A new Poll released today shows that Vitter will likely be forced into a Run Off if he is to keep his seat in the US Senate.The initial and detailed report was first reported by The Franklin Sun.
The poll was conducted on behalf of Vitter’s Republican Primary challenger, frmr Chief Justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court Chet Traylor.After delivering the information about Vitter’s “Serious Sins” as well as his continuing to employ Brent Furer after all of his “problems,” – the poll shows that Vitter has 46 % to Traylor’s 34%.
Lacking Vitter's name recognition, Traylor needs a strong protest showing to either oust Vitter or force him into a runoff. By publicizing the results of this survey, he's basically offering 527s and independent expenditure groups a blueprint for a messaging and ad campaign that will get results. Many of his supporters are wealthy, but are hamstrung by direct donation limits. They face no such limits to their donations to outside advocates, who would then carry the water for Traylor on these issues.
There was a noticeable difference at this year’s event.No more buffet brought in and sponsored by other groups – this year we had a plated dinner and a packed room.There were very few open seats left in the room and you couldn’t fit another table in the room if you tried.
In a touch of genius (and perhaps this is just my inner “gleek” speaking) but the meeting got started off by Miss Jo’ Hilliard singing the National Anthem… and wow… I really enjoyed that.
The Chairman welcomed everyone to the event and even mentioned the Stonewall Democrats which was nice.
But the night was to honor those who fought for Democratic Principles and Values and to honor them for their service.Tonight’s honorees were “Lindy” Boggs, Rev. Harry Blake and Victor Bussie.
Continuing with the theme here – The DSCC concluded the meeting by welcoming the Democrats who are vying for the US Senate.As there is a Democrat who is challenging Congressman Melancon.
Continuing with our theme here – The DSCC meeting continued with Chairman Leach introducing Democrats who are running for Congress from the various districts throughout the state.I have done the best I can to outline their speeches here but also give you my opinion on each – the big question is – WHAT DO YOU THINK?Please comment on the item here – or send me your thoughts at stephen@dailykingfish.com
The Louisiana Democratic Party held their annual Jefferson Jackson Dinner last night in Baton Rouge at the Capital Hilton.The “JJ” Dinner as it is lovingly referred to, is the Democrats annual large fundraiser and attracts Democrats from throughout the state to rally together and look towards future elections.
This year they started out with a State Central Committee meeting where all candidates running for office this fall were allowed to talk for a few minutes to introduce themselves.This meeting wasn’t as well attended as some in the past that I remember and I was actually surprised that so few State Central Committee Members were in attendance.I suppose the good news is that in speaking with a few via the telephone they all shared with me that they have been in touch with their respective campaigns but were just otherwise committed due to school starting and a myriad of other issues.
Up first, Chairman Leach welcomed everyone and alerted us that each candidate in attendance would speak, and so here are the brief bits that I thought our readers would be most interested in.I will do the best I can to link to their websites where a website can be found.
New Orleans political commentator Clancy Dubos from Gambit Weekly joined Rachel Maddow to discuss Senator Vitter and how his moral and ethical problems will affect the campaign.
In recent weeks we have seen a developing story out of Shreveport.City officials have confirmed that they are working out details to purchase and upgrade the dilapidated Joe D. Waggoner Federal Building on Fannin Street to turn it into a Religious Right Law School.
Many may not realize the huge strides Shreveport has been taking in the last few years with Mayor Glover at the helm.The city has becoming more progressive and welcoming and is openly courting the stunning boon to their economy that the Entertainment Industry has yielded.These huge and positive steps forward have included attracting millions of dollars in reinvestments inside and outside of the city and even adding employment protections for the LGBT Community as a city ordinance.Thus illustrating what Richard Florida deemed the “Creative Class” is indeed welcome.
But now all that seems to be at risk. (follow jump for more...)
This week saw the official start of the U.S. Senate election – forget about the primary – Senator David Vitter and Congressman Melancon are racing directly to November.
Here are the two Ads – follow the jump for commentary.
(Really and outstanding overview of this case - well worth the read - Great post! - promoted by stephen)
The airwaves (and the print and blog waves, for that matter) are filled with the news that a Federal Judge in California has declared that State’s Proposition 8 to be unconstitutional, which could clear the way for the resumption of same-sex weddings in the State.
Ordinarily, this would be the point where I would present to you a walkthrough of the ruling, and we’d have a fine conversation about the legal implications of what has happened.
I’m not doing that today, frankly, because the ground is already well-covered; instead, we’re going to take a look at some of the tactics that were used to pass Prop 8, as they were presented in Judge Vaughan’s opinion.
It’s an ugly story—and even more than that, it’s a reminder of why it’s tough to advance civil rights through the political process, and what you have to deal with when you’re trying to make such a thing happen.
Yesterday the U.S. House in a special session called by Speaker Pelosi, passed a much needed State Aid bill that will save Louisiana at least 2,800 teachers their jobs right now.
Republicans largely attacked this bill – even though it was PAID FOR by partially closing the loophole that corporations have been long abusing that allows them to get out of paying taxes.This bill does more than help teachers though – it will also shore up healthcare in Louisiana by providing an estimated $375 Million to extend the increased federal match rate for Medicaid.It is also good to note that this bill while completely paid for also cuts $1.4 Billion from the deficit over 10 years.
Congressman Melancon in his press release after this vote said “With the start of the new school year fast approaching, this bill will make sure Louisiana’s public schools don’t have to lay off teachers because of tightening budgets.”Also, “… it will also free up resources in the state budget to restore some of the painful cuts to healthcare and education Governor Jindal made this year.I urge the Governor and the state legislature to not waste any time in asking for this federal funding.”Pointing out the clear point that Jindal is yet again faced with a question – Will he do what is right for the state and secure this money- or will he stick to the party line and betray the teachers and those who most need help in our fragile Medicaid system.
In Louisiana it is interesting to note in the Congressional District Break down that the districts which arguably have the MOST TO GAIN – voted against this.Both Congressmen Fleming and Alexander voted against this bill while their district will save over 500 teacher’s jobs – EACH.(Voting against – Alexander, Scalise, Cassidy, Fleming.Voting FOR the bill were Melancon & Cao and Boustany didn’t record a vote.)
So let’s start a pool… how fast will these republicans show up with a publishers clearing house check at school board meetings to claim they are delivering for their districts?
So Matt and I were invited along with other Louisianans to be in attendance at the White House Press Event in the East Room with the New Orleans Saints and President Obama.
Unfortunately, we, along with 3 other gentlemen, were not cleared in time for the event despite giving our names, addresses, SSN's and birthdates early last week to the nice lady in the Department of Homeland Security who contacted us.
All I can say is, at least I got to see Marine One take off to take the President to Air Force One so he could attend his events in Texas later today.
Today Jeremy Alford writing for TheInd.com published a follow-up piece to his earlier article entitled “Vote for Me Dot Com” where he further investigates the solid team that 3rd Congressional District Democratic Nominee Ravi Sangisetty has assembled.
Alford writes:
Ravi Sangisetty, a Houma attorney, stands out from the rest of the pack because he’s the only Democrat, but his campaign has also expended the most resources in the developing 3rd Congressional District contest — about $260,000. A review of his expense reports on file with the Federal Elections Commission shows a structure that’s thus far unmatched in the race, with several workers and consultants on the rolls.
It should be noted that Ravi was able to spend that money because he has outraised his competitors dramatically over the past 6 months or so.He also seems to be running his campaign very smart and reaching out to real voters to bypass the political spin machines.If you want to know more about Ravi visit his website.
While I was in DC last week I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of attention that is being given to Ravi – and make no mistake the reason for this attention is solely because Ravi has worked very hard to earn it.Imagine what he could do as our congressman!
The Republican Party of Louisiana seems to be having some major issues.
In recent weeks I have been talking with my Republican Friends, many of which are leaders in the Republican Party and all of them have been throwing up their hands in disbelief at the seeming lack of direction and lack of credibility the state party has been displaying.
About a year ago is when this started happening.Take for example the attack launched by Party Boss Roger Villere against then Speaker Pro-Tem Representative Karen Carter Peterson.Villere launched a huge attack with a blanket FOIA request for all public documents from Carter-Peterson.This attack which was little more than a stunt but which cost the tax-payers of this state in the form of payroll likely thousands of dollars all to try to score political points.This stunt lead to the open rebuke and requests for his resignation by many Republican Representatives.Villere refused to resign and nothing was discovered from this stunt.It should be noted that this stunt was fueled by Peterson daring to criticize Governor Jindal’s administrations attempts at killing legislation that would make the records of his office open to public inspection.Yes, the very same topic that he and other Republicans were constantly attacking Governor Blanco over – seems now that Bobby is in the Governor’s Mansion transparency is irrelevant.
Today Congressman and Democratic Challenger to Senator Vitter, Charlie Melancon called on the Senate to finish their work before they leave town.
At issue is the bill that passed in the House but is left inside a huge stack of bills in the Senate.This bill would effectively end the moratorium for those rigs who are meeting or exceeding their responsibilities to operate safely and would provide over $1.2 Billion in penalties against BP that would be directed to Costal Restoration projects.It appears that these bills are caught up in politics and not what is best for Louisiana.
(Some light reading to get your weekend off to a great start. Thanks to Mike and all of our Guest Contributors! If you want to contribute, simply sign up for an account and shoot us a quick email. - promoted by Matt)
Wednesday, July 21, 2010, will go down as the high-water mark of in-state efforts to end the Gulf of Mexico deep water drilling moratorium imposed by the Obama administration in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon explosion and subsequent blowout.
About 11,000 people turned out at the Lafayette Cajundome for the "Rally for Economic Survival." Getting that many people to turnout for anything other than a sporting event in Louisiana takes some doing. But, the 'doing' that got them there reveals that opponents of the moratorium are engaged in blatant and obvious fear mongering, and have frittered away what little credibility they had on the issue with the lies and distortions included in statements made leading up to and during the event.
Make no mistake about it, what happened in Lafayette on Wednesday was an anti-Obama political rally organized by the oil and gas industry and fronted by Governor Bobby Jindal and his hand-picked interim Lieutenant Governor, Scott Angelle. Angelle was among friends, having run the Department of Natural Resources until Jindal elevated him this spring. Republican Lieutenant Governor candidate Sammy Kershaw provided entertainment (not sure if he just sang or if he read from his federal tax liens, too).
(I updated/changed the video of Franken's speech below.)
Last weekend, I had the opportunity to travel to Las Vegas to attend Netroots Nation 2010, the largest gathering of progressive activists and bloggers ever - around 2100 registered! I had a great time and met lots of passionate, progressive folks from across the country. I also had the chance to catch up with several friends that I've met and worked with through my involvement with New Leaders Council, the Truman National Security Project, and the National Democratic Law Students Council.
While I was there, I represented the Daily Kingfish as the leader of the Southern Caucus discussion, and we were honored to be joined in our roundtable talk by Arkansas Lt. Gov. Bill Halter. For more on my personal experience, check out my tweets @MattBailey and @DailyKingfish.
The conference included dozens of fantastic panels, trainings, and speeches. President Obama even recorded a message for the occasion:
If you are involved in progressive politics or activism, I would encourage you to consider attending next year's Netroots Nation in Minneapolis - June 16-19. While I wasn't sure what to expect, I found out that it is not just for bloggers. Indeed, it is a very valuable experience for anyone interested in being a leader in the progressive movement.
Finally, check out some great outtakes from the closing keynote by Senator Al Franken in which he called this year's convention "the most exciting political gathering of the year without guns." It was serious yet comical, engaging, and motivational. Enjoy:
You might remember reading our article on June 17th discussing Jindal's plan to build sand berms to stop the flow of oil into Louisiana's coastal wetlands. The response from the Obama administration and scientific community was a collective, "huh?" The idea seemed to be more about sticking it to the feds and less about addressing the situation in a logical way.
Read on to learn about Bobby Jindal's most recent grand idea.
Senator Landrieu's affirmative vote wasn't enough to lift the Senate over the Republican's procedural hurdle today, as GOP Senators successfully held up a bill that would force transparency for corporate spending in elections.
The DISCLOSE Act, or the"Democracy is Strengthened by Casting Light on Spending in Elections Act" (don't you just love it?) would require corporations to file reports detailing their political expenditures. The bill was held up by Republicans today after a 57-41 procedural vote along party lines (see article from The Hill).
The DISCLOSE Act was offered in response to the Citizens United v. FEC decision by the Supreme Court earlier this year (here's some background) that rocked the foundation of campaign finance law in America. In its decision, the 5-4 majority of the Court essentially held the following:
spending money = speech
corporations = people
people have freedom of speech under the First Amendment
THEREFORE, corporations have the constitutional right to spend as much money as they want to influence elections
What do you think, does this make sense? Republicans are known for being "pro-business," so of course they would want the business lobby to be able to spend unlimited amounts of cash keeping them in office. Fundamentally, I tend to agree with what law professor and civil rights attorney David Kairys wrote for Slate shortly after the Citizens United decision came down: "Money Isn't Speech and Corporations Aren't People."
A Washington Post-ABC News Poll found that most Americans disagreed with the Supreme Court's ruling on this issue - but what do you think? Vote in our poll below and leave a comment.
A new Poll released today shows that Vitter will likely be forced into a Run Off if he is to keep his seat in the US Senate.
Today Congressman and Democratic Challenger to Senator Vitter, Charlie Melancon called on the Senate to finish their work before they leave town. 
