Weeks ago, I wrote an open letter to Governor Blanco asking her to make up her mind whether she would be running. I asked her to do so sooner rather than later.I felt that the gubernatorial debate issues should be publicly discussed since there are many issues and many groups that wanted to know for whom to vote.
So far, we have heard public reports and rumors that Blanco intends to run to tell her story, plans to oversee the largest recovery in American history, but, then from various sources, we hear she might wait and decide her fate prior to the upcoming legislative session.
Meanwhile, ultra-conservative publications are claiming her possible successor John Breaux cannot win, and cannot qualify.
Another publication from Lafayette recently has written an open letter.Their letter to Governor Blanco asked her not to run, claiming she cannot win.In fairness, they are not supporting any other candidate for office.
As we are approaching spring, as the legislative session is getting ready to run in full bloom, as other candidates need time to raise money should they decide to run for Governor,I am more convinced than ever, Governor Blanco should take her three million (or so dollars) and run—away from the campaign trail.Precisely, she should do it now, not right prior to the legislative session, nor after it.
It does not take a genius to know that Governor Blanco cannot win re-election.Yes, she has been ruthlessly maligned by her opponents who have wanted her scalp immediately after Katrina and that onslaught has taken its toll.
To her credit, she does have a story to tell which includes revenue surpluses due to the rebuild, high prices of oil and in some respects, good management of state.
But, in reality, many of the individuals she picked to handle her departments have failed miserably and she is paying the consequences.
She could have done better if she would not have chosen a politically connected group we now call the Louisiana Recovery Authority, but she did.She could have canned ICF International when she had a chance-- when there was an obvious perceived conflict of interest that went in front of the Ethics committee, but she did not.
Other than the heads of the Democratic Party who continues to send out information promoting her campaign and a few individuals who loyally promote her re-election and her prior ability to come from behind, person after person with whom I talk from all over the state (Democrats and Republicans) say they want someone else.Who else?Just not Governor Blanco.
Also, many of my friends and close relatives have had enough of Louisiana and are moving or seriously making “elsewhere” their permanent home after being uprooted by Katrina. I am convinced this decision to leave Louisiana is happening family-after-family due to lack of opportunities.It’s as if Louisiana is suffering from the plague, which in effect, it did.
So, after careful reflection, I am saying openly that Governor Blanco is not the right person for the job.
She is not the only person lacking.Governor Blanco did not cause Katrina, she was not treated fairly by President Bush or his Gulf Coordinator “yes man”, Donald Powell.Governor Blanco has lost the confidence of the voters—in part because of decisions made by President Bush and Donald Powell.
The state is in a mess and we need a new face to clean it up.
Analogies have been drawn to the New Orleans Saints.It took a new coach, a new quarterback and fifty percent of new team to be competitive.
This is exactly what Louisiana needs now.A new beginning, and a new “Coach”.
For those who have followed this column, urging Governor Blanco to withdraw from the upcoming election does not come easy.Since Katrina, I have been accused of being too pro-Blanco, too pro-administration.I have defended her against those who have teased her.I have provided her statements a voice on this web site so she could reach out and hopefully bring the state back from the rubble.
Unfortunately, for a very nice lady who has tried very hard, it is now too late and it is not enough.
Louisiana is suffering from a malaise so deep that a heavy dose of Prozac wouldn’t help.
Despite the surplus, Governor Blanco has made very little use in helping individual families make decisions about returning to their neighborhoods.In a day of technology, she is a zombie.
Her Road Home program is not performing as well as it should and the reason for that lack of performance is simple.People cannot make up their minds due to the lack of information available to them.That takes technology to provide information.The Blanco administration never has “gotten it”.
Governor Blanco is willing to spend three million dollars minimum to get herself re-elected, but, has not found the money to help the dumbfounded make their way back home for the state which is essential to building confidence in its future.
I follow the adage of the Golden Rule—he who has the gold makes the rule.In this case it was President Bush and the Republican Congress who had the gold and he and they have been cold hearted and incompetent.But, second in the line of failures comes the Blanco administration.In her case, the rule of thumb is downward.There is no confidence.There is no real support.She has tried, it is not working and it is now time for her to go.
It is time for others to build their war chests.It is time for Bobby Jindal, Walter Boasso, Foster Campbell and others who want the job to the future who might have new ideas to openly discuss them and not just complain about what is wrong or create stupid television ads that tell us nothing.Most importantly, in the case of Governor Blanco, we cannot afford to view a campaign through mildewed windows tainted by the passing of a river of disgust. This is happening every day Governor Blanco either teases us with her uncertainty or engages in self delusional thoughts that she is the answer to our needs and our prayers.
With a little over half of a year until Election Day, it is time for Governor Blanco to smell the rot of her administration, realize she cannot win, realize she is not the leader of the future and take a walk down memory lane, not up the campaign highway.Louisiana needs a new leader.It’s important.
Finally some good news. Gov. Blanco isn't running for another term. I didn't vote for her and have never had any confidence in her. She is not the leader we need to run this State. She is ineffective--plain and simple. I am hopeful the people of this State will elect a more effective governor next time around but I wouldn't put any money on that and that is the real travesty of it all.
Written by Dawn
on 3/20/2007
I'll admit I'm not one of Governor Blanco's fans, but I'll have to call it the way I see it. During Edwards administrarion, he gave a bunch of his cronies State jobs that was a big embarrassment to Louisiana from being convicted or investigated for mail fraud, bank fraud, obstruction of justice, jury tampering, money laundering, extortion, etc.
I lot of people may think Blanco isn't one of the allege "better" governors Louisiana ever had, but at least she made attempts to get things rolling in the right direction. I also would like to mention at least she's living off the money she earned "legally". There hasn't been any FBI, IRS or Justice Department Agents watching every step Blanco makes like they did with Edwards.
Written by Al Benuti
on 3/15/2007
Blanco has announced that she is running for re-election. I am very greatful for that. An analogy that I would make is that I am happy that Eddie Jordan is Orleans DA. One of the latest murders is a guy who had been arrested 20 times and never convicted for one of his crimes. The NOPD, ATF, FBI, National Guard cannot stop the murders. Along comes a thug and does what the judicial system could not do. Blanco will run for re-election and she will be an easy political target for we voting thugs.
Written by Greg
on 3/14/2007
I agree with you that unfortunately he who has the gold makes the rules. This is the reason why Louisiana never really recovered from Reconstruction, because of federally imposed institutional problems that other regions do not face. The Governors of the Federal Reserve (the U.S./private central bank, thanks to Congressional acquiescence) have never created dollars, moved interest rates or made loans based upon the best interest of Louisiana or our region. They have done so for other regions and corporate interests. Louisiana has been the prostitute of the oil & gas industry far too long, unlike Houston though, we do not equitably partake in the profits. Give the Governess credit for this: She at least is the first Governor to take on the Federal Interior Dept. when they wanted to rape the state right after Katrina by leasing more of our eroding coasts to the Industry for more drilling without environmental studies. This is a step in the right direction. Will someone more indebted to the oil & gas industry do this? If history is a guide, they will not.
Written by R.E. Lee
on 3/14/2007
Steve, you hit the nail right on the head. Blanco does need to go and anyone that can't see that is either wallowing in ignorance or is just too stubborn to look at the situation. I a New Orleanian born and raised now living up here in Tennessee since Katrina. I miss Louisiana and still keep up with the politics and other stuff going on down there, and it breaks my heart to see Louisiana as some have said 'stuck in the mud' while Mississippi is moving forward rapidly in their recovery efforts. Why are they doing so well? Because they have a governor with competence and common sense . We don't have that in Louisiana. I admit that I am a republican, but party has nothing to do with this. I live in a state that has a democrat governor(Phil Bredesen), and I can tell you that Bredesen is a far more competent and capable governor then his fellow democrat governor Blanco. I voted for Bobby Jindal four years ago and would do so again if I was still registered to vote down there. I fear if Blanco is re-elected, then we can kiss the New Orleans Saints football team goodbye. Their contract is up in 2010 and I don't think Blanco will be capable of sitting down and negotiating a long term deal. The Saints happen to be a big economic factor for N.O. and if they leave, the city's economy will take a huge hit. Not only that but Blanco's re-election would guarentee that more and more Fortune 500 companies that would think of doing business with our state would back away very quickly. I hope the voters will take into consideration all of this when they go to the polls in the fall and I hope the voters will elect Bobby Jindal the next governor of Louisiana!
Written by Louis La Guardia
on 3/14/2007
Greg, you are so "full of it"!!! You sound like one of those Radical Right Wing Republicans who are scared to death about the Governor's success story which will be well exposed after June 1st....
Also, you also obviously want to put him on a guilt trip..believe you me..the damage that Steves's comments did to appease you,,,,far out weigh the meager half-hearted effort to not offend her strong supporters of which I am a member!
Robert, thanks for your complimentary remarks relative to the Governor. However, your are obviously and regretfully, not convinced that she is working hard enough. That's too bad, but hopefully, when she begins politicking..the rest of the story will be heard.
Cajuns did not survive by giving up. We must rally behind her because not doing so would be to admit to erroneous statements that she is primarily at fault. No one could have done better than she.
Also, the Democratic Party does not ask an Incumbent to "abandon the ship". I predict that during her next administration, there will be great changes in her Cabinet.
There is no one who can come close to beating another Republican on the horizon at this time. The Republicans fear her.....even though they are using reverse psychology...to say the opposite........
She can win, will win,,,and I say bring 'em on.........
Let the Good Times Roll,,,,the worst is behind us all. Let's capitalize on the mistakes of the past whoever and wherever the blame lies.....but let's roll with the punches, and get the job done for the betterment of all..... Changing horses in main stream is hardly ever a good thing, and I will never stop betting on "Kate"...
Written by Audrey George
on 3/13/2007
Aubrey, je suis Cadien aussi, et on se connaît un peu. Je crois que Kathleen est une bonne personne avec beaucoup de coeur et de passion pour la Louisiane. En même temps, elle a été affaiblie par la situation, et je veux voir un candidat démocrate sans les problèmes qu'elle aurait. Comme gouverneur-emerita, elle aurait de l'influence par ses opinions et par sa présence. Je crois qu'il y a besoin de ses capacités de faire guérir l'esprit des gens. Pour le moment, c'est mon jugement, mais je reste susceptible aux jugements d'autrui. Le bien de notre état est notre souhait, non?
Written by Robert Desmarais Sullivan
on 3/13/2007
Impeachment may be quicker and surer.
Written by Joe Paciera
on 3/13/2007
Audrey: You should change horses midstream if your horse has decided to follow the stream to the waterfall at the end of it.
The Democratic party needs someone who can beat Jindal. In order to do that, they need someone who doesn't have (too many) weak spots where the Jindal camp can just discredit that person. I am unsure if Blanco is capable of a repeat performance. If she can do it, then she should stay in. If she cannot do it, then she needs to support someone else who can.
Written by Dan
on 3/13/2007
At least the Governor takes some blame for the state's
dreadful conditions. Your pal the mayor, gets off free, even
better, you run his "good news" press releases as hot local news. Is anyone holding him accountable for not making clear public policy decisions on the future of the cities' schools, public housing,police protection, and budget needs? He's just
another song and dance pol, and you know it!
When will reality break through to the citizens? You don't help.
Pull my name from your list.
Written by Robert McKay
on 3/13/2007
I am so disgusted with what is happening in Louisiana that I have just signed a purchase agreement for a home in Northern Mississippi, just South of Memphis. At the moment, I don't intend to sell my home in Old Metairie and move there permanently, but the thought crosses my mind often.
The total lack of leadership, from Governor Blanco, to the Legislature, to "Do Nothing, Chocolate Nagin", along with the failure of the Road Home Program and the crippling insurance issues are large contributing factors to my thoughts of leaving.
I have come to believe that this is not a problem of just one or two individuals who are not leading. I think Louisiana has such a backward, third-world structure and mentality that even when good people want to do good things, the system defeats them. I despair of anything really good happening here, except over the very, very long term. Until our basic political structure changes, which I don't really see happening--because if Katrina couldn't get us to change, I don't know what ever will--I don't think good things will happen in our beloved state.
Written by Tom Grace
on 3/13/2007
I agree, Blanco is not the right person for Louisiana! Bobby Jindal will definitely get my vote. The man would be a breath of fresh air in what appears to be a stagnant sess-pool of a state and an embarrassment before the world. We need help down here and SOMEBODY NEW!!
Written by debbie
on 3/13/2007
Mark Samuels, earlier you were wondering what story that Blanko would have to tell us, it is called a fairy tale or a pathalogic lie.
Written by Greg
on 3/13/2007
Has anyone else noticed that there is only one person passionately defending Blanco on this message board? By this unscientific statistic, I think it's quite safe to assume that she has zero chance of reelection (thank goodness).
Written by nolalou
on 3/13/2007
Audrey, it feels a little strange to have you say that I could be right and have "guts". I don't know if I am right or wrong. I just call it like I see it. I have to say that I do hope I am wrong on this one.
Written by Sharon
on 3/13/2007
As a young voter, I find it amusing that you would actually argue over our sorry Governor's ability to get reelected. Irrespective of party lines, I worried when she got elected the first go-round; and now I certainly can not fathom another 4 years of it. It's time for new leadership. We NEED new leadership. At this point in the juncture, we simply do not have another 4 years to waste!
Written by Ann
on 3/13/2007
Audrey sure drinks a lot of koolaid. I'm in Mississippi since K, and I can tell you that Texas and Mississippi are rolling right along. Louisiana is stuck in the mud, and has been for much longer than Kathy Babs or Katrina. New Orkleans is a speacial place, and it must be saved- and having 4 more years of such incompetence only delays when the real reforms will begin. I have yet to see the New Orleans population realize this, as they re-elected Nagin and Dollar Bill. I know that if Blanco is re-elected, I will never even consider moving back and adding my talents and taxes to the mix. I will just one of millions who have reached the same conclusion.
Written by Ex Lakeview
on 3/13/2007
Audrey, I hate Repukelicans and Democraps. I am a registered independent, not a right wing Repukelican. Someone smarter than me told me to never try to get revenge, just let your enemy buy their own rope and hang themselves. Blanko must own stock in a rope company.
Written by Greg
on 3/13/2007
Audrey make sure to stick around after we send out the clown so I can rub it in your face.
Written by Greg
on 3/13/2007
Steve, I applaud you for your article calling on Blanco to announce her re-election. You should be more outspoken more often, certainly there is enough to discuss, but have not. I agree with most of your thoughts. However I strongly disagree with the things that you credit Blanco for-budget surpluses from oil. Steve she is not a member of OPEC and has nothing to do with the price of oil, she only spends it. Next you credit Blanco for the budget revenue after Katrina. If you want to give credit for people spending money after Katrina, which brought in more tax revenue, give credit to Katrina not Blanco. Just as with oil revenue money, Blanco had nothing to do with Katrina spending revenue. Not unless you want to credit her for bringing Katrina into Louisiana? Finally you state that in some cases she has shown good management of the state. Further in your article you write "the state is a mess". You cannot have it both ways, so your spin with crediting her will not float. Thus you urge Blanco to announce, I ask you to stop being politically correct and don't give her credit for things that she has does not deserve credit for. She is an abject failure and she just needs to go away to not prolong our suffering. This state needs a morale boost among other things. If she were to announce that she will not run, that would be a great morale booster and would be a start for Louisiana to regain national credibility.
Written by Greg
on 3/13/2007
Steve,
Many of her Ex loyal campaign workers are already for someone else. She had let the her film industry supporters down by trying to cap the tax incentives in the earlier day, even though she has been forced by us to restore and improve such.
She has let the parochial system down by having state interefere in parish and local matters. She messed with local tax assessment issues not a state issue. She meddled in Orleans governmental affairs that should have been run by the people of New Orleans, such as messing with property owners, homeowners tax asssessments. I have hard that New Orleans and Baton Rouge homeowners were affected by Kathleen BEFORE KATRINA.
Kathleen is not good at responding to her supporters and citizens' emails, telephone calls, etc. She forgot when it came to invitations. I have heard complaints of her being stuck up to her own supporters and friends, not the enemy. She is an unfriendly person and has turned many off due to her coldness, regardless of her strong ProLife stands, and good Government issues, and great with moral issues-ProFamily, Prayer in Schools, etc. which I always agreed with. She always name drops and calls herself a Cajun. She may be, but she appears more like a high class Royal queen and shows no compassion for either the rich or the poor.
In my opinion Kathleen had lost BEFORE KATRINA. Her supporters were the first she opposed before she thought about her opponents.
As for Katrina, regardless of who President is. The President is to respond to the beckons of the call of the Governor. I had heard from many that The President was ready and waiting to hear from her and offered that they were waiting for her to execute the call, but I heard she was slow to call on the President for help. She should know and never underestimate the power of the Governor of Louisiana! The Governor calls the shots, not the President in this situation.
Many, if not all, of my political opponents are very kind, loving, and considerate. Despite the disagreements, they had always honored me and respected me with their quick and unexpected responses to emails, telephone calls, letters, and even bomb us with invitations and kind hellos and handshakes.
So, it is not much Katrina that killed Kathleen's career, it was before.
Sunshine
Written by Louisiana Sunshine
on 3/13/2007
Steve,,,,just forget it! Or better yet,,,,you said she can't win...which is quite fallacious of a statement and has no value or proof at this time........The only thing that has been gained is that you have pleased greatly some right wing Radical Republicans who would like to believe it, too,,,,but they know better.....so their joy is quite short-lived!
Move on to other issues...your asking her to announce will go nowhere..she will not campaign...and one thing Republicans don't understand,,,is party loyalty......a decent Democrat will not announce against a sitting Governor who can not have done one solitary thing more than she did.....!!
Cooling it in Massachussettes where there's still snow on the ground.....It's nice,,,,,,but doesn't have anything on my bayous of South Louisiana......
Written by Audrey George
on 3/12/2007
Audrey, nobody pushes me or has threatened me. Nor am I asking her to decide. I am saying that I personally think she should renounce--in part because she cannot win despite what you think and in part because she has not performed sufficiently and this state needs a major confidence change. It is not coming from her administration. Roy, I do not knee-jerk. I wait, listen, give people the benefit of the doubt. In this case, I waited over 17 months or so. I tried to help build the state with Bayoubuzz. I am still trying to help build the state. I pointed out things she did wrong in the past and did right. I was not on a drum beat of "throw the lady out" as others have been after the worse catastrophe on U.S. soil.
Written by Stephen Sabludowsky, Publisher of Bayoubuzz
on 3/12/2007
Steve, No wonder you were "laying low for about two weeks! You had not criticized Governor Blanco and had not even brought up her name. I was beginning to truly feel that you had some credibility.
Now, all I want to know from you is why does it matter that much to you? Who is pushing "all your buttons". There is definitely a group of individuals who have threatened you to make such ridiculous assanine statements....You know I am angry, I have never written that word before...I'm not sure that I spelled it right.
How many times do we have to tell you that the Governor said we would not politick until the summer....after the last session ends in May!!!!!
Doesn't that tell you and everyone else that she is running? Why wouldn't she run? She is a first time Governor. She has had a very successful 4 years.......The rest of the story will be known soon...and you know what I want to know who that group in Lafayette is that wrote that "stupid open letter"..One thing for sure it is political and they have an agenda.....She has absolutely nothing to gain by announcing now...but a lot of credibility to lose.... because she said she would not campaign...and announcing would certainly be a type of campaigning,,,,,and she would then be attacked more than now.....
So, cool it.....only Republicans have a lot to lose and they know they will......Remember there is lots of time left. It's only March...she went from 18 percent to 52 percent to beat Jindal in a the five weeks between the primary and the runoff.
She will have enought time after June 1st.
I know you could care less what I think.....but it was vicious and unnecessary of you to make the comment: She cannot win...You will regret it come November!
Thanks for reading....stay cool ...calm and collected....it is not befitting of you........ but it sure made me laugh to see how you have panicked!
Hurricane Audrey from Bayou Country
Written by Audrey George
on 3/12/2007
Steve, the last time we talked you were surprisingly defensive of my stinging criticism of Governor Blanco. She should have been the leader of the mix of Louisiana politicians making a unified voice in Washington, and she wasn't. That is why Mississippi is receiving money in a disproportionate share. They had a unified request.
As both Ray Nagin and Bill Jefferson show, anyone can win any election, but Governor Blanco has NO CHANCE unless perhaps she figures out a way to give every homeowner in the Road Home Program 100% of the REPLACEMENT value for their home, and do it before Summer rolls around. As the miserably failing Road Home Program bearing her name continues to falter, this debacle will be her legacy to our state.
I actually hope she does run, as it will lock up the race for Bobby Jindal, the only one of the politicians in the state or country who actually responds in writing to the emails and letters I have sent.
Written by Mark Samuels, Basin Street Records
on 3/12/2007
i told you this one week after katrina in an article i did for another blog. you protested. in fact, the best i remember you did a harang about me. you are a year and a half late and a dollar short.
Written by roy fletcher
on 3/12/2007
Plain and simple - you're right, Blanco should not run because she hasn't shown any real skill at running the state both pre- and post Katrina. I know that for the first time, I will vote for Bobby Jindal, a Republican, simply because he seems to be intelligent enough to analyze what needs to be done, and to make the quick decisions to do it. Additionally, I think he realizes the importance of making relationships regardless of which party you supoprt.
Written by Warrior Queen
on 3/12/2007
Steve, No wonder you were "laying low for about two weeks! You had not criticized Governor Blanco and had not even brought up her name. I was beginning to truly feel that you had some credibility.
Now, all I want to know from you is why does it matter that much to you? Who is pushing "all your buttons". There is definitely a group of individuals who have threatened you to make such ridiculous assanine statements....You know I am angry, I have never written that word before...I'm not sure that I spelled it right.
How many times do we have to tell you that the Governor said we would not politick until the summer....after the last session ends in May!!!!!
Doesn't that tell you and everyone else that she is running? Why wouldn't she run? She is a first time Governor. She has had a very successful 4 years.......The rest of the story will be known soon...and you know what I want to know who that group in Lafayette is that wrote that "stupid open letter"..One thing for sure it is political and they have an agenda.....She has absolutely nothing to gain by announcing now...but a lot of credibility to lose.... because she said she would not campaign...and announcing would certainly be a type of campaigning,,,,,and she would then be attacked more than now.....
So, cool it.....only Republicans have a lot to lose and they know they will......Remember there is lots of time left. It's only March...she went from 18 percent to 52 percent to beat Jindal in a the five weeks between the primary and the runoff.
She will have enought time after June 1st.
I know you could care less what I think.....but it was vicious and unnecessary of you to make the comment: She cannot win...You will regret it come November!
Thanks for reading....stay cool ...calm and collected....it is not befitting of you........ but it sure made me laugh to see how you have panicked!
Hurricane Audrey from Bayou Country
Written by Audrey George
on 3/12/2007
It may be that Kathleen Babineaux-Blanco would do well not to run for governor again. Robert Frost wrote, "It's hard to keep from being king when it's in you and in the situation". In my judgment, it's in Kathleen but not in the situation for her to be governor again. At least, it seems that way right now.
We in Louisiana have been the asanine ones. We have enabled a mad man to use our sons and daughters as mercenaries in wars that profit the wealthy and impoverish the rest of us. We have enabled him and his party with our votes. I see some Louisianians changing their registration from Democrat to Republican, including my own Representative Alex Heaton. He and Joe Canizaor and Patricia Taylor and the Bollinger family all belong to the party that gave us fundamentalis neoconservative Republicanism as a doctrinaire party of eternal warfare.
They are all conspiring, and they admit it, to Republicanize Louisiana. With them is that magnificent icon of American decency and probity, Bob Perry, who bribed Vietnam veterans into destroying John Kerry's war record. What did Bob Perry do in Vietnam, by the way? At least Kerry was there! However, patriotism for Republicans these days consists of money for the wealthy and war for the rest of us, and these good families of our state are going to see that we are patriotic or die.
So, if I were Kathleen, I would retire as Dowager Governor, and allow the historians to tell the tale of how the Republicans have worked to destroy the legacy of Franklin Roosevelt. Instead of saying, "You have nothing to fear but fear itself", they say, "Terrorism is the reason that we have a military budget larger than all other countries combined, even if it means that the Gulf Coast never recovers". Instead of creating a CCC or WPA and actually using federal money for reconstruction, they give us FEMA. As Dowager Governor, I would tell my tale and contribute my money to someone who won't have Bob Perry's nasty swift-boaters after me. Let him eat cake.
I don't want to see John Breaux run. I'm as angry with the Blue Dog Democrats as I am with the Republicans. The Gulf Coast and New Orleans won't recover until the war ends and the money comes home and the federal government cares. What governor would be good then? Personally, I like Mitch Landrieu, and I would work for him. My record has been mixed of late, in that I worked for Tim Kaine, now governor of Virginia, and Jim Webb, now senator from Virginia, for Karen Carter, whom William Jefferson defeated, and for Deborah Langhoff, whom Jeb Bruneau defeated in a slimy handoff from Papa, or rather Peppi, Bruneau. That's fifty-fifty, so I'm not guaranteeing anything to Mitch, but I'd work for him anyway.
Written by Robert Desmarais Sullivan
on 3/12/2007
I'm just trying to figure out what "story" she wants to tell.
Written by bill
on 3/12/2007
This is an instance in which you are right for the wrong reasons. Yes; Blanco must go. The necessity of that outcome is plain to all. And you are right in what you present to show that she has made some very poor appointments. But you seem fixated upon some strange notion that Blanco is a victim of political partisanship, that she has been "ruthlessly maligned by her opponents who have wanted her scalp immediately after Katrina and that onslaught has taken its toll."
The problem is not that Blanco was "ruthlessly maligned" after Katrina, but rather that she has never explained her role and that of her administration in what appears to have been the deliberate, conscious, and intentional isolation of the stranded largely African-American population of New Orleans in the days immediately following the storm. We do not know which police agencies handled "counter-flow" to control access to the city at all times and what orders they were given in the week following Katrina, a matter that becomes important when explaining why rescue efforts were turned around. We do not know whether the Blanco Administration gave its go-ahead to the seizure and closure of the Crescent City Connector Bridge, whether they were forced to accept it as a fact on the ground, or whether they may have viewed the action as part of a larger plan to make certain that New Orleanians were moved completely out of the area, with no stops in Jefferson Parish, even if that meant pressuring them to leave by denial of relief services. This is not an unreasonable assumption in light of the fact that the Blanco Administration told the Red Cross not to deliver relief to the Superdome and the Convention Center with the admonition that they did not want to turn those centers into "magnets," a comment that has never been explained and that explanation must be proffered. We do not know if Blanco resisted calling in the National Guard because she feared and/or was perhaps under pressure from local governments in the greater New Orleans area not to do anything that might move the Katrina evacuees into their immediate areas, but we do see that such was the effect.
Trying to dismiss the call for an examination of Blanco's post-Katrina actions within this gubernatorial campaign as falling into "political partisanship" is the worst form of partisan spin. It suggests that the issues associated with the tragedies of the Superdome and Convention Center have somehow been resolved by mere partisan meanness, which should convince us that we must only look ahead to the rebuilding and redevelopment of our state and not sink back into the rancor associated with that horrible week. Are we supposed to think it is a coincidence that the previously-posed questions will continue to go unanswered if we adopt this tact? It is no coincidence, this is how spin works, you change the subject.
If Blanco wants to run for Governor this year, then she will have to provide answers to the questions that matter, because the visible results which presented themselves to our eyes as the television cameras put the Katrina tragedy before the world cannot be ignored. And we cannot treat any suggestion that we should not dwell upon this issue for its partisan mean-spiritedness as anything other than spin. When shall we ever be able to deal with this if not now, during a gubernatorial campaign?
Written by Jacob Sulzbach; Lafayette, La.
on 3/12/2007
Certainly there is a great deal of passion on both sides of this issue. I think you could be wrong, Steve. I am no fan of Blanco. As I watched her before Katrina struck, she was clearly not capable of leading a state in trouble. The press for the most part did not report most of the decisions she made that have been discussed here very well. It was Bush's fault. It was Republican against Democrat. That's the way I see this election playing out. The Democrats will say that it is the Republicans and Bush who are to blame for all the ills that the people are suffering. They will get National Media coverage and no rebuttal. The National Democratic Party will pour millions into the race (If they cannot talk someone else into challenging her.) The voters will see her as a victim. They will rally around her. More than one Republican will be in the race and Blanco will win getting enough votes in the open primary to beat Jindal.
Written by Sharon
on 3/12/2007
Please do not assume that there is any motive other than my feeling that it is and was the right thing to do after very serious consideration--not knee jerk. There are people who agree with me and others who disagree. I am not backing any candidate as other publishers have done and are doing. I have tried to help the state. Nobody has asked me to write what I did. These are my own feelings from someone who admires Governor Blanco, and believes she and the state has received the very short end of the stick from the Bush administration, believes that she has made major mistakes during the rebuild, believes she can make a comeback but that her chance of that is not good but more importantly believes that Louisiana (and I) have no confidence in Louisiana's future with her as Governor. Thus, I think it is time for her to step aside and let others run without having to step on her shoes. I do not have a candidate, nor would I have a candidate and believe that the Republican candidates could be viable candidates for Governor. I am also certain that there are democratic candidates who could do a good job instilling confidence in this state which is sorely lacking.
Written by Stephen Sabludowsky, Publisher of Bayoubuzz
on 3/12/2007
Sharon is right for once! She is the only one who has the guts to admit that in the primary, three Republicans running will take votes from Jindal in a big way........F. C. will be the only Democrat running....if he doesn't chicken out...and he will not get many votes. His name recognition is nill.....
Jindal will get in the run off......but then we Democrats will rally aroung our Queen Bee and it will be deja vue.... I disagree that Democrats in any number are becoming Republicans. There may be a few who do because they don't want to be with us common people,,,and you know what I don't want those "turn coats" in the party either. I am a yellow dog democrat,,,,,,and the only blue dog democrat is one who will use and abuse the Republican politicians as they have done to us for so long!
Long live Kathleen......and I say "Go Kate" Lache pas la Patate!
I have a plan to get those Cajuns to join me in keeping you in office.....Laissons les bons temps rouler!
Written by Audrey George
on 3/12/2007
Yes, it is time for Governor Blanco to toss in the towel. But, I have to say, she gets far more than her fair share of blame for the mess that is this wonderful state of ours. The biggest problem in the city of New Orleans is the mayor. He does not get any where near his fair share of blame. Ultimately, this was his ship to steer and he failed miserably after the storm and continues to do so. And, miraculously, he was re-elected as was Dollar Bill Jefferson. So, who knows, maybe she will be too. Nothing surprises any more in the political arena in this state.
Written by Domino
on 3/12/2007
I can't disagree with your recommendation, but am puzzled by your motive. You've been a staunch supporter of Blanco throughout this whole mess. Why the change of heart? Have you signed up with John Breaux? Please stop blaming President Bush for Blanco's ignorance, inaction and ineffectiveness. When the history of this mess is recorded it will show George W. was every bit the compassionate conversative he promised to be. Even Donna Brasile had to admit that.
Written by Lakeview Resident (In Exile)
on 3/12/2007
Weeks ago, I wrote an open letter to Governor Blanco asking her to make up her mind whether she would be running. I asked her to do so sooner rather than later.
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