Part 40 of 50.
Welcome back!
We're running throughout the South at the moment-It's the one major area we haven't covered yet. From Georgia we head to one of the most fun states in the entire Union-Louisiana.
Louisiana is covered by the political blogger for the
Washington Post, The Mix himself, Dave Dernazza. He's an excellent writer, and he's been a big help on the 535's, so we'll turn it over to him.
Hey guys!
I've been kind of a quiet advisor to the 535 Special Reports, so getting this one is really special for me.
I lived in New Orleans until I was 6, and my mom is a Lafayette native. I've lost most of the accent, but I still make sure to follow the politics, and I still love the cooking! Also,
GEAUX SAINTS! The Super Bowl was amazing, and Drew Brees is possibly a higher being. I've got my "Hail Breesus" shirt on right now as a matter of fact.
Louisiana has interesting laws, based on the French civil code. But more interesting is the election process. Louisiana has an open primary-or, in local, more interesting parlance, a "jungle" primary. This means that there is a second round (runoff) between the top two candidates if no candidate wins a simple majority (more than half of the votes) in the first round of balloting. This happens more often with open seats, as incumbents more easily win majorities. The runoff constitutes the general election under Louisiana law even if the general election had two candidates of the same party, a phenomenon which frequently occurs.
So, in essence, it's everyone for themselves, regardless of party, and may the best man win. Sometimes, this can produce very interesting results.
Louisana was once dominated by Southern Democrats, but Republicans have firmly taken over. There's an extremely interesting Governor's Race between former Senator Cole Quigley and businesswoman Rachel Maddison. Against the odds, Quigley seems to have united the Republican party after his overthrow of Mick Johnson, but Maddison hasn't given up, and is running a very tough race. Alright, to the Representatives!
Senator
Keith Proctor:
Republican, Elected in 1984 (
As a Democrat, Switched Parties in 1990).
Residence: Shreveport.
Committee Assignments: Chairman, Small Business and Entreprenuership; Finance; Energy and Natural Resources.
Proctor was elected in '84 as a conservative Democrat, and voted more with the opposition party then his own. In 1990, with the rise of Owen Lassiter, Proctor read the writing on the wall, and decided to flip to Republicanism, where he has settled firmly into the center of the GOP.
Proctor has been known to work with Democrats on certain issues, mainly small business. He's been one of the biggest voices for drilling off of the coast of Louisiana and ANWAR, as well as tapping the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. There have been major opposition from environmental groups, but Proctor waves them off. But Proctor has come under more fire for the fact that he has major stock interests in certain energy companies-Some of which have been mentioned for the idea of drilling off of the coast.
Proctor has been under fire for his lack of response to the pair of hurricanes-Jasper and Katherine-that hit Louisiana and the Gulf Coast in 2007. Proctor did not fly back to Louisiana until the week after Katherine made land (Which was a week after Jasper hit). Unlike his colleague, Senator Villegas, Proctor has not been as present of late, and has been accused of ignoring Louisiana in her time of need. Proctor still won reelection-By 54%, his lowest margin of victory ever. Still, these accusations could have legs.
Senator
William "Will" Villegas:
Democrat, Elected in 2004.
Residence: New Orleans.
Committee Assignments: Judiciary; Environment and Public Works; Appropriations; Commerce, Science and Transportation.
I know Will Villegas, and I count him as a friend. He's a great guy, good to talk about politics with, sports, really anything.
Villegas has an interesting story-His family has been in Louisiana since 1906, and they are a New Orleans institution. They own several businesses in the area, and are extremely charitable.
Will rose to prominence as the District Attorney for Orleans Parish, and was elected as Attorney General in 1996, before being elected to the Senate following the retirement of Cole Quigley.
Villegas has been a fairly moderate Democrat, though he has tended to focus on local issues. He's pro-life (Villegas is devoutly Roman Catholic), and has voted to increase restrictions on crime. But he is liberal on education, health care, the economy and especially the environment. Villegas is one of the biggest supporters of trying to prevent global warming, and has visited several dozen locations for evidence of it. He's fought against drilling off the coast (Bringing him into conflict with his fellow colleague), and has said that the more marshland Louisiana loses, the worse that the hurricanes will be.
Villegas was one of the first to respond to the hurricanes, as he urged people to leave the city, suspecting that these would be worse than most others. Villegas was also one of the first to call for federal aid for Louisiana, as well as a full review of the federal levee system, which Villegas said, "was dangerously close to breaking, which would have flooded the city and killed thousands. I shudder to think how close we were to utter disaster." FEMA reacted well to the crisis, and Louisiana has quickly rebounded, though there are still some signs of damage to the region. Villegas recently came out for the Department of Homeland Security, and has said that it is necessary to not only defend the country from terrorism but also from natural disasters and major accidents like San Andreo.
Villegas is being challenged by Congressman Ronnie Bauer. However, he has a 7-point lead, and $7 million on-hand. Villegas is extremely popular within the state, and looks to win easily.
Congressman Ronald "Ronnie" Bauer,
Lousiana 1st, Republican.
Residence: Hammond.
Committee Assignment: Transportation and Infrastructure.
Bauer is your normal Representative: Reliably conservative, fairly charming, relatively charismatic. He was the former Mayor of Slidell, and is pretty well-liked.
Bauer is running for the Senate seat currently held by Senator Villegas. Bauer is polling at least 7-points behind Villegas, and has only $2 million on-hand, as compared to Villegas' $7 million. Bauer's replacement as a Congressman is probably going to be Steve Milling, a State Senator from Hammond.
Congressman Bobby Powell,
Louisiana 2nd, Republican.
Residence: Timberlane.
Committee Assignments: House Administration; Small Business.
Powell is the first Republican to ever be elected to the 2nd, and he was only elected because of a scandal.
Congressman Tyrone Williams was never the most ethical of Congressmen. But many didn't expect for him to be caught accepting illegal campaign contributions and bribes from not one, not two, but three prominent businessmen and contributors. All four of the men went to jail, for at least 20 years apiece.
Powell, a long-time fixture in the community, ran as the clean candidate, and won-Barely, but he still won. However, Powell has accomplished practically nothing in Congress.
Powell is being challenged by New Orleans Mayor Sam Callas. Callas is an immensely popular figure, and as the son of famed jazz musician Devin Callas, he's got a distinct edge into N'awlins and it's unique culture. Callas is currently polling at-least 10 points ahead of Powell, and with strong support from the black community, as well as the growing Vietnamese community, expect Callas to win big.
Congressman Thomas Evers,
Louisiana 3rd, Republican.
Residence: Thibodaux.
Committee Assignment: Natural Resources.
Evers is one of the duller members of Congress. He mumbles, shuffles, wears dull brown and gray suits, and is homely. His positions are standard Republican, and he's got no sense of adventure or individuality. Just blends into the walls.
Congressman David Morrison,
Louisiana 4th, Republican.
Residence: Bossier City.
Committee Assignment: Rules.
Morrison is a bright young conservative, with an excellent ability to communicate. He's got a good sense of when to deal and when to fight with Democrats, and is quite charismatic. Many are projecting a bright future for Morrison, as he's been mentioned as a possible Gubernatorial candidate. The NRSC tried to persuade him to run against Villegas, but Morrison passed it up, as his wife has just given birth to their third child (Congratulations by the way!). Eventually, he will seek higher office, but right now, he's trying to be a good father and Representative.
Congressman Eugene Tewes,
Louisiana 5th, Republican.
Residence: Monroe.
Committee Assignment: Appropriations.
Tewes is a quiet man-Not dull like Evers, just quiet. But he swings a big stick-Along with Villegas, Tewes has been instrumental in pushing plenty of cash on the Pelican State, as part of the Appropriations Committee. In particular, Tewes has made sure to push plenty of cash on FEMA, and acts as sort of a patron for the organization. This certainly came in handy when Jasper and Katherine hit, as Tewes ensured that FEMA was down there very quickly in order to help (The prompt intervention of President Santos and FEMA Director Richard Sutter didn't hurt either). Aside from his pork-pushing for his state, Tewes is reliably conservative.
Congresswoman Patricia Stecker,
Louisiana 6th, Republican.
Residence: Baton Rouge.
Committee Assignments: International Relations; Agriculture.
Stecker was only elected in 2004, and hasn't had much of a impact so far, save to prove She'll either be a quiet Representative, someone who doesn't get a lot of publicity but uses power in an effective way, or a regular one, who wants the publicity and fights for it. As with draft picks, it's too early to tell what Stecker will be.
Congresswoman Rebecca Goldman,
Louisiana 7th, Democrat.
Residence: Lafayette.
Committee Assignment: Ways and Means.
Congresswoman Goldman has an interesting story. Her parents were civil rights activists who moved to the state in the early 1950's, and decided to raise their family there, despite threats from local bigots. Though Goldman was raised Jewish, she converted to Roman Catholicism at age 15, but kept her maiden name even when she married her husband.
It's somewhat odd for anyone but a Cajun to represent the center of Cajun culture, but Goldman does it extremely well. She's been involved in efforts to get the Cajun culture recognized as "vital to the development of Louisiana and the United States," quoting directly from her web site. That's pretty much political pandering, but Goldman has made every effort to be involved with her constituents.
Goldman is pretty conservative: Lower taxes, more spending for defense and crime, pro-life, against gay marriage. But she is liberal in foreign policy, economics, health care, education, good, solid, kitchen-table issues. Goldman is also a pretty good theologian-She's read both the Torah and the Bible, and has debated with rabbis and priests about those issues (Goldman has also been a quiet force for change within the Church and Judaism as well. She's been arguing that women deserve to be indoctrinated into the priesthood, and that Orthodox Jews should allow women to become cantors and rabbis). Due to her Jewish heritage, Goldman has been hesitant about expressing overt support for Israel, but has indicated that she believes in the current peace process, with the goal of withdrawing most US troops and allowing the Israelis and Palestinians to police themselves with UN supervision as part of a two-state solution.
Well, that was Louisiana. We're coming up on Election Day, and I couldn't be more excited! Laissez les bon temps rouler!
