Whenever I read the opinion section of the Charleston Gazette I wince a little. While the Gazette has a top-notch reporting staff, its editorial board allows their liberal viewpoint to take license with the facts. Their left-wing reputation has garnered a loyal following that write in from time to time. If it weren’t so sad it would be funny. Just recently one reader adamantly predicted that Bush is going to stop the 2008 election so he can stay in power – the exact thing they inaccurately predicted for 2004.

Last Sunday’s Gazette had an interesting – and similarly bizarre – letter that bashed the state Republican Party. According to the writer, the Republicans don’t deserve to control West Virginia because the party is in debt and former Party Chairman Rob Capehart resigned because of “impropriety.” Now who would write such an asinine thing? Democratic Chairman Nick Casey, liberal Senator Edwin Bowman, or perhaps Governor Joe Manchin? No, it was a former Republican candidate, Austin Moore.

You may remember Austin as the 18-year-old who ran for the House of Delegates in 2004 in the 30th District. Austin’s campaign got plenty of media coverage because of the uniqueness of it all, but he finished dead last. Nothing was heard of him again until recently when he shot and killed someone reportedly in self-defense.

And now he emerges again. Of course, anytime a Republican wants to stab their own in the back, the Gazette will write every word. “Why does the self-proclaimed guarantor of fiscal responsibility, the West Virginia Republican Party,” Austin writes, “have innumerable outstanding debts? How can a party that amasses debt be entrusted with fiscal conservation of our tax dollars? The Republican Party is in debt, and yet they have the audacity to lambaste Democrats for malfeasance of taxpayers’ finances.”

First, the debts are not “innumerable” (i.e., cannot be numbered). The party, thanks to the hard work of Scott Reed and others, knows exactly what they owe and they are working steadily to pay off their debts. If Austin Moore would take the time from writing indignant letters to attend a party meeting, he would know the details of their plan.

Second, Austin makes it sound like the same yahoos who got us into debt in the first place are still around running up the tab. He ends his spurious letter with, “we must purge the current crop of Republican leadership from our party to ensure authentic reform.” Who’s head is he going to lop off? Chairman McKinney who took over after the debt was incurred? If little Austin would take the time to ask questions before he goes into a temper tantrum, he would know the people responsible for the mess are all gainfully employed elsewhere.

Third, there is a difference between the Republican legislature and the Republican Party. The party incurred the debt, while the Republican legislature is preaching reform. No one in the party begged permission from any legislator to sink into debt and no Republican legislator asks the party for talking points.

Fourth, no Republican is accusing any Democrat of “malfeasance.” According the West Virginia Supreme Court, “Malfeasance has been defined by appellate courts in other jurisdictions as a wrongful act which the actor has no legal right to do; as any wrongful conduct which affects, interrupts or interferes with the performance of official duty; as an act for which there is no authority or warrant of law; as an act which a person ought not to do; as an act which is wholly wrongful and unlawful; as that which an officer has no authority to do and is positively wrong or unlawful; and as the unjust performance of some act which the party performing it has no right, or has contracted no, to do.” Daugherty v. Ellis, 142 W. Va. 340, 357-8, 97 S.E.2d 33, 42-3 (W. Va. 1956) (internal citations omitted).

No one is alleging that the Democrats are guilty of illegal activity, Austin just wants to distort the Republican’s position so his attacks look plausible; that or he doesn’t know what “malfeasance” means.

After noting the party hired four employees who were born out of state, Austin continues his letter. “Why weren’t these employees West Virginians? Republicans commonly use ‘putting West Virginians to work’ as a campaign theme, and keeping job opportunities in-state. How are the Republicans following this mantra by hiring out-of-state?”

First, Austin conveniently omits the fact that there were many other employees hired by the party who were West Virginia born.

Second, hiring based on state of birth is a violation of the Privileges and Immunities Clause, Art. IV, § 2, cl. 1, of the United States Constitution. “The citizens of each state shall be entitled to all privileges and immunities of citizens in the several states.”

I guess if the Republican Party had rejected qualified, out-of-state candidates, Austin would have been the first to blame them for discrimination.

It gets better. Austin then asks, “Why can’t the GOP keep a chairman rather than having them mysteriously resigning to accept professorships in Germany? There lies an appearance of impropriety.

First, Austin makes it sound like hordes of former West Virginia Republican Chairman are all teaching in Germany. I guess he thinks that if one were to visit a typical German university, you would find a half-dozen chairman from ages past. Actually only one chairman went to Germany to teach and that is because he is a professor by vocation. GASP!

As for the mystery alleged, the arrangement had always been that Capehart was temporary at best to help get the party past the post-Warner months.

The two questions remaining are what and why. What does Austin intend to do to repair his party or is he just going to sit on the sidelines and criticize? And why would Austin want to feed on his own in such a public manner? We may never know, but one thing is for sure: after such a blowup, Austin does not have a future with the Republican Party.