Pearson Cross, head of UL’s political science department and a reliable go-to for Louisiana politics at all levels, writes today in a guest blog for the popular DC news website The Hill about Louisiana’s support for Mitt Romney, pointing out that the Republican presidential nominee was not the first choice for Louisiana voters during the primaries.Prior to the selection of Paul Ryan, Louisianians were abuzz with the prospect of favorite son Bobby Jindal competing for the second spot on the Republican ticket, although to be honest, some were more excited with the prospect of Jindal taking his budget-cutting magic elsewhere than they were about bringing glory to the state. Had Romney picked Jindal, the prospect of a native son on the ticket would undoubtedly have swung some voters to the GOP, although this swing would scarcely have been noted in a state that gave John McCain a comfortable win in 2008 (59-38%).Read the rest of Cross' blog, which also touches on the contentious inter-party congressional battle between U.S. Reps. Charles Boustany and Jeff Landry, here.
Despite this snub, Louisiana is fertile ground for the Romney-Ryan message of personal responsibility, shrinking the size and role of government, and reducing the number of people in the “dependent” category. The message of a too-large government and classes of people that don’t/won’t work resonates strongly in a state with a history of providing jobs as payment for political support and possessing an outsized work-force relative to its size. In addition, the not-so-subtle thrust of the Romney-Ryan campaign to “take back America” treads on the racial divide that still colors every issue in Louisiana where African Americans are often poor, still under-represented, and certain to vote for Obama-Biden.
JUNE 17 If anyone ever wonders why Saints fans hate Atlanta with a capital H, here's a good indication. Radio "professionals" at an Atlanta station created an entire segment around making fun of former Saints player Steve Gleason, who is now paralyzed by ALS. Listen, nobody's ever accused DJs of being rocket scientists. But how could someone think it is amusing to pretend to ask a man with a degenerative, fatal disease if he will be alive next week? The DJs have been fired, and are now whining about how gutless their former bosses are. Wow.
JUNE 18 Here's the latest from the Advocate on the fatal hit-and-run accident allegedly involving the president of the Livingston Parish School Board. He's accused by police of hitting a 21-year-old man on a highway early Sunday and driving away. The man died at a hospital later. On Monday, police seized the president's truck and towed it away. But he's available for board meetings: apparently a $500 bond is sufficient for this type of thing over in St. Helena Parish.
JUNE 18 Former broadcast journalist Griffin Scott has posted this plea on his blog for financial assistance from his readers. Scott, who says he was fired after he wrote something fairly innocuous (for Facebook) on his wall, is suing a media giant for his job back. He's framed himself as David going after a bloated media giant, and he's probably not far off.
JUNE 18 Here's a fairly absurd column posted on DIG Magazine about the completely absurd practice of naming killer storms. Tornadoes don't have names. Blizzards don't have names. But hurricanes do, and there's a big process to bestow them, Jacques Cormery writes. He's right about the crazy assemblage of names -- this year, there's everything from Tanya to Humberto -- and his idea that we don't waste good names on killer storms is a good one.
JUNE 17 Political columnist John Maginnis has some advice for Louisiana Republicans: grow up. After the schism that occurred in this past session - fiscal hawks teaming up with Democrats to spank the Republican "majority" and hand Gov. Jindal his, er, aspirations for continued solon control -- they need to figure out how to get along with each other, Maginnis writes.
JUNE 17 Here's the Picayune's obit story for Dorothy 'Miss Dot' Domilise, the lady who made poboys at the uptown restaurant that bears her name. Miss Dot moved to New Orleans during World War II, where she met and married her husband Sam. When she passed away Friday she was 90, and had spent more than 60 of those years working at the restaurant on Annunciation Street.
JUNE 17 This editorial in the Advocate speaks in favor of the consent decrees that have federal judges overseeing police operations and the sheriff's parish prison in New Orleans. Mayor Landrieu and Sheriff Gusman can't get along, so outside forces, like the Inspector General and the judges, are needed to make sure things run right, the editorial opines.
JUNE 18 Here's a post from Manny Schewitz on Forward Progressives that is good for a chuckle. Manny had an epiphany back in November, and is sharing it with us today: he believes that Fox "News" is killing the GOP by pandering to right wing nuts. Now, don't get it twisted: Manny's not broke up about it. He says he enjoys watching the downward spiral with a shot of whiskey and "a schadenfreude chaser."
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