Bernie Sanders Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Sanders: Support Coal Country While Combating Climate Change

Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders has told voters in coal-producing Kentucky that it’s possible to be a friend of coal miners and a believer in climate change and the need for cleaner energy sources to combat it.

In blunt terms rarely heard in Kentucky’s political circles, the Vermont senator said Sunday on a stop in Kentucky that bold action is needed to confront the dangers from climate change. That course of action should include turning away from fossil fuels to curb greenhouse gas emissions blamed for global warming, he said.

“Climate change is real,” Sanders told a crowd of supporters during a speech on Sunday in Louisville. “Climate change is caused by human activity. And climate change is causing devastating harm in our country and throughout the world.”

Sanders said he recognizes that many Kentuckians have long relied on coal mining to support their families.

“So let me be as clear as I can be, coal miners … are not my enemy,” the senator said. “Workers in the fossil fuel industry are not my enemy. Climate change is our enemy.”

Sanders vowed to help communities tied to coal and other fossil fuel industries in the transition toward clean energy production.

The development of wind, solar and other sustainable energy sources will create jobs, as will modernizing the nation’s electricity grid, he said. He pledged support for expansion of high-speed broadband service in rural regions.

“Here is my promise as we transition away from fossil fuel: we will not abandon communities that have relied on fossil fuel jobs,” he said. “We will rebuild those communities.”

Republicans made dramatic inroads in Appalachian “coal country” by tying the coal industry’s declines to increased regulations introduced during former Democratic President Barack Obama’s tenure.

Republican Donald Trump’s enthusiasm for coal helped make that region one of his most fervent bases of support as Trump racked up big wins in West Virginia, Kentucky and other states in 2016 en route to winning the presidency.

Republican National Committee spokesman Kevin Knoth said Sunday that Sanders’ platform would devastate Kentucky in part by eliminating the coal industry.

Sanders warned that failure to combat climate change will result in more extreme weather and more suffering.

“Future generations deserve a planet that is healthy and is habitable, and we have the moral responsibility to make sure that they have that kind of planet,” Sanders said.

Sanders to Visit Coal States On Heels Of Climate Plan Release

Vermont Senator and Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders will visit Kentucky and West Virginia just days after releasing his plan to address climate change.

Sanders is scheduled to speak in Louisville, Kentucky, Sunday. He planned to visit Morgantown, West Virginia, Monday, but plans to visit the Mountain State have since been canceled.

His detailed climate plan released Thursday calls climate change “the single greatest challenge facing our country.”

Like many of the 2020 Democratic presidential candidates, Sanders supports a “Green New Deal” to move the country from fossil fuels to renewable energy by 2030.

Sanders’ climate plan also prioritizes help for those who worked in fossil fuel industries, such as coal miners who would be displaced by that transition.

“Fossil fuel workers have powered the country for more than a century, working in dangerous and precarious jobs to provide for their families,” the plan states. “When we are in the White House, compensation and assistance for displaced workers will come first; the balance sheets of fossil fuel corporations and billionaire investors will come last.”

The plan calls for $16.3 trillion in direct public investment and claims 20 million jobs would be created while solving the climate crisis.

More than $1 trillion would be used to assist displaced miners and other workers. Sanders’ plan would provide up to five years of unemployment insurance for displaced workers and guarantee new jobs would pay comparable wages. Displaced miners would be eligible for housing assistance, job training and health care.

Chris Woolery is with the eastern Kentucky nonprofit the Mountain Association for Community Economic Development, or MACED. He said Sanders’ proposal is comprehensive and speaks to the challenges communities in eastern Kentucky are facing.

“We are in the middle of a transition, whether we want it or not,” he said. “I think the most important thing is how do we manage that? And how do we care for the people that are most affected?”

Carl Shoupe, a retired Kentucky coal miner and energy transition activist, said Sanders’ emphasis on ensuring a “just transition” for those who worked in fossil fuel industries has also opened the door for other Democratic presidential hopefuls to do the same.

“By Bernie’s tremendous efforts in these issues, you know, he’s got a lot of people talking about this now,” he said. “We’re just excited that people are talking about this just transition.”

Sanders’ plan faces opposition from both the mining industry and labor. The head of the United Mine Workers of America calls its goals “almost impossible.”

Sanders is not the first candidate to outline ways to address the needs of coal-impacted communities as the country shifts away from fossil fuels.

Former Vice President Joe Biden, New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, and former hedge fund manager and activist Tom Steyer have put forward in-depth policy suggestions to address coal miners displaced by the transition away from fossil fuels. Other candidates, including Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke, include suggestions in their climate proposals that would support displaced workers and coal-impacted communities.

Interview: Sen. Sanders on GOP Health Care Reform

U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders held two health care rallies yesterday in Covington, Kentucky and Morgantown, West Virginia, telling attendees to put pressure on their state representatives to vote against the GOP health care plans. Kara Lofton spoke with Sanders about his visits and what he thinks the proposed legislation would mean for Appalachia.

Appalachia Health News is a project of West Virginia Public Broadcasting, with support from the Benedum Foundation, Charleston Area Medical Center and WVU Medicine.

Sanders Urges Capito to Oppose GOP Health Plan

Sen. Bernie Sanders has ventured into a stronghold for President Donald Trump to urge West Virginia’s Republican senator to resist efforts to repeal much of Barack Obama’s health care law.

Speaking to hundreds of supporters Sunday in Morgantown, Sanders said if GOP Sen. Shelley Moore Capito’s opposes her party’s health care bill, it would “make all of the difference” in derailing the legislation. He urged the West Virginian to resist any deals from Senate Republican leaders, saying no tweaking would “undo the massive damage” the bill would cause.

The existing bill would fail if just three of the 52 Republicans vote no, since all Democrats oppose it. Capito was among at least a dozen Republican senators who recently publicly opposed or expressed qualms about it, forcing a postponement of a vote.

Sanders Urges Capito to Vote Against Senate Health Care Bill

U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders attended a rally Sunday in Charleston billed as an effort to “protect our health care.” Supporters demanded that Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., vote against the latest U.S. Senate health care bill.

“If either version passes the effects will have a crippling impact on communities all throughout our great state,” said Joshua Sword of the West Virginia American Federation of Labor. Sword, one of Sunday’s speakers, was referring to versions of the health care overhaul that have recently been passed by the House and Senate.

“Hospitals, drug treatment facilities and countless other specialized care providers will have to close their doors due to the loss of federal funding to the system,” he said.

Supporters listen to Bernie Sanders speak at Sunday’s rally.

Attendees were led through several chants pointed at Republican Senator Capito, including “lives are on the line.” Up until this point, she has said that she has “concerns” with the way the legislation is written, but hasn’t announced how she plans to vote.

Speakers covered aspects of health care that would be impacted by the proposed legislation, such as Medicaid expansion, substance abuse treatment and the ability of insurance companies to deny coverage to those with pre-existing conditions.

Sanders came on stage about an hour into the program to a wildly enthusiastic audience.

Bernie Sanders speaking at the Charleston Municipal Theater Sunday.

“The legislation that is coming before the Senate in a few days, the so called health care bill, will be the most devastating attack on the working class of this country in the modern history of the United States of America,” he said.

The Senate could vote on the proposed legislation as early as this week, before the July 4th recess. Critics say such a vote is too hasty, while supporters hope to push the bill through.

The rally was co-sponsored by 13 activist groups, including Planned Parenthood South Atlantic, West Virginia Healthy Kids and Families Coalition and West Virginians for Affordable Health Care. About 2,000 people attended.

Appalachia Health News is a project of West Virginia Public Broadcasting, with support from the Benedum Foundation, Charleston Area Medical Center and WVU Medicine.

McDowell as a Microcosm: Bernie Sanders Goes 'All In' with Chris Hayes

Despite hailing from Vermont, former Democratic presidential candidate Senator Bernie Sanders attempted to shine a light on poverty in middle America this weekend with a stop in West Virginia. Sanders held a town hall in McDowell County for an MSNBC taping of “All In with Chris Hayes.”

For about two hours, Sanders, Hayes, panelists and a crowd of about 350 discussed issues affecting the area, which Sanders says is a microcosm of rural America.

The event was originally scheduled for February at the National Guard Armory in McDowell County but was abruptly canceled. Representatives of the state said the U.S. Department of Defense prohibits the use of military buildings for political or campaign purposes.

When host Chris Hayes opened the show, he asked the crowd if McDowell County was “Trump Country.” The crowd reacted with a disapproving and collective “no.” Others in the crowd murmured words like “unfortunately.”

In reality, Trump took 74 percent of the vote in McDowell County in the November election and handedly won West Virginia as a whole. But Sanders’ sustained popularity in the area is a result of his 2016 campaign stop at a local food bank and his consistent efforts on the trail to bring light to the issues facing many in the community: poverty, few jobs and a lack of access to education.

Sanders took more than 55 percent of McDowell County’s vote in West Virginia’s May 2016 primary — beating out the inevitable Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton in all of the state’s 55 counties.

This moment was during a #allinwithBernie commercial break. @chrislhayes: "I promise you, no one that sees this on TV will think that."

— Dave Mistich (@davemistich) March 12, 2017

Hayes, Sanders and a group of more than a dozen panelists discussed a wide range of issues Sunday, touching on everything from a sluggish coal economy to health care, education and infrastructure. Issues they say aren’t exclusive to McDowell County, but are relevant in rural communities across the country.

While MSNBC did not allow other media to record audio or video, Sanders told reporters after the event the most powerful moment for him was when Hayes asked the crowd if anyone had been personally affected by the opioid crisis. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, McDowell County has the highest rate of drug-induced deaths in the country at 141 per 100,000.

“When I saw so many hands went up for people who had lost loved ones as a result of the opiate crisis, that is just chilling. That is just incredible,” said Sanders.

“This is an epidemic and — by the way, again — not just in West Virginia. It exists in Vermont. And we have got to get a handle on it in a number of ways. We need more treatment. But, also, we need to give the young people opportunities so that drugs are not what they are seeking out,” he added.

100 Days of Appalachia is published by West Virginia University Reed College of Media Innovation Center in collaboration with West Virginia Public Broadcasting and The Daily Yonder. For more on the project, follow along on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram.

Delegate Ed Evans of McDowell County was a member of the panel. Despite being a Democrat, Evans says he voted for Trump because of his promise to revive the coal industry. During the taping, Evans said he doesn’t believe Trump will focus on the opioid crisis and help bring an addiction treatment center to the area that’s been so stricken by the problem. Evans said that, because of coal’s rich past, government should be looking to help his county – one he said that’s given America so much in the past.

“McDowell County doesn’t need to be left behind — we need to be included. We need we need drug rehab. We need it so badly. We need jobs. We need infrastructure. We need drinking water that’s clean. We need housing. There are so many things,” said Evans.

“West Virginia was built on the backs of McDowell County coal miners. Now, whether people believe that or not — it’s true. This was the billion dollar coal fields. The coal that came out of here that made the steel across America, the tanks for the war.”

Following the taping, Hayes also spoke to reporters, saying that his hope for the town hall was to shine a light on issues affecting McDowell County, but also to show that the same problems exist elsewhere.

McDowell County, West Virginia has the highest rate of drug-induced deaths in the country at 141 per 100,000.

“In the city of New York, in the borough of Staten Island, you’ll see the opioid crisis is intense and severe and acute and it’s got people spinning their heads around in the same way it does here, right? So, things that are happening here whether it’s people’s economic struggles or whether it’s people’s health care struggles. Those are applicable,” said Hayes.

“And I think, part of the idea is — in America right now — in the political conversation we have with each other a lot, we tend to reduce places to stereotypes and some part of what we’re trying to do is get past that.”

Sunday’s event was taped for an hour-long special episode of MSNBC’s “All In with Chris Hayes.” The program aired Monday, March 13, 2017 at 8 p.m. You can watch through the links below.