Louisiana Shockers

Crooked congressman defeated

I never root for Republicans to win elections. And I never root for reactionary Democrats dragged up from deep in the bowels of the Republican wing of the Democratic Party either. Nor do I root for corrupt members of Congress, regardless of ideology. So I was pretty much sidelined in today's two late Louisiana elections. (They were postponed because of hurricanes.) In LA-04 Democrats hoped to pick up a very red district being vacated by Jim McCrery by running a right-wing anti-choice fanatic, Paul Carmouche. He was unable to generate any enthusiasm from many African Americans and whatever progressives live in Shreveport and he was edged out by a much further right wing extremist loon, John Fleming, 44,497 (48.07%)- 44,141 (47.69%).

Carmouche crushed Fleming in Shreveport itself (Caddo Parish)-- 22,742 to 15,510-- but it wasn't enough to overcome Fleming's lead Bossier, Vernon, Sabine, Grant, and Beauregard Parishes. Remember, this district went for McCain over Obama by 19%.

Meanwhile, way at the other end of the state, Democrats are getting a good lesson from Anh Cao, a Republican attorney. In light turnout the overwhelmingly Democratic district-- with a PVI of D+28-- is telling Democrats that forced to pick between an honest moderate Republican and a crooked moderate Democrat, they're going for the Republican. Things could change but right now, with 391 precincts reporting (out of 492), Jefferson is having his head handed to him. Cao is an anti-choice fanatic.

Cao- 29,345 (52.94%)
Jefferson- 23,985 (43.27%)

All the votes from Jefferson Parish are counted and Cao beat Jefferson 12,696 to 8,099. Orleans Parish is a much more Democratic and a much more African-American area and it is still not inconceivable that Jefferson will catch up, but I wouldn't bet on it. CNN just called it for Cao and most political junkies are doing likewise. If Cao wants to stay in Congress beyond 2010, he should switch parties when he makes his victory speech. You can follow the results on the Secretary of State's website.


UPDATE: FINAL RESULTS IN LA-02

Cao- 33,122 (49.55%)
Jefferson- 31,296 (46.82)

The Times-Picayune reports that Jefferson hasn't conceded but that he went on the radio and blamed African Americans for not turning out for him in sufficient numbers. Instead of wondering if they were sick of his corruption, he says they "ran out of juice."

Carmouche won't concede either-- and in his case that might not be a bad decision. It's very close and he wants to make sure all the provisional ballots get counted.

Who Should Take Over House Ways And Means? Let's Make Sure We Poll All GOP Interests And Make Sure It's Not Some Dirty Damn Liberal

Who better to take over?

I've always been a firm believer that public servants who abuse the power of their office for their own benefit should be severely dealt with, regardless of political party. Whether it's Duke Cunningham, Bob Ney, Mark Foley, Tom Delay, Jerry Lewis, Virgil Goode, Katherine Harris or Dick Cheney, politicians who commit crimes should get the book thrown at them. And, needless to say, that includes Democrats. Last week we tried to demonstrate that in the case of Charlie Rangel, although, I'm afraid, it went over the head of DWT's Mormon stalker (in comments). Pressure is mounting on Pelosi to make him give up his chair on the House Ways and Means Committee, considering that it was the abuse of that position that may have allowed him to commit a serious of serious offenses.

To understand how strong that pressure is, forget the parry-and-thrust between Rangel and the NY Times and instead consider that yesterday's CongressDaily featured a long post on the ins and outs of finding the right successor for Rangel. Do you recall any of the Inside the Beltway types viewing a Republican appointee to any job thru the lenses of how that person might be accepted by working families or by organized labor? Or did I miss the issue where CongressDaily suggested that Elaine Chao might be the world's absolute worst Labor Secretary because she loathes working people and doesn't recognize their aspirations as legitimate or worthy of her attention?

Did anyone ever question whether one of Congress' biggest corporate shills on environmental issues, Dirty Dick Pombo, would be unqualified to be Chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee because he was unanimously loathed by every single environmental group in the country? And what about that issue of CongressDaily-- or any other daily-- that pointed out that maybe Joe Barton (R-TX) shouldn't be chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce because the $1,315,660 in legalized reported bribes he's taken from Big Oil over the years is far more than any other member of the House, more even than notorious Big Oil puppets like Don Young (R-AK- $964,763), Steve Pearce (R-NM- $804,815), Tom Delay (R-TX- $688,840), and Pete Sessions (R-TX- $582,264), and that all the green energy groups feel that Barton is an integral part of the energy problem in our country and decidedly not part of the solution? No, I must have missed it too.

But yesterday CongressDaily was dismissing Democrats on the Ways and Means Committee in line to follow Rangel-- should he decide to... spend more time with his family or need to spend more time in the court system-- because they are-- Heaven Forbid!-- too liberal. Or too intellectual. Or not in the pocket of Big Business lobbyists. And That Will Not Due in Companytown, DC.

Next in seniority to Rangel is Ways and Means Health Subcommittee Chairman Fortney (Pete) Stark, D-Calif., who is given virtually no chance. "The conventional wisdom is he would have a tough time getting elected chairman," said a Democrat close to leadership. From suggesting Republicans were sending troops to Iraq to die "for the president's amusement" to referring to a former GOP lawmaker as a "little fruitcake," Stark is prone to gaffes, sources said. "The guy behind [Rangel] is just not tenable. Republicans would have a field day," an industry lobbyist said, while noting the business community would "go nuclear. It would just be open warfare." A more viable pick might be Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee Chairman Sander Levin, D-Mich., who is next in seniority, although sources cautioned the cerebral Levin may be too deliberate for the high-profile job. Levin also appears to relish his duties at the helm of the trade panel. He is also seen as very much in tune with the labor movement, although industry sources said Levin was someone they could work with, as opposed to Stark. Also, the Democratic Caucus still largely respects the seniority system, the Democratic strategist said. "If you make the decision that Stark is too out there, then I don't see how you go over Sandy," he said. "He's been a loyal member, and nobody would doubt he's got the intellectual and legislative expertise for the job."

Next is Income Security and Family Support Subcommittee Chairman Jim McDermott, D-Wash., who is seen as a bit more of a pragmatist than Stark but still in the too-liberal category. He also is a highly partisan figure, and sources said there was generally little reason to reach down the seniority list to tap McDermott.

Maybe Republican interests and DC lobbyists would be more approving if Pelosi brought William Jefferson (D-LA) back on the committee and made him chairman. He's so much more cooperative and easier to... easier to... well, just easier. Like Rangel.


UPDATE: ELECTIONS HAVE CONSEQUENCES

Republicans were gleeful when the Bush Regime proceeded to act as though they had won a landslide-- or even an election. Now they're not able to grasp that victorious Democrats might put progressive ideas and the advocates of those ideas into play. And it's not just Pete Stark and Jim McDermott that Inside-the-Beltway reactionaries and profiteers are bemoaning. D-Day has a great analysis of how arch-wingnuts like the little neo-fascists at the American Enterprise Institute are trying to force Obama to pick someone else other than Xavier Becerra as U.S. Trade Representative. Let's see how long it takes him to buckle on this one. Maybe he should steel his nerves by watching this short clip of Barbara Boxer explaining electoral consequences to reactionary kook James Inhofe.

SMALL TIME HOOD WILLIAM JEFFERSON INDICTED-- WHAT HAPPENED TO JERRY LEWIS, JOHN DOOLITTLE, RICK RENZI, TOM FEENEY, VIRGIL GOODE, CONRAD BURNS, KEN CAL

he looks almost as sneaky as Jerry Lewis

A friend of mine claims he's an independent. The reactionary, hateful social policies of the GOP-- plus a wife with more brains than he has-- push him towards the Democrats. But he's easily swayed by the repetition of cheap propaganda and has a tendency to buy into anything that lays claim to "tax cut." Today he was crowing about crooked Democratic congressman William Jefferson being indicted. "They're all crooks," was his-- and, I fear, most Americans', takeaway from the indictment. And can you blame him/them?

I tried explaining how the Democratic Party didn't back Jefferson for re-election, how he won re-election because of white Republican voters in suburban Jefferson Parish, and how Nancy Pelosi kicked him off the House Ways and Means Committee as soon as she became Speaker. I tried explaining the difference between a lone wolf scumbag like Jefferson and DeLay's Culture of Corruption and how it was like comparing a street thug to an organized crime syndicate. William Jefferson should rot in prison but he isn't on a level with a Tom DeLay or Jack Abramoff or John Doolittle or Duke Cunningham or Jerry Lewis or Denny Hastert or any of the dozens of Republicrooks who have been in charge of systematically gaming the entire government for the past 7 years with nods and winks from a Bush Regime that were eager to buy congressional silence on their own outrageous agenda.

But he's just gleeful that a Democrat got caught and that he thinks he's been proven right that "all politicians-- regardless of party-- are corrupt." That's why tolerating K-Street Democrats like Steny Hoyer and Rahm Emanuel in high leadership positions will inevitably sink the Democratic Party and bring down with it all the good that progressives are trying to accomplish.


UPDATE: "THE CHARGES WILL NOT IMPACT HIS ABILITY TO SERVE IN CONGRESS WHILE AWAITING TRIAL"

That was from the Times-Picayune story explaing that their town's congresscritter had just been indicted on 16 counts of racketeering, soliciting bribes, fraud, money-laundering, obstructing justice..." Maybe Speaker Pelosi should take some steps to impact that ability.