YES! Louisiana Will Have A Real Choice In The Race For U.S. Senate

When one of Louisiana's more successfully corrupt political hacks, Bill Tauzin, became an official lobbyist for the pharmaceutical industry-- within moments of having ushered Bush's colossal bailout for that industry through Congress, a catastrophe for average taxpayers and Medicare users but a career-maker for Tauzin-- his son, Billy III, expected to be crowned to succeed his daddy as the congressman from Cajun Country-- an extremely backward and swampy district south and west of New Orleans. But the 2004 election was strange. Billy III lead 6-man primary with 84,680 votes. When the general election rolled around, he only wound up with 57,042-- and was beaten out by right-wing Democrat Charlie Melancon with 57,611. Republicans mounted a vigorous challenge to Melancon-- even though as a Blue Dog he mostly voted with them-- but Melancon prevailed with 55%. Last year the Republicans didn't bother and Melancon won his third term with no opposition.

While Melancon was winning re-election, though, Barack Obama didn't even have a change in one of the most racist and reactionary districts in the Old Confederacy. It was one of just a tiny handful of districts where Obama actually underperformed both Gore and Kerry! What a hellhole but the national Republican Party has been looking at the district and thinking, "this place smells like us; we should get it back." So they decided to go after Melancon again and have promised big financial support to anyone who would take him on. Two far right sociopaths, failed gubernatorial candidate and ex-House Speaker Hunt Downer and state Rep Nickie Monica (R-LaPlace) have both been both nosing around.

Because Melancon votes with the GOP so frequently, what progressives there are in the district are unenthusiastic about re-electing him and Republicans would just as soon have a real Republican instead of one who calls himself a Democrat. So now Melancon is thinking about running for David Diapers Vitter's U.S. Senate seat. Some think he would be more likely to defeat the deeply wounded Vitter statewide than retaining his House seat in a district that is regressing, socially, back to the pre-literate stage of human development.

If a match-up between a super-corrupt religious right fanatic and whoremonger, on the one hand, and a craven anti-working family Blue Dog on the other hand, doesn't excite you, think about Stormy! That's Stormy Daniels, adult film star and native of Baton Rouge, who is considering running for Vitter's seat as an independent. She's smart and witty and possibly as well known as either Vitter or Melancon. Stormy is finishing a book, Storm Blazer: Stormy Daniels and the Issues of Responsibility and embarking on the second phase of a listening tour to hear what voters in Louisiana want from their representatives in Washington.

With DSCC sources confirming, off the record, that Melancon is in, it is likely that the Republicans will easily pick up his congressional seat-- the district does smell like them-- and there's no telling what would happen in a three-way race between Vitter, Melancon and Daniels. I know I'd vote for Daniels in a second-- twice if I could!