WHAT YOU NEED NOW - CONTENT UPDATED THROUGH THE DAY
July 3, 2004
RUTHERFORD ON THEATRE: Retired Professor Pens Political Play on Mountain State Politics; Production Focuses on Women Running for Governor's Office
by Tony Rutherford
Huntington News Network Columnist
Huntington, WV (HNN) - Alleging wide spread voting machine "triggering" which allows illegal additions to a candidates tally, Elinore Taylor and Charlotte Pritt both spoke frankly before and after the debut of Taylor's play, "Appalachian Spring Postponed" Friday evening, July 1, 2005 on the small stage of Marshall University's Smith Hall 154. Normally utilized for introductory classes, between 150-200 fervent supporters crammed the room for a provocative, politically incorrect, but reality correct, look at the gubernatorial campaigns of the only two women who challenged the states' good ole boy, extraction industry-based political process.
 |
 |
 |
 |
| View Photos |
|||
Although Taylor indicated that the production represents a composite of campaigns and incidents, Pritt beamed that "I think she did a wonderful job because she portrayed so many things factually."
The play juxtaposes such issues as negative campaigning, vote buying (from an individual and slate perspective), media manipulation, and other tactics utilized to place smokescreens around the real issues and stealthily mask the candidate's viewpoints. Taylor explained, "Some of the details happened to people, but I've used them to illustrate issues. I'm [not] trying to rehash old campaigns, but eliminate some of the problems in politics. I was interested in the women's campaigns [because they were] a fresh breath, they would not be the same ole, same ole. It was a kind of an exciting time. That's why the play is named Appalachian Spring Postponed"
The retired Marshall University English professor, who has followed politics all her life, suggested that West Virginians "don't pay attention [to the election] until it's down to the wire. Lots of times they just look at the minute spot or evaluate on the basis of how somebody looks." Instead they should be asking about where a candidate stands on Mountain Top Removal or education.
Pointing to the defeat of Governor Manchin's bond issue as evidence Mountain State voters are becoming more politically savvy, Taylor said, "I know people who did not like Don Blankenship. They didn't like the ads he ran earlier on [Justice] McGraw, but they stepped away and were sophisticated enough to separate that from the issue and they did not want to risk money in the stock market. That showed a certain amount of thoughtfulness [from the voters].
However, most of the state's leaders to be are in her words chosen by a rich few out-of-state extraction industry moguls at a "dog and pony show at The Greenbrier."
Taylor and Pritt both offered insights into statewide and national vote tally irregularities. Taylor explained that out in the counties so-called Democratic and Republican slates are determined before the primaries, which are in her belief, far more important than the general elections.
"You can not meddle with anything inside the voting machine without both parties cahoots," Taylor said. "It goes a little higher than Democrat and Republican; a big shot makes the decisions."
Pritt said that in the last nationwide election "100 percent of the election errors were in favor of George Bush and the Republicans. You don't need to be a rocket scientist to know the machines are being triggered. We need a class action suit to make sure the machines are accurate."
Without hesitation the former candidate for governor asserted, "I don't think George Bush won either of the elections. People are afraid to speak out because the climate in the country after 9/11 homeland security has turned us into a military state. With our freedoms of speech being curtailed and all kinds of civil liberties being curtailed, people who know what's happening are very concerned that we have complete control of the media right now by the right wing. We saw the attack on public radio and television, so it's really a challenge to find out where we can go for the truth. What Elinore and Drema did tonight is very courageous to talk about what's happening in the country and what's happening in the state of WV is reflective of what's happening everywhere."
Pritt ruled out another run for the top office in West Virginia, but said she will support "who ever is running that I feel whose heart is with the people of WV. I think there are many young people and I will be there always to help the people that step forward."
Still, Pritt predicted, "We will not have a credible election until we clean up the voting machines. Progressives need to do everything to make sure that we get election machines that can not be triggered. The only one that's really safe is paper ballots with people in the polls like we have in other countries so that the people at the polls will be with the ballots to see their not being triggered. For every statewide election for offices like governor, we should have someone in every precinct that's appointed by the candidate. For example, if it were Pritt running for governor, she would have a Pritt person in every precinct who would be there the entire time to make things were not going wrong and the same with the opposing force as well."
Taylor has her own questions about Ohio in 2004. "I have a concern that not enough voting machines were in the student districts in Ohio. There was a report made by the Democratic senators who went out there and studied that and that report did not get that much emphasis in the media. The media ought to report on this, instead of Michael Jackson."
Both women believe that a female candidate for President of the United States will happen in the near future. Neither would predict or support a specific candidate, but Pritt, in particular, speculated that the election machine difficulties have to first be addressed. Meanwhile, Taylor won't lend support this early to anyone, including Hillary Clinton.
Actually, Taylor still has issues with the former President: "Bill Clinton was something of a disappointment. "Regarding "welfare and some of the issues that I was concerned with and this state is concerned with, he kinda went Republican. That's the other problem in this state, half the democrats are really Republicans."
Rather than gender, Taylor waits for a candidate who will address issues that move people, particularly the nonsupport for the war in Iraq: 'I'm against this war and I'm sick of people dying that's a line certainly women understand . They are the ones who have the children who are getting slaughtered. If they came out and said that I would listen up. I don't care which party they were from.
Raising her voice with passion, she continued, "There's never been a debate, you understand, on this whole thing. Do we want to follow this foreign policy where we go to war for ...years? Nobody asked the people, do you want to do this? Do you want to spend all your money on the war? All the money is going for weapons to Halliburton. Meanwhile, the roads, the education system, the sewer system, the cities, everything is rotting away."
Taylor strongly supports a "call me socialist" single-payer health insurance system. "That would solve the problem down at City Hall where half their money is going to health [insurance related] things and how they going to finance it."
How to overcome these tremendous difficulties? Taylor wrote, "Overcome the love of power with the power of love."
Is such a radical change possible?
Pritt advised, "Someone told me once there was no such thing as unconditional love, all it takes is one person loving unconditionally and you have made it a reality."
Until then, we can only celebrate plays such as "Appalachian Spring Postponed" whose moral thrust and lessons to be learned are, according to Taylor, "as real as the last election."
