You bet I have questions for this ‘unapologetic Trump supporter’

The first speaker at a candidate forum held last night in Fairmont was Evan Jenkins, the Republican congressman from Huntington who represents West Virginia’s 3^rd District and who is now running for the Senate seat held by Democrat Joe Manchin.

Jenkins began his presentation with the words, “I am a proud, unapologetic supporter of Donald Trump. I endorsed President Trump in the primary…and have stood with him every step of the way.” He then proceeded to endorse the Republican Party’s pro-life, pro-gun, pro-trickle down tax reform platform and boasted that he happily voted to repeal and replace Obamacare.

All I could think was, “Wow. So much information, so little time.”

You see, I went there seeking answers, but soon discovered that the forum featured a panel of three moderators who took turns asking questions of the candidates following their three-minute opening remarks. Not to disparage the panel, which did a fine job, but the forum was billed as being “open to the public” although unfortunately, the public wasn’t allowed to ask any questions of their own.

Therefore, I have decided to ask my questions here in this space. Later, I’ll email them to Rep. Jenkins for his response. So let’s get started.

Congressman Jenkins, the man you wholeheartedly support, Donald John Trump, has done the following things in a little over one year in office:  

* He pushed through and signed a tax cut bill that will give himself and other rich people millions of dollars in benefits while most of us get a few dollars a month for a couple of years until our taxes eventually go up. How is that good for most West Virginians?

* He has signed away numerous regulations that were put in place to protect us from harm, including one that allows coal companies to dump harmful waste materials into West Virginia’s streams. He also promised coal miners he would bring back all of their jobs, but has failed to do so. How does that benefit the average West Virginian?

* He is solidly in the pocket of the National Rifle Association, which openly places the sale of guns ahead of the safety of our children on its list of legislative priorities. You said in your opening remarks that you support him on that issue, but I wonder: How do your children feel about that? Do they feel safe at school?

* He has opened up national parks for natural gas exploration and wants to allow offshore drilling that threatens the ecological balance on both coasts of the United States. Aside from the environmental damage, doesn’t this also work against the coal industry by promoting the development of fuels that undercut the nation’s need for coal?  

* He has denied climate change, canceled our right to sue money managers who rip us off, eliminated our ability to be paid overtime in certain jobs, authorized the killing of endangered animals, appointed cabinet members who are on course to destroy the agencies they direct, weakened public education, gutted the State Department, pardoned a law-breaking sheriff, endorsed a pedophile for the Senate, refused to condemn white supremacists and taunted a nuclear madman while sucking up to the murderous dictator of our cold war enemy Russia.

* Next, he wants to squander billions of dollars on a useless border wall for Mexicans to fly over or tunnel under, and millions more on a third-world-dictator-style military parade to feed his inflated ego, all while considering cuts to our Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security to reduce the budget deficit that his tax bill is causing to explode.

* Generally speaking, he has repeatedly and consistently failed to uphold and defend the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, failed to respect the office of president and failed to recognize the respective authority of the three branches of government.

I apologize if I left out something important...oh, wait! He has also found time to play golf at one of his own properties – at taxpayer expense – about one-third of the time he’s been president...and I haven’t even mentioned all of the women he has sexually abused, tried to abuse, cheated on, cheated with, paid to silence after having an affair, married and then divorced or allegedly raped in the years before you helped elect him to the highest office in the land.

In summation, Donald John Trump – the man you “unapologetically” support – has spent the past 14 months chipping away at the good parts of America, causing as yet undetermined damage to the environment, immigrant rights, women’s rights, workers’ rights, all other basic human rights, public education, fair housing, government ethics, protection of our natural resources, protection of endangered animals, protection of our national parks, our relationship with our allies, our participation in treaties and agreements designed to strengthen and protect America and our standing among other nations in the world.

So, Congressman Jenkins, I guess my real question would be this: Which part of Donald Trump’s record makes you the most proud?