THE BOUSTANY/VITTER/GIULIANI POST-MORTEM ... One of Louisiana’s more bizarre political alliances is over before it had a chance to make it to the altar. In April 2007, The Independent Weekly chronicled the strange, early endorsements of Republican presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani by U.S. Rep. Charles Boustany and U.S. Sen. David Vitter. “Rudy Giuliani is pro-choice, pro-gay rights and pro-gun control. Why are Louisiana conservatives Charles Boustany and David Vitter endorsing him for president, and will the state’s GOP base stand for it?” we asked.
The answer was pretty simple: Vitter and Boustany wanted to ride the former frontrunner’s coattails, and there were even rumblings that Vitter — before his prostitution scandal broke — was a possibility for a VP slot if Giuliani got the nomination. But now that Giuliani’s spectacular flameout is complete and he’s dropped out of the race, where do Boustany and Vitter turn now? Do they endorse current Republican frontrunner and favorite John McCain, whom Giuliani is now endorsing? (Boustany and Vitter did not return e-mail requests for comment.)
The Louisiana Republican legislators’ ill-fated Giuliani endorsement probably won’t matter much in the end for voters, but if the Republicans retain the White House, Vitter and Boustany won’t be at the front of the line for plum committee assignments and state dinners.
LANDRIEU, VITTER FACE OFF OVER U.S. ATTORNEY DUGAS ... It was all purple-and-gold warm fuzzies earlier this week when Louisiana Sens. David Vitter and Mary Landrieu introduced a Senate resolution honoring the LSU Tigers’ championship run. Since that important government business is now taken care of, they’ve returned to squabbling over President Bush’s nomination of U.S. Attorney David Dugas to the federal bench. Last October, Vitter and Landrieu traded sharp barbs over Dugas, exchanging icy letters. Some highlights, er, lowlights from Round 1:
Vitter: “I strongly believe that every judicial nominee deserves a fair and timely hearing and up-or-down vote. I believe this would be a new low of delay, obstructionism and partisanship regarding judges.”
Landrieu: “An important line exists between fighting the true obstacles to our recovery and seeking false controversy in hopes of grabbing headlines. I urge you to consider more constructive steps in moving past your recent political challenges.”
And now, Round 2. Vitter’s latest correspondence: “To continue to block this qualified nominee is nothing more than partisanship and obstructionism.” Landrieu spokesman Adam Sharp responded by telling The Advocate that Landrieu remains concerned over Dugas’ lack of intervention in a lawsuit investigating claims of insurance companies’ fraud in hurricane recovery claims. “She has not been actually convinced that [Dugas] acted in the constituents’ best interest,” Sharp said.
With it being an election year, expect the Vitter/Landrieu pen-pal follies to increase.
LANDRIEU CROSSES AISLE ON WIRETAPPING IMMUNITY FOR TELECOMS ... In between sparring with Vitter, Landrieu was one of only three Democrats to cross party lines last week and vote in favor of granting telecom companies retroactive immunity for their participation in President Bush’s warrantless wiretapping program. “President Bush’s warrantless wiretapping program represented a lack of judgment on the part of the Federal Government,” Landrieu said in a statement to The Independent Weekly. “Immediately after September 11th, many telecom companies thought they had no choice but to comply with the government’s request. They should not be punished for cooperating in a fight for our national security. I will fight for amendments to the legislation that examine the legality of the President’s wiretapping program and that strengthen the role of the FISA court.”
It appears her vote is a nod to conservatives in anticipation of her upcoming 2008 re-election battle against Republican John Kennedy and other possible challengers. However, it’s worth noting that telecoms have been generous contributors to Landrieu’s campaigns through the years. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, Landrieu received $33,250 from telephone utilities in the 2000 election cycle, including $10,500 from BellSouth. In the 2003-2008 Senate election cycle, Comcast and CenturyTel’s political action committees clock in as two of Landrieu’s Top 20 campaign contributors.
WHO DAT MAKIN’ DEM LAWS? ... Special interests are chomping at the bit to figure out a strategy for this year’s legislative sessions, but with so many new faces in the House and Senate, it’s difficult to figure out who is holding the cards. “There’s a lot of issues in the upcoming special sessions we’re interested in, but as far as the regular session, we’re waiting to see what’s being floated and who the players are,” says former U.S. Rep. Chris John of Crowley, president of the Louisiana Mid-Continent Oil and Gas Association.
Maybe that’s why folks around the Capitol are eager to see this year’s versions of the legislative guides that various groups put out every year. The tiny booklets feature not only headshots, but background info on all lawmakers. “Yeah, I think everyone is waiting on those,” John says.
As for political maneuvers, the loudest chatter coming out of last week’s Washington, D.C. Mardi Gras concerned John taking on Vitter in 2010 in a sequel to their 2004 battle. “I would certainly welcome a rematch,” John says. “But everything right now is about [Sen.] Mary [Landrieu] until we get through this election year. Very few people are even thinking about David right now.”
Contributors: Scott Jordan and Jeremy Alford
MAY 23 Here's a story in the Picayune about some statistics that must come as a blow to folks who believe that any private school can do a better job of educating kids than any public school: Danielle Dreilinger reports that only 30 percent of the voucher kids are passing. That's less than half of the state wide average, she says. It's an interesting statistic because most of the schools (if not all) taking voucher kids have never had their students' standardized test scores released to the public before.
MAY 23 Stephen Sabludowsky blogs on Bayou Buzz about auditor requests here. Recently the state GOP started crowing about a request from the Legislative Auditor, claiming they were being targeted because of their anti-tax stance. (Uh, your what?) Denial and hyperbole aside, the state Democratic party blew holes in that theory with an email announcing they'd received the same request, Sabludowsky writes here.
MAY 23 Jim Brown blogs about the senate race in this post. He says that, given Bobby Jindal's "lack of traction" on the national stage, it might make more sense for the governor to consider running against Mary Landrieu for the senate seat. Since Tim Teeple left the Cassidy team, it makes sense he might land on a Jindal for Senate team, Brown opines.
MAY 23 In this Louisiana Voice post, blogger Tom Aswell writes of rumors that his nemesis, state Superintendent of Education John White, may be soon departing Louisiana for a federal post. It's hard to believe, given his performance, Aswell says, but stranger things have happened. An anti-White BESE member says that, if true, White is quitting before he can be fired.
MAY 23 In this post on American Zombie, blogger Jason Berry writes about the Mother's Day shooting. Mayor Landrieu said that "this is not who we are," but the fact is, this is New Orleans, Berry writes. The violence infused in the city is the result of a culture created by "sins of omission or sins of commission," Berry writes. It's not a problem that can be solved by legislating, policing, praying or publicizing, he says: Someone's got to understand what's happening first.
MAY 23 This post in the Westside Journal tells us what Port Allen Mayor Deedy has been up to lately: vetoing ordinances, apparently. This story is most interesting, however, when it delves into a petition that has been circulating around the city lately. It accuses the former mayor of a lot of nasty things; the former mayor says it is full of lies and "broken syntax" which may be a larger offense in his eyes.
MAY 23 This editorial posted in The Advocate is a bit confusing. The writing is poor - definitely not up to the usual editorial writing standard there - and the point is hard to grasp. Apparently, the writer is saying that privatization of state efforts is OK, as long as there is oversight and transparency, but Jindal's not good at that, and the legislature shouldn't over-react. Okey Dokey. Can't they get one of them Pulitzer-winning people to write an editorial?
MAY 23 This post on The Lens gives you links to a new Google Earth tool that allows you to see any spot on earth transform over the past 30 years. Bob Marshall, who covers the coast for the paper, says that in the case of Louisiana's coastline, it's possibly something you don't want to see, because it's not a pretty picture. There are several clips here, showing critical areas erode away. For Marshall, it was vindication for all those times he was met with eye-rolling when he talked about erosion.
Most Read
in case you missed it
Subscribe to this comment's feed