November 10, 2010
As Republicans take further control of the political landscape, it’s fair to say Louisiana Democrats have seen better days. By Jeremy Alford
Few summed it up better than Roger Villere, chairman of the Louisiana Republican Party, who labeled last week’s election day a referendum on all things Democrat. Villere hit the Dems on practically every issue they slammed Republicans on two years ago. “Voters are not satisfied with their failed record on jobs, their ballooning of the national deficit, or their rapid increase in the size and scope of government control,” Villere says. “There is no one for the Democrats to blame but themselves.”
So. Where do things stand now? Well, there’s one U.S. senator, one congressman and one statewide elected official. That’s what Louisiana Democrats have going for themselves right now. And if you continue reading into it, the picture doesn’t get any better.
Attorney General Buddy Caldwell is now the only statewide Democratic official, due to last week’s victory by Lt. Gov.-elect Jay Dardenne, a Baton Rouge Republican. But Caldwell, a folksy type from the piney northern hamlet of Tullulah, is also the same Democrat who filed a lawsuit challenging President Barack Obama’s health care plan and joined forces as of late with Gov. Bobby Jindal. In other words, Caldwell isn’t exactly leading any Democratic pep rallies.
On Capitol Hill, U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu becomes — even more so — the banner-bearer for Louisiana Democrats, even though it’s rumored she’s pondering skipping re-election. Finally, state Rep. Cedric Richmond’s win in the 2nd Congressional District over Republican incumbent Joseph Cao allows Democrats to maintain one seat out of seven in the state’s House delegation.
Joshua Stockley, political science professor at UL Monroe, says Cao’s 2008 election will likely be an asterisk in the saga of ex-Congressman Bill Jefferson, the Democrat whose federal corruption charges gifted Cao with a surprise win. Thus, Richmond reclaiming the Big Easy doesn’t exactly make Dems feel much better. “New Orleans really doesn’t count,” Stockley says. “New Orleans is supposed to go Democratic.”
What does count is the upcoming election for secretary of state, a post Dardenne will be vacating in the coming weeks as he ascends to No. 2. It’s the next opportunity Democrats will have to shore up support. Of course, that brings to mind Dardenne’s slain opponent, Caroline Fayard of New Orleans. Even though she lost to Dardenne in the lieutenant governor’s contest by 14 points, the Democratic newbie received 64,210 more votes than Congressman Charlie Melancon, a fellow Democrat from Napoleonville who shelled out a whopping $4 million on his bid for the U.S. Senate.
“I think Caroline Fayard has a bright future in Democratic politics, even in this very conservative state. She just has to show people she’s not the southern, just-as-liberal version of (speaker of the U.S. House) Nancy Pelosi,” Stockley says. “Democrats need a big win in Louisiana right now. They need to show they have some presence here. The secretary of state’s election should end up being very competitive.”
Fayard is 32, just fours years older than Ravi Sangisetty, the Houma attorney and Democratic nominee who lost the 3rd Congressional District to Republican Jeff Landry of New Iberia last week. Like Fayard, Sangisetty is expected to stick around for a while and possibly develop into an influencer.
More immediately, Louisiana’s elected Beltway brood will need to address its lack of seniority in the House. “We have an extremely young delegation,” says Pearson Cross, a political science professor at UL Lafayette. “But there will be six Republicans in the House, which bodes well in a GOP-controlled chamber.”
Rep. Charles Boustany of Lafayette, who faced only token opposition, is the frontrunner to benefit the most. Cross says that’s due to Boustany’s relationship with Minority Leader John Boehner of Ohio, who is expected to become speaker. “That in itself is a really big deal,” Cross says.
If last week’s balloting resulted in a weakened Democratic front, then it also served to build up U.S. Sen. David Vitter as arguably one of the most powerful politicians in the state, Cross says. Vitter, a Metairie Republican, bested Melancon and 10 others with 57 percent of the vote.
“Once all the dust settles from this election cycle, all the brouhaha about prostitution will be behind him. Then after another six years in office, he can probably just put it to rest,” Cross says. “Of course, there will always be people who try to make hay of it. That won’t change.”
Maybe Louisiana Democrats have that going for themselves as well, for whatever it’s worth.
Jeremy Alford can be reached at
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MAY 22 This post was written the day after the second line shooting in NOLA, by Brentin Mock. Mock is a friend of Deb "Big Red" Cotton, a blogger who was shot in the back and was seriously injured. It is a raw, emotional piece of writing, something the writer obviously felt he needed to get off his chest. But it raises questions that can't be easily dismissed, and might give some insight into where the source of these events truly is.
MAY 22 In this Baton Rouge Business Report post, Rolfe McCollister considers the privatization of bus service in Baton Rouge. After decades of under-funding, it is a mess, and although a tax (partially) passed last year, improvement hasn't happened yet. McCollister apparently feels it is time to let private business get in on the transit business.
MAY 22 This post on Bayou Buzz by Jeff Crouere urges the defeat of a bill that would grant modest pay increases over the next several years to the state's judges and clerks of court. The state is in no position to fund pay hikes, Crouere argues, with the pay increases costing a total of $9 million over several years. It sends the wrong message to the (proverbial) hard-working people of Louisiana, he says.
MAY 22 The Advocate reports here that State Treasurer John Kennedy is complaining about a meeting of the corporation that oversees the state's tobacco settlement. The Governor wanted it restructured, and he has some support, but not a lot. The corporation agreed with his plan, but Kennedy didn't, and it appears that the meeting was noticed in a manner completely different than that of all previous meetings. Kennedy's given to hyperbole, but in this case the fish don't smell too fresh.
MAY 22 In this Advocate story, Carencro Police Chief Carlos Stout says the recent federal indictment of a strip club owner is all wrong. The indictment alleges that drugs and prostitution went on with impunity because club staff made arrangements with "local" police. Stout says it never happened, and while his cops do work security in the parking lot, they're not allowed inside.
MAY 22 This amusing post in DIG Baton Rouge recounts an ad that ran on Craig's List recently; the advertiser was seeking tenants for a Beauregard Town house. He knew his market, and wrote an ad that the most ironical hipster couldn't resist. Apparently, he really did know his market, because the ad worked like a charm.
MAY 22 In this post in The Lens, Mark Moseley comments on the rhetoric Gov. Jindal employed in trying to save his tax "reform" package. One interesting point concerns Jindal's use of his brother, Nikesh, in a little story. Nikesh left Louisiana because of his inability to get a decent job, the story goes, but the story won't hold water: Nikesh lives in DC, which has an income tax level comparable to Louisiana, Moseley says. If income taxes caused the dismal situation, it should exist in DC too. Right?
MAY 22 This post by columnist John Maginnis traces the trajectory of the bill that would fund construction at community and technical colleges -- and bypass the Board of Regents and traditional higher ed funding mechanisms. Sure, it will bust the legislature's self-imposed debt limit, but some leges feel that there's more need (because there is more growth) in the community and technical college area than in the university area, he says.
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We've flip flopped party control in Congress 3 times in the past decade. This is not about a referendum on one party or another, but a general dissatisfaction with the system. Voters take it out on the party in power. According to polls (which seem to be pretty accurate), voters hate Democrats but they hate Republicans even more. And yet, Republicans gained the House. Also consider that more people are identifying themselves as Independent and are turning away from the two-party false dichotomy.
I'm no party lackey, as I recognize that there's not much difference between the two parties in that they are both beholden to corporate masters and the central bank. We're distracted with manufactured drama and partisan gossip, focusing intermittently on domestic and foreign issues just long enough to make us think they will actually do something meaningful for the people.
For all the talk of reducing government and spending, will the Republicans end $40 billion/year in farm subsidies and ethanol subsidies, or restore civil liberties, or end the war on drugs, or abandon attempts to legislate morality, or return power to the states? Will they talk about the 700 military bases we have in 130 countries and the $700 billion being considered for so-called "defense"? Will they repeal the health care mandate that will give a windfall to the insurance and pharmaceutical industries, or take meaningful measures to stop the Wall Street mafia from pillaging our wealth? I highly doubt it.