“I’m proud to support the president,” Capito said. “He has come through with the things that he said initially when he ran that he was going to do.”

The United States Congress successfully passed tax reform with the help of the West Virginia delegation, according to Capito.

“What’s the result of tax reform?” she asked. “Lower unemployment, higher wages, more people working, more opportunities certainly we are seeing in the state of West Virginia. Everybody’s tax rate went down individually. We did small business reform so people can invest in their companies and hire more people and expand their businesses. We are moving forward and we are competitive around the globe finally.

“I’m proud of the results of more people having more jobs, more opportunity and that optimistic feeling of ‘we are making America great again’ certainly on our economic power. That’s where our strength has been and needs to be for the future — for the young people in our room.”

The Inter-Mountain photo by Amanda Hayes The Upshur County Republican Executive Committee’s Annual Lincoln Day Dinner included various awards being presented. Left to right, are LeVera Gillum, executive committee vice chair; Amy Karnes representing her husband Robert Karnes who received a Shining Star Award; Troy A. ‘Buddy’ Brady III who also received a Shining Star Award; Caiden Cowger who won the Republican Spirit Award; county clerk Carol Smith who received the Republican Volunteer of the Year Award; Del. Carl ‘Robbie’ Martin, who received the Most Outstanding Republican of the Year Award; and executive committee chair Patty Adams.

Second, Trump said he would challenge China in trade.

“Right now he is telling China we are not going to let you rip us off anymore in the trade arena,” she said. “You are not going to steal our intellectual property, you are not going to steal our ideas, you are not going to steal our jobs. We want an even playing field.”

This has been tough in some industries such as automotive, steel, aluminum and agriculture.

“My friends in the big ag states are really having an issue with the president’s very firm stance on trade with China,” she said. “But at the end of the day I feel confident the president is going to get a better deal for us. In order for us to leverage ourselves we have got to be strong with them. We have heard presidents in the past say China is taking advantage of us but they never did anything.”

Capito thinks Trump will have a resolution to the China situation by the next election.

Next, the senator addressed the United States Supreme Court confirmations of Brett Kavanaugh and Neil Gorsuch.

“I’m very proud I stood with the president to get who I think are incredible, conservative justices to the Supreme Court,” she said. “These are consequential picks because they are both – speaking to the court – relatively young. They are going to serve another 20 years. These two justices are going to represent what we think. Let’s look at the Constitution, let’s adhere to the Constitution. Let’s not make law and perform politics from the bench of the Supreme Court.”

Capito said the Kavanaugh hearing was the first time in her 18 year political service career that she felt her personal safety was a little “iffy.”

“We’ve got to calm the rhetoric down,” she said. “I think as Republicans we can lead the way on this. You see what is happening in Washington begin to happen in the State House — the lack of respect, the social media onslaught. We need to do better for the young people in the room.”

Capito also touched on the proposed Green New Deal stimulus package — a series of social and economic reforms proposed by Democrats – part of which says that in 10 years the country will get rid of coal, natural gas and nuclear power.

“So, how are we going to power the country?” she asked. ” We are going to be capturing carbon which we are doing today without this $93 trillion Green New Deal, we are going to eliminate or sharply shrink aviation…and, watch out cows.”

The Green New Deal also proposes Medicare for all.

“In my view, Medicare for all is Medicare for none,” she said. “Medicare for all means if you are on Medicare now, you are going to get 170 million new people right on it with you and there aren’t going to be any changes. Are you kidding me?

“I think a better way to do it is to take the good things. We couldn’t repeal and replace. We have to get over that. The other thing we need to do is we need to look at what is happening in health care. It’s unaffordable.

“We have to take things like coverage for pre-existing conditions, keeping kids on their parents insurance until they are 26 years old, eliminating lifetime caps. Those are three big things in Obamacare that people like and I that I like so let’s create a problem around that where we can sell insurance across state lines, we can have small business plans, we can have portability insurance. We need a major fix in health care but Medicare for all is not the answer.”

One of the Green New Deal’s resolutions failed to advance in the U.S. Senate on March 25.

Capito said Democrats also want to expand the. Supreme Court from nine to 15 and eliminate the Electoral College.

“This is another way that the liberal Democrats in Washington think they can keep control of our country and move our country further left by controlling the Supreme Court for generations to come by putting more people on it,” Capito said. “We are not going to let them do that.”

West Virginia’s Electoral College votes also ensure that presidential candidates visit.

“If all we are counted for is our population, no one will set foot in this state to try to convince us of why we need to have them for the future of this country,” she said.

Capito also said she was doing what she could to expediate the decision-making process in granting the Atlantic Coast Pipeline and the Mountain Valley Pipeline the permits they need to continue construction in the Mountain State.

She ended with a positive message for the attendees.

“Never be pessimistic about our country, any hurdles, any tough times, think of all the tough times in our history we have gotten over and managed to overcome,” she said. “We are still that same country.”

West Virginia Supreme Court Justice Tim Armstead also spoke briefly.

“Our Supreme Court is a very important office and I think what it has gone through over the last year has been a challenge to our state and the people of our court system in so many ways,” he said. “I want to say what a tremendous honor it has been to me to be a part of trying to instill confidence in our court. We are, I hope, much closer to doing that than we were a year ago. We have done what I think are some significant steps to be able to restore that confidence.”

Armstead said there are new policies in place to make sure that tax dollars are spent correctly and that the court system throughout the state is administered correctly.

“You may not have thought you needed a policy to say you can’t take furniture home with you, but we have that policy now just in case anyone is confused about that,” he said. “I think we are one step closer to restoring confidence and I’m proud to be a part of that.”

Various awards were also handed out at the annual dinner which was held in the Green Room of The Bicentennial Inn.

Most Outstanding Republican of the Year Award was given to Del. Carl “Robbie” Martin who is also general manager of the 88 Restaurant and Lounge and Bicentennial Inn.

Martin developed an interest in politics because of Sept. 11 and began the Upshur County Teenage Republicans chapter at age 14. After graduating from Buckhannon-Upshur High School, Martin earned a Bachelor of Science in business management from West Virginia Wesleyan College where he chaired the College Republicans chapter.

Martin served three years as a member of the Upshur County Board of Education but resigned to run for the seat he now holds for the House of Delegates 45th district. He was also elected a delegate to the Republican National Convention where he cast one of West Virginia’s votes for Trump.

Caiden Cowger received the 2019 Republican Spirit Award. Cowger has dedicated a large portion of his life to promoting the values of conservatism and the platform of the Republican Party. He began his conservative radio talk show on Dec. 5, 2010, was picked up by his first radio station WBUC 1460-AM in 2014 and also began writing as a conservative columnist at The Record Delta from 2014 through 2018.

Cowger launched Cowger National Media Network in 2012 and Cowger Creative in 2018. In Oct. 5, 2015, he was named by Talker’s Magazine as the youngest syndicated talk personality in the history of radio after his show was picked up by five terrestrial radio stations. In his new company, Cowger Creative, Cowger has provided video production and marketing services for multiple prominent legislators, lawmakers and politicians currently holding local and statewide governmental positions.

The 2019 Volunteer of the Year Award went to Upshur County Clerk Carol Smith who was appointed to the position in 2017 and won election in November 2018. She is a 1983 graduate of Buckhannon-Upshur High School. Smith and her husband Chuck have two sons, Charley and wife Francine and Christopher and wife Shania. While her sons were in school, Smith volunteered in various school Parent Teacher Organizations and sports organizations, served as a 4-H leader and youth group leader. Today, she is a board member of the Upshur County Public Library and secretary of the West Virginia Association of Counties.

Robert Karnes and Troy A. “Buddy” Brady III received the 2019 Shining Star Awards.

Karnes ran for House of Delegates in 2012 and won the primary but lost the election. He ran for state senate in 2014 and unseated the incumbent Democrat, becoming part of the Republican wave that boosted Republicans into control of both houses in the West Virginia Legislature for the first time in over 80 years. Karnes lost the 2018 primary and ended his four year term in December 2018. He continues work in his IT business.

Brady has dedicated over 40 years of public service to Upshur County after graduating from Buckhannon-Upshur High School in 1968. He was a county constable before serving as deputy sheriff for 36 ¢ years. After retirement, he won election and served a six-year term as county commissioner before losing in the 2018 primary in his bid for re-election. During his tenure, he worked to reduce the county’s debt and improve the county’s financial condition and helped secure grant funding for county programs. Today, he remains a member of the Stockert Youth and Community Center Board of Directors and is a member of the Upshur County Republican Executive Committee.

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