Do they ever.

West Virginia, a traditionally loyal Democratic state, is getting a new and dismaying look at Democratic politics from party leaders whose America never gets its hands dirty.

Mine coal?

Burn coal?

Make things?

American working people used to do all of that. But now our nation's Democratic leadership is walking away from our tradition of creating the wealth that invigorates the middle class in exchange for a mystical belief that the change promised in 2008 will lead us to a better future.

How?

On the national stage, the party at the helm is doing its best to de-energize our economy to prevent climate change. We should have seen this coming. Politically savvy groups began their assault on coal more than a decade ago. Lawsuits, regulatory actions, sit-ins -- they all have been a part of the national campaign against coal.

Our new leaders are murky on the details of just how this transformation of American energy generation will work. How can our nation transition toward an economic model that depends on technology and energy sources that do not exist? How do we give up affordable and secure energy for uncertainty?

The meaner agents of change attack those who doubt them and their cause, accusing them of destroying the planet. They dismiss as fools anyone who declines to accept their version of science as truth. Don't bother them with questions or troubling facts. They are confident in their righteousness, and they needn't be concerned about real people who do real work.

West Virginia Congressman Nick Rahall II -- the loyal Democrat and friend of labor -- is squarely between those who want to restructure the American economy and those who see coal and affordable energy as critical to the nation's strength. His support for candidate Barack Obama in 2008 helped to put him in this tough situation.

The Beckley native has represented southern West Virginia in the U.S. House of Representatives for more than three decades, climbing the seniority ladder to serve as chairman of the House Committee on Natural Resources.

Last summer, Rahall had a major role in the congressional drama that led to the House passing cap-and-trade legislation 219-212. The bill would impose costs on power generators for emitting carbon dioxide -- a greenhouse gas -- and make coal a less appealing fuel. With rumors surfacing back home that Rahall would have a serious challenger next year if he voted the wrong way, he cast his vote against the cap-and-trade legislation.

Close call. Good vote-counting.

And then the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency arrived with its regulatory muscle, holding up mining permit applications and bringing more uncertainty to the coal industry. Rahall initially suggested the EPA was just doing its job. Voters back home howled. He then questioned EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson publicly about her views on Appalachian coal and permitting.

Rahall offered this assessment of her comments: "Jackson confirmed that clarity and certainty are something the EPA owes the mining community and the American public. The administrator said that she believes that 'the end of the road should be clarity and certainty in the regulations that EPA is imposing through the Clean Water Act.'"

Rahall also noted a number of issues remain unresolved, and he will remain in communication with federal regulators regarding mining permits.

I wonder how much comfort Jackson's comments gave the miners of Boone, Logan and Mingo counties.

The whole state is watching, and Rahall knows it. He also must know those rumors are back about a serious candidate emerging to challenge him next year.

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A New York Times story this past week made some interesting points about the complex politics of coal.

The story suggested passage of the Clean Air Act of 1990 forced utilities to switch from high-sulfur northern West Virginia coal to lower sulfur coal from southern West Virginia. Increased demand for low-sulfur coal led companies to accelerate production through mountaintop mining.

Currently, the story noted, the EPA's apparent interest in limiting mountaintop mining in the Appalachians may drive increased coal production in western states, especially Wyoming, where production costs are less.

The politics of coal politics are dicey, and the Times' story noted members of Congress are weighing how coal-related legislation, regulation and the status of technology, such as carbon capture and storage, will affect their states.

The story said U.S. Sen. Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va., "remains firmly on the fence" when it comes to climate legislation. It quoted him as saying cap-and-trade legislation "has a long way to go" and he remains committed to finding cleaner, more efficient ways to use coal far into the future. He vowed to oppose any bill that "would harm the workers, families, industries or our resource-based economy in West Virginia."

* * *

The U.S. Senate's confirmation last week of Irene Berger as a federal judge has created a great deal of interest in the vacancy she left in Kanawha County Circuit Court.

Gov. Joe Manchin will have the opportunity to select Berger's successor.

Carrie Webster, the Kanawha County Democrat who chairs the state House Judiciary Committee, is one of several candidates for the Kanawha County judgeship. Should Webster be Manchin's choice -- and I'm not suggesting she would be -- Delegate William R. Wooton, a Raleigh County attorney, would be among those available to succeed Webster.

Wooton chaired the Senate Judiciary Committee for several years. He would seem to be an obvious candidate to succeed Webster.

Dan Page is editor and publisher of The State Journal. His e-mail address is dpage@statejournal.com.