"He Might've Stayed a Minute": Coal Miners With Black Lung Slam McConnell

[elleng]

for Brushing Them Off in Healthcare Meeting.

"It was a worthless trip, that's the way I feel," said one of the 120 coal miners who traveled to Washington, D.C. to meet with the Republican leader. . .

The miners said McConnell was "rude" during their meeting and quickly left after delivering a brief statement.

"We rode up here for 10 hours by bus to get some answers from him because he represents our state," George Massey, a miner from Harlan County, Kentucky, told the Lexington Herald-Leader. "For him to come in for just two minutes was a low-down shame.">>>

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/07/24/he-mightve-stayed-minute-coal-miners-black-lung-slam-mcconnell-brushing-them?

[Kurt V.]

1. harlan county's history is quite famous for coal miners. no one learns from the past

[barbtries]

15. the entire movie is on youtube.

it's an excellent documentary.

[Kurt V.]

17. I've seen it. a gunshot caught on film is one of a kind.

[barbtries]

23. people living without running water

in the 20th century. that's stuck with me.

[Kurt V.]

27. my empathy for these ppl overflows. laying down (literally) to go to work.

[barbtries]

32. yeah.

that is a really good movie. i saw it probably 5 years ago for the first time and it stays with me. to this day it is timely.

[blueinredohio]

44. Very interesting documentary. Thanks.

The worst part for me was seeing the miners with black lung,struggling for breath and wasting away to nothing. That's how my father spent the last few years of his life.

[barbtries]

45. I'm so sorry.

it's a terrible way to die.

[TheCowsCameHome]

2. Did they actually think McConnell cares one bit about them?

SMH.

Who would believe that?

[elleng]

4. They obviously did, making this trip.

Time for Dems to step up.

[TheCowsCameHome]

13. He's damn close to Trump on my all-time hate list.

In fact, it may be a tie.

[barbtries]

16. it is for me.

i think he's more evil than sick. he's packing the courts and refuses to pass laws then engages in shit flinging and propaganda about how democrats aren't doing anything...he's corrupt, corrupt as hell. and so powerful.

i don't say what i want to happen to him because i have this theory that it releases bad energy into the atmosphere when you say certain things aloud.

FFS. his proudest moment was when he stole a SCOTUS seat. he doesn't even try to hide it.

[zentrum]

30. He's worse than Trump

...because he doesn't need attention or validation. Does what he does for pure power and greed. Works in the complete dark, behind the scenes, plotting to control the courts to protect corporations for the next 50 years and beyond. Trump is too stupid to be evil at this level.

McConnell eyes seem to pop wide with enjoyment when he realizes some non-rich people will suffer and die.

[Fullduplexxx]

3. Welcome to your place in the republican party rubes.

[elleng]

8. which is exactly the WRONG way for Dems to speak of these people,

time to speak up FOR them, and recruit them.

[Kurt V.]

24. +1

[rpannier]

37. Would be nice if they were recruitable, but I think that's wishful thinking

In the 2004 Presidential Election, Harlan County voted for the Republican Presidential Nominee for the first time in 32 years; Republican incumbent George W. Bush received 60.2% of the vote, while the Democratic Presidential Nominee John Kerry received 39.1% of the vote.
2008: John McCain received 72.3% of the vote, Barack Obama received 26.1% of the vote.
2012: Mitt Romney won the county 81.2 to Obama 17.2
2016 Donald Trump 84.4 Hillary Clinton 12.75

I know prevailing wisdom is not to write-off anywhere. But Harlan is just not winnable
Money is better spent in Elliott County (NE KY) as they voted for Trump (barely), it was the first time in 80+ years they voted for a Republican for president and the county voted straight Democrat the rest of the way.
Harlan went straight Republican

I just don't think Harlan is recruitable

[Fullduplexxx]

38. I dont agree by now if youre still with trump i doubt there's any talking you away from him

And if there is i'll leave it to others. Im going to rub their faces in it

[dawg day]

5. Say it loud and proud, buddy, when you get back home.

It would be great for him to lose some of those eastern KY counties where so many of the families have been hurt by black lung.

[elleng]

10. Yes

[flor-de-jasmim]

6. I hope they share that information around the entire state. The US would be a better place w/o McC

[elleng]

9. yes

[keithbvadu2]

7. McConnell knows he can take them for granted.

McConnell knows he can take them for granted.

[Frustratedlady]

11. Looks like he's amassed enough money that he doesn't care if he's re-elected.

Surely, the miners didn't really expect him to welcome them with open arms?

He seems to be doing everything wrong in an election year if he wants to keep his job.

Maybe his finances are askin' for a look-see. Just thinkin'.

[elleng]

12. Seems they did expect him to treat them with respect,

and pay attention to them.

IMO his and his wife's finances should be examined, but even without that, Dems have plenty of grounds strongly to challenge him.

[barbtries]

14. will they vote for him again?

i bet many will. after all he's the republican.

hope i'm wrong, hope he just turned 120 Kentuckians into democrats, but i won't be holding my breath.

[elleng]

19. It's up to Dems to inform and educate them so they WON'T;

will take WORK.

[kacekwl]

18. McConnell buys his votes or has them

purchased by lobbyists. No need to fret about votes.

[elleng]

20. So your advice is Dems give up?

[kacekwl]

39. I wasn't giving advice to anyone.

Just pointing out how McConnell stays in office with 20% approval. How you reached give up is beyond me.

[elleng]

40. 'No need to fret about votes.'

[JudyM]

42. Evidence exists about this?

[Freethinker65]

21. So I assume they will actively work to unseat McConnell in Kentucky?

[elleng]

22. WE must work with them so they will do that.

Of course, there's always the 'give up' option.

[Freethinker65]

25. Oh, I agree. But Trump will say he is the miners' best friend

And that Democrats want to destroy their jobs and families. And that only he and McConnell will bring safe well paying manly jobs back to Kentucky. And they will vote Republican, and lose their jobs, healthcare, and lives while blaming Democrats.

A few commercials with these miners will not be enough. The Democrats will need to borrow from the Trump playbook with a Miners for Democrat X hats and shirts, etc. That crap seems to work.

[elleng]

28. There are surely Dem strategists who can make a good case,

and it must be done.

[fierywoman]

26. How badly gerrymandered is KY?

[elleng]

29. Allegedly among the top 10.

https://rantt.com/the-top-10-most-gerrymandered-states-in-america/

[fierywoman]

41. Sad.

[kimbutgar]

31. Yet because these kentuckianshave been brainwashed to think the Democratic Party is bad

They'll Re elect Mitch. Yet this would be a great ad against him in 2020. We drove 10 hours and he brushed us off and wouldn’t hear our concerns. It could cause the turtle to be upended on his back unable to right himself.

[riversedge]

33. #DitchMitch

[lame54]

34. They should have gone to see Jon Stewart

[marble falls]

35. My grandfather died of black lung in '71. It is inconceivable to me this is ...

still happening. Absolutely unbelievable.

[KY_EnviroGuy]

36. Sounds like another knee-jerk tax cut for tRump....

to brag about on the campaign trail. Local Kentucky coverage......

Miners went to McConnell hoping for his endorsement. They left with mixed feelings.
By Rick Childress

See: https://www.kentucky.com/news/politics-government/national-politics/article233016257.html

About 12,000 former miners nationwide rely on the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund to cover costs and make ends meet, but a recent report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office showed that the fund is $4.3 billion in debt, and a tax on coal which funded the trust fund was cut in half in January. Many advocates for the fund worry it may soon become insolvent.
----------
Amid the largest surge of cases in decades, the tax coal companies pay to help miners with black lung disease is slated to be cut in half. "If it's cut, it'd be catastrophic," said former coal miner Kenny Fleming.

McTurtle assured the miners it would be taken care of somehow but neither his or Rand Paul's office would say how. We'll see if the miners can hold their feet to the fire. I wouldn't trust McConnell or Paul as far as I could pick them up and throw 'em.

Ditch Mitch........

[Mersky]

43. He is too busy to care about them.

Has to reserve his energy for doing the work that really matters to him and his:

Fulfilling promises to the plutocrat donor class to create new, desperate supplies of human capital willing to work miserably for any wage.

[get the red out]

46. i don't know what can be done

Coal miners have been shit on since before my great-grandfather worked in the mines, they used to at least know that Rs weren't for working people. I think the Republican Party getting ownership of the most common Christian denominations in the state made the situation hopeless for Kentucky in rural areas. Kentucky went for Bill Clinton way back when.