Stephen Smith’s movement-based campaign has released the first of 32 bottom-up proposals to change the state. It includes a wealth tax. by David Dayen for The American Prospect December 30, 2019 What’s the most important election of 2020? Which one will have implications that endure…

What unites [WV Can’t Wait volunteers and candidates] is a belief that West Virginia’s abundance has been stolen by a corporate and political oligarchy, which extracts from its people as surely as from its land. These activists seek to wake up the fighting spirit that looms over West Virginia’s history, from the Mine Wars a century ago to the #RedforEd teachers strikes last year. They think of West Virginia as a place where people take care of each other, and they want to bring that impulse back to its government, by taking it over.

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stephen Smith has raised the most of any primary campaign so far with a blend of small donations and fundraisers both in-state and out-of-state.

“We’re able to build a campaign and a movement that literally belongs to thousands of people who have contributed,” Smith said during an appearance today on MetroNews’ “Talkline.”

“Smith is campaigning against both parties’ establishments. He says there is only one party in West Virginia — ‘the good ol’ boys’. Judging from how people react, he is striking a chord.”

I’ve lived in West Virginia my whole life, and I want to be able to stay here without feeling like my voice is never being heard,” said Anna Hicks, county captain for the group, which launched last December as part of West Virginia Can’t Wait, an offshoot of the Stephen Smith democratic gubernatorial campaign. Hicks said while Marion County Can’t Wait is an outgrowth of Smith’s campaign for governor, the group’s purpose will live on after the 2020 votes are cast – regardless of who moves into the Governor’s Mansion in Charleston.

“A genuine populist is running for West Virginia Governor. His donor rolls broke the state’s campaign finance software.”

There has always been one state for the folks who work the hardest and hurt the most and another state for those who profit off that work and pain. There has always been one set of rules for the good ol’ boys, and another for the rest of us. It doesn’t have to be this way.

Jim Justice knows that politics in West Virginia isn’t about left versus right, it’s about the people versus the good old boys club. He knows because he’s been a member of that club for decades.