US Senator Mary Landrieu who has a clear fundraising advantage is now trying to take advantage of another fundraiser—this by the GOP featuring President George Bush and John Kennedy.
In relevant parts, here is how the the Landrieu campaign has respondedin an email blast, “It was announced this week that President George W. Bush will headline a fundraiser for Senator Landrieu's opponent, Republican John Kennedy. It is expected by many observers that the Bush fundraiser will raise a million dollars for Kennedy's campaign.”
“The national Republican leadership in Washington has made it clear for over a year that the Louisiana U.S. Senate seat held by Mary Landrieu is their Number One Target for 2008. They have vowed to spend millions to defeat Senator Landrieu to win this very important election. Bringing in George Bush is part of their strategy.”
“Remember, too, that candidate Kennedy was recruited to run against Senator Landrieu by Bush's chief political strategist, Karl Rove. In fact, Kennedy was a Democrat less than seven months ago and had to switch parties before he made this run”.
“John Kennedy supported John Kerry in 2004 but has now become a Bush Republican and has asked the President to come into the state to raise money for his campaign.”
“Will you help us offset the money George Bush will raise in his effort to defeat us by making a contribution to Senator Landrieu's re-election?”
“While Washington partisan operatives are plotting an aggressive campaign against her, Senator Landrieu is doing what all good public servants should do: Her job.”
“Her record of accomplishment proves her effectiveness. In fact, a nonpartisan group, Congress.org, recently rated her one of the most effective members of the U.S. Senate.”
“It will be interesting to see what President Bush has to say when he's in Louisiana raising money for his candidate. Will he discuss why he vetoed the Water Resources Development Act, which included billions of dollars for vital Louisiana projects? Will he defend the incompetent record of FEMA? Will he explain why his administration has allowed endless red tape and bureaucracy to slow down Louisiana's hurricane recovery?”
“On all of these fronts, Mary Landrieu has led the fight in support of the people of Louisiana and has never hesitated to challenge President Bush on behalf of Louisiana. That's why it's critical that we keep her in the Senate fighting for a stronger, safer Louisiana. Please contribute to our campaign today!”
Bayoubuzz Note: Incidentally, John Maginnis reports in his Fax Weekly that chairmen of the Bush-Kennedy affair will be Senator David Vitter and Governor Bobby Jindal. The fundraiser will certainly help the Kennedy campaign which so far has failed to pick up momentum or funds. However, Bush's involvment in the 2004 Senate election actually backfired on Suzie Terrell allowing Mary Landrieu who was trying to first pitch herself as a Bush supporter, make clear distinctions between Bush and her after it became clear that Bush was getting personally involved in the campaign.
1st Congressional District
According to the Gilda Reed campaign, “The National Rifle Association Political Victory Fund has given its highest rating to Gilda Reed, candidate for the 1st Congressional District. Reed’s “A” rating was based on her answers to the NRA’s federal candidate questionnaire.
“I believe in the right of Americans to own firearms,” said Reed, “and am proud to receive this rating from the NRA.” Reed is a third-generation military family, and has a son on active duty.”
Vitter Watch
While Vitter is co-chair for John Kennedy’s Senatorial campaign, the Louisiana Democratic Party has other ideas for Vitter, who they call “politically impotent”—resignation.
In a letter by Chris Whittingham, Chairperson of the Louisiana State Democratic Party, Whittingham said, “In the wake of the scandal involving former Gov. Eliot Spitzer, Sen. David Vitter has spent the past two weeks ducking calls from Republicans and Democrats throughout the state to follow the example of the disgraced Governor and resign from office. Now, with the prospect that Vitter will be called as a witness in the upcoming trial of alleged DC Madam Deborah Jeane Palfrey, the question of whether Vitter will remain defiant and continue to cling to his office becomes all the more significant.
As reported over the weekend by the New Orleans Times-Picayune, whether Sen. Vitter will be called to testify in the Palfrey case will likely be known on April 7 when jury selection begins.
Chris Whittington, chairman of the Louisiana Democratic Party, once more calls on Sen. Vitter to spare the state the embarrassment of such testimony from a sitting United States Senator and resign.
"What we are facing is the prospect of a sitting United States Senator testifying, in open court, over his involvement with an alleged prostitution ring," said Whittington. "That Sen. Vitter, at such a critical time in our state's history, has decided that it's in his best interest to subject the people of Louisiana to such humiliation is selfish and unforgivable.
"This act of selfishness by Sen. Vitter is only matched by the act of selfishness that got him into trouble in the first place," Whittington said. "Someone, like Sen. Vitter, who puts his own desires over the reputation of his family and his state, has no business representing us in Washington.
"He is politically impotent and personally disgraced," Whittington said. "Why is it that we as Louisianans have to continue to share in this stain on our state's reputation?
"Thus, once again, on behalf of Democrats and Republicans and men and women throughout the state of Louisiana who are desperate for a change in the way our state is perceived nationally, we call on Sen. Vitter to stand up, be a man and resign from office."
Bayoubuzz Note:It is uncertain if Vitter will be called as a witness by the prosecution since he would likely be an adverse or hostile witness.Should the Washington Madam call him as a witness, he would could say he did not engage in sex, take the 5th which would be politically risky.Many do not believe he would admit the details of the alleged transgression since he has failed to provide any information to date other than claiming he has sinned.Also, while, the Democratic Chairman commenting upon Vitter extends the Vitter story-line, it will change nothing, until and unless the Louisiana Republican Party jumps on board which chances right now are slim and none.
Regular Session
The regular legislative session begins Monday with Governor Bobby Jindal addressing the session at 1pm.He is coming off of two successful special sessions and has made workforce development his main theme along with mental health and health care.The drums are still beating locally and nationally about a possible request by John McCain for Jindal to join the ticket as vice-presdent nominate.Often, when a candidate such as a McCain has a lock on the nomination, he will wait until the convention to give suspense to the national event.While it certainly is possible that McCain might hit the road running with a VP at his side before the convention, it is unlikely.Thus, Jindal should be able to finish the session, but, despite his comments that he loves his current job and plans to seek re-election in 2011, we will have to see how all of this plays out.
New Orleans Initiatives
At a news conference yesterday, New Orleans Mayor Nagin said, "Our focus this coming session -- and it's been our focus in the past -- is going to continue to be on criminal justice, health care, economic and workforce development and government reform, ".Governor Bobby Jindal was in New Orleans on Monday to outline his mental health program and this week has been touting his workforce development initiatives.It will be interesting to see if Nagin and Jindal will be on the same page.
As far as the "same page", Nagin might be winged a little after the breaking by the TP of the Home Depot counter-top story.Nagin’s family has made a deal to sell counter tops for Home Depot at the same time that certain negotiations were being made by the City of New Orleans.Nagin has stated that he has done nothing wrong.He also called himself the financier of the company, however, has refused to provide details regarding his ownership interests and blamed the media for targeting him.
Up to this point, there have been very few scandals in the Nagin administration and it is uncertain where this story will go and what impact it will have on the New Orleans legislative agenda.Still, the revelation of the story does not help Nagin given the emphasis Governor Jindal has placed upon government ethics. Incidentally, on the day of the Jindal inaugural, Bayoubuzz asked Mayor Nagin what his most important issue was. Nagin said "government ethics". When prompted by Bayoubuzz regarding money for the City, Nagin said that comes a "close second".
Landrieu In Louisiana Again
United States Senator Mary L. Landrieu, D-La., will today attend the launch of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette’s National Incident Management Systems and Advanced Technologies (NIMSAT) and is certainly using every opportunity to show she is a person on the job, now that she is in campaign mode. However, in fairness, she has made numerous appearances and Senate hearings in the New Orleans area, post-Katrina.
The institute will connect disaster management, homeland security, supply chains and critical infrastructures, empowering national, state and local incident managers with an all-hazards approach.
“NIMSAT is a key public-private partnership working to prepare us for the next disaster that strikes, be it natural or manmade,” Sen. Landrieu said. “Its state-of-the-art technology provides the kind of testing we need to simulate disasters and smartly direct the response of government and the private sector. I am proud that Lafayette is the home for this institute – bringing together the best and brightest to bolster our homeland security. I will continue to work to ensure UL Lafayette and NIMSAT have the funding they need to continue their success.”
NIMSAT is creating a partnership between the public, private and governmental sectors leading to cross-cultural collaborations that could fundamentally impact the way the nation manages disasters. Partners include WalMart, James Lee Witt Associates, SGI, Priority 5, CISCO, Tulane and San DiegoStateUniversity.
This just in; AP story off the home page of BellSouth/AT&T.
Hmmm. It ICF just keeps getting better and better. Wonder how Kennedy and Landrieu will play this one out?
Katrina Victims May Have to Repay Money
Published: 3/29/08, 4:06 PM EDT
By JOHN MORENO GONZALES
NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Imagine that your home was reduced to mold-covered wood framing by Hurricane Katrina. Desperate for money to rebuild, you engage in a frustrating bureaucratic process, and after months of living in a government provided-trailer that gives off formaldehyde fumes you finally win a federal grant.
Then a collector announces that you have to pay back thousands of dollars.
Thousands of Katrina victims may be in the same boat.
A private contractor under investigation for the compensation it received to run the Road Home grant program for Katrina victims says that in the rush to deliver aid to homeowners in need some people got too much. Now it wants to hire a separate company to collect millions in grant overpayments.
The contractor, ICF International of Fairfax, Va., revealed the extent of the overpayments when it issued a March 11 request for bids from companies willing to handle "approximately 1,000 to 5,000 cases that will necessitate collection effort."
The bid invitation said: "The average amount to be collected is estimated to be approximately $35,000, but in some cases may be as high as $100,000 to $150,000."
The biggest grant amount allowed by the Road Home program is $150,000, so ICF believes it paid some recipients the maximum when they should not have received a penny. If ICF's highest estimate of 5,000 collection cases - overpaid by an average of $35,000 - proves to be true, that means applicants will have to pay back a total of $175 million.
One-third of qualified applicants for Road Home help had yet to receive any rebuilding check as of this past week. The program, which has come to symbolize the lurching Katrina recovery effort, has $11 billion in federal funds.
ICF spokeswoman Gentry Brann said in an e-mail Friday that the overpayment recovery effort was made inevitable when insurance and other aid to Katrina victims was eventually measured against what an applicant received from the Road Home program.
Brann said there was a sense of urgency in paying Road Home applicants, and ICF knew applicants might eventually have to return some money.
"The choice was either to process grants immediately or wait until the March 2008 deadline (for submitting Road Home applications) before disbursing any funds," Brann said in her e-mail.
Brann pointed out that 5,000 collections cases would represent a 4-percent error rate for the Road Home that is "quite good for large federal programs."
Frank Silvestri, co-chair of the Citizen's Road Home Action Team, a group that formed out of frustrations with ICF, sees it far differently.
"They want people to pay for their incompetence and their mistakes. What they need to be is aggressive about finding the underpayments," he said. "People relied, to their detriment, on their (ICFs) expertise and rebuilt their houses and now they want to squeeze this money back out of them."
The prospect of Road Home grant collections comes less than two weeks after the Louisiana inspector general and the legislative auditor said they were investigating why former Gov. Kathleen Blanco paid ICF an extra $156 million in her waning days in office to administer the program. With the increase, ICF stands to earn $912 million to run Road Home, a contract that also sweetened its initial public stock offering, helping it buy out four other companies and enter government contracting in sectors including national defense and the environment.
Paul Rainwater, executive director of the Louisiana Recovery Authority, the state body that asked for the Blanco-ICF investigations, acknowledged the collections could be painful for applicants, many of whom have used up their nest eggs to rebuild.
"The state must walk a fine line of treating homeowners who have been overpaid with fairness and compassion and ensuring that all federal funds are used for their intended purpose," said Rainwater, an appointee of new Gov. Bobby Jindal.
Upon receiving money from Road Home, grantees sign forms that say they must refund any overpayments.
Melanie Ehrlich, co-chair of Citizen's Road Home Action Team, which has documented Road Home cases that appear littered with mistakes, said she had no confidence that ICF had correctly calculated overpayments. She charged that the company was more likely using collections as retribution against people who had appealed their award amounts in effort to get the aid they deserved.
"I think they are looking for ways to decrease awards and that's part of dissuading people," she said.
Brann said applicants are told an appeal could boost or diminish their award. She called Ehrlich's charge "a totally unfounded assertion."
Copyright 2008 Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Written by Kelly Haggar
on 3/29/2008
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Steve senator landrieu has nothing to be concerned about if diaper dave and the village idiot are fundraising for her opponent.And for as the state democratic chairman he should know the people david vitter represent is filty like him .They have sex with their cousins and other relatives, so what you expect. Written by anthony
on 3/28/2008
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It should be interesting to see what the prez has to say to defend his record when he comes here to fundraise for Mr. Kennedy---vetoing much needed money for Louisiana while spending tens of billions to rebuild the infrastructure in Iraq; FEMA, the federal government drowning in red ink, and budget deficits in the hundreds of billions when it was in the black when W. took office; the border still out of control almost seven years Post 9/11, an endless quagmire in Iraq--30 percent popularity in the polls--the most unpopular president for the longest period of time since modern polling began 70 years ago---"you're doin' a heckuva job, Dubuya."
The republicans will get slaughtered in congressional elections in '08 just like they did in '06 because of the ineptitude, incompentency, inefficiency and ineffable inefficacy of this disastrous, pathetic administration. Oddly enough, the Louisiana senate race might be the only glimmer of hope for the republican party in an otherwise bloodbath and debacle at the polls this November. The most objective and unbiased polling experts predict another 10 to 20 seat pickup for the democrats in the house, and anywhere from three to seven or eight pickups in the senate because of the unpopularity of the president and his failed policies. Even with the infighting and bloodletting between the two leading democratic candidates, they are still at least even money to win in November. Thanks W.---with enemies like you, democrats don't need any friends. Written by Randall
on 3/28/2008
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In regards to Miss Landrieu, the power rankings were based on among other things, their effectiveness in advancing an agenda and tenure. She's great at advancing the liberal agenda for 4 1/2 to 5 years of her term before becoming a conservative. And stating that she has been our biggest advocate after the storm?? You had to dig pretty low to find someone she actually did better than(ie Blanco & Nagin)? Don't forget, she and Vitter introduced the same exact pork filled recovery bill right after the storm. This set the tone in Washington, now they had to keep an eye on us. As a senior member of our congressional group she spent more time bitching, complaining, protecting the inept Nagin & Blanco, threatening to punch the President, and wearing the bright yellow wind breaker to all the press conferences(in case we couldn't see her?) than doing her job and helping the people of this state recover from this disaster. She is a self serving politician and it's time we cleaned house and started over. I would rather have a rookie in there than this "powerful" senator! Where was she and Melancon when it was time to get behind Jindals legislation that would have increased our take from offshore royalties? If this would have passed we wouldn't be beholding to Washington politics every couple of years when the pork filled WRDA bill is run through the greasy Congress. Quit blaming Bush for our stupidity and our politicians that care more about maintaining power than helping those of us in need.
Written by Sid
on 3/28/2008
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