During a meeting with Charleston Gazette editors Friday, Swint said three of his key campaign issues are supporting the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act for women, opposing the continued deregulation of banks, and mountaintop removal mining.

Swint said Capito holds opposite positions on all those issues. Capito, who currently represents the Second Congressional District, did not attend the meeting.

Swint said he is particularly upset at provisions in the Paul Ryan budget before the House "creating vouchers for Medicare recipients and further tax cuts for the wealthy ... . The wealthy should finally pay their fair share."

Swint also opposed Capito's "support for George W. Bush in two unfunded wars" in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Swint would support some cuts in the Defense budget. "We could close hundreds of military bases around the world without hurting our security ... .

"We could also save money by not having ... tax loopholes, deductions and exemptions for the wealthy," he said.

Swint was particular vocal in opposing the U.S. Supreme Court's Citizens United decision in January 2010.

That 5-4 ruling treats corporations as people, allowing them to make unlimited contributions to political campaigns. Often, the sources of contributions made to political action committees are not made available to the public.

"If I am elected, I would become an immediate spokesperson for campaign reform and lobbying reform," Swint said. "I would cite the dissenting opinions of four Supreme Court justices who objected to Citizens United."

Swint said he would favor a Constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United.

"President Obama has disappointed me so many times, in areas like public campaign financing and rolling over for the Super PACS. But he is the best candidate.

"I believe Romney would represent more the views of the Bush administration than the best interests of West Virginians."

Swint praised the federal Environmental Protection Agency as "a godsend for West Virginia. The John Amos Power Plant [in Winfield] is a giant example of how environmental regulations have insured a market for coal for decades to come. Scrubbers reduce our air pollution and our water pollution."

Swint believes the real problems the coal industry faces today come from the cheaper production of coal in Wyoming's Powder River Basin and the growing development of Marcellus Shale natural gas wells.

Swint repeated his previous allegations that Capito and her husband Charles benefited from insider information when they traded Citigroup stocks in 2008.

Capito is a member of the House Financial Services Committee and Charles is a Citigroup Global Markets executive.

Even though Citigroup stock dropped 76 percent at one point in 2008, the Capitos made $50,000 from trading Citigroup stocks that year, according to information in her "Calendar Year 2008 Financial Disclosure Statement," filed with the House of Representatives.

Kent Gates, who is managing Capito's campaign, said these and other charges about using insider information for insider trading are simply false.

"Jay Rockefeller put his assets into a blind trust," Swint said. "The Capitos refused to do that. Had they put their assets in a blind trust, none of this would have happened."

Capito's SEC filings also report her husband Charles worked for four banks since 2008, but they do not reveal his salaries from those banks.

House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, have also refused to back efforts requiring more revealing reports from members of Congress, Swint said.

Reach Paul J. Nyden at pjny...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-5164.