It's understandable that Gov. Joe Manchin wanted to get back from his Florida vacation to West Virginia as soon as possible after the explosion at Massey Energy's Upper Big Branch Mine.But Massey's offer to pick Manchin up and fly him home - and the governor's acceptance of the ride - would have been hard to imagine just a short while ago.Massey CEO Don Blankenship and Manchin had been fierce political enemies since the first week Manchin took office in 2005 and raised the coal severance tax to help pay off the state's crushing workers' comp debt.Manchin spokesman Matt Turner said that following the explosion, it became clear the state's aircraft couldn't get to Florida and back as quickly as the governor wanted."Massey officials were speaking with the governor to provide an update on the situation and offered to provide jet transportation to West Virginia," Turner said.Turner said Manchin checked with his lawyer before accepting the offer."(His) general counsel agreed it was acceptable considering the emergency and that it was the quickest way to get back to the state," Turner said.Manchin arrived at Yeager Airport around midnight last Monday, Turner said.It is not known whether Manchin's security detail considered other possible flight alternatives, such as flying commercial or chartering an airplane in Florida."Yes, we will reimburse Massey for the out-of-pocket expenses of the flight," Turner said.Some might think Manchin's ride on the plane looks like a conflict of interest. At the very least, it appears unusual because Manchin and Blankenship have had several stormy public run-ins.However, it is indisputable that the last eight days have been unusual times in West Virginia.As noted, friction between the two emerged almost immediately after Manchin took the oath of office:
In 2005, Blankenship was outspoken in urging voters to defeat a constitutional amendment that Manchin proposed and vigorously campaigned for. It would have allowed the state to issue up to $5 billion in bonds to bolster state pensions.
During that campaign, Blankenship portrayed himself as a loyal West Virginian, trying to better the state by defeating Manchin's plan. "I want to make a difference in West Virginia, since I grew up in West Virginia and have had good fortune in West Virginia," Blankenship said at the time. "I owe it to West Virginia to try to get us out of the 50th spot."But Lara Ramsburg, who was Manchin's spokeswoman at the time, insisted Blankenship's opposition was motivated by sour grapes because Manchin hiked the coal severance tax earlier in 2005 to help pay old workers' comp insurance debts.Ramsburg also claimed that Blankenship was a Kentucky businessman, not a West Virginia resident.Blankenship countered he lived in West Virginia from 1951 to 1972, from 1982 to about 1990, and from 1991 to 2003. "I am the largest private investor in West Virginia in the last 20 years and one of the top 100 taxpayers in the last 20 years," Blankenship said at the time.The voters rejected Manchin's constitutional amendment.
Before that 2005 vote, Manchin said Blankenship should expect tougher scrutiny of his business affairs since he had launched a media campaign against the constitutional amendment. Blankenship sued Manchin in federal court for allegedly targeting him and Massey. Manchin's attorneys argued the governor's statement did not refer to state scrutiny, but rather that Blankenship "should expect closer examination of his affairs by the media and by the public."
The suit was dismissed in 2007 after Manchin issued a statement saying he regretted that his remarks could be reasonably construed as a threat. The lawsuit cost state taxpayers more than $970,000.
Also in 2005, Manchin pushed for decreasing the state sales tax on food, while Blankenship reportedly spent an estimated $500,000 of his own money in an unsuccessful attempt to convince legislators to repeal the tax altogether. Manchin's more gradual approach won.
In 2006, Blankenship spent $3 million in an unsuccessful effort to defeat Democrats and give the Republicans a majority in the state House of Delegates.
Last year, Manchin created an Independent Commission on Judicial Reform. That came after Blankenship had given $3 million to an independent group in 2004 to unseat then-state Supreme Court Justice Warren McGraw, a Democrat.
Following a 2006 fire in Massey's Aracoma Alma No. 1 mine in Logan County that killed two miners and again last week following the disaster at Massey's Upper Big Branch mine, Blankenship and Manchin never once appeared together.
But Blankenship's attitude toward Manchin showed a sign of softening last week.On Thursday, Blankenship's Twitter account contained numerous postings about the mine disaster that killed 29 men. One noted "the work ethic and genuineness of Joe Manchin."Contact writer George Hohmann at
