Leading Ladies: Shelley Moore-Capito is a member of the United Sates
House of Representative representing the 2nd District in West Virginia.

Observer: Tell me about growing up in West Virginia.
Capito: I grew up in a political family. My father [Arch Moore] was in politics. I spent all my formative years observing both my parents in public life. I am one of three children, I’m the middle one. We lived here Washington, D.C. for a while when my dad was in the Congress. We are from the northern part of the state; my parents still live there. I grew up in Glen Dale, just south of Wheeling. We lived half the time in West Virginia and the other half in D.C. Then in 1968 my dad was elected governor. We moved to the governor’s mansion when I was 14.
Observer: Was it exciting?
Capito: It was very, very exciting. It was a beautiful home. The negative to it was that it was very isolating. It’s not like you are in a neighborhood. I didn’t develop too many friendships going through school. Then I went off to college. I came back to Charleston the summer before I graduated. That is when I met my future husband, on a blind date. We married very young, at 22, and stayed in Charleston.
Observer: [Governor Arch Moore was Governor of West Virginia from 1969 to 1977 and from 1985 to 1989. In 1990 he was convicted of five felony charges and spent over three years in confinement]. Tell me about your father. He got into trouble, right?
Capito: That was in 1990. My kids were 10, 8 and 5. I was in my mid 30s. I was still living in Charleston.
Observer: That must have been a tough time - your dad on the front pages every day of the newspapers?
Capito: It was very, very difficult. Very sad for all of us. But we made it through; family and friends pulled together. Both my parents are very strong people. It was very challenging.
Observer: Did you visit him in jail?
Capito: Yes, that was sobering. Not a time I like to think back on too much. We became a lot closer in some ways; the focus becomes your personal relationship because that’s all you have in a difficult time. I always like to look at glass being half full. He’s a great guy, a great dad.
Observer: Did you learn from the experience?
Capito: I think what it gave me was a hard shell. I think I have pretty thick skin and you have to have that in politics—I don’t know how people who are sensitive do this; I’m sure there are some around without it. I got [a thick skin] growing up in my family.
Observer: How is the U.S. Congress different from being in the Capitol in West Virginia?
Capito: You have to be on top of your game all the time. It’s the one thing John McCain said to me in 2000. I asked him about how much harder is it running for president than for the Senate, and he said, “it is a 1000 times harder.” I then asked him what kind of advise he would give me. And he said, “make sure you take time off, don’t get depleted.”
Observer: You are the only congresswoman from West Virginia. Is that important to you?
Capito: It makes a big difference. It adds diversity to the delegation. I’m the second ever woman serving in Congress from West Virginia. It shows the rest of the country that West Virginia has the ability to look beyond gender.
Observer: Let’s talk about Iraq. You voted for the original resolution authorizing the war. However, recently you have said you are concerned about the surge in troop numbers. Still, you voted against the resolution calling for the withdrawal of troops from Iraq. How do you reconcile that?
Capito: I’m very concerned about Iraq, very concerned about bringing troops home soon. We have been going along in a very disorganized fashion. It was going along fairly well until bombs blew up in Falujah. And then the president said, “there is going to be a change, and we are going to send more people in.” And my question is, will this put down the insurgency? I was skeptical. But my reaction as a policy maker and appropriator is that the president is moving forward with this and I’m going to fund that effort, because it would be inherently unfair and devastating not only to the physical well-being but also the emotional and mental health of the troops who are deployed and part of the surge.
Observer: At what stage do you just say ‘enough is enough’, it’s time to pull out the troops?
Capito: That’s a good question. I think we are approaching that stage.
Observer: What I have heard from politicians, even moderate Republicans, is that we have to give it one more chance, but then what? We either stay in Iraq and there’s going to be huge bloodshed, or we leave Iraq and there is going to be huge bloodshed.
Capito: I think in the short term, September is going to be a big month. General David Petraeus is going to give his report [on Iraq to Congress]. I think a lot of us look forward to what that report will say and lead us to what you are saying, when is enough, enough? When is the direction going to drastically change? We will have to wait and see.
Observer: The president and his wife were incredibly supportive of your election campaign. They have celebrated Independence Day in West Virginia with you. There is also a picture of you and Laura Bush in your front office. Has that changed?
Capito: No. I have a personal relationship with the President of the United States, and I think that’s a good thing for our state. Do I agree with everything he says and does? Absolutely not! Immigration is the starkest difference [between us] right now.
Observer: Next year, when you will be campaigning again for reelection to Congress, will you invite President Bush along?
Capito: I don’t know. Anytime the President of United States wants to come to your state, I think it’s a good thing.
Observer: If he said that he would come, would you invite him along?
Capito: I don’t know, we will have to wait and see.
Observer: There are quite a lot of illegal immigrants in West Virginia. For example, it is alleged that the Moorefield chicken plants employ illegal immigrants. What are you going to say to these food processors, who rely on these low paid workers.
Capito: I think “illegal” means breaking the law. I think that if businesses are intentionally employing illegal immigrants, then that illegality is the issue. West Virginians by and large overwhelmingly see this as a fairness issue. It’s not fair for people to be able to come into this country, illegally stay here, and be offered the fruits of citizenship while others are waiting to get in.
Observer: What are we going to do with the 12 million illegal aliens who are living in the United States right now?
Capito: I know that all 12 million won’t go back. They would never be identified to go; it would be very costly at the same time. But we can begin to take the lawbreakers here, who are endangering our security. We should not put them in jail here, we should send them home!
Observer: What should we do with children of illegal aliens? They were born here and are American citizens. Do we break up the family? It’s not easy.
Capito: (crossing arms) No! Nothing up here is easy (laughs). If it was black and white, I would be sitting behind my desk smoking a cigar! I think that we have to do something definitive about the problem. Amnesty is not the answer. We have already tried this.
Observer: People in the Eastern Panhandle are really worried about growth and the environment. Is the environment important to you?
Capito: I don’t know how you can live in West Virginia and not have the environment important to you, because it is such a stunningly beautifully state. So yes, it is important to me. There again, it is difficult in parts of the state—because we are resource rich—to try to balance the sometime competing interests.
Observer: You say you the environment is important to you, yet you voted to allow off-shore drilling. You also voted in favor of drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. And the League of Conservation Voters gives you overall a poor score for your voting record on the environment.
Capito: You are looking at a competing interest here. How are we going to generate our energy resources over the next generation without heavy reliance on foreign oil? We should look at other areas of America that we can find sources of power, [for instance] off shore drilling and Alaska.
Observer: Do you think climate change is a reality?
Capito: I think there is enough science that climate change is a reality. Now, to what degree, and what does it mean for our future? I’m kind of learning about that. This is an area that is evolving and I think I need to learn a whole lot more about.
Observer: What are your top ten concerns?
Capito: The war, health care, jobs—probably put jobs before health care—education, energy, immigration. The environment would not be in my top six, not that I don’t care about it, the other issues are more pressing.
Observer: Do you think there is a cultural clash between Charleston and Charles Town?
Capito: Charleston is predictably wrapped up in being a capital city. I think it is inward-looking. Charleston is more of a taker from the Panhandle than a giver. And [the people in the Eastern Panhandle] believe that whatever they have grown and done is by their own hands—I think they are absolutely correct in that.
Observer: Are you opposed to same sex marriage?
Capito: Yes.
Observer: What about civil unions? Are you opposed to these as well?
Capito: I believe marriage is between a man and a woman and I voted that way.
Observer: I’m asking about civil unions, which as you know is a different issue from same sex marriage.
Capito: That is not an issue that we have addressed here, and until we do, I’m going to say I believe is marriage is between a man and a woman.
Observer: It appears to me one of the big issues in West Virginia is “what can you do for us.” It often comes down to money. That is one of the reasons why Senator Byrd is so loved. Is this going to be a big lever point for you? Can you say that you are going to be able bring that much more money than a new Democratic representative?
Capito: West Virginia is a small state. West Virginians feel very connected. I have worked hard over the past four terms to form personal connections with people I represent. I don’t think when I come to the Panhandle that constituents see me as someone who is going to build a bridge, or something like that. I would hope they would see someone who will listen, who lives in West Virginia, who is accessible. I’m just like they are, but I’m in a position to be able to help them.
Observer: [In late 2006, various emails and text messages showed that Rep. Mark Foley had inappropriate contact with pages working in the House. At the time, Rep. Capito was on the page board, responsible for the management of the page program]. What was it like being quickly dumped in this boiling cauldron?
Capito: I was asked in March ‘05 if I would be on board of the page program. “Sure, sounds like an easy job, sounds like fun.” I was sitting in my office on September 29 [2006], when the head of the page board laid it out. I didn’t know about [the scandal]; I should have known what was going on, that is why you have a page board. We now have a non-partisan page board; we have a parent on the board—and a former student. I have now become more integrally involved in getting to know the pages. I was heavily insulted that anybody insinuated that I was covering up for anything. You can’t cover up for something you don’t know.
Observer It must have been a bad day!
Capito: (laughs nervously) What am I laughing for? It wasn’t funny was it? It was just a major bomb shell that just came out of nowhere.
Observer: What do you do in that situation? Did you panic?
Capito: No. We decided to hit it head on, tell the truth, express disappointment and outrage, which we did very early. And we found a way to improve it.
Observer: God forbid something would happen to Senator Byrd; but if something did, would you be interested in his job?
Capito: I’m the kind of person who doesn’t plan that far ahead. I live in the here and now. I have my nose to the grindstone. I have another year and a half to this term. I plan to run for reelection again.
Observer: Democrat John Unger has thrown his hat in the ring for your seat. Would he be an interesting opponent?

Capito: I’m going to have an active opponent. I’m ready for whoever.