Sen. Shelley Moore Capito assailed the environmental regulations of President Barack Obama and the email practices of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in urging the Republican National Convention to "turn the tide" to elect a Republican president in November.
One of the "headliners" of Tuesday night's convention in Cleveland, and the only elected official to speak in the primetime 10 p.m.-hour Tuesday, Capito had called the speech the biggest of her political career. But cable and broadcast networks pre-empted her speech in favor of talking head analysis and discussion.
Capito, R-W.Va., spoke about three hours after Donald Trump was formally nominated as the Republican presidential nominee, but Trump was rarely mentioned in her speech. She said his name only twice, and not until the 12th minute of her 13-minute speech.
Capito instead focused on West Virginia and the coal and energy issues that dominate the state's political discourse but have taken on a lower profile nationally.
She called West Virginia "one big small town," an attitude that she said has been on display in the aftermath of the recent flooding that killed 23 people and left thousands homeless.
"The stories are tragic but uplifting," she said, describing how neighbors had helped each other in the flood's wake. "West Virginians work hard and deliver results, and in turn they expect our country's elected leaders to do the same."
They have not, Capito said.
Moments after saying that West Virginians' greatest request to her is to "stop the bickering," she said that Obama has been the "greatest obstacle" confronting American families over the last eight years.
"His policies have ripped through the heartland, creating a cycle of pessimism and disgust," Capito said. "People around the country feel the Obama administration has kicked them to the curb with a callousness that's damaged their ability to trust and respect the government."
Obama is less popular in West Virginia than virtually any other state, according to polls, but nationwide, with his approval rating hovering at or above 50 percent, he is as popular as he has been since shortly after he was elected to a second term and far more popular than either Trump or Clinton.
Capito, who never publicly supported a presidential candidate other than Trump, did say she disagreed with Trump's call for a religious test for immigrants when he proposed it in December.
She told CNBC on Tuesday that she had confronted him about some of his disparaging remarks about women. And she told West Virginia MetroNews that Trump has to "change his tone, not change his passion," something he has been unwilling to do since securing the GOP nomination.
But her speech Tuesday night, in calling for Clinton's defeat, was largely Trump-free.
Capito spoke at length about Obama's energy policies, which he says are a necessary step to forestall the worst effects of climate change.
"He's never realized that when you bankrupt a coal company you deprive communities of their livelihood," she said. "I weep for the fabric of my state."
Obama has proposed a multi-billion dollar plan to reinvest in coalfield communities struggling with an industry hindered not just by environmental regulations but by an unprecedented natural gas boom, shifting worldwide energy markets and depleted coal seams in Southern West Virginia.
There are virtually no credible forecasts that predict a comeback for coal - even if Obama's Clean Power Plan remains stalled - to anywhere near its former heights.
She cited the gaffe infamous in West Virginia when Clinton, in describing her own plan to invest and diversify coalfield communities, said, "We're going to put a lot of coal miners and coal companies out of business."
Clinton apologized, saying she misspoke, but was met with boos and protests during a campaign trip through Southern West Virginia in May.
"She has promised to devastate communities and families across coal country," Capito said. "Hillary Clinton understands coal miners and blue collar workers about as well as she understands secure emails."
Trump, the New York real estate magnate, harped on his love for coal miners during his campaign stop in West Virginia, although years earlier was more critical saying, "Most people don't have the imagination - or whatever - to leave their mine."
She repeatedly referenced Clinton's use of a private email server while she was secretary of state, saying Clinton had "squandered Americans' trust."
She mentioned the six-figure speaking fees that Clinton collected after leaving the State Department and a debunked story that Clinton once told about landing in a plane in Bosnia under sniper fire.
Policy-wise, Capito's focus was largely on federal regulations, which she said cost each American household $15,000 a year, repeating the figure four times. That number comes from the Competitive Enterprise Institute, a conservative think-tank, which admits it is a "back of the envelope" calculation that does not account for any for the benefits of regulations.
Capito said that Trump "understands how to create jobs and grow the economy," although, in keeping with a theme of Trump's campaign she offered few details or explanations of how he would do that.
Reach David Gutman at david.gutman@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-5119 or follow @davidlgutman on Twitter.