For those of you living in the State Senate District 16, I hope you’re all aware of the upcoming special election to fill now-Congressman Bill Cassidy’s seat.  The primary is scheduled for March 7th.  3 Republican candidates have qualified: local business-woman Laurinda Calongne, who lost the special election primary for Congress against Woody Jenkins last year; Dan Claitor, who lost the East Baton Rouge District Attorney’s race in the past election; and political new-comer Lee Domingue, a local businessman. 

Calongne launched her campaign website after qualifying, and has since re-done the layout.  However, still at the time of this writing, there are already several of what commentators are now calling “missteps” of her campaign.

Most notably…

• Calongne seemingly takes a jab at her opponents’ donors, particularly those of Lee Domingue, by stating that “Her campaign isn’t financed by the politically powerful.”  However, many 0f these same donors supported Calongne in her run for Congress.  Is it only okay to have the backing of the “politically powerful” when they’re supporting Calongne?
• Calongne’swebsite is filled with statements about how her campaign won’t be based on the “same old tired political rhetoric.”  However, Calongne has yet to present what the platform of her campaign even is.  At the time of this writing, her “Issues” section under her website even says: “Starting next week Laurinda will address an important issue and potential solutions.”  An important issue?  Like, there’s only one?

After an evaluation of all the candidates in the race, it is abundantly clear to us that Lee Domingue is the best man for the job.  Lee is a Conservative with the vision, the purpose, and the support this district needs to accomplish great things for our state.  You can read a lot about him and his multiple issues at his incredibly well-done website.  If you’re on Facebook, join his group.  Let’s hop on the Domingue train, and get this election won.

Just in case anyone in the 6th Congressional District had any doubts: Don Cazayoux is not going to pave the way to bi-partisanship, and he’s apparently not going to step out of the cookie-cutter, liberal, Democrat mode.

The following is a clip from a Cazayoux campaign rally…and if you think Cazayoux will do anything to reach across the aisle, or anything to uphold conservative values that this district has, you might want to take a second look.

Yay, a new ad from the LAGOP about Cazayoux.

So, in case you hate YouTube, here’s the text of the commercial:

Cazayoux: “More offshore drilling…”

Record: Cazayoux blocked more offshore drilling – Roll Call 524

Cazayoux: “Build clean refineries…”

Record: Cazayoux blocked increasing refinery capacity – Roll Call 391

Cazayoux: ”Invest in alternative energy…”

Record: Cazayoux blocked extending alternative energy tax credits – Roll Call 340

Cazayoux: “I’m taking on my party leadership on offshore drilling.”

Record: Cazayoux joined his liberal democrat leadership to oppose energy reform at least 21 times.

Cazayoux says one thing in Louisiana, but he’s doing something different in D.C.

All very good points that I’m glad the Party is putting out there for us to know.  When Cazayoux ran a few months ago, he came off very much as the “conservative Democrat” who was going to work across party lines to get things done, particularly in the realm of the energy crisis.  But, as the above ad so poignantly pointed out, there has obviously been a big difference between Cazayoux’s conservative idealism here at home and his voting record in Washington.

I’m excited about the prospect of Dr. Bill Cassidy becoming our next Congressman.  Dr. Cassidy has my sincerest respect, and I plan on continuing to support his efforts during the upcoming campaign season.  I encourage you to consider supporting him as well…get a yard sign, volunteer to walk your neighborhood or make phone calls!  Get involved.  This is our chance.

Almost a week after the Democratic Majority voted to adjourn the House for a 5-week summer recess, a handful of Republican Representatives are still debating on the House floor over gas prices, off-shore drilling, and the energy crisis.  When the Dem’s voted to recess last Friday morning, House Republicans staged a protest…or a stunt…or they just didn’t feel like leaving the House floor…take your pick.  Continuing to fight the good fight, our poor little Republicans continue to debate – without CSPAN coverage, without cameras, without microphones, without lights sometimes…and without Nancy Pelosi!  It’s like all our dreams are coming true…

The piece of legislative over which everyone is causing such a fuss, the American Energy Act, looks like a good start to solving the very real problem Americans face every day at the gas pump.  Termed the “all-of-the-above” solution, the bill will, according to the House Republicans’ website:

“…will increase the supply of American-made energy, improve conservation and efficiency, and promote new and expanding energy technologies to help lower the price at the pump and reduce America’s increasingly costly and dangerous dependence on foreign sources of energy.” 

Quote of the week, though, comes from this little article written about the whole ordeal:

“Leaders pledged to keep going ‘as long as it takes,’ or at least until the end of the week.”

I certainly hope that the well-being of the American people is worth more to our Congressmen than one week spent making fun of France and bashing Speaker Pelosi and the rest of her cohorts.  On the flip-side, I also sincerely hope that Speaker Pelosi and her fellow Democrats won’t take too long in coming around and realizing that the American people need something done about the pain at the pump, preferably before they take their little summer vacay.

The last time someone checked to see which brave souls were still on the House floor, the following 18 Republicans were present and accounted for: 

Rep. Roy Blunt (R-MO)

Rep. Adam Putnam (R-FL)

Rep. Scott Garrett (R-NJ)

Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN)

Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC)

Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC)

Rep. David Davis (R-TN)

Rep. Christopher Shays (R-CT)

Rep. John Doolittle (R-CA)

Rep. Rob Bishop (R-UT)

Rep. Frank Wolf (R-VA)

Rep. Ron Lewis (R-KY)

Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX)

Rep. Marilyn Musgrave (R-CO)

Rep. Robert Aderholt (R-AL)

Rep. Dennis Rehberg (R-MT)

Rep. Judy Biggert (R-IL)

Rep. John Shadegg (R-AZ)

Also, Louisiana Congressman Jim McCrery of the 4th District was still with is fellow Republicans as of Tuesday, but was not counted as present when the above role was taken on Wednesday (August 6).

The GOP Leader Blog has been live-blogging the stuffing out of the fiasco, and there are some gems of quotes amongst the entries.  Check it out.

For more, stay tuned and check out the following links:

http://www.thesequitur.com/content/view/2696/43/

http://swineline.org/2008/08/04/republicans-stay-in-dc-to-demand-energy-vote/

http://www.politico.com/blogs/thecrypt/0808/GOP_leaders_request_special_session.html

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0808/12252.html

UPDATE: Newly elected Rep. Steve Scalise has released a statement regarding the situation…

“When Americans face a crisis, they don’t take a five-week vacation; they go to work and find solutions. That is exactly what Congress needs to do. The time to act is now. Throughout our nation’s history we’ve had many challenges and many crises, and each one we looked in the eye and dealt with here in the U.S. House of Representatives. This summer a lot of people in Louisiana and around the nation are cancelling their vacations because the price of gas is too high. However, House Speaker Pelosi thinks it is more important to take a five-week vacation rather than dealing with this national energy crisis.

Last night I held a Town Hall meeting in Mandeville Louisiana and everyone agreed that Congress should be addressing the nation’s energy crisis rather than taking a vacation. We have solutions and they are all on the table. The liberal leadership needs to come back to Washington so we can debate these solutions to our nation’s energy crisis and have a vote in the House.”

Campaign season!  Woohoo.  We have quite a few high-profile races coming up this fall, but the one I’ve been focusing more intently on is the Baton Rouge-based 6th Congressional district.  Most of us remember former Congressman Richard Baker taking a new job in February and leaving the seat open.  During the special election, former state legislator Woody Jenkins won the Republican primary over Baton Rouge businesswoman Laurinda Calogne.  Woody then went on to lose the general election to Don Cazayoux, the first Democrat to take that seat in 30-something years.

And now, in just a few months, we’ll have the same election to fill the next full 2-year term.  Cazayoux will, of course, run again, and State Senator Bill Cassidy has also qualified to run as a Republican.  The big question, then, was ”Will Woody run again?”  Thankfully, the answer is no.  The Advocate reported today that Jenkins has decided not to run for the sake of “party unity”.  We commend and appreciate Mr. Jenkins for making the decision to step down from this race.

As for us, we’ll be supporting Dr. Bill Cassidy for Congress this fall.  Dr. Cassidy is an extraordinary man who has served communities in Baton Rouge and Louisiana for years.  He has an impeccable record in the state legislature, and has been endorsed by Governor Bobby Jindal.  Check out his website to learn more about him and the issues he stands for.

We look forward to a great race in Baton Rouge this fall, and to covering all the campaign news around the state.

Excited,

-Your friendly neighborhood blogger

So, this little pay raise issue should be dead by now.  I mean, we all went through 3 weeks of hell over this, and then Jindal vetoed, and everything should be puppies and rainbows now.  But noooo…

We’re really not trying to beat a dead horse here, but with legislators like Senator Ann ‘Mercedes’ Duplessis trying to play us all for fools, we feel compelled to comment.  This newest piece of entertainment from Duplessis was found in the political section of the Advocate yesterday:

Duplessis: Photos of her car misleading

State Sen. Ann Duplessis said the legislative pay raise issue was skewed by those who do not believe elected officials are credible.

As an example, she pointed to the photo of her Mercedes that popped up on the Internet before the governor vetoed the pay raise.

Duplessis, D-New Orleans, said the car is part of her compensation package as a banker.

“It’s a 10-year-old, broken down vehicle,” she said.

Uhm, excuse me?  Senator Duplessis, really.  Thanks to good-government organizations like the Louisiana Action Council, we all saw the pictures of your pretty little Benz, and it’s quite obvious to anyone with at least one functioning eye that you don’t drive a “10-year-old, broken down vehicle”.  How stupid do you think we are?  But just to prove how very right we are, observe the following.

This…is Senator Duplessis’ Mercedes Benz, S-500:

And this is what a very nice ‘98-99 Mercedes Benz S-class looks like:

Now, I’m no car expert, but it only took about 30 seconds of glancing at both of these pictures to figure out that they’re not the same car, and the first one is obviously a newer model than the latter.  Shocker.

Something else I found humorous was that over the weekend, the 2007 disclosure forms from every member of the legislature were released.  And guess what?  Senator Ann ‘Mercedes’ Duplessis’ husband reported being paid $43,500 by Churchill Downs Louisiana Horse Racing Co.  Huh.  That’s weird.

Again, we’re not really trying to keep this issue alive.  I mean, I’d much rather look at other things besides pictures of old S-class models all morning.  But just FYI, Senator Duplessis: If you keep this going, we don’t at all mind clarifying the pile of lies and other assorted deceit you insist on attempting to feed to the general public.

Rather amused,

-Your friendly neighborhood blogger

Sorry I’ve been out of pocket for a few days…life happens, I suppose.

The heat surrounded the legislative pay raise has, of course, died down since Governor Bobby Jindal vetoed the bill.  Since then, both recall petitions filed against PBJ have been withdrawn.  It appears that the effort to recall Speaker Tucker at www.recallpayraisetucker.com has also been withdrawn.  The www.recallmichot.com site has been turned into a watch-dog organization to keep a very close eye on Mike Michot.  Recall Them All still seems to be up and running, but with the individual recalls withdrawn, I don’t really see much coming out of that.

Congratulations to all the people of Louisiana, and thank you to those who made phone calls, sent angry letters, and made your voice heard to our elected officials.  Though this whole process was stressful and frustrating for most of us, I hope it has shown us all that we can make a difference in our state government…as corny as that sounds

R&R’ing,

-Your friendly neighborhood blogger

Oh my goodness…I just heard Jindal VETOED the Pay Raise!  We should all be very happy that the Governor has finally aquiesced to the will of the people.  Story developing, but see the following links for now, and check back regularly for updates:

http://www.thedeadpelican.com/2008/JUNE/VETOPAY.HTM

http://www.wafb.com/Global/story.asp?S=8578662&Call=Email&Format=HTML

…and the uproar about the legislative pay raise is still not dying down.  The results from a survey conducted by John Roberts (a resident of the West bank and of Jim ‘Payraise’ Tucker’s House District) were released yesterday, and they show that 82.77% of voters in the district disapprove of the pay raise, and that 58.76% of voters are willing to sign a petition to recall Tucker.  Recall efforts have now also been started for Joe Lopinto of House District 80, Steve Pugh of House District 73, and Franklin Foil of House District 70, as well as the already afoot recall petitions for Tucker and Michot.

OH!  THIS JUST IN: An official recall petition has been filed with the Secretary of State’s office against Governor Bobby Jindal…the SOS did not release the name of the individual who applied for the petition.  This nearly impossibly effort would require over 900,000 registered voters’ signatures.  Developing…

I also found it interesting how ‘Payraise’ Tucker suddenly decided to kinda let everyone know that he’d be cool with Jindal vetoing (or not vetoing…or whatever) SB 672…it was almost like he hadn’t threatened to pull all of Bobby’s projects or kill all of the Administration’s bills as soon as the hit the floor.  Hm.  Funny how that works out…or doesn’t.

However, Governor PBJ doesn’t really seem to believe anything that Tucker says.  And I don’t really blame him.  In response to Tucker’s statement, the Governor had this to say:

“The legislative leaders have publicly said that the wheels would come off if I stopped this raise and warned us to stay out of the Legislature’s internal affairs.  Nothing has changed, and we won’t let our reforms and progress be held hostage by giving the Legislature an excuse to stop them.  Politically, the easiest thing for me to do would be to veto the bill, but I’m not going to do anything to stop the process of moving us forward.”

K, thanks, Bobby.  We heard you the first time you sang that pre-written and quite well-rehearsed song.

Ready for the 8th to roll around,

-Your friendly neighborhood blogger

…and yes, we plan on dragging this out until July 8!  Governor PBJ (my new favorite nick name…get it?  Piyush Bobby Jindal!) had a nice little press conference yesterday from which we can gather the following gems:

“I would probably be the most popular person in modern polling history if I did that (veto the bill), but I don’t want to give the Legislature any excuse to slow down our reforms.”

-Governor Bobby Jindal

Now, every sane person who heard/read this should say the same thing: Huh?  Note to Melissa Sellers: if you want Bobby to keep copping out of the veto, fine…but for goodness’ sake, please re-write his responses.  They make less and less sense as the days go by…

Bobby also made a trip up to Shreveport for the ceremonial signing of SB 87, which is the bill everyone should be really happy about but we’re all just too pissed off about the pay raise to care.  Thanks to Moon Griffon, about 15-20 protestors showed up holding signs that read “VETO PAY RAISE…YOU PROMISED” and “VETO, and represent the people who cast their vote for you”  (Check out the Shreveport Times pics).  But the picture below is my absolute favorite:

Now THAT is classic.

Moving on to other news, State Representative Regina Ashford Barrow has been making news…or rather, her son has.  James Barrow, the 21-year-old son of the Representative, was arrested last week in connection with the fatal shooting of Brent Cole, a church musician from DeQuincy.  One of Mr. Barrow’s friends was arrested too…Michael Smith, Jr., 20-years-old.

James Barrow

Michael Smith, Jr.

Brent Cole

The wonderful thing about this story, though, is that Barrow’s bond was set, at the request of James Barrow’s family (aka, Representative Barrow and company…) at $100K, while his friend Mr. Smith’s bond was set at $250K.  Hm.  Too bad for Smith that his mommy isn’t a legislator too.  Then, on Friday, Barrow gets released from prison and put under house arrest under certain conditions; one of those being that he has to submit to random drug tests.  Well, he flunked.  Yesterday, in fact.  So now they’re both back in prison.  Story developing…