Louisiana's dominant political party maintains its grift

The state Republican Party re-elected Louis Gurvich as its chair after yet another year of squabbling between his faction and a group more closely in the orbit of Eddie Rispone. This time the opposition is accusing Gurvich of verbally abusing a staffer, which is probably true, but also not the real reason they're opposed to his chairmanship. 

Gurvich denied the allegations against him. In a speech Saturday, he said the party’s financial problems preceded his election as chairman in 2018 and that Republicans had robust fundraising over the past two months.

He did not directly address the allegations that he had mistreated a former party employee, though in his remarks Saturday, he compared himself with Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, a conservative who was outraged when he found himself being accused of sexual assault after being nominated to the country’s top court.

Several top Republicans in the state have been upset with Gurvich’s leadership. Eddie Rispone, a former gubernatorial candidate and a Republican mega-donor, has openly criticized the party’s leadership on several occasions.

“No one wants to contribute to the party because it’s not run properly,” Rispone said Saturday.

Is the party being "run properly?" Well that depends on a lot of subjective criteria. They do hold both houses of the legislature, both US Senate seats, all but one of Louisiana's US House seats, and every statewide elected office other than Governor.  On the other hand, they haven't yet figured out how to divvy up the spoils of all that plunder without being jerks about it. 

And that's what these chair elections are all about.  See a few years ago, these same factions had it out over whether or not Republican candidates should hire former chairman Roger Villere's consulting firm and how much they should pay him.  This year they are at it again, likely over the same sort of territorial grudge, regardless of how they want to explain it. 

Taking a stab at Rispone, Gurvich said he wouldn't let a "wealthy businessman wrest control" of the state party and downplayed Bayham's GOP bona fides, saying he consulted for Jay Dardenne, a Republican who serves as Democratic Governor John Bel Edwards' chief budget architect.

Oh yeah you really wouldn't a "wealthy businessman" getting control of the party.  That's definitely why you need Louis Gurvich around.  

Gurvich’s desire to be the LAGOP’s top leader might seem an unusual move from his weekday responsibilities as president of the Uptown-based New Orleans Private Patrol, but the private security business is in Gurvich’s blood. A third- generation entrepreneur, Gurvich’s family came to Louisiana in the late 1920’s when J. Edgar Hoover, the young director of the Bureau of Intelligence — later known as the FBI — personally transferred Gurvich’s paternal grandfather to the city. Gurvich received multiple degrees in business and law from UNO, Tulane University and Loyola Law School and entered the 87-year-old family business in 1991.

Anyway, now that Gurvich is back, what's next for the state GOP power brokers besides trying to hide all the money from each other? 

Acknowledging his narrow victory, Gurvich, who will lead the party through the next election for governor, said the stakes are too great to let to party devolve into infighting. 

"We are here to save a country, nothing less, make no mistake. Our enemies are powerful, they are a driven by a Marxists ideology," Gurvich said. "My promise is that I'm here for every one of you."

LOL, your "enemies" are almost entirely out of power in this state and they are driven by a neoliberal ideology of privatization and patronage not too different from your own. But keep that grift up. It's going well for you.

There's that "culture change" thing again

Now that Eddie Rispone has given up, Lance Harris is running for State GOP Chair.  He says he wants to change the culture. 

Harris said the party needs a “culture change” and that he wants to bring “consistency and stability” to the leadership.

His announcement comes less than a week before the Republican State Central Committee meeting in Baton Rouge on Saturday where officers are set to be elected.

He is challenging LAGOP Chairman Louis Gurvich, a New Orleans businessman who took over the party in 2018 after long-time party chair Roger Villere stepped down.

Previously, we heard about this "culture change" business from party secretary Mike Bayham who appeared to be favoring Rispone.  But as far as we can tell the actual dispute here is over how much Republican candidates will have to pay Villere's consulting firm if they want party support. Gurvich appears to be the pro-Villere candidate.  Looks like Harris is signaling he is the "culture change" guy now that Rispone is out.

Some real soul searching going on here

Turns out Eddie Rispone, despite having spent the past several months scheming and maneuvering and spending a fair amount of money in an effort to become the next chair of the state Republican Party, has suddenly discovered he's too busy.  

Eddie Rispone, the Republican businessman who lost a bid to unseat Louisiana’s Democratic governor in 2019, is suspending his campaign for chairman of the party, weeks after saying he wanted to take over after seeing the party outworked and outspent during the governor’s race.

Rispone said in an interview he has “major obligations” in his personal and business life that would prevent him from devoting enough time to party chair.

Can't even spare them decency of coming up with a convincing lie. Boss move.  

On the other hand why bother when he's got Mike Bayham around to make stuff up for him. 

Mike Bayham, the secretary of the party, said Rispone “got a taste of unfortunately how fratricidal this party is.” Bayham has previously said the party needs a “culture” change, pointing to an attack mailer against him in his race for re-election to the Republican State Central Committee, whose origins weren’t disclosed.

“The guy is a serious businessman,” Bayham said. “I think he didn’t fully appreciate how much herding of cats there would be involved. When you’re chairman of the party you answer theoretically to over 220 (central committee) members.”

See the thing is Rispone, who spent the 2019 gubernatorial election on television cartoonishly praising Donald Trump in front of as many pickup trucks as he could find, is just too good for this party.  And since the "culture change" he's hoping for has more to do with who gets paid to make ads than anything else, maybe he's got a point.

Eddie Rispone: Perpetual outsider

One of the state Republican Party's long time major fundraisers and "kingmakers" who hilariously ran for Governor in 2019 as an "outsider" is going to run for the party charimanship as.. a self-described outsider. 

After successfully electing several candidates to the committee in December, Rispone is now looking to take even more control over the Louisiana GOP, running for chair of the party.

“It was never my intention to run but recognizing the substantial challenges we face as a body and as a party, I believe we need someone with major business and large organizational skills to ensure the party can be the most effective in helping elect conservatives in the future,” Rispone said in an email to party officials.

Remarkable that he can keep up that pose. Even now after having "recruited" (i.e. bought and paid for) a number of candidates to turn over seats on the central committee, Rispone continues to insist it was  "never my intention" to run for chair.  Until it was. 

Eddie also complains about having been "outworked and outspent" during the Governor's election. There's actually some truth to that. But it's Rispone's own fault. He and his campaign decided the way to win was to hide behind the President and a barrage of TV ads rather than appear at a runoff debate or god forbid actually talk to any real live people. But now Eddie says he's the guy to change this culture? 

Anthony Ramirez, who ran Rispone’s communications during the 2019 governor’s race, said after reviewing the results of the race, “we saw that the Republican party was clearly outworked on the ground.” And after poring through attendance records, they discovered nearly 40% of the Republican State Central Committee didn’t attend a single meeting last year.

See that? Republicans don't even want to talk to each other.  And who can blame them, really? Read the rest of this article and see how they treat each other.  

After stepping down as party chair in 2018, (Roger) Villere dove into political consulting work through CRV Consulting, who he runs alongside Phil Capitano, the former mayor of Kenner who was arrested this summer after police said he used his vehicle to ram the back of a woman’s car during a dispute over allegedly stolen property. Villere and Capitano also run the Louisiana Conservative Republican Coalition, which is registered as a nonprofit and which doles out endorsements to Republican candidates. It endorsed Capitano in his bid for re-election to the Republican State Central Committee this year, but Capitano was unseated by Keith Conley, a longtime Jefferson Parish government official.

State Rep. Mark Wright, a Covington Republican, said Villere’s group sent a mailer endorsing his opponent for the Republican State Central Committee, using “the Republican party seal or something that looks exactly like it.”

The picture coming into focus here is one of a good old fashioned dispute over territory and patronage.  You wanna run for something in Louisiana as a Republican?  Well here is the list of people you need to hire or bribe or both. Villere and Capitano and  want to be those guys on the one hand.  Rispone is installing his own people on the other. (There are others vying for position as well including Lenar Whitney apparently.  You'll just have to read the article.)  

The Villere faction is backing current chair, New Orleans private security mogul Louis Gurvich, over Rispone.  It doesn't take much reading between the lines here to see why.  Eddie "refused help" from Villere.. which is to say, he didn't pay him for anything.

“I have made up my mind I’m going to be against Ripsone,” Villere said. “I thought he was a poor candidate (for governor) … You need a party chair who can bring people together. Why would you elect a party chair who refused help in the runoff and didn’t bring people together in his own race?”

And, of course, the pro-Rispone side's motivations are just as petty and personal. 

As part of the race for state central committee – typically low-profile, low-wattage affairs that are decided by a few dozen votes – Bayham said he was hit with an “ugly” mailer that attacked his weight, which he says was sent by someone other than his opponent. (Spending on Republican State Central Committee races doesn’t require disclosure under Louisiana’s ethics laws, like other campaign spending.)

“This is what this party does. We cannibalize ourselves because this is about control and contracts and not about defeating the Democrats,” Bayham said. “We have to see who is going to finally change the culture of this party. Is Louis prepared to do it or is an outsider like Rispone prepared to do it.”

Villere said in an interview he had “nothing to do with” the mailer attacking Bayham, calling it “reprehensible.”

There's that "outsider" characterization again, though. It sure is doing an awful lot of work. 

Return of the Mack

The Republican caucus has voted to endorse Rep Sherman Mack to become the next Speaker of the Louisiana House of Representatives. That doesn't necessarily mean he will become Speaker, though. 39 Republicans voted to endorse him. But he will need 53 votes when the full House decides the matter in January. And there are other candidates.

Republicans came to Baton Rouge for a delegation meeting that was supposed to start at 9:30 a.m., but haggling over the endorsement vote delayed the start time. Mack and Schexnayder were among the candidates that gave presentations before a question-and-answer session, and Mack won 39 votes, which were cast by ballot. That was the exact number he needed to win the endorsement, as it required a two-thirds vote of those present. (Clay) Schexnayder won 17 votes, while Chalmette Republican Rep. Ray Garofalo won one vote.

“I would hope all the Republicans would get behind Sherman Mack now that he has been selected as the Republican delegation nominee,” said state Rep. Jack McFarland, of Jonesboro and one-time speaker candidate who got behind Mack in recent weeks. “That’s the purpose of having that vote.”

If Shexnayder retains his support that would mean the votes of Democratic House members will come into play. This week, John Kennedy and Jeff Landry have been urging the Republican members not to let this happen although it's difficult to imagine it will make much of a difference.  Should the speakership go to Mack or to Shexnayder or to Mack or to some compromise candidate in the event of a deadlock, the Republican agenda is pretty clear. And they all seem to be on the same page more or less. However it is worth noting that Mack is thought by the "Kingmaker" to be somewhat more on that page.

Mack, the preferred candidate of influential GOP donor Lane Grigsby, had emerged as one of two front-runners for the top post in the House, along with state Rep. Clay Schexnayder, of Gonzales. The two both offered up the exact same policy priority, tort reform, a long-held Republican priority that has recently evoked heated battles in the Legislature and in elections.

Pro-business groups and trial attorneys, who are on opposite sides of the issue, poured millions into the governor’s race and legislative elections this year. Business groups were generally successful in electing favorable lawmakers, while Edwards, a Democrat with big support from attorneys, won the governor’s race over Mack’s preferred candidate, Eddie Rispone.

Don't let John Bel's narrow escape fool you. This election was a major right wing landslide and the new legislature is going to reflect that. Whoever the new speaker is, that person's top priority will be "tort reform." Which means they will work to protect corporate entities such as polluting chemical companies or labor abusive contractors such as Citadel Builders from facing any consequences for their crimes.

Which points us to one more reason why Mack might have distinguished himself as the most Republican of this batch of Republicans. Recall that during the previous term, Mack was among the few holdouts agitating against and watering down the set of bipartisan criminal justice reforms the legislature eventually passed. So he's keen on seeing to it that the legal system punishes somebody.  But only certain somebodies.

Oh good now I have more time to write something

Thank god they finally put this out before early voting ends.  I want to write a big thing about the Governor's election but I haven't had the time to finish it yet.  Here is a pretty good tl;dr from these people.

The consequences of these elections will be dire regardless of who sits in the Governor’s office. But if that person is Eddie Rispone, the scope of the disaster would be magnified immensely.  Rispone’s program constitutes an all-out assault on Louisiana’s poor and working classes for the exclusive benefit of its wealthiest.

There's more in there to pick through on the legislative races and ballot propositions and stuff. But as it regards the marquee race, what else is there to say?

Meanwhile, thank god B&G Review published this before the Saints came back from the bye week.  I've also got a long-ish draft about football but there's plenty enough good stuff is here.  That post is about the "Hero's Journey of Sean Payton" (sort of).  But I've got a different hero in mind this season.  Let's find out if I ever get around to writing it out.

In sum, I am terrible with deadlines.  But that's part of the fun. 

Bible pledges

It's not an original expression by any means but it does seem popular this year. Eddie Rispone made it a thing in one of his early ads this summer when he promised to "get tough on illegal immigration the second my hand comes off the Bible.”  This week John Bel had a riff on it too.

“There is a big difference between me and him,” Edwards said, “but I am supremely confident as I stand before you today that the people of Louisiana know that, they get it and when the hand comes off the Bible on inauguration day, it will be my hand.” He was mocking a commercial by Rispone who promised to get tough “on illegal immigration the second my hand comes off the Bible.”

It's weird what politicians think is funny, or even novel. Bible pledges have been a thing for as long as I can remember. It's what you say instead of, "On Day One..." when your campaign relies on patronizing churchy types.

And I guess that does fit Derrick Shepherd's M.O. well enough. He's always inclined toward that sort of thing. It's no surprise that he would lean on it even harder now in his first run for office since getting out of jail. Shep is in a runoff now with his cousin Byron Lee for the Jefferson Parish Council District 3 seat. He's made "atonement," with a fair amount of religious subtext, a theme in his messaging.

Beyond that there is the, well, the text that appears on the website of his website, 2ndChanceNOLA. Ostensibly the site is about Shep taking up the cause of ex-offenders' rights. In a vacuum, that is quite laudable. In fact, we here at this very blog have cheered Shep's previous efforts at restoring the full civil rights of those who have been convicted of felonies. Although, we can't help but suspect that his motivation in these matters is, to put it nicely, personal, to put it less nicely but more accurately, cynical.

During his days in the state senate, Shepherd was most famous as the author of one of those "baggy pants" bills that were popular at the time among the Cops & Jesus set.  Despite his sudden affected sympathy the victims of the criminal punishment system, Shepherd's website indicates he is in no way reformed on those points.

I owned up to my crime, pleaded guilty and paid my debt to society.

I am pro-criminal justice, pro-police and pro-law and order. Going to prison didn't change the core values I upheld as a citizen, a JAG officer in the military, attorney and state senator. I still believe in the strength, honor and importance of those values as strongly as I believe in God. With everything I brought upon myself, my family, friends and the constituents I represented in the state legislature, I still want to be a contributing member of the community and not sink into the shadows.

So it's not surprising at all to read that Shep would be the latest candidate to deliver a bible pledge. The circumstances of that are pretty interesting too.

Lee has at least one powerful ally on his side. A political action committee funded by River Birch Landfill owners Fred Heebe and Jim Ward has sent out several mailers calling Shepherd untrustworthy and bringing up his past legal troubles, including allegations of domestic violence.

But Shepherd shrugs off the attacks from the New Horizons PAC, saying they were prompted by his vow to make sure River Birch is operating in compliance with state regulations.

"I plan on siccing (the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality) on the River Birch Landfill as soon as my hand comes off that Bible," Shepherd said.

Long time Shep fans will recall that his name did come up in the River Birch bribery case when he and other local officials appeared to work on behalf of the River Birch owners to shut down a rival landfill by, yes, "siccing DEQ on it." It was then alleged that Shepherd turned to the River Birch owners in search of an exchange of favors-for-favors.

No evidence has surfaced to show that Shepherd was working on behalf of River Birch. But at least once, he had a direct interaction with one of the company's owners.

On Dec. 18, 2008, after he was convicted and shortly before he reported to prison, he pulled into Ward's driveway and demanded an audience, according to a letter that River Birch attorney Peter Butler wrote to U.S. Attorney Jim Letten.

Ward invited him into the backyard, where Shepherd said he was "contacting his 'friends' to help him out and asked if Mr. Ward could give him a job," Butler wrote. Shepherd then asked for money.

Ward ended the conversation and brushed off Shepherd.

And now Shep is on the comeback trail and, if the above story is correct,  River Birch would understandably be worried he could end up in a position to seek retribution.

Of course, if Eddie Rispone's hand comes off the bible too next year, it's questionable whether there will be anyone left at DEQ to sic on anybody. So, you know, joke's on Shep.

It's all riding on this

By now we're all aware that Donald Trump is going to be at the Alabama-LSU game in a desperate attempt to locate at least one sports venue in America that might not boo the shit out of him. Forget the CFP rankings. This "Game Of The Century" of the week has much higher stakes riding on it.

During early voting this week, everyone is talking about the way Louisiana gubernatorial candidate Eddie Rispone has based his entire campaign message on his enthusiasm for all things Trump. It's interesting, then, to see Trump show up now as a guest of honor at an Alabama home game. There are already whispers all over the internet about Rispone's Atlanta Falcons fandom. What does it say that his favorite President stans for Bama? 

But let's also not lose sight of the fact that Coach O has endorsed John Bel Edwards. The result of this game could be the key to everything.

Will Eddie Rispone "tort reform" Hard Rock victims out of their fair share?

The city says the demolition, clean up, and recovery operations following the Hard Rock hotel collapse have cost something on the order of  $400,000 per day. That's bound to be a sensitive issue, particularly now that we are heavy into budget season. The mayor assures us, though, that we're going to make sure we're covered.

The presence of police, firefighters and other city workers on the site has been costing taxpayers about $400,000 a day Cantrell said Monday, pledging that those costs would be recouped once the “responsible party” for the disaster is found.

“We’re making sure every step of the way the liability is with the responsible party, and that is not with the city of New Orleans,” Cantrell said.

Determining responsible parties is going to be critical in this case because, unlike many of the disasters we are used to around here, this one won't draw any help from FEMA. The city has also set up a "resource center" at  the Main Library for workers and business owners who were affected by the disruption.  Also there is an intake survey for businesses to fill out online here. Presumably, even the "disrespectful" businesses are allowed to do this.

Despite a week-and-a-half-long interruption to daily life at one of the city’s busiest intersections, Cantrell said displaced residents and many business owners have shown patience. But she also said some businesses had been "downright disrespectful" and impatient in the face of closures and evacuations. She didn't name any of them.

Inevitably all of this is headed to court where the city and various other aggrieved parties will look to hold Hard Rock, the developer Mohan Kailas, and the primary contractor Citadel Builders accountable for damages.  Multiple lawsuits have already been filed.  Because Citadel and its subcontractors had been in the practice of misclassifying workers, many victims and families may not be eligible for healthcare or worker's comp benefits.   In the absence of federal disaster relief, legal action is likely the only recourse for everyone.

Meanwhile, the statewide election is into its runoff stage. Republicans are on the verge of capturing legislative supermajorities and possibly the Governor's office. One of the animating issues for them this year has been "tort reform."

Oil and gas isn’t the only business sector trying to attribute Louisiana’s problems to trial lawyers The Louisiana Association of Business and Industry has long been engaged in demonizing trial lawyers as the bane of Louisiana business, while they’ve waged a campaign for “civil justice reform”, as they’re now calling it. LABI has long been the primary financial backer of Louisiana Lawsuit Abuse Watch, which claims to be “a citizen watchdog group dedicated to stopping lawsuit abuse that threatens local businesses and jobs.”

The remaining Republican candidate for Governor happens to own a large construction industry firm himself.  He has some pretty strong opinions about the rights of injured workers and governments to sue companies who have caused them injury. 

Rispone, who compared himself to President Donald Trump, pointed to Louisiana’s natural resources, including oil and gas, that he said should be bringing the state jobs.

“Lawsuit abuse is killing thousands of jobs,” Rispone said. “You know that better than anybody.”

The soon to be governing power in the State of Louisiana defines the only available path to remuneration for disrupted small businesses, compensation for depleted public finances, justice for injured workers, and reparations for a despoiled environment as "lawsuit abuse" and wants it obliterated. 

Once this radical faction is in office, will it move to obstruct justice for the Hard Rock victims? If so, who will speak out for them? Don't count on the Advocate editorial board.  In its endorsement of John Bel Edwards, the paper offered a few issues on which it continues to disagree with him.

There are, after all, many problems to solve, and we haven’t always agreed with the governor’s approach to the state’s underlying challenges. Louisiana needs a governor who supports tort reform and will stand up to trial lawyers and teacher unions. Lawsuits against energy companies put our state at a disadvantage when it comes to attracting investment.

Once the dust blown about by a building collapsed by criminal capitalism has settled, and the damage incurred by its several victims endures, don't expect much sympathy from the local media monopoly. Not when there is still "investment" to attract and unions to crush, anyway.  

Clearly, Donald Trump is out to crush the Rispone campaign

Prominent Republican donor and fundraiser Lane Grigsby has some kind of IRS problem on his hands.

The U.S. Department of Justice is suing Cajun Industries founder and Chairman Emeritus Lane Grigsby and his wife for more than $750,000 for an income tax refund the government says the Grisbys were not entitled to receive.

According to a lawsuit filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana, the refund was issued for the 2013 tax year and was based on more than $1.34 million in research and development tax credits Cajun claimed for the year.

Grigsby is a close associate of Gubernatorial candidate Eddie Rispone. In fact, you might say he's been with the Rispone campaign from the beginning. 

Rispone said he entered the race after not being able to sleep at night. A devout Catholic, he believes God was waking up to tell him to run against Edwards. He and Grigsby had a tough time finding someone to take on Edwards. Grigsby said they had been approaching potential candidates for two years, and they couldn’t find someone they considered a worthy challenger. So Rispone decided to run himself.

Turns out the Lord works in mysterious ways, though.  If it really is He who inspired Eddie to run in the first place, then why strike at his closest friend and ally at this critical moment? Unless, of course, the test issues not from God but perhaps instead from The Enemy. 

Grigsby suggests the IRS is overreaching and that he may be targeted because of his outspoken, conservative political views, noting that other partners in his business also received the R&D credits for 2013 and haven’t gotten any push back for it.

“It’s typical of the way our government abuses its citizens,” he says. “I know the IRS has been used against other conservative people. I know other people who got this same credit and theirs was allowed. Why was mine stopped? Why me? Maybe because I do raise my mouth a little too loud.”

I dunno, Lane, maybe those of us called to do the Lord's work might think to go about it with a little more humility.  In any case are we sure we want to be out here implying that the Trump Administration is under the influence of Satanic forces.  We're not saying you're necessarily off track in that case, but it does seem like a radical departure from the campaign strategy thus far.

John Bel is healing the blind

That's pretty impressive, right?

Edwards began airing a campaign commercial on Tuesday in which people described how they benefited from Edwards’ decision to expand Medicaid to the working poor. “I can see,” said one man, who was identified as suffering from glaucoma.

One thing you can't say about John Bel Edwards is that he's broken his major campaign promises. No, he never promised to lay his divine hands on the sick and the frail. But he did promise to accept the Medicaid expansion and that has had tangible benefits for people. Of course, he's also using the MCO contracts as political patronage. But he never promised to undo Bobby Jindal's privatization scheme. And, as we all know, nothing about this is adequate compared with the universal health care system some of your less terrible Presidential candidates are pushing for at the moment.  But that's really beyond the scope of what your John Bel Edwardses are going to tackle for you.  Medicaid expansion and a teacher pay raise were the main things the Governor said he'd deliver in 2015 and here he is running for reelection a perfect 2 for 2.  This doesn't mean we don't have many many complaints. It's easy enough to scroll through those.  But, usually, when you deliver on the specific things you said you would deliver on, it bodes well for your chances of being reelected.

That's what Shane Guidry seems to think, anyway.

One prominent Jefferson Parish Republican donor, Shane Guidry, said he is sitting out the governor’s race this time. Four years ago, his company, Harvey Gulf, donated $150,000 to Gumbo PAC, which supported Edwards over Vitter.

“I don’t think he can be beaten,” Guidry said of the governor.

And he's far from the only big money donor the Governor has successfully courted.. or at least mollified..  so he's probably right. All the conventional signs point to a reelected John Bel.  A few weeks ago, Stephanie Grace reminded us that a lot of Republicans are resigned to that fact as well. For example, John N Kennedy may be publicly urging President Trump to come down and speak at a rally for whichever of the C-list GOP contenders might make the runoff. But if John really was that gung-ho about the chances, he probably would have run himself. Remember also that Steve Scalise and Jeff Landry have made the same calculation.  Of course,  from a national perspective, it does stick in the party's craw that the Governor of a deep south "red" state is (kind of) a Democrat. And maybe things will change once/if we end up with a runoff.  But, for now, it looks like a wait and see situation. The Republicans aren't running their first stringers out there.

Instead they've fielded these guys.

That's Congressman Ralph Abraham on the right and multi-millionaire construction magnate weirdo Eddie Ripsone on the left.  Or maybe it's the other way around. Nobody knows, actually.  It says here there are three debates scheduled for primary season where, one would expect, the two of them would be required to appear in the same place at the same time.  We'll see how that works out.

Supposedly we should have an easier time telling them apart once their campaign "messages" start to get out.  But so far, that hasn't helped.  Rispone made a bit of a splash a month ago with a newspaper ad (that John Georges for some reason agreed to print) and a TV spot promising he can be every bit as racist, cruel, and intolerant as Donald Trump. 

Rispone's ad also represents the latest diatribe from the Rispone campaign on immigration, which has traditionally not been a campaign issue in a state where only 4% of residents are foreign born, and even fewer are unauthorized. Last week, Rispone's campaign put out a newspaper ad that said if elected, "Louisiana will stand with President Trump" to "build the wall," and called New Orleans a "sanctuary city." The ad also said he would not "put up with ANTIFA lawlessness," referring to the left-wing activists, or "tolerate replacing the American flag at government buildings with Mexican ones," an apparent reference to an Aurora, Colorado immigration detention facility. 

In the TV ad, Rispone says, "as governor, I will work with President Trump to protect our constitutional rights, to ban sanctuary cities, and end taxpayer benefits for illegal immigrants in Louisiana."

All of which, Abraham was all too happy to match. In an ad released last week, Ralph says he is a big Trump guy too.  Which he proves by also saying something incredibly stupid.

BATON ROUGE, La. — Republican candidate for Louisiana governor Ralph Abraham has released a new TV ad that takes aim at abortion rights and the transgender community as he works to draw attention for his campaign. In the 30-second spot launched Thursday, the three-term congressman looks directly into the camera to establish what he calls "the truth."

The conservative hits several points in quick succession, declaring that "life begins at conception," taxes are too high and he supports President Donald Trump.

With a chuckle, he wraps up with a swipe at the LGBTQ community: "And as a doctor, I can assure you there are only two genders."

Ralph went on to clarify this week that he was only talking about "lawsuits" and that we should understand he does not have a "discriminatory bone" in his body which, as a medical doctor, Abraham should be able to identify.  I think it's connected to the racism bone somehow.

One item of note from that Tyler Bridges story  worth keeping an eye on. Tonight Abraham is holding a fundraiser hosted by Joe Canizaro who is a co-chair of the Trump Louisiana campaign.  Karl Rove is supposed to be there. So it's not like the Republicans aren't keeping an eye on things.  But for now it's safe to say they're viewing the race as a bit of a... Long Shot?

Someone is keeping your prize from you

The core of Rispone's message here is this. There is a "boom" happening. You might not feel it where you are but it is happening. And someone is keeping it from you.

While Edwards is trying to bring former Gov. Bobby Jindal to the forefront of the governor's race, the Republicans – especially Rispone – are trumpeting Trump. The Republican Governors Association went on TV shortly after Edwards with an ad claiming Louisiana is being left behind from a Trump-fueled economic boom.

Trump is trying to give you things but John Bel is performing some secret conspiracy to give it to somebody else.  You might not actually see those people very often but they are there. And they have what's yours.

Rispone's ad also represents the latest diatribe from the Rispone campaign on immigration, which has traditionally not been a campaign issue in a state where only 4% of residents are foreign born, and even fewer are unauthorized. Last week, Rispone's campaign put out a newspaper ad that said if elected, "Louisiana will stand with President Trump" to "build the wall," and called New Orleans a "sanctuary city." The ad also said he would not "put up with ANTIFA lawlessness," referring to the left-wing activists, or "tolerate replacing the American flag at government buildings with Mexican ones," an apparent reference to an Aurora, Colorado immigration detention facility. 

In the TV ad, Rispone says, "as governor, I will work with President Trump to protect our constitutional rights, to ban sanctuary cities, and end taxpayer benefits for illegal immigrants in Louisiana."

Pretty ugly stuff.  Meanwhile John Bel's message is, "Hey let's give $3 million plus a ton of tax breaks to Methanex!"  Can't imagine that might backfire....

The #LAGOV road show

There will be three gubernatorial debates this year.

September 19 in Baton Rouge, September 26 in Lafayette, and October 9 in Shreveport.

None of them will be held in New Orleans.  What's wrong? Does Eddie Rispone not want to come here for some reason?

Why is John Bel soft on vouchers?

Good news! John Bel says he's finally ready to do something about Bobby Jindal's disastrous school voucher scheme.

Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards said he will call for an overhaul of the state’s scholarship voucher program, saying the structure that uses public money to pay for private school tuition for nearly 6,900 underprivileged students was poorly conceived.

In an interview just weeks after an in-depth examination by a consortium of local and national news organizations highlighted flaws, Edwards said he will call on state leaders to reform the $40-million-a-year Louisiana Scholarship Program. The governor did not specify what changes he will seek, but said the goal should be for schools in the program to perform better.

He doesn't say what he's going to do.  But he definitely is not interested in abolishing the voucher program.  Which raises the question from us, why on Earth not?

Last month, WVUE, WWNO, Reveal, and what's left of NOLAdotcom collaborated on a damning series of reports confirming what most of us already knew about the voucher scheme. The plan was always more about siphoning money away from public education regardless of whether Louisiana students realized any benefit, which, of course, they did not.

Seven years later, however, the $40-million-a-year Louisiana Scholarship Program has failed to live up to its billing. The nearly 6,900 students who’ve left public schools have instead been placed into a system with numerous failing private schools that receive little oversight, a months-long examination by a coalition of local and national media organizations has found.

And this was always at least part of the intent. We've known pretty much since the beginning that the voucher scheme was a direct attack on the concept of public education, an avenue for Bobby Jindal's cheap pandering to science denying evolutionists, and an obvious opportunity for the sort of corruption described in these reports.

 It's even worse than you might think, though. As the Bayou Brief points out, the vouchers aren't merely a means of diverting public money into unaccountable private hands. They're also a vehicle for ultra-wealthy individuals like Eddie Rispone, for example, to set up very large tax loopholes for themselves.

In December of 2014, he donated $1 million to ACE Scholarships Louisiana, a Student Tuition Organization, and according to an audit of ACE, 100% of his donation was rebate eligible.

While we do not know Rispone’s income or how much of his donation was used toward scholarships, it’s possible to estimate how much Rispone could have profited off his $1 million donation.

If Rispone’s entire donation was used for scholarships in 2015, assuming Rispone did not donate more than 50% of his annual gross income and that he was in the highest income bracket (36.9% marginal tax rate), Rispone’s donation qualified him for up to a $950,000 rebate from the State of Louisiana and a federal tax savings of $369,000.

Therefore, his $1 million donation had a potential return of $1,319,000 ($950,000 + $369,000) for a profit of $319,000.

So, given all of this, since we know the voucher program is a disaster for Louisiana education,  and since we know criminally wealthy oligarchs like Rispone are benefiting from it. Why does John Bel say we should merely "reform" (he doesn't specify how) rather than abolish it?  Rispone is even applying a significant portion of his ill-gotten and protected wealth to challenge John Bel in this year's election.  Why would he let him get away with that?

The Ralph Abraham full employment plan

Well if you are a Republican political consultant or job seeker wondering where all the money will be next year, Ralph Abraham has provided some help there. 

U.S. Rep. Ralph Abraham, R-La., will run against Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards in 2019, he said in a press release Thursday (Dec. 6). “I’m running for Governor, and I intend to win,” Abraham said in a written statement.

Word from Abraham comes three days after U.S. Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., said Kennedy would not run in the election. Many had assumed Kennedy would join the race and be the GOP frontrunner before he declared otherwise. Now the field is considered wide open, with a chance for lesser-known Republicans to gain traction.

Businessman Eddie Rispone, a Republican who has never held elected office, has already said he intends to qualify for the governor’s race.

Rispone is more or less a vanity candidate. And even though Lane Grigsby has been talking him up, I would expect he's probably not going to raise or spend a whole lot of money that isn't his own.  So Ralph is making an early bid to pile up the real stuff. Other Republican B-listers like Sharon Hewitt are thinking about getting in as well. But without Kennedy or Landry, it's likely these campaigns will be more about building resumes than they will be about winning the governorship.&nbsp

Of course, this is Louisiana and anything can happen.  We talked about this last week already. But, presently, the conventional wisdom indicates that John Bel is a relatively safe bet for reelection.  I say relatively safe, not so much because this is supposed to be a "red" state as we're told over and over, but because John Bel tends to play just about everything safe. A little too safe, maybe, which can cause problems

Take minimum wage for example. An extremely conservative estimate this year puts the minimum living wage on which a family of three could expect to barely scrape by at something like $23 an hour.  But Louisiana lawmakers are resistant to even $15. This has to do, in part, with the degree to which your typical state legislator is in the pocket of business interests. But it also has a lot to do with the Governor's failure to lead.

This year, voters in Missouri and Arkansas passed ballot measures that phase in raises to (still quite insufficient) $11 and $12 wages in a few years. Edwards, who himself has only ever asked for is a gradual raise to $8.50, took that as cover to meekly chime in, on the need for a "modest increase" in Louisiana. John Bel is a former high school quarterback and veteran of the US Army's 82nd Airborne Division so it wouldn't make any sense for us to call him a wimp.  Instead we're just not convinced he cares all that much that the minimum wage is a true living wage. If he did, he might take a harder line in negotiations.

Maybe the Governor needs to take a cue from LaToya Cantrell here.  This fall the mayor has been fighting publicly with the tourism Brahmins over the hotel/motel tax. New Orleanians have complained for years that revenue generated by the tourism economy which could be used for the greater benefit of the city is mostly funneled back into the hands of a few state boards controlled by the owners of that industry's profits.  In recent years, those complaints have finally reached the ears of politicians.  Some of us never would have dreamed we'd see the Mayor of New Orleans take this matter on with any degree of seriousness. But here we are.

Cantrell began by criticizing a Convention Center plan to subsidize a private hotel development. But even as the Governor stepped in to try and quiet her down, she upping her demand that a greater share of the hotel/motel tax revenue be dedicated to critical city infrastructure. Then, even as the tourism agencies themselves offered an alternative plan, Latoya made sure to let them know that wasn't going to be good enough.  

The announcement appeared to be an effort to mollify Cantrell as she seeks to convince state leaders to redirect some of the $200 million in tax money collected in New Orleans that now goes to the Convention Center, Superdome and tourism promotion groups including New Orleans & Co., the new name for the former Convention and Visitors Bureau.

But the announcement appeared to just provide more ammunition for Cantrell, who so far has been largely unsuccessful in convincing state officials to back her plan.

“We’re not asking anybody for a favor. Last year, our people generated more than $200 million in hospitality revenue — but less than 10 percent of that came to the city.  Seventy percent of that $200 million went to just four hospitality agencies,” the mayor said in a news release.

“I will continue to fight to get our people all that they deserve,” she said.

Now, I fully expect that, if LaToya does wring some money out of the tourism cabal, it's still not going to be "all that (we) deserve."  But at least she is on a path to get us more than the inadequate $6.7 million currently on offer. This is not only because what they're volunteering isn't good enough but also because it's less than they can afford to give.  Always reject the first offer, right?

All John Bel can say to the first offer is, thank you.

Thank you @OchsnerHealth! https://t.co/MHrGRUjkGB

— John Bel Edwards (@LouisianaGov) December 6, 2018

The Governor doesn't even have to be aggressive about it if that isn't his style. All he has to say to Ochsner is, "That's much better but, hey, why not $25?" Seems a modest enough ask of the state's largest employer. At least Ochsner holds that distinction during non-election years, anyway. Maybe if a few more Republican candidates jump in the race, the numbers might change.

They've already got the Governor they want

John Neely Kennedy spent the past few months flogging one poll that suggested he might beat John Bel Edwards head to head.  Looks like he must have figured that was enough to prove his point.

U.S. Sen. John Kennedy has announced he won't run for governor next year, after toying with a run to unseat Gov. John Bel Edwards for months.

Kennedy, a Republican, said in a news release Monday morning that he wants to remain in the U.S. Senate, where he has served since 2017.

"I love being in the United States Senate," he said in a statement. "It is such an honor to represent the people of Louisiana in the United States Senate. Right now, that’s where I think I can do the most good."

John is going back to D.C. to.. uh... spend more time with his family, by which we mean his fans in the national political press.  We all love a good soundbite, after all.  Either that or he's been promised a committee chairmanship but there's no need pick just one reason. For example, we also have to consider the point that a lot of Republicans seem to be deciding they're fine the Governor they have now.

While Republicans are angling to find an opponent to challenge the reelection of the only Democratic governor in the Deep South, some of the GOP’s biggest names are aligning with Gov. John Bel Edwards. They include a former GOP gubernatorial candidate, two top aides to former Republican Gov. Bobby Jindal and several of the party’s A-List donors. Edwards faces reelection in October 2019.

“The governor was dealt a hard hand to play and he’s done a great job,” said Jay Blossman, of Mandeville. “If he was a far-left, screaming liberal, you’d have a problem … But he’s not. He’s willing to work (with) both sides.”

The former chairman of the Public Service Commission ran as a Republican for governor in 2003 and flirted with a run in 2007. He gave Edwards’ campaign the maximum $5,000 in December 2017. For Blossman, who Edwards appointed in June to the LSU Board of Supervisors, it doesn’t matter who else is in the race.

I like that Ballard includes the bit about Blossman owing his current position to John Bel. Incumbency always comes with a fair amount of patronage advantages. Which is a mild way of saying our system is built on legalized bribery and little else. Remove any question of justice or morality from politics and these contributions are strictly business.

When it comes to awarding contracts and setting regulatory policies, a Louisiana governor generally has more power than chief executives in other states. So, it behooves businessmen to adopt an outlook more practical than partisan when it comes to supporting a gubernatorial candidate, said G. Pearson Cross, a political scientist at the University of Louisiana Lafayette. And sometimes that means spreading contributions across several campaigns.

New Orleans banker and developer Joe Canizaro held an event for the governor in October but texted Thursday that “at this time I do not know who I am going to support.”

Craig Spohn, head of the Cyber Innovation Center in Bossier City, gave Edwards $5,000 but hasn’t made up his mind yet.

“It’s too early. The field hasn’t come into formation,” Spohn said.

All that matters to guys like Joe Canizaro is that whoever is Governor remembers who bought the canapes at the fundraiser when it comes time to decide what to do with the next Charity Hospital type project or who gets the next big sack of free Convention Center money.  When it comes to doling out favors to big money developers or polluters or security contractors  or just looking out for the interests of the right wing business lobby in general, John Bel is as reliable a Republican as anybody.

Of course there's still plenty money to spread around.  So, even if they aren't running an A-lister, the state GOP will still have plenty cash to pass out to ambitious young Republicans who want to pad their resumes staffing for vanity candidates like Eddie Rispone or, I guess, more likely at this point Ralph Abraham. Ralph is supposed to let us know what he's thinking on January 1st. Sharon Hewitt seems to be waiting for a higher power to decide for her.

.@SenJohnKennedy is a strong voice for LA & I’m grateful that he will continue to advocate for us in the #ussenate. I’m still strongly considering a run for Governor & continue to pray for God’s guidance on the best way to serve my community & help turnaround our great state.

— Sharon Hewitt (@sharonhewitt) December 3, 2018

Still, even though today's news seems pretty good for John Bel, he shouldn't just take reelection for granted.  Assuming Kennedy stays out and that Jeff Landry doesn't hop back in, the lack of a big name Republican really only guarantees a chaotic field. And 2019 might still be more chaotic in Louisiana than it seems from here.  Remember last week when Cameron Henry tried to scuttle the revenue estimate simply because oil prices do not always go up? What happens if he and the rest of the radicals controlling the state House decide to manufacture another budget crisis during an election year?  Or what if oil prices really do crash? 

Despite the above-mentioned advantages of incumbency, sitting Governors can and have been taken down during times of uncertainty.  Dave Treen (1983) and Buddy Roemer (1991) were knocked off during oil gluts and recessions. Edwin Edwards (1987) and Kathleen Blanco (2007) were felled or decided not to run in the wake of scandal and disaster.  A little bit of mischief goes a long way in Louisiana.  With no anointed Republican in the field, there could be plenty of room for mischief.

Theoretically this would be a terrific moment to throw a truly leftist candidate into the mix.  But no such person exists in Louisiana, nor does the infrastructure necessary to make such a campaign remotely viable.  So we'll have to content ourselves with watching the Republican B team struggle to get its act together. Even as their supporters tell us, in so many ways, that they already have the Governor they want.

On to 2019

Yeah so the midterms aren't over yet but it's never too early to start watching the next election(s).  At least, that's what the money people do.  And, as we all know, those are the people who determine how these things turn out so let's watch that, I guess.

U.S. Sen. John Kennedy hasn’t yet said that he’ll be a candidate for governor next fall, but some of his fellow Republicans aren’t waiting to line up for him — or against.

First Lane Grigsby, a Baton Rouge businessman and big-time Republican donor, let it be known that he’s not impressed with Kennedy’s brief tenure in Washington. Grigsby told The Advocate’s Mark Ballard that he thinks Louisiana’s junior senator, in office less than two years, isn’t ready for the Governor’s Mansion.

“Louisiana needs leadership, not another politician looking for another lily pad,” said Grigsby, who is backing the only announced Republican challenger to Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards, fellow contractor Eddie Rispone. “(Kennedy) hasn’t done much yet but appear on Fox News.”

Man, losing the Grigsby primary to Eddie Rispone is a slap in the face, alright. But Kennedy is still signaling he could run.  

Publicly Kennedy has said how much he likes his Senate job. “But, it’s hard to stomach what is happening to Louisiana right now,” Kennedy said in prepared statement. “Private sector job growth is among the lowest in the country. Too many of our kids can’t read their diplomas.”

Armed with an internal poll showing that he could beat Edwards, Kennedy is making the rounds of funders to say he agrees with them that Edwards’ policies are bad for Louisiana’s economic future, then adding that Rispone is largely unknown and can’t beat the Democrat.

Meanwhile rivals like Jeff Landry and his allies have been trying to "clear the field" of formidable candidates and it's looking now like Grigsby is on their side.  So it's with that in mind that we should consider the persistence of the "Kennedy might not run" rumors that float about the subtext of a lot of these stories lately. Is that line coming from Kennedy? Or is it coming from someone trying to discourage him?

Update: It says here that John is going to make up his mind by December 1 so mark your calendars.