Issue Position: Vote Swapping

Issue Position

I do not trade votes--and I will continue to hold this principle as my standard, for principle cannot be compromised for the sake of expediency or power. During my time in the House of Delegates, I had to stand alone on many votes--whereby 99 other elected officials' unanimously agreed to an increase in regulations or bureaucracy. Sometimes others stood with me, and this trend is beginning to take hold. However, many politicians in office still believe that they must engage in the process of "vote swapping", or trading votes back and forth in order to gain more influence and power. The prevailing "wisdom" is: If I give you a "yes" on your bill, then you give me a "yes" on mine. It is almost expected, and anyone that does otherwise is sometimes looked upon in a peculiar manner, or ridiculed for their rigidity. But it is precisely because of this progressive practice that a growing majority of West Virginia residents now feel that the political process in Charleston has been corrupted. Vote-swapping is really just a symptom of Big Government, because when government is much smaller, there is less power involved to trade with. And once a politician starts down the road of compromising one's own principles, there is no end to the favors or political perks. The integrity of our principles must remain unvarnished. Anything less will only continue to produce the government we have today. Political corruption, special interest influence, debt, excessive taxation, spending, poverty, financial bankruptcy, and the destruction of jobs.

Source