CLEVELAND, Ohio — Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), the first woman in West Virginia’s history to be elected to the U.S. Senate, addressed the Republican National Convention on Tuesday evening, focusing on how Hillary Clinton and her party want to put her constituents out of work by regulating the coal industry out of existence.
Capito spoke during the evening devoted to the theme “Make America Work Again,” a modulation of the Trump campaign’s main slogan, “Make America Great Again.”
“Our state is just one big small town,” she said, and noted the recent deadly floods that had “ravaged” West Virginia.
She continued: “The greatest obstacle for West Virginia families, and families across American over the past eight years, has been a president that places left-wing priorities and campaign promises over their livelihoods.”
She cited Obama’s infamous 2008 campaign promise to “bankrupt” companies that build coal plants. ”
“He’s never realized that when you bankrupt a coal company, you deprive a community of their livelihood.” She cited 60,000 jobs destroyed in the coal industry since Obama became president, and warned that Hillary Clinton wanted to continue that path.
“President Obama has hurt the heart and soul of our state … These policies have ripped through the heartland, creating a cycle of pessimism and disgust.”
Later, Capito criticized Clinton for her “extreme carelessness” in misusing classified information on her private email server, before returning to her economic theme.
“We know that she will double down in the war on coal. We know that she will double down on Obamacare … Now is the time to turn the tide.”
Capito was one of several female speakers highlighted throughout the evening, including Arkansas Attorney General Lesley Rutledge; one of Trump’s daughters, Tiffany; and Trump Winery manager Kimberly Woolard.
Delegates waved “Trump Loves Coal” signs before and during her address, and cheered Capito’s support for fossil fuel development and energy independence.
Capitol followed Donald Trump, Jr., who spoke about his father at work — how the Republican nominee interacted every day with ordinary Americans, working alongside employees on the lowest rung of his companies rather than sitting behind a desk. “We didn’t learn from MBAs — we learned from people with doctorates in common sense.”
Notably, Capito spoke before one of the evening’s featured speakers, Dr. Ben Carson, a neurosurgeon who briefly led the Republican presidential race in the fall of 2015 before falling to the back of the pack, and eventually endorsing Trump.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News. His new book, See No Evil: 19 Hard Truths the Left Can’t Handle, will be published by Regnery on July 25 and is available for pre-order through Amazon. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.