With the defeat Rep. Rick Boucher last month, some southwestern Virginians have lamented the influence the region will lose in the 112th Congress. While a freshman certainly cannot replicate 28 years of incumbency, Politico advises its readers to be on the lookout for Boucher’s replacement, Morgan Griffith [1]:
…On the campaign trail, Griffith repeatedly hammered Boucher for his work on the cap-and-trade bill that cleared the House in 2009, despite Boucher’s efforts to strike a sweeter deal for the coal industry. On his website, he says it is “reckless to pursue such an economically devastating plan in order to address a scientific theory — man-made global warming — that many scientists do not even believe is happening.” Expect Griffith to become one of the loudest voices on the Energy and Commerce Committee attacking EPA climate regulations next year.
Of course, those of us who have watched Morgan Griffith in action in the Virginia House of Delegates know what a fighter the “Fightin’ Ninth” has elected. With President Obama vowing (in 2008) to “bankrupt [2]” investors in new coal plants, residents of Virginia’s 9th Congressional District, which is heavily dependent on the coal industry, need a congressman who will be unafraid to defend their livelihood. At the end of the day, Rick Boucher could not demonstrate that he had done enough to protect his constituents’ jobs from an anti-coal administration and its environmentalist allies. Morgan Griffith has demonstrated that he will be an influential voice for southwestern Virginians both on the Energy and Commerce Committee and in the House Republican Caucus, and it is good to see his leadership get some recognition.