Louisiana's Sordid Senate Contest Is Starting To Shape Up... Badly

There may be hope for Louisiana... but probably not

Yesterday one of the Senate's worst corporate money vacuums, Louisiana reactionary and DLC cupie doll, Mary Landrieu, reassured her allies at the Monroe Chamber of Commerce that she will work to defeat meaningful health care reform. She had gone to reassure them she would vigorously oppose climate change legislation but when someone asked her if there were any circumstances that would make her vote for the public option her reply was:

"Well if working families paid give me the kind of money I get from Insurance companies ($404,731) and the Medical-Industrial Complex ($1,299,372), I might consider throwing them a bone." “Very few, if any. I’d prefer a private market-based approach to any health care reform that would extend coverage.”

Louisiana's other senator, David Diapers Vitter, is at least as bad as Landrieu when it comes to supporting ordinary working families, even if he isn't as successful a whore to corporate interests as she is. He's gobbled up a mere $252,026 from the Insurance Industry and $1,089,530 from the Medical-Industrial Complex. Not many people can match Landrieu when it comes to extracting cash from corporations and lobbyists in return for her votes selling out Louisiana families' interests.

Vitter, because he's a sleazy sexual predator and serial liar, is in trouble with the state's voters and yesterday a very conservative Blue Dog, Charlie Melancon, announced he would take on Vitter. What a choice! They are both so wretched that I would never consider voting for either one of them under any circumstances. The independent candidate in the race, Bob Lang, appears to be even more of an extreme right-wing fool than Vitter, Landrieu or Melancon and he's flirting with secessionism in his whacky campaign.

"This country, in my opinion, is on the verge of a financial calamity and changing from a constitutional republic to a socialist/communist form of government. If the United States Congress and president continue to spend in such an insane manner and borrow at least half of everything we spend, that will be a guaranteed recipe for national suicide and nation failure.

Citizens who believe in a small and sovereign federal government, a strong sovereign state government and all of the power in the hands of the people have to come forward now to stop this out of control socialist train that is flying down the tracks at warp speed."

Louisiana's only hope: porno star Stormy Daniels, who hasn't made a decision yet whether or not to descend into the filth and much of Louisiana politics, but is considering a run against Vitter to help clean up government and raise the level of the state's morality-in-politics.

Melancon is a typical corrupt Blue Dog who sells his vote to whichever corporation pays the most. He vociferously opposes the kind of health care reform his hard-pressed congressional district's residents so desperately need-- medium income $34,463-- but he's taken in a sweet $164,435 from the Insurance Industry and another $284,452 from the Medical-Industrial Complex. Expect that to ramp up a bit now as he reiterates his adamant opposition to the kind of health care reform that would benefit his own constituents. The House Energy and Commerce Committee took a look at how their health care bill would effect LA-03, the folks who live in Houma and Cajun Country, as well as in the suburbs east of Lafayette and the report makes it clear that few Americans have more the gain than these folks in southern Louisiana-- especially the elderly and small businessmen.

America’s Affordable Health Choices Act would provide significant benefits in the 3rd Congressional District of Louisiana: up to 11,000 small businesses could receive tax credits to provide coverage to their employees; 3,000 seniors would avoid the donut hole in Medicare Part D; 350 families could escape bankruptcy each year due to unaffordable health care costs; health care providers would receive payment for $146 million in uncompensated care each year; and 115,000 uninsured individuals would gain access to high-quality, affordable health insurance. Congressman Charlie Melancon represents this district.

• Help for small businesses. Under the legislation, small businesses with 25 employees or less and average wages of less than $40,000 qualify for tax credits of up to 50% of the costs of providing health insurance. There are up to 11,000 small businesses in the district that could qualify for these credits.

• Help for seniors with drug costs in the Part D donut hole. Each year, 3,000 seniors in the district hit the donut hole and are forced to pay their full drug costs, despite having Part D drug coverage. The legislation would provide them with immediate relief, cutting brand name drug costs in the donut hole by 50%, and ultimately eliminate the donut hole.

• Health care and financial security. There were 350 health care-related bankruptcies in the district in 2008, caused primarily by health care costs not covered by insurance. The bill provides health insurance for almost every American and caps annual out-of-pocket costs at $10,000 per year, ensuring that no citizen will have to face financial ruin because of high health care costs.

• Relieving the burden of uncompensated care for hospitals and health care providers. In 2008, health care providers in the district provided $146 million worth of uncompensated care, care that was provided to individuals who lacked insurance coverage and were unable to pay their bills. Under the legislation, these costs of uncompensated care would be virtually eliminated.

• Coverage of the uninsured. There are 134,000 uninsured individuals in the district, 22% of the district. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that nationwide, 97% of all Americans will have insurance coverage when the bill takes effect. If this benchmark is reached in the district, 115,000 people who currently do not have health insurance will receive coverage.

• No deficit spending. The cost of health care reform under the legislation is fully paid for: half through making the Medicare and Medicaid program more efficient and half through a surtax on the income of the wealthiest individuals. This surtax would affect only 1,700 households in the district. The surtax would not affect 99.3% of taxpayers in the district.

Pray Stormy Daniels gets into the race, the only candidate with both a sensible head on her shoulders and a sense of ethics. In fact just pray for Louisiana in general.




UPDATE: Another Solution For Louisiana?

The Louisiana Weekly claims that General Russell Honoré, the hero of the Hurricane Katrina rescue operations, is considering a primary challenge to Vitter-- and that he's "more than 50% sure that he will run." BayouBuzz granted confidentiality to "one very senior Louisiana Republican" who predicted that Honoré would beat Vitter. "All he has to say is 'Stuck on Stupid', and Vitter is toast." 

UPDATED UPDATE

Honoré is denying he ever said anything about running and that he's not-- at least as of now. Stormy! Stormy! Stormy!