Is it too early to talk about ’07?

Posted on by

In my never ending quest to become known in irrelevant circles as the brown Tim Russert, I bring you news of the 2007 Louisiana governor’s race. It is never too early to start thinking about such things:

With the displacement of hundreds of thousands of New Orleans voters due to Katrina, primarily African-American Democrats, Republican candidates stand a better chance of statewide victory. Undoubtedly, a percentage of these voters will settle in other states or not bother to vote from distant locations in upcoming elections. Both U.S. Senator Mary Landrieu and Governor Blanco won their races with only 52% of the vote, their margin provided by strong African-American support in New Orleans. With Katrina creating a much smaller Crescent City, it will likely lead to a totally different dynamic in the next election, making victory for Democrats more difficult. [Link]

<

p>The scuttlebutt has it that Governor Blanco is D.O.A. The Democrats are desperately trying to find someone to run in her place. Former U.S. Senator John Breaux (D), very popular in his day and buddy-buddy with the Republicans, is the perfect choice. Unfortunately he is a rich Washington lobbyist now and it would appear that he has no incentive to give up the good life and inherit a whole state full of major problems for an insignificant salary. So why are Democrats so worried? Yep, you guessed it. You knew where this was headed:

Waiting in the wings to oppose her is Republican Congressman Bobby Jindal. Although Katrina has produced state demographics more favorable to the Republican Party, the low approval ratings for the Republican Congress and the Bush White House will not exactly help Jindal win the election. Most likely, it will be another hard fought and typical Louisiana campaign. At this point, it looks like Jindal will prevail, but billions of dollars in extra money; pay raises for her core constituency and 18 months of being able to show at least some progress are advantages for the incumbent right now. At this point, Blanco is signaling to everyone in the state that she will compete for re-election and compete aggressively. [Link]

He has performed admirably since Katrina and Rita, working hard for his state, traveling across Louisiana, and visiting with victims of the hurricanes. Jindal has been pushing a conservative agenda in Congress, but one that is decidedly pro-Louisiana. He has worked tirelessly for more recovery funding for the state and is sponsoring legislation to give Louisiana a larger share of offshore oil and gas revenues. He has not hesitated to criticize the Bush administration when warranted, most recently in the controversy over a United Arab Emirates owned company controlling port operations in cities like New Orleans. [Link]

<

p>Ironically some in the Republican party want Jindal to go after the Senate seat in Louisiana instead (the one currently occupied by Mary Landrieu). If Jindal has any (gasp) Presidential aspirations then I’d stick to running for governor.

Right now, 19 months from Election Day, it looks like Bobby Jindal is in the catbird seat. This amount of time is a lifetime in politics, so anything can happen, but Democrats like Odom realize their unfortunate predicament. In the last few years, Jindal has done a good job of building relationships across the state. He will use this expanded network to launch his campaign for governor. It is a job that he has wanted for many years and one that at this point has his name on it. [Link]

12 thoughts on “Is it too early to talk about ’07?”

  1. Lovely. Well, when the Roberts-Alito Supreme Court overrules Roe v. Wade and sends abortion rights to the states, Bobby can implement his “no abortion, no exceptions” policy and make it the law of the land in Louisiana. And I’ll stay up north.

  3. Landrieu and Blanco are ersatz Democrats. Most elected Louisianans, especially at the state and federal level, are more conservative than liberal. Also, Blanco was Mike Foster‘s lieutenant, for the love of fair politics. Your scuttlebutt is absolutely right, especially given that I wouldn’t vote for her again.

    Even though I’m not a supporter of Jindal, he is a lot more efficient than Blanco or [insert non-existent opponent here]. At this critical time for Louisiana, I don’t care whether Satan gets elected as long as he gets the job done. And if you’re afraid LA will go the way of SoDak, you’ll always have Orleans Parish, which is quite liberal even with a lot of its core black constituency absent.

  6. Tim Russert sucks.

    That means a lot coming from Huffington. The last one is my favorite:

    He has received twenty-nine honorary doctorate degrees from American colleges and universities and has lectured at the Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon and Reagan Presidential Libraries. In 2001, Washingtonian Magazine named Tim Russert the best and most influential journalist in Washington, D. C. describing Meet the Press as “the most interesting and important hour on television.” In 2004, ReaderÂ’s Digest said he was “AmericaÂ’s best interviewer.” Tim Russert has moderated numerous Gubernatorial, U.S. Senate and Presidential Primary candidate debates. His Election 2000 Meet the Press interviews with George W. Bush and Al Gore won the Radio and Television Correspondents’ highest honor, the Joan S. Barone Award and the Annenberg Center’s Walter Cronkite Award and his March 2000 interview of Senator John McCain shared the 2001 Edward R. Murrow Award for Overall Excellence in Television Journalism. He is also the recipient of the John Peter Zenger Award, the American Legion Journalism Award, the Congressional Medal of Honor Society Journalism Award, the Allen H. Neuharth Award for Excellence in Journalism and the David Brinkley Award for Excellence in Communication. He is a trustee of the Freedom Forum’s Newseum and a member of the Board of Directors of the Greater Washington Boys and Girls Club and America’s Promise -Alliance for Youth. In 1995, the National Father’s Day Committee named him “Father of the Year”, Parents magazine honored him as “Dream Dad” in 1998 and in 2001 the National Fatherhood Initiative also recognized him as Father of the Year. [Link]

  8. Not moving to South Dakota either.

    And Maitri, I really do hope that you all don’t elect Jindal or Satan. I realize that as an NRNL (non-resident non-Louisianan), I may not be “welcome or entitled” to care about Louisiana politics as far as many of you are concerned. 😉 But the election of either of them as governor would immediately make it more plausible that one of them could get elected president, which might even be more than Abhi’s fists of fury can handle in NoDak.

  9. footnote/question:

    Also, Blanco was Mike Foster’s lieutenant, for the love of fair politics.

    Just curious — I do get your more general point regardless of the answer, but were Foster and Blanco actually running mates? Lieutenant governor being a separately elected office in Louisiana, it would have been possible for the voters to simply have split their votes between the two offices.

  10. Everyone knows – Oprah – is the most important hour on television. Not to mention the most powerful.

  11. i mean, at the end of the day, even if jindal is anti-choice and pro-rapist, it’s up to that state’s legislature to make the movement occur (i’m assuming that is how it work in LA). and i still don’t understand this xenophobic reaction with the UAE port situation….