Jim Justice, a G.O.P. Governor, on Why Biden Needs to 'Go Big' on Covid Aid - The New York Times

O... M... G...!!!

A Republican who apparently cares about the people of his state!

Will wonders never cease?

S E E D E D   C O N T E N T

The odds that Democrats will succeed in passing a large economic rescue package received a boost this week from an unexpected source: Gov. Jim Justice of West Virginia, a Republican. Mr. Justice said on Monday, in back-to-back interviews with CNN and MSNBC, that Congress should "go big" and not worry about the federal deficit.

Gov. Jim Justice of West Virginia
delivering his State of the State
address last year in Charleston.
Chris Jackson/Associated Press

Or, as the governor put it in his signature folksy style: "We need to quit counting the egg-sucking legs on the cows and count the cows and just move." (Rough translation: Stop nit-picking about details and pass a bill.)

Indirectly, Mr. Justice's comments contained a sharp rebuke of Senator Joe Manchin III of West Virginia, a Democrat, who had been conferring with G.O.P. colleagues about a smaller relief package that would send checks to fewer Americans and cost the government less.

Perhaps because of Mr. Justice's prodding, Mr. Manchin, the Senate's most conservative Democrat, agreed on Tuesday to vote with his party to advance President Biden's $1.9 trillion stimulus package using budget reconciliation, a process that would allow a bill to ultimately pass by a simple majority. Mr. Manchin said on Wednesday that the $1.9 trillion price tag would be acceptable if the bill had some bipartisan input.

West Virginia has also been in the national news for its success in rolling out the coronavirus vaccines. It leads all states in the percent of the population, 4 percent, that has received both shots.

In an interview with The New York Times on Wednesday, Mr. Justice, the scion of a coal family and reportedly the richest man in West Virginia, discussed the stimulus, vaccines, his loyalty to Donald J. Trump and whether he might challenge Mr. Manchin in 2024. The interview has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.

Speaking about the stimulus package in Congress, you've said, "If we throw away some money right now, so what?" That doesn't sound very Republican.

We absolutely need to quit thinking first and foremost, "What is the right Republican or right Democrat thing to do?" I have been a business guy all my life, and I know that when you have a real problem, you can't cut your way out of the problem. Too often we try to skinny everything down and not fund it properly.

If we ended up wasting a few dollars and it jump-started the economy, and it helped all those that were out there, as many as we can that are really hurting, would we not be one heck of a lot better off than trying to just match the shoe size to the foot and undersizing the shoe size to where you couldn't even walk?

I would a whole lot rather give somebody a pair of shoes that was a little too big than a pair of shoes that was too small to put on their feet.

Have you spoken to Senator Manchin to get him to see your point of view?

I have not. Everybody pretty well knows what my views have been. I have expressed the need for this nation to go bold and go big.

Senator Shelley Moore Capito, West Virginia's Republican senator, was part of a G.O.P. group that met with President Biden to talk about a much smaller stimulus plan, offering $1,000 checks instead of $1,400 checks. What do you think of that position?

I just keep going back to the exact same thing, and it's this: At the end of the day, if we overdo it a little bit, a downside risk is minimal. If we underdo it, the downside risk is enormous.