other nation . women's track and field. u.s. ahead of china in gold medals and third straight olympics u.s. women's soccer team eat japan two-one . late game save by hope solo. now back to huckabee and all of your headlines log on to fox news.com. powerful name in news. ♪ >> mike: four years ago the coal miners union put their voting power behind barack obama. at the time that was over 100,000 workers and voters. that is voters and workers that obama could count on. but this year, the umwa has not endorsed president obama. in fact, members have been vocal that this

administration's epa rules are killing their industry. >> america wouldn't have had an industrial revolution if not for coal. for over a century he coal mining has been a vital part of the u.s. labor force and economy. today, nearly half of all electricity is still generated from coal. the united states has more than 600 coal plants in 25 states across the country. with estimates of up to 250 billion short tons in reserves, coal is our most abundant and least expensive fuel source. in other words, coal is to america what oil is to saudi arabia. but now due to an increase in epa regulations, many coal mines are being forced to shut down, leaving thousands of miners unemployed and that has a ripple effect on other businesses that rely on miners that have jobs. since january, 2009, this has been a net loss of nearly 4,000 jobs in coal mining throughout the united states. 122 mines were shut down in 2009 alone. due to the government's heavy

hand there are thousands are hard working americans, many whose families have been in this industry for generations, finding themselves jobless with few options to rescue them from this reality. west virginia leads the nation in underground coal production with coal found in 53 out of 55 counties. 20% of all coal miner employment comes from west virginia. joining me now is bill la moloney. he is right now the republican candidate for governor in west virginia. bill, thanks for being here and great to have you. i wanted again first of all, let's talk about the big news of the day is mitt romney's pick of paul ryan to be his running mate. good news for people in the coal industry? >> i think it is great news. this guy comes from a business background. a fellow contractor. he was a little different but he understands business. though hass it takes to actually create real jobs and sign the front of a pay check.

what we need in washington and in our country. a great pick. >> mike: let's talk specifically the coal mining industry. devastatedve been tiv in your state. 2,000 people have lost jobs just in west virginia. no real likelihood a lot of those jobs is going to come back. what has been the sing the greatest hit to the coal industry the last few you years? >> i have been involved in the coal industry for 30 years. you had natural gas and coal and gone back and forth with price but never had the government in the middle of the equation like they are now. common sense regulation is one thing. what is going on especially from the epa and mr. obama and joe biden's attack on coal is totally over the top. i mean reality has left the equation. we have to get common sense back and get people that understand we have abundant natural resources in our are country. especially west virginia. we are the saudi arabia of our country but need to utilize the resources in a responsible

manner. we have lost almost 3,000 jobs, direct coal mining jobs this year and translates into almost 20,000 job overall around you go to southern west virginia and get on the ground where i have been the past few weeks and people are fed up. we have a convicted felon that got 40% of the vote for president in our primary? we will win this and get our state back. >> mike: west virginia has coally been blue blue the issue has changed things. you mentioned a convicted felon got 40% of the vote in the democratic primary. people weren't saying we would love to have a convicted felon to be our governor. that is illinois that does that they go ahead and pick them there. but that was a protest vote. do you think the administration and the democratic party are they getting the message yet? >> no. in fact, our elected leaders in west virginia sit there taking it. we are the second state in the nation to implement obama care yet we say we are trying to fight back.

we are not fighting back. guys like governor perry in texas are fighting back. we are sitting there and taking it. and it is killing our way of life. coal powers our nation. that was our best kept secret in west virginia our low coast abundant energy. we are losing six coal fired plants this year. china is building new ones going on line. something is wrong with the picture. >> i want to address the fact that the coal industry loses jobs directly but talk about how it affects other businesses in west virginia communities that are not direct coal producing or coal mining businesses? >> well, you look at equipment suppliers and hotels and restaurants. i have a friend in beckley with 230 employees. had to lay off 67 in the past two weeks. really hurts and i mean it is tough. you don't want to lay off anybody but you have to survive and what is going on coming out of washington is killing our way of life in west virginia and we have so much potential.

and that word can is in my vocabulary. i was involved in the chiliian mine rescue. it is time to rescue like we did in chile. there is a brighter future for our state and nation. from the top of the ticket down in west virginia we have great folks running. not just me. it will be a great year and we can turn our nation and state around with great leadership. >> mike: thank you for joining us and best of luck in this election. >> thank you for having me, governor. >> mike: we will talk to coal miners in west virginia and ile ask them what has to be done to happen in order to save their jobs. we will ta them, when we come back. i've been coloring liz's hair for years.

but lately she's been coming in with less gray than usual. what's she up to? [ female announcer ] root touch-up by nice'n easy has the most shade choices, designed to match even salon coloin just 10 minutes. with root touch-up, all they see is you. so, same time next week? well, of course.

and i thought "i can't do this, it's just too hard." then there was a moment. when i decided to find a way to keep going. go for olympic gold and go to college too. [ male announcer ] every day we help students earn their bachelor's or master's degree for tomorrow's careers. this is your moment. let nothing stand in your way. devry university, proud to support the education of our u.s. olympic team. in america, we celebrate people who are smart and try and make themselves smarter and people who work hard and use their hard bork work to try and create a better future for

themselves and their kids and grand kids. that is who we are. a nation which has been built on people reaching for achievement and excellence. striving. that is the nature of america. >> mike: we are talking about the uncertain future of the coal industry. thanks tcrippling epa regulatit into effect by the obama administration it has been hard to be in the coal business. dick jarrell an electional foreman and joshua nelson and his dad mark. both miners. mark laid off two months guy. gentlemen, welcome to our show today. great to have you here. joshua, you you come from a long line of coal mining families. i wanted you to talk about how the coal mining industry and your jobs have been affected in this recent obama administration? >> absolutely, governor. i graduated from liberty

university and with the job market the way it was i went back home like dad and granddad and great grand daddy to go to work in the mines to take care of some of that college debt and i have a wife and a one-year-old who is now working on two. we are very worried about it. there was before all this started to happen there were probably 4,000 people or so employed in boone county where we are from in the coal industry or directly related to the coal industry and when all of the talks of layoffs and what have you started to happen, obviously everybody is really worried. we have had a lot of involvement. we had people getting more involved in the governmental process than we ever had. that is actually why i got my hat in the race for local level politics for the west virginia legislature. takes a huge hit. makes it difficult for families wondering where meals are are going to could come from and affecting our entire community, governor. >> mark, you are josh's dad and you have been in the coal mine business for all of your life. two months ago you got laid off

from that job. what are the prospects for finding something else to do there? >> i put applications in everywhere that is accepting and not getting any results at all so. i'm a dozer operator. mobile equipment operator. everybody is out trying to find a job. and it just keeps getting worse and worse. really to be honest with you as of right now there is no hope. >> mike: that is such a sad thing. we have a president who said he was running to give us hope and was going to bring change and what you just said, it touches all of us. no hope. when your community and your whole world is built around coal mining, vick, let me bring you into this. as an electrical foreman at a local mine. not only impacted but but your son and daughter and law and his family have had to move in with you to make ends meet. talk about how to impacted

yourou outlook as you look towards the future and that of your family. what is your thoughts? >> well, governor, i saw a young man he is 22 years old now. he is starting in the coal industry about two and a half years ago. and just a year ago he was a young man filled with hope and prospects for the future. him and his wife were looking for houses and land and just planning for his future to raise his children and now like you said he is moving in with us. he has been mate decembercy de. breaks my heart. just humiliated. he put in several job applications. he can't find work. mowed yards and worked on people's vehicles to try to survive and finally just gave up. still looking for work. he will make it and he will find a job but it has been

tough. it has been i seen a young man with just a year ago full of hope and now he is going through a rough time and put tremendous stress on his relationship with his wife and it has been tough. it has been tough on all of us. >> that is the side that people need to understand. not just economics. the human touch. lives being forever affected. joshua, people in coal mines work very, very hard. it is hard work. >> absolutely. >> it is tough work but also work that pays pretty well and people it is not just a job. it is a way of life for so many people in west virginia. and every time i have been there people can talk about the generations of folks in the mines. why do you think that this administration has put such a target on the coal industry? what is it about the coal industry that upsets this administration and the president so much? >> well, i'm -- you know, it is a lot of people, governor. and they have this unsound

science that people have come up with that is not proven that coal is causing tall damage to the environment and this and that. it is a proven fact that where coal is a major factor in a country's economy life expectancy goes up. people forget the fact that our military technology electronics being powered, our nursing homes where our grandparents spent their last days, a lot of that is powered through coal. put us through two world wars and we won both of them because of coal. just a little fact -- [ applause ] >> 400 of me and the rest of miners in west virginia in one coal mine in one day can dig enough coal out o of the mine that will equal more electricity when converted to electricity than every single solar panel and wind milln the united states combined. that is a lot.

>> mike: one final question. you are union coal miner. a lot of folks in west virginia are. unions typically vote democrat. is that going to happen this time in west virginia? >> no, sir,, by no means. we can't endorse somebody that is trying to take our lives and livelihood away. it will not happen. >> mike: gentlemen, i want to thank all of you. it is a pleasure to visit with you and i hope things turn around for your industry. not only affects you and your family it affects the rest of us. all of america depends upon having our own domestic resource and coal is a big part of that and for you to be targeted is to target every one of us. our utility bills and way of life and i appreciate your sharing the human side of your story here today. thank you so much for joining us. well, it is not just goal that environmental is stranging. the iconic gibson guitar

factory was raided by an armed s.w.a.t. team. why? because of the way they improperred the wood to make the guitars. the stung and disturbing story next. if it can happen to this country, let me tell you, it can happen to any country in america. we'll be right back. >> i would love to hear from you. go to mike huckabee .com and click on the fox news feedback section or sign up for my facebook page and follow me he on twitter. find a link to that and more at mikehuckabee .com. [ scratching ] you're not using too much are you, hon? ♪ nope. [ female announcer ] charmin ultra soft is so soft you'll have to remind your family they can use less. charmin ultra soft is made with extra cushions that are soft and more absorbent. plus you can use four times less versus the leading value brand. don't worry, there's plenty left for you dad. we all go. why not enjoy the go with charmin ultra soft?

>> mike: guitarists will tell you ther with the wood the better the guitar. at the gibson guitar company had been using imported rosewood from india to make the

fret boards. the fret board this part right here. they have been doing this until one day last august when of all things the federal government raided the factory in nashville and confiscated the supply of rosewood. claiming the wood was imported illegally according to the feds the wood should have been finished by workers in india and then sent over rather than sending the wood unfinished and letting american workers freight the fret boards right here. criminal charges were threatened but never filed. the company stood its ground hoping to get the wood back. this week gibson's ceo ended the ordeal bissetleing with the justice department. you wonder why is the government clamping down on american companies that just want to produce the best product possible and for heaven sakes make it in america instead of overseas. joining me this this first interview since the settlement is gibson guitar ceo. henry, the story i remember when it happened a year ago.

i was stunned. the federal government barged into the factory in nashville. tell me what happened it. >> well, it was pretty surprising. and you know it was the second time they did it. they had done that approximately two years before and while we were in the process of being investigated and discussions they came in again on an entire early different issue which was the indian wood. they came in with 30 s.w.a.t. attired people with automatic weapons. >> into your factory like you were making drugs or something? >> into three factories. they he came into three factories and evacuated all of the employees into the parking lot and turned off the video surveillance and then seized a lot of goods. guitars, hard drives. i had four people in my office

with guns that wouldn't allow me in. it was pretty nightmarish. >> mike: what was the big issue? shepard smith said ththey saidt board wasn't finished right? >> well, in both cases of investigation there was wood from madagascar and then wood from india. the wood from india was endorsed by the ford stewartship council. we have an environmental third-party ngo that comes in and certifies that we are doing everything right. and so it was shocking that the government would seize on something that was the whole pint of this that we were being investigated under. so, you know, there was nothing wrong with it. and the government's case

revolved around something that is a nonlegal issue which is the tariff code that was applied to the finger boards. and in our settlement they agreed there was no problem with importing wood from india nor the way that we were doing it and they are returning the finger boards they seized. >> mike: so basically after all of this time, guns ablazing in your face and everything they have done to virtually scare the daylights out of your employees, a year later they say well, nothing is really wrong but you end up having to settle with them just to get them off your back be? >> yeah. and a even further we have not been able to import from a major supplier which is india since they did it the raid. and so we had to replace all of have to substitutethey seized other materials with no notice and so it was enormously

disruptive. >> mike: and you had to pay a settlement to the justice department. how much of that? >> the settlement was $350,000 with another piece of it but frankly that is you know, small potatoes. to date, since the first raid we have spent $2.4 million just in legal fees addressing this issue. >> mike: good heavens. >> and we haven't been charged with anything. there is no trial. had we gone to trial, legal fees would have been $5 million, $6 million minimum. >> mike: that is a lot of guitars you could have been selling. today, governor romney, i personally hope he will be the president, but -- he named paul ryan to be his running mate. i think both these guys have a different attitu toward business than maybe what you have experienced with the obama

administration. are you optimistic that things would change if we have a change of administration? >> i think it would considerably improve. you know, my feeling and a lot of the people i talk to that are in businesses that you know the current administration just does not like business guys. especially successful business guys. >> mike: yeah. >> and it doesn't matter what business you are in. and there is a general distrust of what is happening in washington at this point. >> mike: , well, there ought to be. if somebody from the government of the united states can walk into your business, shut you down, mess with you for a year, cost you millions of dollars that you can't get back, for reasons they can't even explain and eventually walk away from their own charges but still leave you holding the bag, if that can happen to you it can happen to every business owner in america. and if that is not a reason to

scare the daylights out of people. [ male announcer ] introducing zzzquil sleep-aid. it's not for colds, it's not for pain, it's just for sleep. because sleep is a beautiful thing. ♪ zzzquil, the non-habit forming sleep-aid from the makers of nyquil.

>> thanks all of you joining us on the special live broadcast. our thanks to the family leader and all of the wonderful people who joined us tonight. we thank you for getting a chance to talk to you not only for the mitt romney selection of paul ryan for vice-president but to talk about