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Opinion: Mystick Krewe of Embarrassment

Bucktown Pirate — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 15:00:00 GMT

Yesterday marked the end to the annual bacchanalia that is "Washington Mardi Gras," a long-weekend of bashes and booze. For the uninitiated, Louisiana business and political establishment have gathered at the D.C. Capitol Hilton to party and debate your future for years. It's the perfect synergy of lobbying and political power. All, and we mean all, of the Louisiana political players will be there at one point or another. And it's all underwritten by thousands and thousands of dollars of corporate and lobby money. If you want to be a player in politics, forget about organizing public support, just buy yourself into a major DC Mardi Gras event and you're in the conversation. And no matter how teahadist your world view has become, no matter how much you rail against the corrupt Washington establishment of lobbyists and power peddling, no matter how conservative you claim to be, you never dare to say a word against the big fete:

Rep. Steve Scalise, R-Jefferson, may be a conservative's conservative, but the good news for revelers at the 64th Washington D.C., Mardi Gras was that, as chairman of this year's festivities, the congress,man chose a theme -- "200 Years with Oysters and Beers" -- that was more about letting the good times roll than tightening any belts.

All of this hedonism is excused because, hey, this is Louisiana, and moreover Louisiana during carnival. We're all about food and excess, right? No matter how poor, or how far behind Louisiana gets, the party still goes on in DC. But make no mistake, for those that put these events on, this is serious business. It's all about buying politicians, une tradition particulière en Louisiane:

In excess of 3,000 normally attend the D.C. event, of which 90 percent travel from Louisiana. All of the attendees receive full access to the state’s most powerful politicians, so it isn’t surprising that many local organizations and companies actually dedicate portions of their marketing budgets to attending the bash.
....Lobbyists and special interests used to underwrite Washington Mardi Gras and then hand out tickets as a form of favoritism or influence. But due to changes in federal ethics laws four years ago — as in no more gifts for lawmakers and staff — the organization that runs the event is now in charge of tickets.

Ethics laws didn't stop the party, and this year continued the tradition of a lobbying buffet staring the biggest names in Louisiana politics. Don't worry, Mr. Gold Standard in ethics will be there. Among the other luminaries:

Krewe Captain this year is Senator Mary Landrieu, with captains emeritus including former MOCs John Breaux and Jim McCrery. The 2012 Chairman is Congressman Steve Scalise. Party lines do not matter. Everyone is part of the same corrupt game. After new ethics laws took effect in 2008, the Times-Picayune reported on the shell game:

In the past, they have given the tickets to Capitol Hill staffers, the same ones they count on to shepherd their legislation or ensure that a certain issue gets the lawmaker's attention. But a new law banning gifts to senators and staff has forced sponsors to alter their routine slightly.
Now, they give the extra tickets to the group that runs the party, Louisiana Alive! Inc., which makes sure they get to the right people on Capitol Hill. The rerouting of tickets appears to be one of the few concessions to the new ethics rules by the Washington Mardi Gras.

Of course, this type of revelry gives some folks a chance to finally shine. In the case of professional pretty boy empty suit Cedric Richmond, a congressman who was elected by default and whose greatest claim to fame is beating a Vietnamese Republican who voted against Healthcare Reform in the country's most Democratic district (what an accomplishment!), is apparently quite the party-thrower:

Rep. Cedric Richmond, D-New Orleans, has already established himself as his party's star pitcher and among the best-dressed people on Capitol Hill. Add to that a developing reputation as the guy who hosts the coolest Washington Mardi Gras parties.
This year's event was a packed party at Ozio Restaurant & Lounge, two blocks up from K Street [the center of DC lobbying], which was transformed into a reasonable facsimile of a Tuesday night at the Maple Leaf with a raucous appearance by the Rebirth Brass Band.

Being an embarrassment is nothing new for Richmond. But considering his dearth of actual accomplishments, his strength in bolstering the most corrupt weekend in Washington, DC is probably working in his favor. Everyone likes guy in the nice suits who throws a great party.

Sure, never mind the fact that the public sent these folks to DC to work for them. Instead, they're burning the midnight oil party-planning and creating fancy bead throws:

Washington Mardi Gras is an occasion for breaking out the latest in political beadwear, and so Rep. Jeff Landry, R-New Iberia, debuted his 2012 neckwear at this year's event.
The new beads, designed by his wife, include red, white and blue beads, four rippling Acadian flags, and a heavyweight plastic pendant that declares, "Landry for Louisiana: Proud to be Cajun," a wording that works regardless of whether Landry decides to go against fellow incumbent Rep. Charles Boustany, R-Lafayette, to try to stay in Congress, or forgoes that race for a 2014 run for U.S. Senate, or, for that matter, any other contest in the state.

With all of the talk of hard times, and tightening our belts, and spiraling deficits, and record-low congressional approval ratings, why are these people still partying?

This isn't about being the fun police, it's about showing some respect for the massive difficulties regular Louisianians are facing every day. You know the kind of people that can't afford the weekend of boozing in DC, or the tickets to exclusive Mystick Krewe of Louisianians events, or a corporate lobbyist to build a replica of Bourbon Street in their suite at the Washington Hilton.

So, how long will the voters let the good times roll for Louisiana's politicians. Who has the courage to stand up to this disastrous example of cronyism and corruption. To expect that the corporate powers paying for these events expect nothing in return, or don't see this as a business opportunity, is to attempt extreme mental gymnastics.

Your government bought and sold, over Mardi Gras bacchanalia.

A Budget is A Moral Document

Lamar Parmentel — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 19:35:44 GMT

If a budget is a moral document, then Jindal's soul is privatization. In unveiling his budget proposal for the coming financial year, which maintains spending levels on many sacred cows, offers no real reform. Instead, it is a blueprint and grab-bag of crony capitalism initiatives. Instead of cutting services, or honestly re-assessing priorities to align spending behavior, Jindal just proposes privatizing or selling off public assets. What else is new?

Among the many items on the auction block:

The budget also calls for privatization of a variety of state services. Under the proposal, the state will move offenders from the J. Levy Dabadie Correctional Center in Pineville to the Avoyelles Correctional Center in Cottonport and then go on to convert the combined center to a privately-run facility. The money earned from selling the facilities will go to the state's "rainy day fund."
Northlake Supports and Services Center in Tangipahoa and Northwest Supports and Services Center in Bossier City would also be privatized, a move the administration predicts will save the state $6.9 million.
The Gretna, Algiers and Chalmette ferries would also be privatized under the plan and the Edgard-Reserve ferry and White Castle ferry would be shut down. The plan also anticipates the end of tolls on the Crescent City Connection by handing over responsibilities for patrols to state police and local law enforcement.

I'm sure those in Avoyelles Parish will enjoy the second straight attempt at shutting down one of their largest employers, the corrections complex.

And, without fail, Jindal reaches back into the bag of budget tricks to balance his absurd ideological approach:

Jindal also proposes the cut of 6371 state jobs, but you can bet most of those are vacant positions added to pump up the statistics.
$709m in the Budget is tied to "fund sweeps," meaning stealing cash from other reserves to plug the gaps Jindal intentionally creates
$136m savings in Outsourcing (see privatizing) State-run children's healthcare to private HMOs
Sale of OGB (privatization - OGB would be run by private co) and slashing all 177 jobs in that office
Raising payroll taxes on state workers by 3 percentage points (which is ~ 37.5% hike)
$286m in savings will come from not funding anticipated cost increases, such as those that cover inflation for departments and cost-of-living increases for employees.

More to come. Jindal is solely focused on his national ambitions and his reputation with crony capitalists nationwide.

Gold Standard Jindal Has A Job For You (If you're a friend...)

Lamar Parmentel — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 02:59:54 GMT

Professional Fraud Bobby Jindal campaigned about a "new day" for Louisiana. Instead, he continues the worst Louisiana traditions. Where does an old legislator go when his term is up? In Jindal's (and Long's) Louisiana, right back onto the public payroll:

The obvious similarity between a cockroach and a career politician is that you can never get rid of either one.Take Noble Ellington, for example.
Or Jane Smith.
Or Ricky Hardy.
Or Henry “Tank” Powell
.Or M.J. “Mert” Smiley.
Or what seems like the entire Teepell family or anyone connected to Timmy Teepell.
If the supporters of Piyush Jindal don’t realize that he is every bit the political opportunist that any of his predecessors were, that his political morals are no better than any other Louisiana politician who ever got himself elected, then there is little to no hope for this state.

There's no pasture that old politicians graze upon. Unless of course that pasture is the public dime. Why not privatize these jobs like every other public job Jindal sees? Oh, because these people are his friends. Crony capitalism, continues unabated:

Let’s take a look at some of the recent appointments by Piyush, the man who would counsel us to “do more with less.”
•    Former State Rep. Jane Smith of Bossier City, ineligible for re-election because of term-limits and defeated in her own effort to flip-flop to the Senate, nevertheless landed a $107,500 per year position as deputy secretary of the Department of Revenue. Her qualifications for such a sensitive position were never enumerated.
•    Former Reps. Ricky Hardy of Lafayette, who lost his re-election bid last fall, Henry “Tank” Powell of Ponchatoula, and M.J. “Mert” Smiley of St. Amant, were all appointed to part time positions as members of theState Pardon Board at $36,000 each.
....
Other recent Jindal appointees:
•    Former St. Tammany Parish President Kevin Davis, term-limited, bless his heart, was named director of the Governor’s Office on Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness (GOHSEP), a political patronage black hole;
•    Former St. Bernard Parish President Craig Taffaro, who lost his re-election bid, had no need to worry because Jindal simply created a new position. He was appointed to lead the state’s hazard mitigation efforts in which capacity he will oversee programs that distribute money for elevating homes and making other improvements to residences and public infrastructure;
•    Matt Parker, brother-in-law of Jindal’s former chief of staff and present political adviser Timmy Teepell, was hired as Jindal’s intergovernmental affairs director;
•    Taylor Teepell, Timmy Teepell’s brother, was named as Jindal’s deputy legislative affairs director. Before that, he was director of the state Republican Party’s Victory Fund;
•    Melissa Henderson Mann, Timmy Teepell’s former executive assistant, was named as the new legislative liaison for the Department of Transportation and Development.

"Jindal Mooning Louisiana"

Lamar Parmentel — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 15:06:43 GMT

Old boy Lamar White takes Bobby Swindle's latest public money giveaway scandal, his jihad against Public Education in Louisiana, to task in a big way:

I wonder, though: Are any of these people aware of the end-game here? Because Jindal’s proposals about performance-based pay and tenure are just window-dressing. On their own, they’re radical, to be sure, but not nearly as radical as Jindal’s end-game. Ultimately, Jindal’s goal, as The Wall Street Journal notes, is not merely to create the country’s “largest voucher program;” it’s about using taxpayer dollars to establish an undemocratic, unprotected parallel education system.

Read the whole thing over at cenlamar.com

Nothing Public Shall Stay: "State agencies hoping to privatize some services"

Lamar Parmentel — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 12:40:33 GMT

While Jindal contemplates upending public education in Louisiana by outsourcing it to private schools, no doubt breaking the teachers union in the process, the slow grinding of the Jindal crushing machine reaches new targets.

Under the benign guise of this headline, the Times-Picayune reports:

Two state agencies served notice Wednesday that they want to privatize some of their services by mid-year, moves that could cost more than 200 state employees their jobs. The proposals to outsource some jobs to private contractors were pitched to the state Civil Service Commission by the Office of Student Financial Assistance and three units of the Department of Health and Hospitals.
The commission will not act on the proposals until the agencies return with proposed contacts, indicating how much they cost and how much can be saved for taxpayers.Melanie Amrhein, executive director of the financial aid office, said the privatizing plan could cost 46 employees their jobs, mainly in student loan collections. She said the agency is allocated 136 positions now and 121 of them are filled.

This is on the heels of the Jindal-led privatization of the state's Medicaid plans, in essence turning over the Federal dollars meant to help provide healthcare to the poor to corporate healthcare giants for management. Like the inverse of the Affordable Care Act, this is government abdicating responsibility for healthcare for the poor, while simultaneously exposing Federal dollars to profit-taking.

That great sucking sound? That's the chute by which Jindal shovels public resources into the private trough. Faster and faster, without limit. Nothing public must stay.

Jindal Ed Reform Plan Sliced and Diced By Opponents

Bucktown Pirate — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 20:01:11 GMT

Jindal's privatization push has extended to nearly every element of state government. Anything public is a ripe target for Jindali and his henchmen to turn over to his cronies to make a buck or three. That's how the game works:

Win election by promoting wedge issues and moral superiority
Wrap every proposal around plans to divest the state of public resources, contracting away or outright selling public property to special contractors and friends
Get contributions from said special contractors and friends to build huge warchest and win re-election easily.

And that's a wrap. Some folks aren't ready to let this three-step work so easily:

One of the most vocal critics of Gov. Bobby Jindal's education proposals, the Louisiana Association of Educators, offered its suggestions Friday on how to improve teacher quality and boost performance at failing schools, saying Jindal's ideas are flawed and demoralizing to teachers.
The LAE offered a counter-proposal that would require $200 million or more in new funding for public schools and preschool programs, give a $500 tax credit to teachers for school supplies and strip standardized testing as the main criteria for evaluating teacher performance.

Read the whole thing, here.

A New Mayor For New Orleans in 2014?

Lamar Parmentel — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 13:41:02 GMT

We'll leave our crescent city brethren to sort through these rumors...but:

Several sources have indicated that Orleans Parish Sheriff Marlin Gusman has been mulling running for Mayor of the Big Easy.

With murders spiralling out of control down there, a candidate with law enforcement credentials might be able to crack Mitch's powerful political base. Furthermore, African-Americans have been speaking frankly about the lack of Af-Am elected officials in a city that is more than 60% black. With the city council about to add another white woman (Councilwoman Stacy Head is expected to win the open At-Large seat) to a citywide position, would the combination of the two elements make a popular, experienced politician like Sheriff Gusman have a chance in 2014? It seems like a long way away.

Through the magic of the internet, we are also informed that Gusman is a former city council member, and Ivy-league grad, and a lawyer from Loyola. Far from being a one-note law enforcement candidate, Gusman might be able to show off his executive pedigree as well.

Jindal Crony Rick Perry To Quit Presidential Race

Lamar Parmentel — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 18:22:19 GMT

After horrible showings in the first two primaries, Iowa and New Hampshire, Jindal's horse, Rick Perry, was determined to go third one... but couldn't remember where it was. Oops.

Oh, and Rick Santorum won the Iowa Caucus afterall... be we digress.

Here's Perry on his "strategic" retreat:

Texas Gov. Rick Perry on Thursday morning announced he is suspending his campaign for president, saying at a press conference in North Charleston, South Carolina, “the mission is greater than the man.” Perry endorsed former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, saying “Newt is not perfect, but who among us is.”

Resounding endorsement! Of course, Newt doesn't mind it if you don't love him back. He supports open marriages!

Our absoulte favorite circus performance from Rick Perry has to be this "drunken" speech to New Hampshire Republicans. Unreal:

Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor

Lamar Parmentel — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 16:08:14 GMT

"We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed."

Jindal-Backed Presidential Candidate Thinks Store Mannequin is Reporter

Lamar Parmentel — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 18:24:03 GMT

Jindal-supported Presidential Candidate, and now notorious dolt, Rick Perry had a little problem finding the living, breathing, human reporters the other day:

After Perry left, walking by a mannequin wearing a Squat N’ Gobble T-shirt whose hand was raised above her head – a hand Perry tried to call on during a question-and-answer period -- a spirited discussion broke out in the restaurant, with some patrons waving Nobama ’12 bumper stickers. It was resolved, it seemed, after they determined that someone had left without paying their bill – and a Perry staffer agreed to pick up the tab.

It's really kind of sad. Some people believe this guy should be the leader of the free world. You know, some people like Bobby Jindal.

The clownshow rolls on.

All Hail Super-PACs

Lamar Parmentel — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 16:24:18 GMT

Our VERY FAVORITE political ad of 2012 (so far!). We hate dark money. We hate corporate personhood, or at least the evolving Judicial definition. But we love this ad. Old "Mitt" never saw it coming.

Jindal Kabuki Show Rolls On

Lamar Parmentel — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 23:09:01 GMT

Welcome back. We feel good to be back too. Sometimes there are more important things that Louisiana State Politics... Sometimes.

Anyway, since we last left our fearless leader, Bobby Jindal, he was basking in a not-exactly-impressive electoral victory against no real opponents. Sure, Tara Hollis was out there, and the comment pages of many blogs and newspapers reflected, she had her partisans. But unfortunately, that didn't really amount to much more than a weak-willed protest vote. Slapping PBJ with a wet sugar-cane stalk isn't exactly a death-blow.

Nevertheless, Jindal hardly scored some resounding victory. The whole State seemed to be captured in a "who-cares, politics-is-broken" moment as Jindal received only 673,239 votes, over 100k less than Barack Obama's 780,981 in 2008.

Nevertheless, Jindal is now forging his new "mandate" into a headlong push into education reform. In typical fashion, Jindal has shaped his iniatives in the droopy, hollow non-partisan language he is know for. Let us regress for a moment, because we've read a constant stream of missives from conservative authors proclaiming "OBAMA WRAPS HIS RADICAL POLICIES IN TOUCHY FEELY LANGUAGE TOO." The difference here of course, is the truth. Let's give this latest example from PBJ:

"There are of course many competing philosophies and agendas when it comes to education," Jindal told the crowd assembled outside the Old State Capitol in Baton Rouge. "I believe we all need to check our party affiliations, our ideologies, and our political agendas at the door when it comes to improving our schools."

Certainly, governor, let's examine these reasonable, compromise-laden pragmatic proposals you hope to thrust upon the polity with nonpartisan eagerness:

Although he didn't promote them during his campaign and hasn't made a public pitch in the months since he was resoundingly re-elected, people who've been in meetings with the governor say he hopes to greatly expand the use of private school vouchers...
Vouchers may have fallen off many Louisianians' radar since 2008, when Jindal pushed a small-scale program for low-income Orleans Parish students in failing schools through the Legislature. But they are ever-popular in the national conservative movement, which embraces privatization and -- to the extent that religious schools would receive more taxpayer money now allotted to public schools -- lowering the constitutional wall between church and state.

So, instead of that "reasonable effort to improve education," where we check our "partisan ideologies at the door, we get... radical partisan legislation that is darling of the "national conservative movement," not a pragmatic, homeground approach. Just more luster for that 2016 presidential run through Iowa, of course. What a transparently absurd Governor we have.

And, if this is Jindal "checking his political agenda" at the door, god help us if he ever gets truly partisan:

The state board of education has scheduled a special meeting tomorrow to vote on Louisiana's next superintendent, all but ensuring that John White, a former New York City schools official and Teach for America leader, will get the nod without any formal search process on the part of the board.

So, with only 24 hours notice, BESE is going to nominate the formerly controversial head of RSD to a post he couldn't have been confirmed to under the last BESE board. That's NON-PARTISAN and TRANSPARENT for you.

Jindal rolls merrily along, with the bullshit streaming from his lips at an ever-quickening pace...

Welcome to 2012. Good to be back.

We'll Be Back Real Soon!

Lamar Parmentel — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 15:34:27 GMT

Sorry for the lack of posts recently. We're ready to make 2012 even better than last year... So stay close.

The Good News Is The Bad News Isn't Too Bad

Lamar Parmentel — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 20:32:28 GMT

Lots of updates coming on the election results and what it means for the Gret State.

Quck rundown:

Legislature: Democrats maintain their ground, which considering the circumstances (rumors of political death), is great.

BESE: "Reformers" won. Jindal "won." Everyone else lost.

Statewide: Nothing happened. Status quo. In fact, the elections hardly produced news at all.

Some assholes won, like Greg Tarver. Some assholes lost, like Ricky Hardy. All in all, not exactly a great election for good government.

Much more to come...

Rickey's Broken Record

Robert J. Wilson — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 21:09:58 GMT

[UPDATE: Technical difficulty is preventing the charts from displaying properly. We're working on it.]

Louisiana State Rep. Rickey Hardy (D-Lafayette) loves to talk about his record.

Following a failed stunt in collusion with The Independent Weekly to duck a debate hosted by Acadiana Progressive and Lafayette Democrats, Hardy first described his reasoning by stating that the debate was “a set-up”, but when both The Independent and the people at large discovered that the only set-up was on the part of Mr. Hardy, his tune quickly changed. "What is there to debate about? They have to sell theyself (sic)” and “I can stand behind a proven track record, a list of accomplishments” said Hardy to KATC’s Maddie Garrett.

That was the moment when Rickey’s record became all he could talk about. In lieu of actually addressing his constituents in a forum hosted by either the aforementioned groups or the Lafayette Black Chamber, he implored constituents to “…look at [his] record.”

Working under the assumption that no one would actually take him up on the offer, Rickey dug in with his mantra: “I have a again proven track record."

Rickey was sorely mistaken.

Let’s take a look at Rickey’s Record, starting with the basics.

EMPLOYMENT

On Rep. Hardy’s official legislative web site, he lists his employment as: “Self employed - house washing and lawn care business”, but at Monday’s UL debate, stated that he was a full-time state representative.

We’ll get to that both parts of that lie in a moment…

A quick search of the Secretary of State’s database shows that there is no house washing and/or lawn care business registered in Mr. Hardy’s name.

Why is that important? Because that means he’s not paying the fees to do business in the State of Louisiana--as a state legislator.

Why don’t the rules apply to you, Mr. Hardy?

CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS

In yet another ploy to get media attention, Mr. Hardy pledged that he would refuse any and all campaign contributions. The Ind described this move as “…a sign of either supreme confidence or an epic political miscalculation.” The answer would come less than one month later when Hardy filed a six-page Candidate’s Report (report #24481, filed 9/20/2011) listing campaign donors.

Was that an “epic political miscalculation” or an outright lie?

GROUP AFFILIATIONS

Louisiana Association of Business & Industry

The Louisiana Association of Business and Industry (LABI) can not and does not endorse candidates.

At the debates hosted by UL’s Society of Professional Journalists, Rep. Hardy LIED and stated that he was endorsed by LABI. (see video mark 10:20)

LABI has never given Mr. Hardy higher than a 72% in their annual Voting Record publication.

In 2009, he received a 66% and in 2011 dipped two points to 70%.

The actual career-to-date average is 68.25%.

I’m not sure where y’all went to school, but that looks to me like a great big F.

Louisiana Family Forum

The rabidly anti-gay organization that blames Louisiana’s LGBT citizens for everything from natural disasters to societal decline is becoming more and more a fan of Rickey. After holding steady at 33% approval rating in 2008 and 2009, Hardy spiked to 40%.

How is it possible for an African American legislator who passed a law banning the display of nooses to get in bed with a group inextricably linked to former Louisiana state rep and current hate group President Tony Perkins, who himself has ties to both white supremacist organizations AND David Duke?

These, my friends, are FACTS, not feelings.

And there’s more…

VOTING RECORD*

During the 2011 legislative session, Rep. Hardy was ABSENT from 20% of the votes for which he was eligible. That’s the equivalent of calling in sick once a week, every week.

But, as we learned before, Mr. Hardy claims that he is employed as a full-time legislator…

When he does vote (his own machine), Hardy voted YES 76% of the time. Do you think that 76% of the ideas coming out of Baton Rouge merit a yes vote?

There’s missing a vote to be in committee or elsewhere and then there’s missing 20% of votes.

But what votes did Hardy actually miss during the 2011 Regular Session?

Here are some of the low-lights, in order of introduction:

Support for the “Make It Right” Foundation to help rebuild the Lower 9th Ward after Hurricane Katrina (HB 35)
Protection of children from human trafficking for sexual purposes (HB 49)
Protection of the Patient’s Compensation Fund, which provides relief in medical malpractice cases (HB 69)
Training for and authority of Chiefs of Police (HB 72 & 374, respectively)
Protection of people with a physical or mental disability from sexual abuse (HB 86)
Provision of legal representation to children in child protection proceedings (HB 178)
Improvement to our roadways (HB 238)
Production, manufacturing, distribution or possession of fake law enforcement badges (HB 264)
Imitation controlled dangerous substances (HB 339)
Prescription drug coverage (HB 345)
Definition of charter schools (HB 360)
Coverage by insurance of dependents (HB 462)
Support of CODOFIL and the Cajun French language (HB 517)
Streamlining of government (HB 534 & HB 639)
Streamlining fines & costs for criminal cases (HB 553)
Banning dangerous after-market High-Intensity Discharge headlights (HB 583)
Supporting the Road Home and Louisiana Recovery Authority programs (HB 618)

RECORD OF LEGISLATING*

The clown show doesn’t end with Rep. Hardy’s failure to cast a vote. In fact, it actually begins well before that when it’s time to craft legislation, a skill Rickey’s failed to learn in the four years he’s been in office. The bulk of his legislation consisted of generally meaningless resolutions and ill-advised studies; these resolutions are not included in the figures shown below.

Let’s go by the numbers:

In the 2008 1st Extraordinary Session, Mr. Hardy introduced a total of two bills, both of which failed, which is a 100% failure rate.

In 2008’s Regular Session, Rickey authored 25 non-resolution bills, of which only four (4) passed.

Fail Rate: 86%

The following year was a career-to-date high for Rickey, as during the 2009 Regular Session, Hardy was the author of seven (7) non-resolution bills and passed three (3).

At his best, Rep. Hardy was still a D minus.

Fail Rate: 81%

2010 saw Rep. Hardy come down with what was called a case of “legislative diarrhea” and introduced a total of 35 non-resolution bills, of which only five (5) passed.

Fail Rate: 88%

Most recently, in 2011’s Regular Session, Rickey authored five (5) bills and passed two (2).

Fail Rate: 71%

So let’s boil that down.

Rickey Hardy’s career-to-date FAILURE rate with non-resolution legislation is a whopping 86%.

RICKEY’S RECORD SKIPS

So what have we learned about Rep. Rickey Hardy?

• We've seen Rickey tell a bald-faced lie in two parts, that his full-time occupation is as a state legislator, which is less than a part time job for even those who do show up to vote.

• We’ve shown that he says he’s for business and industry, but gets a 68.25% ranking from LABI.

• We’ve heard Rickey Hardy lie and say that LABI endorsed him when they explicitly state that they can not and do not endorse candidates.

• We’ve seen that Rickey Hardy missed 20% of the votes for which he was eligible in the most recent session.

• We’ve tracked Rickey’s legislative success only to find that his bills fail nearly 90% of the time.

This Saturday, the voters of House District 44 need to do with Rickey and his record what any music industry leader would: drop him from the label.

*Data Source: http://legis.state.la.us

Special Note: I served as volunteer Producer for Acadiana Debates. This data compilation and analysis was completed by me as a private individual using Rickey Hardy's voting record as a principal source and individual organizations' web sites to cross-reference. I am not employed by, paid by, or otherwise affiliated with the Vincent Pierre Campaign.

With Friends Like These

Lamar Parmentel — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 16:02:54 GMT

Let's say I'm a Democrat (you know, a real one, not some vestigial registration that voted for McCain), and someone wants to sell me on a candidate. Let's say that candidate had this record:

74% Voting Record with Louisiana Association of Business and Industry (LABI)
Authored Re-Apportionment plan devasting minority representation, first drafted by Louisiana Family Forum even, before census results were released
Authored bill opposing Affordable Care Act (ObamaCare) on States' Rights argument to "negate Obamacare"
Potentially Disbarred In Other States
100% Anti-Choice

Great, sounds wonderful, right?

Elberts Words by charlotte-9

Vote Don Cravins on November 19th.

Bobby Jindal's Magic Endorsement Touch

Lamar Parmentel — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 13:12:21 GMT

Does Bobby Jindal really support, uh, Rick Perry?

And if he does, how does he feel about Perry's contention that we should "eliminate" the Federal Department of Education?

Jindal has said one of his top priorities for his second term will be education reform. That type of reform is heavily supported by the Obama Department of Education, either through grants, or through policy leadership.

Gov. Bobby Jindal said Monday that improving public schools will be the top priority of his second term.
“We have made great progress as a state,” Jindal said.But he added, “We have a lot more work to do.”

So, again, does Jindal really support the elimination of the Department of Education?

Going Red, But Which Way?

Lamar Parmentel — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 16:06:47 GMT

It has been clear since voting closed in early November of 2008 that Louisiana was never going to warm up to President Obama. The President's sweeping victory in 2008 did not radiate to Louisiana, where he received only 39% of the vote. However, we still see articles like this one:

Obama's approval rating topped out at 37 percent in Louisiana, a drop from the 40 percent support he received in the 2008 presidential election. His favorability hit only 17 percent with white voters, but reached 92 percent among black voters.

Let's avoid the absurdity of trying to compare turnout-skewed margin of victory to a poll that has margin of error of 2-5%. In essence, what the polling shows is that Obama is treading water in Louisiana. Which, considering the vitriol spewed at him and his administration from all manner of politicians in the Gret Stet, isn't so bad.

More importantly is the election next year. While we all hope Louisiana will come to its senses and recognize the awful bill of goods that Republicans are selling to this state, it's not likely to occur in such short order. Furthermore, by virtue of the electoral college, the GOP's margin of victory in Louisiana is unimportant. Either they get more than 50%, or they don't. And all signs point to that being a pretty reliable circumstance. We don't expect to see too many visits from either the President or the Republican candidate because Louisiana is simply not in play.

However, Louisiana IS in play when it comes to deciding which Republican will have the opportunity to win Louisiana's 8 electoral votes (yes, 8, not 9 anymore due to the loss of a Congressional Seat in the 2010 Census).

As per a change by Louisiana's legislature this past session (and at the behest of Republicans), our primary was moved to March 24th. Looking at the schedule, we've put ourselves directly after the big SUPER TUESDAY March 6th primaries where over 520 delegates are available. That's more than half the necessary amount to win the nomination on the GOP side. Louisiana sits on the other side of that mountain, meaning we'll likely be in the position to make a difference, either maintaining one campaign's recent momentum, or acting as a firewall for another.

In short: now our GOP primary matters.

But who's favored to win our coveted delegates?

Back in June, during the clownish Southern Republican Leadership Conference (highlighted by an Obama-impersonator being pulled from the stage after he turned his comedic fire on to Republicans) in New Orleans, John Huntsmans won a surprise second in the Louisiana SRLC straw poll. Unfortunately for Huntsman, his victory wasn't exactly considered a "legitimate" expression of Louisiana GOP thought at the time. It turns out, GOP operative and Orleans Parish School Board Member Brett Bonin helped pay busloads of people to vote for Huntsman in the straw poll. Just your ordinary caper to steal a vote from a Republican, but we digress. Let's see how the frothing mouth-breathers at the tea party websites reacted:

A Louisiana GOP source who saw my earlier item sends over an email that Brett Bonin, a New Orleans school board member and associate of the Bryan Wagner individual I interviewed, blasted out ahead of the straw poll last week. As Wagner explained before hanging up, he and Bonin helped deliver votes for Huntsman.
But some Louisiana Republicans are unhappy because, as the email twice gets at, it wasn’t just Republicans who were brought in to vote for Huntsman.
Date: Wed, 15 Jun 2011 19:17:57 -0500
Subject: INSIDER INVITATION
From: xxx@xxxx
To: xxx@xxxx
To Team Bonin,
I have a very special invitation to all, regardless of party affiliation. I am hosting a free insider’s look at the Republican Southern Leadership Conference this Saturday.

Needless to say, Bonin's antics probably didn't allow for a clean look at the Louisiana GOP's thoughts on the presidential contest.

Regarding more appropriate data to the question at hand, we have an actual voter survey taken this past August from a GOP polling firm on Louisiana's actual preference:

WPA Research conducted a statewide survey August 14-16, 2011 in Louisiana and  asked the following question to likely Republican voters :

Now, thinking about the 2012 Presidential race, If the Republican primary election for President were held today, for whom would you vote if the candidates were RANDOMIZE

Michele Bachmann

Mitt Romney

Newt Gingrich

Rick Perry

Herman Cain

Ron Paul

Rick Santorum

…and…

Jon Huntsman

IF UNDECIDED/NOT SURE, ASK

If you had to choose today, who would you lean toward (repeat candidates)?

1.         Michele Bachmann 16%

2.         Mitt Romney 15%

3.         Newt Gingrich 9%

4.         Rick Perry 30%

6.         Herman Cain 2%

7.         Ron Paul 6%

8.         Rick Santorum 1%

9.         Jon Huntsman 2%

10.       Hard Undecided/DK/Refused DNR 19%

So it seems, at least several months ago, that Bobby Jindal's endorsement of Rick Perry was a good move only a month after this survey was completed.

Unfortunately, then Rick Perry had to run a campaign. And then this happened:

And then this happened:

So now we don't know where we are at all, do we?

Something Stinks in Acadiana

stephen — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 18:32:20 GMT

There has been a story floating around Acadiana for the past month and as has been the situation in almost EVERY case here in Acadiana – traditional media outlets do not like to report negatively on incumbents – especially if they are not term limited. Such is the case with newly minted Republican Don Menard, St. Landry Parish President and contender for State Rep in District 39.

First the coverage of this race has been sparse at best which is a complete failure of the 4^th Estate in my opinion. When you look at this district the only PRINT Coverage is owned by Gannet and so if they are not “going there” then who will. Not to mention many of their reporters are so over worked they have no time at all to develop stories and dig deep into politics. In fact I am shocked at just how many reporters we have here that were actually in HIGH SCHOOL 4 years ago (or just entering college) when the last election took place. But back to District 39.

The Daily Kingfish was contacted by several frustrated individuals in District 39 who have been trying to get coverage of some huge issues they perceived are being perpetrated on the good people of the district and especially of St. Landry Parish. We are currently looking into these matters and will report on them early next week.

For now, good readers, we would like to point your attention to what has actually gotten folks talking in the district.

FACTS:

Don Menard has been a Republican for a very short time and many claim he switched parties JUST to run for this position after being promised support by big PACs that were going to dump money into his campaign.

Don Menard is panicking because his support from the Republicans could dry up and FAST once they know more about him and his antics while in office – or perhaps they just don’t care which I think will dry up THEIR support even faster from true conservatives.

The DSCC paid for an attack ad that went out to voters in this district pointing out that while in office as Parish President Don Menard fought hard for a $20,000 PER YEAR pay raise! If approved that would have taken his salary to $85,000 per YEAR! The per capita income averages right at $16,000 per year… So yes, Don Menard wanted to give himself a raise… the raise alone is more than what most people in his parish make in an entire year.

This mailer also pointed out that he used taxpayer dollars to frequently eat out at extravagant restaurants racking up large tabs at places like Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse.

What is perhaps the stupidest thing I have seen done in politics in a long time… Menard, steamed about this hit piece, responds with a HALF PAGE AD in the Daily Advertiser (a Gannet Property) basically admitting to everything in the hit piece and he goes on in that ad to explain WHY he did those things.

First he claims that in his 30 plus years of “service” that the first 22 of those years he wasn’t paid a salary at all… therefore I guess he is arguing he is DUE the raise for all those past years. In previous arguments on this he claims he was “grossly underpaid” for the job he was doing. Funny, according to several members of the Parish Council – of the past 10 meetings of that body – Menard has only attended 1 of those meetings. ONE MEETING out of 10! (NOTE: Menard clearly now appears to be scrubbing the St. Landry parish Government’s Website of everything that makes him look bad as you now have to get this via Google Cache.)

And secondly he makes the claim that the “$400 Dinner” was money well spent because it was used to take out Federal Employees who were there to determine IF St. Landry Parish qualified for a Grant of over $1 Million. Think about that for just one second… He is making the claim that he and other government employees went out to dinner and WE had to foot the $400 bill for it because ultimately the Parish got the Grant?!?! As if we wouldn’t have gotten it if they didn’t go there? As if the parish didn’t qualify for the grant and he was bribing them with dinner? I don’t know what the reasoning here is other than it stinks to HIGH HEAVEN.

The Independent briefly mentioned this in their “blog” they mention him as their “Pas Bon” call out in their print addition but refuse to go any further on this.

So I am quite sure Democrats are happy to have ridded themselves of this character… but the question is – how long are Republicans going to keep supporting him with this sort of a track record?

And when will BOTH Parties start standing up and calling out members of their own party for this type of gamesmanship. I don’t believe the cleansing waters of a last minute party switch should cover the eyes of voters and people of conviction need to start standing up.

We Report, You Decide

Lamar Parmentel — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 16:35:29 GMT

Of all of the election results from last Saturday, it appears one event has generated inordinate buzz on the twitter-tubes. And it isn't Jindal's landslide victory.

In fact, the entire slate of elections turned out to be a snoozer. A couple of interesting run-offs remain, including one in Shreveport that pits a DKF favorite Lydia Jackson against an old-school, vote-for-sale politician in Greg Tarver.

But, as out-going (good riddance) Jindal Chief of Staff Timmy Teepell noted:

"BESE races are where it's at," said Timmy Teepell, the governor's campaign manager, but also the prime mover behind the GOP Victory Fund, which is spending heavily in BESE campaigns. The Republicans are joined by a deep-pocketed coalition of business groups that are active for the first time in education elections.

And, in this case, we agree.

The intrigue about the BESE board surrounds the ascendance of former NYC Deputy Chancellor John White. White comes fresh from the turbulent tenure of NYC Schools Chief Joel Klein, and is a superstar among pro-charter school types. In fact, he's basically their wet dream (and judging by their praise of him, they should check their shorts). White is currently RSD super, meaning he runs the Recovery School District as on an interim basis. Bobby Jindal, however, has plans for this prized servant. He wants White to run all schools in Louisiana.

Who has the say over such a decision? Why, the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, of course. However, Jindal needs a super-majority of 8 (out of a 11 members) to win White's passage as school czar. Right now, the pro-White forces have a majority 6, with two races still outstanding.

Why all this background? Because of this:

Now, things get a whole lot more interesting. As we've previously covered, the Alliance for Better Classrooms is a PAC backed by Lane Grigsby and other anti-union Baton Rouge folks that have completely bought the Michelle Rhee-isms that dominate our education debate. More importantly, they're carrying water for the Jindal Administration's tact to crush teachers unions and turn public education over to privitized corporate control. Yes, charters are public schools. And yes, they open the door to privitization and the elimination of an egalitarian educational system. Both things CAN be true.

Anyway, the question is this: What is Michael Bloomberg doing giving over $100,000 to Louisiana BESE races? The goal is to elect pro-John White electors like Chas Roemer and Kira Orange Jones. But who should be making the decisions for our communities? New York Billionaire Michael Bloomberg or New York refugee Super John White? How about Louisianians?

A quick survey of BESE candidates in run-offs shows anti-union, pro-John White candidates are outspending their opponents HUGE:

As an example, let's examine BESE 2. which is in South Louisiana, covering parts of New Orleans and the River Parishes:

Louella Givens: CoH $9,640 as of Election Day

Kira Orange Jones: CoH $74,987 as of 10-days prior PLUS late donations from people like:

DAVID GERGEN, Alexandria‎, ‎VA -- $2,500 (yes, that CNN guy)
LAWRENCE STUPSKI, San Francisco, CA-- $2,000 (former head of Charles Schwab)
DARLA MOORE‎, Fort Worth, TX -- $5000 (major GOP donor, George W. Bush Friend)
KATHERINE BRADLEY‎, Washington, DC -- $2,500 (wife of publishing magnate who owns The Atlantic)
GREGORY PENNER‎, Arkansas -- $5000, twice (from he and his wife, Walmart Board member)
Bloomberg Revocable Trust -- $5000 (trust also gave $100k to ABC PAC)

So, major financiers from elsewhere (all rabid pro-charter donors) are boosting a Louisiana BESE candidate. So what? For once, I guess we have to agree; this is way the game of politics is played. But at some point, doesn't it become hard for us in-state to stomach the fact that our education system's future is compeltely in the hands of a bunch of trust-funders and corporate fat cats? Buying our elections must be rather cheap for these 1%'ers.

The voters will have their say November 19th.

1. Michele Bachmann	16%
2. Mitt Romney	15%
3. Newt Gingrich	9%
4. Rick Perry	30%
6. Herman Cain	2%
7. Ron Paul	6%
8. Rick Santorum	1%
9. Jon Huntsman	2%
10. Hard Undecided/DK/Refused DNR	19%