There are a lot of really bad things about to happen in West Virginia as the effects of the awful GOP spending bill begin to be felt. SNAP recipients are about to lose their funds, people reliant on the ACA exchanges are bracing for huge premium hikes, Medicaid recipients are looking at work requirements and cuts, and already some rural hospitals have said they will have to close. And all of this is happening in a state that ranks near or at the bottom of health, income, and quality of life metrics.

Our failed carpetbagging governor doesn’t seem to be aware of–or just doesn’t care about–any of this. The state legislature, dominated by the GOP, is a sad joke.

And our DC representation is pathetic. My awful MAGA rep, Riley Moore, got a case of The Sads yesterday about the SNAP funds and of course blamed it on the Democrats.

My awful boot-licking Senator, Shelley Capito, was very happy back in September to vote to blow up the filibuster so her unemployed adult son could be awarded a cushy GOP DEI taxypayer-funded job, but please don’t ask her to care about the hungry kids across the state. She’s got hers, after all.

And then there’s my other senator, Jim Justice. In addition to the cuts coming to food assistance programs and medical care, WV has a fair number of federal workers; in fact, more people in WV work for the federal government than work in the coal industry. So while federal workers go without pay, Jim decided to host an event that showed how much he cares:

Yes, back on the 15th day of the shutdown, Jim had a birthday party for his stupid dog, complete with cake:

“Let them eat cake”, indeed.

Please don’t think that Jim doesn’t care about the shutdown because it’s actually causing him a lot of anguish:

Justice and his staff suggested the celebration also helped provide a reprieve for shutdown-weary Capitol Hill staff.

“To be perfectly honest, I think what is going on with the shutdown is not good,” Justice said. “It’s way too much politics for me, you know.” 

It’s worth noting that Senator Oh I Just Hate The Politics Of It All is perfectly happy to shovel the GOP shit:

And if Jim is suddenly entering the fray, it’s for a good reason. Last week the IRS announced an $8 million tax lien personally against Jim and his wife:

The IRS recently filed notices of a federal tax lien against Republican Sen. Jim Justice of West Virginia — the latest example of ongoing financial troubles that have trailed the former governor, members of his family and their network of businesses over the years.

One of the documents from the IRS — obtained by POLITICO — lists Justice and his wife, Cathy, as having a total balance of more than $8 million in unpaid assessments.

The documents represent the only instance of the IRS filing a lien against Justice personally, according to a public Greenbrier County database that goes back decades.

I’ve written a lot about Jim’s corruption for First Draft. It angers me on a level that surprises me. And this week there was more to be angry about, too.

The West Virginia Tax Division has filed liens on The Greenbrier Hotel and Greenbrier Sporting Club, both owned by the family of Senator Jim Justice, over sales taxes collected but not remitted.

The $1.36 million in financial obligations to the state piled up months ago, but the liens were filed with the Greenbrier County Clerk over the last several weeks.

The state tax issue is distinct from liens amounting to $8 million from the U.S. Internal Revenue Service against Justice and his wife, Cathy, for personal filings dating back to 2009.

In addition, Jim still doesn’t have a place to live in DC, and he flies in daily/as needed on his private plane. This is from October 14:

In January, we reported that Sen. Jim Justice (R-W.Va.) had the best commute in Washington. He was flying every day on a private jet from Greenbrier Valley Airport in Lewisburg, W.Va., to Washington Reagan National Airport.

This was supposed to be a temporary arrangement.

“Well, I won’t do that as soon as I get a place to live,” Justice told us in January. “Because I came right out of the governorship on [Jan. 13], got sworn in that day, and so, really, truly, we just haven’t gotten a place yet,” Justice said. “God knows it’ll be a whole lot simpler.”

The real estate market must be very tight, because Justice is still flying private nearly every day to Washington.

I think we can all see where this is going. Senator I Hate Politics is going to instruct his staff to post screeds against the Democrats and pretend to be a team player until President Grievance forgives his debt. And then Jim can resign and live a very comfortable life, courtesy of all of us. That’s quite the trump card.

I’ll leave you with this: