West Virginia Rep. Nick Rahall (D) plans to leap out of an airplane to show his support for coal.

Yes, really.

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This comes via Ken Ward Jr., who posted Rahall’s press release on the big event. It is sponsored by Friends of Coal, and will honor the military and law enforcement too (that’s a lot of honor for one single leap):

U.S. Rep. Nick Rahall (D-W.Va.) today announced he will join the U.S. Army Parachute Team, the “Golden Knights” in their demonstration jump into Beckley, W.Va., on Saturday, July 18, 2009. Rep. Rahall accepted the Golden Knights invitation to participate in the team’s afternoon jump, and will land at the Paul Cline Memorial Sports Complex, in conjunction with the festivities of the 2009 Friends of Coal Auto Fair.

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The press release includes this quote from Rahall (who apparently refers to himself in the third person):

I cannot tell you how thrilled I am to be invited by the Golden Knights to join them for the Friends of Coal event. It is a very special honor for me to be able to show — in a bold way, my continued support for not only coal, but for everyone who serves the people of West Virginia and our Nation through their service in our armed forces and law enforcement agencies. It is a Nick Rahall affirmation of the importance of coal and an opportunity to pay tribute to those who extraordinarily serve and make personal sacrifices each day for the citizens of West Virginia and our Nation as a whole.

If you happen to be in West Virginia this weekend, don’t miss coal’s favorite House member throwing himself out of a plane in honor of dirty energy!