CALA’s Greg Thomas Misleading Voters, Perpetuating a Fraud on West Virginia
It is ironic that Greg Thomas is now insisting that “West Virginia is not for sale.” After all, this is the same Greg Thomas who headed Don Blankenship’s effort to buy a West Virginia Supreme Court seat in 2004. His boss funneled millions into that race while hiding behind the name And for the Sake of the Kids. In 2006, he headed Blankenship’s multi-million dollar effort to buy the West Virginia Legislature. Clearly, Greg had no problem with selling West Virginia when Blankenship was trying to buy it. He has no issue with the new Koch brothers-funded Americans for Prosperity either. Where is his outrage over that multi-million dollar effort to buy our elections?
Thomas now heads the so-called West Virginia Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse. CALA has refused for 20 years to disclose who its own funders are. At its first press conference in August 1994, CALA “would not say who is funding the group and its campaign” (Associated Press, Aug. 31, 1994)—and is still refusing to answer the question today. At the same time, however, Thomas attacks West Virginia legislative candidates for accepting contributions from lawyers. State legislative candidates are required by law to disclose to voters who is funding their campaigns so voters have that information. If Greg Thomas and CALA have nothing to hide, then why do they refuse to disclose who funds their efforts?
The truth is that CALA “represent(s) major corporations and industries seeking to escape liability for the harm they cause consumers.” They are funded by “large corporate donors, including tobacco, insurance, oil and gas, chemical and pharmaceutical companies, medical associations and automobile manufacturers. . .members are largely Fortune 500 companies with a direct financial stake in restricting lawsuits.”
CALA purportedly reviewed campaign financial reports, but its released analysis presents only a fraction of the information found there which provides a very different picture. It fails to disclose that contributions from attorneys to candidates represent just a percentage of what was raised—for one candidate CALA singled out it was less than 10 percent. Contributions came from industry leaders, coal, labor, insurance, bankers, the medical community, environmental advocates, manufacturers and small business owners. They came from college students and retirees. While candidates had $1,000 contributions from some donors, others donated just $10 or $20. And, yes, contributions came from plaintiffs’ attorneys, but they also came from our state’s leading defense firms. This does not point to candidates being “bought” by one industry or another. What it shows is that a lot of West Virginians—voters with very diverse business and personal interests—believe that these candidates are the best ones for the job.
To support his claims, Thomas cites the American Tort Reform Association Judicial Hellhole report, which has been widely discredited by both academics and the media for years. The New York Times reported in 2007 that the report was not a valid analysis—and the report’s authors admitted it. “The question is whether the report’s arguments make sense, are supported by evidence and are applied evenhandedly. Here the report falls short . . . It has no apparent methodology.” In response, ATRA admitted that “we have never claimed to be an empirical study” (New York Times, December 24, 2007).
Independent data compiled by the National Center for State Courts (NCSC), however, found that in 2010 West Virginia ranked 40th among the 50 states and Washington D. C. in the number of lawsuits filed per capita. The Future of the West Virginia Judiciary: Problems and Policy Options found that “since the 1980s West Virginia courts—the trial court of general jurisdiction—have not experienced a massive upsurge in non-family law civil litigation.” We are not a “hellhole.”
At the same time, the West Virginia Development Office’s “A State of Achievement” shows that since 2005, more than $20 billion worth of new business investments have been made in West Virginia, including $6.2 billion since 2010. Moody’s reports that the cost of doing business in West Virginia is 14 percent below the national average. It’s the fourth best rate in the country. Our state political leaders have also worked hard to address one of the real concerns business owners have—taxes—and they have reduced the business tax burden by more than $450 million over the last six years.
I agree that we all must work hard to protect West Virginia businesses and grow our state’s economy. I believe that means telling the truth about our judicial climate, our economic climate and the tremendous success in reducing business taxes. If this is what Greg Thomas wants as well, then why is he citing a discredited study? Why is he pushing for legal restrictions that would leave every West Virginia business at the mercy of America’s largest, most powerful corporations? Our courtrooms are the only place where they are equal.
While Greg Thomas claims to care about West Virginia’s economic future, the truth is that he’s being paid to increase the profits of his corporate backers. West Virginia voters deserve the truth—the truth about who is funding CALA, what its real intentions are and who is trying to buy elections here. Until then, voters should view claims made by Thomas for what they really are. In the words of Republican State Senator Clark Barnes: “pure Greg Thomas crap” (Charleston Daily Mail, May 13, 2011).
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