Bayoubuzz: Your source for John Bel Edwards Louisiana politics, Louisiana governor, Louisiana legislature, Donald Trump News Today and hot issues
by Tom Aswell, publisher of Louisiana Voice
The news release by last September said that former Gov. Bobby Jindal had been appointed to the board of directors of by Wellcare Health Plans, Inc., of Tampa, Florida.
Yawn. Ho-hum. Has LouisianaVoice become so desperate for stories that it resurrects a nine-month-old news release?
by Ron Chapman
The passing of Leah Chase was not merely the end of a wonderful, giving life, but it marks the close of a epoch. The life and times of Leah Chase chart a history of America’s race relations and its connection to the universal love of food.
Mrs. Chase did not merely prepare meals for customers, she made a statement with every plate laid down on a table. In her quiet and gracious manner she soothed raw emotions with her gumbo and fried chicken. She opened her doors to all with love. Her restaurant became a meeting place where people from varied backgrounds could gather around the table and share a wonderful meal. More importantly, while eating, they also shared one another’s company which did much to grease the wheels of social progress.
It has been over two years since the self-centered former Mayor of New Orleans, Mitch Landrieu, removed four historic monuments without a vote of the people. In a bid to garner national attention and praise from liberal media outlets, Landrieu labeled the monuments “racist” and symbols of the “Cult of the Lost Cause.” His cynical campaign was an attempt to minimize the importance and significance of monuments that had stood in the city of New Orleans for over 100 years.
Perhaps the most extraordinary thing about the 2019 legislative season was the lack of extraordinary sessions. For the first year since the governor and current legislators were elected in 2015, we had no special session. Whether the reason was fatigue or election politics, our leaders in the Capitol determined that seven special sessions over the previous three years was enough. One major factor - and the most important characteristic of this session - was the existence of a more stable budget outlook based on a sales tax revenue stream established last year after much political wrangling. The 2019 session was the least contentious fiscal debate since the post-Katrina era. There were no mid-year budget cuts to adjust around, no drawdowns on the state rainy day fund and no obvious short-term gimmicks to prop the budget. The main theme was which programs to expand, not which to cut.
Huey Long would have been right in the middle of the current presidential election if he were still alive. He began a legacy of a long list of Louisiana politicians who had national aspirations. Later governors John McKeithen, Edwin Edwards, Buddy Roemer and Bobby Jindal all fell by the wayside in the quest for national office.
