Done and done
As mentioned in an earlier post, TBK and I have already voted. I therefore have a two-word response for any of these phone-callers who have been ragging on me for much of the week (what few of them are real, live people anyway). I voted for just two statewide incumbents (Mitch Landrieu and Jay Dardenne) because they’ve been among the very few who haven’t seemingly gone out of their way to act like an idiot, promote some sort of unbelievable hocus-pocus or otherwise performed as your normal Louisiana politician. Mitch is old-school and entrenched, but he’s taken care of a main part of his job (promoting Louisiana culture) pretty well. Dardenne’s been running things pretty well for his part too, with no major screw-ups when it comes to election or corporate administration. So there.
We took part last Sunday, along with some other local bloggers, in a sit-down with District 5 Senate candidate David Williams. A genuinely nice guy with a droll, self-deprecating sense of humor. Among the many points he made during this informal discussion was that the rest of Louisiana simply wishes everything south of I-10 (and New Orleans in particular) would Just Go Away. Not that this has changed since the days of north Louisiana’s Huey Long (and before), but it’s particularly true now.
In statewide voting, I largely skewed my choices in favor of those who would keep South Louisana’s interests (particularly New Orleans) at front of mind. In more local races, I went for the newcomers — those who (hopefully) want to create a new image for this region of the state. Not that they actually will (we’ll see).
I agree with Dan that the choice is between How It’s Been and How It Can Be. I’ve made my choices.
Related posts:
Have you seen this?
http://centrallapolitics.blogspot.com/2007/10/mitch-landrieu-seeking-reelection-on.html
Landrieu does nothing but abuse tax payer dollars.
…and spending state tax dollars to promote tourism is abusing tax dollars, um, how? He makes this kind of announcement about every month somewhere in the state. It’s part of his job. Or maybe Shreveport/Bossier feels it’s already enough of a tourist Mecca without that extra $100K.
Craig - it’s really ironic that you feel the rest of the state wishes everything south of I-10 would go away. Usually it feels like everything south of I-10 doesn’t know there is anything north of I-10. ;-) I know when I was still in state, the students from south Louisiana at NLU were always yapping about how stupid and backwards north Louisiana was, how there was no culture, no fun, no beer on Sunday (which wasn’t true - you just had to know where to go) Mind you - these cracks were coming from people from metropolises like, oh, HOUMA.
In my masters’ thesis I looked at the geographic split between north and south Louisiana - that rivalry predates Huey, believe me. Many people have suggested, half seriously, that Louiksiana should split - with Alexandria north attaching itself to either Texas or Mississippi and the rest retaining the name Louisiana. I think Ouachita Parish east should go with Arkanasas, personally.
Most of north Louisiana now disavows Longism, even as they try to glean what they can from the remnants of his socialistic experiment. I generally try to ignore Shreveport - it’s the armpit of the world - smelly and damp and full of nastiness. It has an inflated perception of itself and its worth - culturally, politcally and economically. I can’t think of one good thing that ever came from S’port. Or Ruston for that matter - no wait - my sister lives in Ruston. I can’t bash it anymore.
It’s just that the interests of the regions are so entirely different — not only economically but also in terms of history, religion, ethnic background and in so many other ways. It was only natural for the largely Protestant, more Anglo-Saxon, less dense population farther north to resent the larger numbers of Creole Catholics farther south — and many of those kinds of divisions still exist. Huey Long was only one of many politicians since 1718 to exploit these differences against each other for personal and political gain. The battle continues every day in our legislature and, if not for the logistical difficulties, I’d tend to agree with that idea of splitting up the state. We could go back to being the old “Isle of Orleans” — if that were practical. But, of course, it’s not.
Not that one part of the state is right and another is wrong. But being that my home and my business and, I believe, my future are tied to this part of the state, that’s where I’m putting my vote.
Don’t blame you. I grew up nominally Catholic in a largely Baptist area and it was tough. I always voted for the southern candidates myself - even though I was in the north. They always seemed just s smidge less hypocritical and more real. Of course, they were still politicians, so, anyway. I would’ve voted for Mitch if I was there.
Its ironic that he makes this announcement as the election looms… appearences are everything…
If Caddo Parish votes can be bought for $100,000 in legislature-appropriated money for tourism, the region is in pretty sad shape. I’d be amazed if two in ten voters even know who Mitch Landrieu is. Not that they’re dumb, it’s just not an everyday name.
John Georges is running for Governor to get this state moving again with new leadership and new energy. He is one of Louisiana’s most successful businessmen. He has built his business successfully by partnering with minority owned firms. He’s hired talented minority professionals for management roles in his own businesses.
As Governor, John will make the plight of homeowners a top priority and will speedily straighten out the program. He will make funding the program a top priority, and will make sure that every legitimate applicant receives a fair and equitable payment. He will get the families of the hurricane region back into the homes they love and miss. He will make the contractor responsible for the Road Home pay for their delays and errors.
John Georges is committed to the rebuilding of the downtown medical corridor, including the vital new University Hospital, which will replace old Charity Hospital destroyed by Katrina.
He led the fight for better, stronger levees, to protect our city. He’s committed to fighting to make the Road Home program actually work for the families counting on it. He’ll fight to protect our health system - and improve the delivery of services, including a world-class teaching hospital downtown. So, if you want Governor who’s going to shake this state up and get us moving again, if you want Governor who’ll move us from the bottom of all the lists to the top, then John Georges is your man.
Visit http://www.georgesforgovernor.com and http://www.neworleansblack.com/vote2007
You are right about that. In any event, vote Sammy Kershaw!
A more common division of state government patterns is biggest city in the state versus everywhere else.
The exception is when the state capital is the biggest city in the state.