Jim Justice is the gift (of cow manure) that just keeps giving. He ran as a Democrat against an establishment Republican, and got elected with the help of the Democrat machine. Shortly after taking office, he switched parties. A good number of Republicans were not pleased, because they knew he was a phony and a deadbeat. He has never lived in the governor's mansion, right next to the State Capitol, and he essentially doesn't even show up for work at all. Geez, Obama didn't work, but at least he lived in the White House!
A Democrat member of the House of Delegates has filed suit to force Justice to obey the law requiring him to live in Charleston, and a Republican delegate also has weighed in (no pun intended, considering Justice is also known as the quarter-ton governor):
... Politically, these are not comfortable words for me to say. Jim Justice and I are, after all, both Republicans and supposedly on the same team. But there comes a time when you have to call a spade a spade and put the interests of state ahead of political affiliation.
I’ve been deeply disturbed by the news of late, both the things that have been published and things heard inside the Capitol. There now seems to be a revolving door in this administration, with senior staff departing, fired, or rumored to be on the way out. It’s unclear who is in charge these days.
This is not the way to run a state. ...
The bottom line is this: It’s time for Jim Justice to decide if he’s going to be a part-time Governor while tending to his own businesses back home, or if he’s going to devote himself fully to the job to which he has been elected.
Decisions are made by those who show up. It’s time to start showing up.
Entire statement here.
A guy who is very involved in state politics and tweets as "Byrd's Finger" noted the following:
Byrds Finger @ByrdsFinger
11h11 hours ago
BIG DATA: If you examine public records of @WVGovernor's political spending from 2000-2016, you learn that 98.15% of his donations went to Democrat campaigns. Another reason why he's the greatest @WVGOP Governor of all time. https://bit.ly/2tA3bn4
Bottom line, neither party wants to claim him, and the state capital is in disarray.
