
Warner said he finds Mollohan's ACORN vote "particularly irksome."
"It was way out of touch with the average West Virginia voter," he noted. "And he waited until the last minute to vote against cap and trade when there shouldn't have been an argument."
Warner said Mollohan often votes with a Congress that is under the direction of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.
"Nobody I know thinks Nancy Pelosi should be representing West Virginia," Warner said. "And that's what we have 98 percent of the time."
Other Republicans seeking the 1st District seat are Wheeling residents Cindy Hall, Patricia VanGilder Levenson and David McKinley; Sarah Minear of Morgantown; and Thomas Stark of Parkersburg.
Mollohan, meanwhile, faces a Democratic challenge from current state Sen. Mike Oliverio, D-Monongalia.
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EllisWyatt
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02-07-10 4:57 PM
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To Continue, Private Sector firms don't put "Byrd" or "Mollohan" on their buildings. Private enterprise does not put a giant bust of KKK Byrd in their lobby. Private firms do not engage in direct quid pro quo with pork barrel politicians. Byrd brain does not like the private sector because he A) Could never have survived long-term employment in the private sector, B) Is jealous and C) cannot put his name on a private sector building. All of these buildings and all of this pork and WV is still a poverty state? Don't you think it's time to ask for a different result? Nothing would make me more happy than for Byrd Brain to get voted out while he was still with it enough to understand. West Virginia voters display their ignorance by continuously voting for (D) candidates like Alan The Felon and the KKK recruiter himself.
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EllisWyatt
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02-07-10 4:52 PM
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boxerboy See, you have fallen into the trap. That is the point at which a person sees a politician as a "leader" and a "philanthropist" instead of a "steward" and a "public servant". John Murth, Mollohan and Byrd have not donated ONE DIME OF THEIR MONEY FOR THE BETTERMENT OF THEIR CONSTITUENTS! NOT ONE! Therefore, any money coming from these crooks is YOUR money. They take $100 from you, give you back $8 in wasteful "Byrd Buildings" and you praise them for it? The real question is this: are Johnstown, Wheeling or West Virginia better off, economically, since these hooligans took office? The fact it, Johnstown is a slumhole, Wheeling is on a steady decline and West Virginia is just as poor as it was the day Byrd took office in 1851. If someone has been in a position for 50 years, and done NOTHING to bring jobs or private sector economic development to an area, don't you think it's time to look elsewhere? Private sector firms
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ChipCarte
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02-07-10 10:59 AM
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New slogan for Americans It's got to be for the people OR GET THE H E L L OUT
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boxerboy
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02-07-10 9:54 AM
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I disagree with a previous poster who claims that Alan Mollohan gets re-elected because of 'pork.' Alan Mollohan gets re-elected because he is an effective, intelligent and caring politician. The 'pork' sobriquet might better be applied to Robert C. Byrd, but you knew that. Murtha, on the other hand, represents Johnstown, a disintegrating city that has always struggled to raise it's head above poverty. To this area Murtha has been a God-send and inasmuch as he has helped Cambria and Blair counties I say more power to him.
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JMorgan
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02-07-10 8:47 AM
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WHEELING - Congressional candidate Mac Warner said he "knows the difference between Sunni and Shiite, Iraq and Iran." Huh... is Warner running against John McCain?
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JMorgan
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02-07-10 8:38 AM
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Well lets see... Mollohan voted against the invasion of Iraq. (i.e., the USA would have been a trillion less in debt, and several thousand of our military men and women would be alive today) Seems like an intelligent man. 'Nuff said!
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WVirginiaProud
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02-07-10 5:35 AM
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Why would a west virginian vote for a republican? Cutting taxes for the rich is not going to help any of us.
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Orlando
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02-06-10 2:27 PM
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I don't agree in total with Ellis but I do think he is right about Mollohan. It also applies to Rocky and Birdie! How can they keep getting reelected when they don't represent the causes of West Virginia? All three of them need to be replaced, don't care what party just get them out of there!
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EllisWyatt
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02-06-10 12:27 PM
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Actually, Rover, Tim Murphy (R) is my Congressman. I am not in Murtha's district. I donated money to his opponent the last 3 cycles. Murth gets reelected for the same reasons Mollohan gets reelected. Pork. He steals your tax dollars, gives it to his friends, collects donations. Repeat. Repeat. I really thought that Diana Irey could have beaten Murtha in 2006. He was vulnerable. Unfortunately, she had the same people who ran McCain's campaign giving her advice, ie. how to throw an election. Murtha is a piece of garbage who ought to be rotting in prison. He is a traitor, a thieft and a horrible person. I haven't lost any sleep over his recent health problems.
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JamesT
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02-06-10 11:45 AM
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Oh well, there goes the Democrat vote!
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boxerboy
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02-06-10 10:38 AM
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It is true that people tend to do what they were taught. Who then writes the textbooks? Who selects what is appropriate for children to be taught? The wealthy ruling class maintains control over dissent by promoting the idea that if you work hard you will get what you deserve: emphysema, silicosis, broken bones and a $10,000 funeral. Thank you for 50-years of your life, NEXT?
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nosmart
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02-06-10 7:03 AM
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my military experience was a little different. that why i like the civilian thing .. just thinking for myself.
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rover1958
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02-06-10 6:06 AM
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Ellis rants West Virginians are low IQ sheep and will vote for Mollohan. However, he lives in Pennsylvania which has Murtha, famed as the biggest crook in Congress. Do you also rave in the Pittsburgh papers about that Ellis?
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walksabout
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02-06-10 3:14 AM
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olive drab blood type is not a guaranteed positive for the control over other people.
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walksabout
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02-06-10 3:11 AM
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well yes. Military service experience is benificial in nearly any problem you meet and any decision you must make . Hut two three four,a yellow bird with a yellow bill landed on the window sill. I coaxed him with... Enough. You' re talking bout a lawyer who wants to be a politician. Duh. That is a first. ought to be some kind of gentlemanly agreement, one political office per family.
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EllisWyatt
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02-06-10 12:45 AM
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A million people running against Mollohan and it won't matter. Jesus H. Christ (R) vs. Alan B. Mollohan (D) will always result in a win for Mollohan. Most West Virginia voters are at the lower end of the IQ scale. If they were not, the state would not be so poor. There is no other explanation. It follows, then, that people tend to do what they were taught, which was vote Democrat, and do what is easiest, which is punch the straight party ticket. Most people will not take the time to examine the issues. It wouldn't matter to them if Mollohan stole their big screen TV and their Rent A Center couch, as long as he didn't touch their Natural Light and USA Gold smokes. Sheep.
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