Raese, the millionaire heir to a powerful company in the state, repeatedly cited his business acumen, promising to "bring the spirit of capitalism to the United States Senate."
"My forte is creating jobs," he said.
Manchin emphasized his opposition to parts of the president's health care overhaul and said he would be "independent" from his party in Congress. Asked by one of the debate moderators to name a policy advanced by Democrats he agreed with, Manchin named Social Security, Medicare and the minimum wage--avoiding any of the major bills Obama and the Democrats have passed over the last two years.
Nonetheless, businessman John Raese, who has surged in the polls by linking Manchin to Obama, assured the audience that the president and governor "are together" on most key issues.
"I hate to inform my opponent, but Mr. Obama's name will not be on the ballot," Manchin said after Raese had linked him once again to the president.
"The bottom line is President Obama or President Bush, I'm an American, I want my president to succeed," Manchin said.
What perhaps makes the "hicky" insult stick is that Raese seems to many to be only a part-time West Virginian. Raese and his wife, Liz, own a mansion in Palm Beach, Fla. Mrs. Raese and their two daughters spend most of their tim in Florida. At least one of their daughters attends a private school in Palm Beach.
The Raeses take a $50,000 tax credit on their Palm Beach house that is available only to Fla. permanent residents. It appears they get away with this by having Mrs. Raese registered as a Fla. resident, while Mr. Raese is registered as W.V. resident.
It is unclear whether Raese pays West Virginia state income tax. The Raeses have thus far refused to make their tax and residency records public.
Raese claims Manchin would be a "rubber stamp" for the administration. Manchin said it is his duty as the state's governor to work with the president.
The Obama administration's pursuit of a cap-and-trade policy for greenhouse gases has not gone over well in coal country.
Raese claims Manchin would be a "rubber stamp" for the administration. Manchin said it is his duty as the state's governor to work with the president.
The Obama administration's pursuit of a cap-and-trade policy for greenhouse gases has not gone over well in coal country.
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| Candidates and political leaders on Principles & Values: | |||
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Retired Senate as of Jan. 2015: GA:Chambliss(R) IA:Harkin(D) MI:Levin(D) MT:Baucus(D) NE:Johanns(R) OK:Coburn(R) SD:Johnson(D) WV:Rockefeller(D) Resigned from 113th House: AL-1:Jo Bonner(R) FL-19:Trey Radel(R) LA-5:Rod Alexander(R) MA-5:Ed Markey(D) MO-9:Jo Ann Emerson(R) NC-12:Melvin Watt(D) SC-1:Tim Scott(R) |
Retired House to run for Senate or Governor:
AR-4:Tom Cotton(R) GA-1:Jack Kingston(R) GA-10:Paul Broun(R) GA-11:Phil Gingrey(R) HI-1:Colleen Hanabusa(D) IA-1:Bruce Braley(D) LA-6:Bill Cassidy(R) ME-2:Mike Michaud(D) MI-14:Gary Peters(D) MT-0:Steve Daines(R) OK-5:James Lankford(R) PA-13:Allyson Schwartz(D) TX-36:Steve Stockman(R) WV-2:Shelley Capito(R) |
Retired House as of Jan. 2015:
AL-6:Spencer Bachus(R) AR-2:Tim Griffin(R) CA-11:George Miller(D) CA-25:Howard McKeon(R) CA-33:Henry Waxman(D) CA-45:John Campbell(R) IA-3:Tom Latham(R) MN-6:Michele Bachmann(R) NC-6:Howard Coble(R) NC-7:Mike McIntyre(D) NJ-3:Jon Runyan(R) NY-4:Carolyn McCarthy(D) NY-21:Bill Owens(D) PA-6:Jim Gerlach(R) UT-4:Jim Matheson(D) VA-8:Jim Moran(D) VA-10:Frank Wolf(R) | |
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