The Advocate quoted GOP Congressman Rodney Alexander about the town halls he's been holding in his district over health care reform:
"We haven't had anybody who's been ugly with us," said U.S. Rep. Rodney Alexander, R-Quitman. "Most people are concerned but nobody has been rude."
Well, I guess the Congressman and I have differing definitions of rude, because one young woman, Caina Munson, was shouted down by some obnoxious "patriotic authentic American" while the Congressman just stood there and let the man verbally abuse one of his constituents (Ms. Munson starts speaking around 2:45): (hat tip to CenLamar)
Perhaps the Congressman would like to offer us his definition of rude?
That tells me that Rodney sees the writing on the wall, and will not be a candidate for the Senate in 2010. It is still possible that he could switch parties at the last moment, much like he did in 2004 to undertake a challenge from the Democratic Party, but I just don't see it happening at this point.
It seems all but certain that Alexander will be facing Andrew Clack in a GOP primary again, though it remains to be seen how effective such a challenge will be. If Mr. Clack can get the Club for Growth folks involved, he stands a better chance of wresting the nomination away from Alexander.
The question then becomes whether there is a Democratic candidate out there willing to challenge Alexander in a general election. There were rumors that such a candidate would emerge during the filing period this summer, but none did.
I wonder if Alexandria Mayor Jacques Roy would be willing to take on this fight. Doing so however, would mean foregoing a re-election campaign for Mayor, which is that fall as well.
Last week, I brought this ad on Craigslist to your attention. But there is much, much more happening in regards to 2010:
Two commentators have dropped Don Cazayoux's name as a candidate for the Senate in 2010, here and here. This may be why the Business Report reported today that Senator Landrieu is among those pushing to have Cazayoux named as the United States Attorney for the Middle District of Louisiana.
According to well-placed sources, one on the Republican side of the aisle, and another on the Democratic side of the aisle, Congressman Rodney Alexander is considering running for the Senate in 2010. And these sources tell me he's not made up his mind entirely as to which party he'd make the run in! I can't see Alexander being welcomed with open arms in the Democratic primary, so my guess is he's stuck in the GOP.
It's an open secret within Democratic politics that Shaw Chairman Jim Bernhard is seriously considering running for the Senate. What folks don't know is that some of the big money donors in Louisiana Democratic politics, like Sarah Palin donor Calvin Fayard, are attempting to clear the field for Mr. Bernhard. Whether they are successful is another matter, as rumors abound that the Landrieu camp is trying to entice a Central or Northern Louisiana Democrat into the race.
Sinator Vitter is still attempting to shore up his biggest weakness - North Louisiana - by calling into Tom Pace's "Talk of the Town" radio show tomorrow on Shreveport's KRMD-AM 1340. You can listen in here.
I'd heard rumors from business owners in Alexandria that somebody with Secret Service protection was coming to Alexandria on Monday. The Alexandria Town Talk has confirmed that President Bush will be in Alexandria on Monday.
It is interesting to note that in an election year, less than three weeks before the election, in a state supposedly trending Republican, the President will not be boosting the Republican candidates in two districts that were represented by Republican officeholders - LA-04 and LA-06 - for over 15 years, and one currently represented by a Republican incumbent - LA-07. All three districts are less than an hours' drive from Alexandria, and yet the President will not be showing up in those districts.
No, he's showing up in a district where there is NO election, thanks to the fact that no Democratic candidate stepped up to challenge the traitorous and ethically challenged Rodney Alexander.
This is the election for this district, as no independents or Democrats qualified to run. So, for all intents and purposes, Rodney Alexander has won re-election. With 547 out 752 precincts reporting:
UPDATE: I'll be live-blogging the results from Jim Harlan's Victory Party tonight. It's being held at the Holiday Inn's Pontchartrain Room in Covington. The address is 501 N. Highway 190.
Today is primary day. There are 4 Congressional races that will be impacted by today's vote, as well a slew of races throughout the rest of the state:
LA-01: The Democratic Primary in this district is pretty much a formality, as Vinnie Mendoza has run numerous times in the past while not coming anywhere near close to winning.
LA-02: This is a big one. Congressman Jefferson has been indicted, and the trial starts next winter. He's facing off against 6 Democrats - James Carter, Troy "C" Carter, Byron Lee, Helena Moreno, Cedric Richmond, and Kenya Smith. It'll go to a run-off to be held on November 4th ... which is tantamount to election, as there are few Republicans in this district to make a difference. The question is, WHO will be in the run-off?
LA-04: Both the Democrats and Republicans have party primaries today. The Democratic Primary is largely a formality, as Paul Carmouche is very well-known in the district, having served as the Caddo Parish D.A. for the past 30 years.
On the Republican side, it's going to a run-off. There are 3 candidates - John Fleming, Chris Gorman, and Jeff Thompson. It's gotten mighty nasty, and I expect the run-off to be even nastier.
LA-05: This is a Republican primary, which will decide the election, as no Democrat stepped forward to challenge the ethically-challenged Rodney Alexander. He faces off against 25 year old Andrew Clack, who is running a shoe-string campaign.
New Orleans: There are a lot of races on the ballot, the most important of which is the District Attorney's race, as well as some very important questions regarding permanently funding the Inspector General's office and a bond for building yet more jails in Orleans Parish.
Baton Rouge: The Mayor, the entire City Council, and the District Attorney's offices are up for re-election. The current Mayor, Kip Holden, has done a fine job, and should cruise to re-election without the need for a run-off.
The current District Attorney, Doug Moreau, is retiring. The two candidates running to replace him - Democrat Hillar Moore and Republican Dan Clatoir - have been campaigning for over two years now. This should be settled tonight.
I haven't been keeping up with the rest of the state's elections ... what else is out there that you want me to live-blog the results of later tonight y'all?
As y'all are aware, Gustav made landfall last week, causing most towns in south Louisiana and central Louisiana to lose electricity. What y'all may not have been so aware of is that there were elections that were to be held last Saturday.
This will create a weird election season for us all ... as there will likely be a necessary run-off in LA-02 on the Democratic side and LA-04 on the Republican side, which means the run-offs will be held on Tuesday, November 4th, thus pushing the general election in those contests back to December.
The rest of the state will have general elections on Tuesday, November 4th, including the knife-fights developing in LA-06 and LA-07.
One of Capitol Hill's newspapers, Roll Call, (subscription required), reminds us that Rep. Rodney Alexander is either the unluckiest man in the Republican Party these days or he is one of the worst judges of character EVER.
Let's recap all the scandals he's been on the periphery of ...
In 2006, one of his staffers, Theresa Mares was caught sending love letters to convicted killer Scott Peterson on Congressional stationary! No need to worry, as Mr. Alexander fired Ms. Mares.
(Fundraing numbers ... all numbers are from Federal Elections Commission Database. Just plug in the candidate's name to search for their filings. - promoted by ryan)
This is the first of many fundraising diaries focusing on the 2008 cycle. Since this blog is concerned about Louisiana, we will only be commenting on the Louisiana Congressional delegation's fundraising. Let's take a look at each Member one by one, starting with LA-01.
LA-01
Rep. "Bobby" Jindal (R) Raised: $40 (although his FEC report says $4,259, of which $4,219 was a tax refund) Spent: $10,876 CoH*: $18,764
Since he's running for Governor, it's natural that he has not focused on fundraising for his Congressional seat. However, an interesting expenditure shows up here - $3,960 to the Bellwether Consulting Group on 4/27/07. Everyone and their mama knew that "Bobby" was running for Governor this year right after he lost to Blanco in '03. So I wonder what he was paying for - advice on his Congressional race in '08, or advice on his Governor's race this year? Obviously, using federal election funds for a state election is illegal. Will the Jindal campaign release a statement on what that $3,960 was for?
So some Royal Alexander flunky (janeinno) wants me to post her diatribes on this site, as she thinks I'm afraid to. Well, I will post her rants as examples of what not to post on this site, as it will get you banned.
This is an ad hominem attack:
A malicious partisan publication unconcerned with basic fairness, the "Daily Lie" makes no mention of the fact that Royal Alexander is receiving significant misplaced rage due to his association with Cong. Alexander. The Nancy Pelosi Attack Machine has been targeting Cong. Alexander ever since he switched to the Republican Party and loathes him in a very special way. The Democrats had two years to pick a candidate to oppose Cong. Alexander, and Royal Alexander fended off the Pelosi Attack Machine and guided his boss to a landslide victory.
This person forgets her history. Congressman Alexander switched parties in the most cowardly way possible - at the last minute of the filing period, denying the Democrats an opportunity to run a credible candidate against him. No wonder the Democratic Party up in Washington doesn't like him. But he shows a lack of understanding of how the DCCC works - if they REALLY wanted Congressman Alexander gone ... they would have recruited someone to run against him. They didn't, prefering to let the grassroots nominate someone. Unfortunately, those candidates could not defeat Congressman Alexander.
Anyway, calling this site the "Daily Lie" is not exactly going to endear anybody to the bloggers of this site. Stick the substance of the post, and refrain from attacking the site or the poster.
Here are some more examples of ad hominem attacks:
