An astute reader notes that Don Blankenship, CEO of the Massey Energy Company, may be one of the few business leaders in the country who isn’t squeamish about political activity.

In 2004, according to SourceWatch, Blankenship contributed $3 million to a PAC that campaigned against the re-election of West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals justice Warren McGraw, who was indeed defeated that year. Questioned about the propriety of his contribution, Blankenship demonstrated not the slightest regret or defensiveness: “I helped defeat a judge who had released a pedophile to work in a local school, who had driven doctors out of state, and who had cost workers their jobs for thirty-plus years. I think this effort helped unchain West Virginia’s economy and benefited working families.”