I am glad to see Jindal win. I think he can be very effective in turning that state around. Louisiana has been riddled with political corruption for a long, long time so he will have his work cut out for him.

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"Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we."

President George W. Bush, 8-5-2004

Carolina Politics Online

THIS IS REAL HOPE AND CHANGE!

The funny thing is that Orleans parish, the one that cries the loudest, the one that can't get their shit together to rebuild the city, the one known for corrupt politicians, had more votes for businessman Georges, than they did for Jindal! You'd think they would have learned their lesson when the voted for businessman Nagin for mayor. Ooops, no they didn't, because they voted Nagin back in after the storm!!!!!

Seriously though, I think that Jindal has been good for Louisiana and while some think he should have stayed in Washington, I think he can do more here. We've got two strong people (David Vitter and Mary Landrieu) already in Washington and I know they'll work with Jindal for the good of the state. (BTW, Mary's brother, Mitch, was re-elected Lieutenant Governor.)

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"Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways - Chardonnay in one hand - chocolate in the other - body thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and screaming "WOO HOO, What a Ride!"

It doesn't surprise me that NO voted that way. They even re-elected Jefferson post-freezer raid when he 'pulled a Lieberman' and ran and won despite the Dems refusing to endorse him and backing someone else.

Vitter, though, seems like damaged goods after the 'family values' facade whilst attending the DC madam wearing baby nappies, etc. I know it seems that scandal and corruption are taken as a prerequisite for a political career in LA (with PA always looking to give it a run for the money literally and figuratively speaking) but his speaking and selling power for the state to others is diminished by what happened.

well good for them, I hope things do turn around...its about time....do they have term limits down there Mrs. M? Can Nagin run again?

add to this, a Massachusetts Republican, Jim Ogonowski ( a Bush sppter as well) was beaten in a heavily leaning democratic district by just 51%......the harbinger of a democratic sweep next year is not cemented....

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No individual can plan his own existence in their view.

So the state planners must arrogate to themselves the right to manipulate any sector of the economic system if the good of “society” or the “general welfare” is paramount.

Ipso- if the rights of the individual get in the way, the rights of the individual must be sublimated.

The Road to Serfdom
FA Hayek (interpretation)


Mortgage Backed Security survivor

Yeah, I've long since given up trying to figure out the people of N.O.

As for Vitter, I'm really hoping he can get past this scandal. In spite of what he's done wrong, he's done a lot of things right.

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"Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways - Chardonnay in one hand - chocolate in the other - body thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and screaming "WOO HOO, What a Ride!"

Yes, N.O. has mayoral term limits though Marc Morial tried unsuccessfully to get that changed. Nagin, thank goodness, is in his last term, a term he shouldn't have been serving in the first place!

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"Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways - Chardonnay in one hand - chocolate in the other - body thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and screaming "WOO HOO, What a Ride!"

thx Hon......we can only hope that they, the denizens of NO get past identity politics and elect someone that can do them some good...

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No individual can plan his own existence in their view.

So the state planners must arrogate to themselves the right to manipulate any sector of the economic system if the good of “society” or the “general welfare” is paramount.

Ipso- if the rights of the individual get in the way, the rights of the individual must be sublimated.

The Road to Serfdom
FA Hayek (interpretation)


Mortgage Backed Security survivor

The 'identity' is a strange one. Nagin was a GOP business executive who backed and endorsed Bush in 2000 and switched to Dem only to get the mayor's seat. They picked Jefferson in rejection of the Dem party. The state itself has unusual races of 'characters' (example: David Duke (white supremacist) v. Eddie Edwards (charismatic but corrupt) for Governor).

The last thing NO needs is some distant, money-tight technocrat running the show. What the people of NO need more than anything else now is compassion and understanding--someone who is willing to listen to their needs, to meet with the people in person, and promise relief where it is needed.

That leader also needs to be someone who is wiling to take the time to understand the root of the corruption plaguing NO. Corruption can never be legislated away. If it could, it wouldn't even exist, since it's obviously illegal.

Jindal's background suggests he's the wrong person to lead LA at this time. Expect his political fortunes to go south all the way in 4 yrs.

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Life only becomes meaningful at its extremes

-- S

Utter nonsense.

There is no need for a person who can come schmooze with the people and promise relief. That's what Blanco and Nagin did - and it's accomplished dick.

What is needed is a person who can deliver relief.

Matt

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De duobus malis, minus est semper eligendum

And what exactly is Jindal's plan to do that? He has to deal with NO's corruption first. To deal with corruption, one needs to understand the source of corruption and play the system (as corrupt as it is) to your advantage.

That takes street smarts, which the Ivy League Jindal probably doesn't have (nothing in his background suggests he has done something similar before).

AS an example, consider Jindal's (supposed) planned initial drive to fight corruption. . .

Oh great. The corrupt people are gonna stop being corrupt because more laws have been passed in their face, i. e. "Hey, I never had any respect for the law before, but oh, now there are more laws. Oh, maybe I should reconsider!"

Jindal is just a math whiz who is liked by rich conservatives for his reduced govt. spending ideas. He won only because of his predecessor's incompetence, not because there was anything in him that would make him a suitable leader in NO's current crisis.

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Life only becomes meaningful at its extremes

-- S

I wouldn't read that much into a low turnout special election, where the Republican is well known as the brother of a 9/11 pilot, the numbers would have been lopsided if he ran on a November ballot when the faithful were out in force.
We still have some pockets of "swamp Yankee" Republicans here left over from the Civil War, but all that is fading fast, Maine is a good example of that with two Republican Senators, but those days are fading fast.
Just like there were Democratic holdovers for years after the South turned Republican, there are still a few Republicans left in the Northeast, but not many and species is getting rarer than the Ivory Billed Woodpecker.

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“ The subjects of every state ought to contribute towards the support of the government, as nearly as possible, in proportion to their respective abilities; that is, in proportion to the revenue which they respectively enjoy under the protection of the state.”

Adam Smith , The Wealth of Nations 1776

"We have always known that heedless self-interest was bad morals; we know now that it is bad economics"
FDR's second Inaugural Address

I agree with what you are saying. It's actually really interesting to look back and see how things have changed over the years, but really, it's the parties that have changed, not the people. The northeast has always been fairly liberal and more wealthy and that was who the Republican Party used to cater to. The south has always been socially conservative with a much larger rate of poor people and that is who the Democrats catered to. The roles of the parties have shifted over the last 40 years and the people have flipped their allegiances in response.

Snowe and Collins will likely be the last Republican senators from Maine for a long time to come, as will Landrieu, Pryor, and Lincoln likely be the last Democratic Senators from their states. Same deal with my Congressman. He is a Democrat and has represented this district for 24 years. This district has become increasingly Republican with the urban sprawl from Charlotte, but with good name recognition and a fairly moderate voting record Jack gets reelected each year. When he retires, though it's a GOP pick up for certain.

You even see the trends in the midwest and west. The Republicans have been gaining ground in states like Wisconsin and Minnesota, while the Democrats have been gaining in Montana and Colorado.

Population fluxes change the landscape too. After the 2010 Census a lot of the northern states where the Democrats have more dominance are going to lose several Congressional seats and electoral votes with them. Pennsylvania, Ohio, New Jersey, and Michigan are definite losses and possibly New York. California could possibly be in danger of losing one as well. The south and west, however, where Republicans have the upper hand are going to gain seats and votes. Georgia, Arizona, and Nevada are looking at two more seats each as well as Florida, North Carolina, and Utah picking up at least one more. This doesn't mean, however, that Republicans will be flush with all of these electoral votes. It depends on who is moving to these states. Population fluctuations can turn a state from red to blue and vice versa.

__________________
"Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we."

President George W. Bush, 8-5-2004

Carolina Politics Online

THIS IS REAL HOPE AND CHANGE!

That's a very accurate assessment IMO Sam. I'd only add that the Dems will have a harder time in Louisiana due to Katrina removing so many New Orleans black Democrats. Wherever they moved will add some Dems but the power of them is fully diluted into their areas where they went. When in NO, they acted as a necessary base to compete with the mostly white GOP that has risen to strength following the GOP switchover of Dixiecrats across the South.

Here's a map of Louisiana, cupcake.



Look at that little spot just south of Lake Pontchartrain marked New Orleans then look north of the lake at the little spot marked Slidell. I live in Slidell and half of our city was covered in the waters of Lake Pontchartrain after Katrina. In several areas, the homes were completely washed into the lake and yet, we've managed to rebuild our city and the people have rebuilt or are in the process of rebuilding their homes, all without the whining and crying that the government hasn't rescued them.
Now, if you'll also look at the map, you'll find that New Orleans is a minute portion of Louisiana. A governor is elected for the good of the entire state, not just one city. If the idiots in New Orleans want to continue on the same route they've been on for the past two years, nobody, not even Jindal will be able to change that. They've had every opportunity to get off their lazy asses and do something for themselves and they've chosen instead to seek pity and handouts. Screw them! Many areas suffered as bad or worse damage and yet N.O. is the ONLY one that hasn't had a significant rebuilding process in place.
I'm glad Jindal was elected, for the good of Louisiana and if New Orleans wakes up, fine and if they don't, oh well, it's their own fault.

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"Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways - Chardonnay in one hand - chocolate in the other - body thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and screaming "WOO HOO, What a Ride!"