HEAVY HANDED DCCC POLICIES COULD BITE THEM IN THE ASS-- IN LOUISIANA

I closely watched the votes rolling in last Saturday in Louisiana's special election. All night Woody KKK-pecker was ahead. It looked like there was little chance Don Cazayoux will be able to overcome his formidable lead in the mostly white suburbs. Finally there was nothing left but the East Baton Rouge precincts-- many of them solidly working class and mostly African-American. Cazayoux hadn't done well in these precincts in the primary. They were all taken by state Rep. Michael Jackson, a respected and admired African-American lawmaker with deep ties to the community. But once those precincts started rolling in late in the evening, Woody KKK-pecker and his friends had no choice but to pour the Pabst back into the cans and save it for another day. The race started tightening, then Cazayoux took the lead and them-- POW!-- KKK-pecker was roadkill. The final vote was 49,702 (49.2%) to 46,741 (46.3%). And Don Cazayoux was in the House voting for Barney Frank's and Maxine Waters' housing reform bills that-- if they get by McConnell's planned filibuster in the Senate and Bush's threatened veto-- will start to help thousands and thousands of American families whose homes are in jeopardy after being victimized by predatory lenders licensed for economic mayhem by Bush-McCain anti-regulatory ideological mania. My guess is that the voters of East Baton Rouge are happy that they turned out in big enough numbers to help pass this legislation.

It might not happen again. The election was to fill out the rest of corrupt lobbyist Richard Baker's unexpired term. In November Cazayoux will have to stand for re-election. The Republicans have promised to go beyond the Klan to find a candidate this time and will look for a mainstream conservative instead of a modern day night-rider. But as a genial and hard-working moderate-to-conservative incumbent, Cazayoux shouldn't have that hard of a time holding on to the seat. He's on the correct side of every issue that means anything this year, especially the economic ones that mean the most. The problem isn't the Republican. It's the voters in East Baton Rouge, his winning margin.

Michael Jackson says that the Louisiana state Democratic Party and the DCCC goons in Washington backed Cazayoux in the primary and hampered his ability to raise campaign funds. That's standard operating procedure for the Inside the Beltway party petty tyrants when they want to knock off a progressive or grassroots candidate. Jackson says he's thinking of running as an independent, which would doom Cazayoux's re-election shot. And Jackson isn't the only African-American Democratic lawmaker in Louisiana not feeling the love from the Democratic insiders club. State Senators Don Cravins, Jr. and Lydia Jackson agree. Cravins: "For many, many years, the African-American community has been very supportive of Democrats, and many of us feel that has not been reciprocated." Cravins in pondering a run as an independent against Republican Charles Boustany and Lydia Jackson may decide to run as an independent for the seat being vacated by Republican closet queen Jim McCrery.

Louisiana has only one black member of Congress: U.S. Rep. William Jefferson, a Democrat who represents a majority black district.

...Though he said the Democratic Party supports him as a state senator in a majority black district, Cravins said he worries that financial and organizational help would evaporate once he ventures into a congressional district that is majority white.

"When an African-American candidate runs in a majority white district, race is always an issue," said Cravins.

Cravins' father-- Opelousas Mayor Don Cravins Sr.-- ran for Congress in 2004 and lost, and at the time, Cravins Sr. criticized members of the Democratic Party for not providing enough support for his candidacy.

...Sen. Lydia Jackson, D-Shreveport, also said she is weighing a run as an independent for the 4th U.S. Congressional District seat being vacated by retiring U.S. Rep. James McCrery, R-Shreveport. She said she has some problems with the way the party has been recruiting and supporting candidates.

"Looking at the demographics for the 4th, it just makes sense to consider the independent route," she said.

I'll bet Mary Landrieux is working something out right now and my guess is that at least one of these candidates will be a well-supported Democrat running in November.