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Small-business owners show support for McCain
HUNTINGTON -- Small-business owners in support of John McCain for president gathered at the Tri-State Airport Wednesday to greet the Arizona senator and promote his plans to help small businesses.
Attorney David Tyson, Huntington Steel President Mike Emerson and Nancy Cartmill, who co-owns Cartmill Aluminum Co., were among those who spoke to the media Wednesday morning about McCain's ideas regarding taxes, trade and health care as they relate to small business.
"He's a great guy -- I feel energized just seeing him in West Virginia," said Tyson, who shook hands with McCain as he deplaned at Tri-State Airport on his way to a speaking engagement in Portsmouth, Ohio. Tyson foresees a double-digit victory for McCain in West Virginia.
Small businesses account for more than half the jobs in the United States' private sector, Tyson said, adding that 97 percent of country's exports are from small businesses. And McCain's emphasis on keeping tax rates low is critical to the success of small business in West Virginia, he said.
Emerson and Cartmill agreed.
"The reason I support John McCain in his efforts to become president of the United States is because of taxes primarily," Emerson said. McCain's promises to keep taxes flat and low will mean that Huntington Steel will be able to continue to hire more local workers and provide jobs, Emerson said.
Tyson added that they oppose Democratic candidate Barack Obama's plan to renegotiate the North America Free Trade Agreement, which affects 33 percent of United States trade. While many have concerns about NAFTA, for a candidate to say he's going to change the plan without comment from partners in the trade agreement is "pretty outrageous," Tyson said.
Emerson added that he's against Obama's plan for health care. If the federal government is going to cover more health-care costs for Americans, that's more tax money out of the pockets of both individuals and businesses, he said.
A shift toward socialized medicine could create delays in the system and leave Americans waiting too long for needed surgeries, Tyson added.
McCain, Tyson predicted, should win West Virginia with the support of the state's Republicans and probably half its Democrats.
He said the senator, a Vietnam prisoner of war, remembered visiting the Tri-State in 2000 to stop by the Barboursville Veterans Home.
"He'll be back," Tyson said. "This is McCain country. This is a red state."
