Liberty and Justice for All!

Kudos to the citizens of Louisiana’s 6th district for electing Cazayoux over Woody Jenkins. Of course, the choice of Woody Jenkins wasn’t that much of a choice at all. With ties to David Duke and false claims of voter fraud, it is amazing that he managed to get over 40% of the vote. I guess with Jindal’s endorsement, the DHJS will do whatever he wants, including voting for unethical people.

Unfortunately, the Democrats could not pick up two seats. Idealism won out over effectiveness in LA01. Of course, speaking from experience, running in the most conservative district in the state doesn’t help you if you have a “D” behind your name. Gilda did get a larger percentage of the vote than any one Democrat has gotten in a while in this district, but with low voter turnout that only turned out to be about 10,000 votes.  It is amazing that in a time where Republicans are so unpopular nationwide that the Democrats in this district are still lazy and uninterested.  

So, all that is left now is for Scalise to go to Washington and prove how ineffective he can be… that is until he runs for his next seat leaving LA01 unrepresented yet again.

For a comical, typo filled, look at the LA06 race, check out Avman’s rant. Avman also wonders why Democrats would put money into the race that he feels will go back to the Republicans in the fall. The simple answer is this, they believed they could win (especially against Jenkins) and the power of the incumbency makes it much easier for the person sitting in the seat to retain the seat.

Update: An excellent comment by Gilda, I couldn’t have said it better myself.

Please do not hurt for me. I am fine with my election loss last night and, in fact, am relieved to become a regular mom, grammy and teacher again. We local Democrats worked hard and I fully appreciate every single thing you did to spread the word. I have made life-long friends among you.

Only 10,000 folks voted for me which is an abysmal performance. To all the rest who either voted for Scalise or who chose not to vote at all—you have the representative you deserve. To all those in the national Democratic Party who perpetuated the reality of a Republican district by your statements, attitude and choke-hold on funds—shame on you! To all media, political pundits and dKos contributors who fed the self-fulfilling prophecy and stacked the deck against whomever dared run—enjoy your power. I have laid to rest any illusion I had of the power of grassroots. My dues have been paid and my conscience is free. Louisiana District 01 is my home and I love the people in it no matter how misguided they are.

Sincerely, a proud American,
Gilda Reed

Amen sister, Amen.

Their endorsement is laughable.

He spent three terms in the Louisiana House of Representatives and was elected to the state Senate last fall.

Yeah, why did he run for that again? Oh yeah, that’s right. He wanted to follow in Jindal’s footsteps by running for a job he had no intention of keeping, but being able to collect a paycheck from out tax dollars to run for office. So much for fiscal conservatism.

His experience in Baton Rouge would allow him to make a swift transition in Congress, which is particularly important as this area continues to recover from disaster.

Um, is the T-P writing from some alternate universe where the Republicans control congress? See, in my world the Democrats control Congress and the chances of Scalise being successful in getting legislation passed is slim to none. His “transition” will be slow and ineffective. Gilda Reed, on the other hand, would be able to work with members of her own party to get legislation passed for Southeast Louisiana. But I guess  I shouldn’t be surprised that the T-P endorsement panel, who have been fooled by previous candidates seeking their endorsement, have been fooled again.

He promises to fight for federal funding of so-called Category 5 hurricane protection and a fair share of offshore oil revenues for Louisiana, both of which are vital to the state.

Gilda Reed promises to do this, and would be MUCH more effective in doing so. If Category 5 hurricane protection and getting more of a fair share of our offshore oil revenues are both “vital”, then it makes more sense to elect the person who is more likely to get that legislation passed. That person is NOT Steve Scalise. That person is Gilda Reed. Period.

I also notice that T-P did not mention anything about Scalise and his anti-homosexual legislation. I wonder how likely Washington Democrats will be willing to work with the Gay Hating Embryo Lover Scalise. Actually, no I don’t wonder at all.

The T-P endorsement process is a pathetic joke and they seem to care more about not risking access to the people they think will win instead of actually supporting the right candidate who will do the better job.

Steve Scalise was on WWL TV this morning. He started talking about Offshore Oil Revenue and stated that Bobby Jindal got us our fair share.

It is a shame that Scalise doesn’t know the truth. Mary Landrieu is the one who got us a fairer share of our oil revenue. Bobby Jindal’s bill did not get signed by the President. It died in committee. Landrieu’s bill passed the Senate, the conference committee, passed the House, and was signed by the President.

It is a shame that WWL TV can’t take the time to do their own research so they could have called him on his lie.

He also claimed that he would be ready to start working on day one. Start working on what? Does he really think he will be able to actually work with Washington Democrats? Is Steve Scalise really THAT naive to assume that just because some Democrats in the Louisiana Legislature are more conservative than others that he will find that same sort of attitude in D.C.? Or does he just hope that the voters are that naive? Either way, LA01 will be better served by having a strong Democrat working for them in D.C.. The Democrats in Congress will BEND OVER BACKWARDS to make sure Gilda gets what she needs to go back to the voters of LA01 and show that she is an effective representative.

Geaux Gilda!

As promised, here is the link to the Gambit opinion on the weakened ethics enforcement. When Clancy Dubos was on Garland’s show, he stated that he was working on an editorial on the “clear and convincing” issue. I found this interesting because he stated previously.

When I have something to say personally, I put my name on it — as in my column.

This can’t be true, because if “he” was writing this last week, “he” didn’t put “his” name. It was just a Gambit “commentary”. It seems like Clancy protested a bit too much previously when we tried to put the words of the Gambit on Clancy when it came to his blind and uninformed support of Bobby Jindal. That is not to say that the commentary here is bad, because it is very good and everyone should read it.

Now, in the same commentary page where the Gambit gets it so right, they also get it so wrong. The Gambit has endorsed GHEL Steve Scalise for Congress.

While we do not agree with many of Sen. Scalise’s positions on social issues

Then why on earth would you support him? Gilda Reed has a solid grasp on the need for Coastal Restoration and Hurricane protection. Gilda Reed will also be able to start working from day one to work on the needs of Southern Louisiana. And if Gilda gets elected, the Democrats in Congress will bend over backwards to help her out since they won’t want to lose that seat in the fall. She is likely to be one of the most effective members of Congress from the start. Steve Scalise is likely to be one of the least effective members of Congress because he will be a member of the minority party and will offer nothing for the Democrats to support. We need Reed!

According to an article on Bayou Buzz, David Vitter (among other Republicans) are supporting Steve Scalise for Congress. Will Steve Scalise reject the endorsement of David “serious sins” Vitter? Or will Scalise continue to be a hypocrite by campaigning on ”our shared family values“ while openly accepting campaign support from adulterers?

The Louisiana Family Forum named Steve Scalise “Outstanding Family Advocate.”

I guess their standards are rather low.

Louisiana needs Gilda Reed for Congress. Read more about Gilda here.

As such, he has proven that he loves embryos and hates gays more than any other gay hating embryo lover who ran.

That being said, does this look like the man we need representing LA01 in Congress?

Just sayin….

Im also sayin…. we need reed! (Please read both my endorsement of Gilda and my comment in support of her on nola.com) 

Steve Scalise and Tim Burns are going to face each other in an April runoff for the Republican nomination while Gilda Reed gets two months to bring her message to the voters.

When it comes to the issues, there is not much difference between the two gay hating embryo lovers. Both irresponsibly support keeping the Bush tax cuts. Both would sell out the American worker by reauthorizing NAFTA. Both would shield telecoms who violate the law.

The only real difference I can see is that Tim Burns may support the troops more than Steve Scalise. See, Burns would vote to support a bill that would mandate rest periods for the troops, which would prevent our President from overworking our brave men and women in uniform. Scalise sees such a protection for our troops as micromanaging military operations. Protecting our troops is not micromanaging them. However, I am sure that Burns and Scalise agree on most other issues with the military. And the way that this administration has abused their authority and abused the men and women who so bravely serve our country is disgusting and pathetic. We need a representative in Congress who will fight for our troops, not the misguided policy of the Bush Administration. We need a representative in Congress who will stand up and fight for the working men and women in America, not one who will open up unfair “free trade” treaties with countries that do not have equitable labor laws. We need a Congressional representative who will not blindly support cells in a petri dish over finding modern cures for those people who are sick and need the help that comes from scientific advancements. In short, We Need Reed!

I proudly endorse Gilda Reed for LA01. If the rest of LA01 was smart, it would realize that extremist conservative Republicans like Burns and Scalise will not get anything done for LA01 in a Congress controlled by Democrats. It would also realize that the Republican party is NOT the party that supports the troops, all it does is blindly support the failed Iraq policy of this failed administration. I call on the rest of the New Orleans Blogosphere to unite behind Gilda and help propel her to an election that will make history. Gilda Reed not only needs our help, but she deserves it as well. Let’s buck the political trend and make a difference in LA01 this time.

On my lunch break I called into the Spud show on WWL. Clancy Dubos was on discussing the LA01 race and I decided to call in and add my $0.02. This is when I came up for my new term for the socially conservative springboard from which the three Republican candidates for this election are coming from. From Steve Scalise and his push to ban gay marriages (and gay civil unions) in our state, to Tim Burns plastering his name all over the radio as having a 100% pro-life record, to Ben Morris and his website where he also discusses how he loves “family values” and wants to defend our Judeo-Christian heritage (as if Ben Morris really respected Jews when he supported the lone picture of Jesus in the Slidell courthouse), all of these candidates are basically trying to stand up and proclaim who loves embryos and hates homosexuals more.

So I call in and ask when the LA01 voters are going to stop voting against their best interests. Sure, the three Republican candidates are showing that they are gay hating embryo lovers. However, the family values track has not shown a very good record in LA01. First you have Bob Livingston (who is backing Steve Scalise), whose family values included having an affair. Then you have David “Vitty-Cent” Vitter, whose family values included sins with prostitutes while married. Then you have PBJ, who ran for governor on an ethics package and is now has an ethics investigation no less than 1 month into his term. Finally, all three Republican candidates for Congress won their respective 2007 elections and will not be able to perform their jobs to their best ability because they will be focused on their new campaigns. So again, you have three candidates who are worried about their own gains and ignore the needs of their constituents. It also seems to me that collecting a paycheck for a job you are not doing is not very ethical or fiscally conservative. I guess that point is lost on the voters who happen to be GHEL as well.

Of course, Clancy’s response was pretty much a comment on how Democrats also do the same thing so I should be careful what I wish for. Well, I wish that all politicians (Democrat and Republican) follow the same set of rules and that includes committing to complete the term you are elected to and if you cannot, resign immediately. I hold Democrats to the same standards that I do Republicans.

There is also the issue that Louisiana tends to “zig” when the rest of the country “zags” politically. I brought up the idea that perhaps with a Democratic Congress and a Democratic President that it might benefit Louisiana to have more Democratic representatives. Again, Clancy said that I should be careful what I wish for because when the country went to the right and elected Bush and a Republican Congress, we elected Blanco and Landrieu. And if Clancy was trying to point out Louisiana’s folly in those choices at the time, well, perhaps it is time to learn from past folly and now that America is “zigging”, perhaps we should continue to “zig”  as well! That would require us to reelect Mary Landrieu later this year and to perhaps replace the obstructionist Republicans with Democrats who can get the job done for Louisiana.