Afflicting the Comfortable: Journalism and Politics in West Virginia (West Virginia and Appalachia) (West Virginia & Appalachia)

In 1990, the New York Times wrote, "Government corruption was not invented in West Virginia. But there are people who contend that West Virginia officials have done more than their share over the years to develop state-of-the-art techniques in vote theft, contract kickbacks, influence peddling and good old-fashioned bribery, extortion, fraud, tax evasion and outright stealing." While investigating such events as the Invest Right scandal, Thomas Stafford, a former journalist for the Charleston Gazette, would find himself in a very precarious position. As a reporter he felt obligated to tell the whole truth, and he believed in the need to serve the public and those West Virginians who were being abused by a political machine. In Afflicting the Comfortable , Stafford relates such tales of the responsibility of journalism and politics in coordination with scandals that have unsettled the Mountain State over the past few decades. His probing would take him from the halls of Charleston to the center of our nation's ruling elite. Guided by his senses of duty, right, and fairness, he plunged head first into the misdeeds of West Virginia's politicians. His investigations would be the preface to the downfall of a governor and an adminstration that had robbed the state and the citizens of West Virginia for years. "In detailing his long career, Thomas Stafford explores the fallibility of those in power, the importance of the press, and the price a journalist must sometimes pay to maintain his strength of character. It took tenacity to uncover the scandal buried deep in the inner workings of West Virginia's politics in the 1960s, and tenacity was what Stafford had. As a reporter and, later, editor for The Charleston Gazette, Stafford enforced the watchdog duty of the press to its fullest degree, writing accounts that would slowly bring justice and honor back to a state that had been robbed of money, resources, and trust in the political system for far too many years." "Stafford worked diligently to investigate and report the details of what proved to be Governor William Wallace Barron's "Invest Right" scandal, beginning a chain of events that would ultimately lead to the indictment of six men, including Barron and several of his top officials." "Afflicting the Comfortable details Stafford's years as an outsider looking in on several state-government administrations and the effects they had on West Virginia. He presents his story, however, from the perspective of an insider, mixing introspective memoir to create a tale of morals lost and found."--BOOK JACKET Frontmatter FOREWORD (RONALD L. LEWIS, page IX) PREFACE (page XV) ACKNOWLEDGMENTS (page XIX) INTRODUCTION (page 1) PART ONE 1 DEPRESSION POLITICS (page 9) 2 A NEW BATTLEFRONT (page 18) 3 EDITORIAL INFLUENCE (page 26) 4 A BYRD'S EYE VIEW (page 35) 5 A MAN FOR ANOTHER SEASON (page 44) 6 POLITICAL SHAKE-UP (page 56) 7 "ONE BRIEF, SHINING MOMENT" (page 69) PART TWO 8 HE NEVER USED THE BROOM (page 89) 9 "RUN IT UP THE FLAGPOLE" (page 102) 10 THE RIPPLE EFFECT (page 111) 11 UNCHARTED TERRITORY (page 119) 12 A SENSE OF PASSION (page 137) 13 "I'VE GOT A PROPOSITION" (page 152) 14 THE THREAT OF LIBEL (page 161) 15 STRIKING GOLD (page 168) 16 GOING TO PRESS (page 177) 17 A PROMISE CURTAILED (page 182) 18 "IT WASN'T ANY PLEASURE" (page 195) 19 STORM WARNINGS (page 201) 20 THE PARTY FAITHLESS (page 206) PART THREE 21 THE STRENGTH OF THEIR CONVICTIONS (page 215) 22 WHY? (page 224) 23 JUDICIAL REMEDY (page 234) 24 MOORE CONTROVERSIES (page 245) 25 A LIFETIME COMMITMENT (page 256) 26 THIRD TIME AROUND (page 274) 27 THREE WORDS AGAIN (page 287) PART FOUR 28 CAPERTON'S INHERITANCE (page 303) 29 ONCE TOO OFTEN (page 310) AFTERWORD (page 321) INDEX (page 323) In Afflicting the Comfortable, Thomas Stafford relates tales of the responsibility of journalism and politics in coordination with scandals that have unsettled the West Virginia over the past few decades. His probing would take him from the halls of Charleston to the centre of the US's ruling elite.