The coal miners rode busses from Eastern Kentucky to Frankfort to protest the "Stream Saver Bill" which was defeated in a House committee earlier this week. The bill essentially prohibits coal companies from pushing the dirt from mountaintop coal removal into the stream beds below. Coal industry lobbyists claim the measure, if enacted into law, would all but ban mountaintop removal mining.

Gov. Steve Beshear addressed the rowdy crowd of miners, telling them any energy policy of the commonwealth of Kentucky will always include coal as a linchpin. Other speakers railed against "Frankfort" and claimed coal companies are interested in the environment too. A couple claimed mountaintop removal is a good thing for Kentucky because it provides more land for potential development and wildlife.

I only talked to a few of the miners, none of whom had a real good idea of why their company was paying them to attend a rally in Frankfort. Only one mentioned the "Stream Saver Bill." All of them talked about politicians trying to put them out of work. To be fair, it's not unusual for many of the groups who come to Frankfort to be filled with folks who don't have much of a clue about the specific pieces of legislation they're for or against. But when you get close to 1,000 people on the Capitol steps, it's a pretty powerful show of political muscle.