The West Virginia Democratic Party and leaders of many unions in the state want you to think that the Republican legislative majority is against unions, against working people, against K-12 education and against all that is good about West Virginia.
Don't be fooled.
If the Democratic and union boss-endorsed policies were so good for working families, West Virginia would be a workers' paradise. The state would be awash in good-paying jobs, K-12 education would be flourishing and tax revenue rolling in would care for all of the state's needs, including the needs of those who can't care for themselves.
But after generations of leadership by Democrats heavily influenced - if not outright ruled - by union bosses, the state has the lowest rate of people working, among the highest rates of unemployment, low rates of educational attainment and among the lowest rates of job creation, and it ranks low in countless other economic measures.
Now, the Republicans are trying to make changes that will put West Virginians back to work. The policies they are pushing - ending forced unionization, eliminating prevailing wage, as well as many legal reforms - will make the state more attractive to employers and improve the business climate so there can be more working families.
With more jobs, more people become employed and wages rise - not by government fiat - but by competition for workers.
Pro-business Republicans are not anti-union. None of the proposals they suggest will do anything to harm the rights of union workers. But if passed, the proposals would end forced subsidies that workers and taxpayers are paying to the union bosses.
As Senate President Bill Cole said in a friendly response to Gov. Tomblin's State of the State address: "The Legislature will pursue an agenda that strongly promotes both job creation and economic growth. The real war on West Virginia's working families is the status quo and inaction that has led us to this economic reality we face today."