Gov. Kathleen Blanco made clear where her loyalties are with her actions of what bills to sign and to veto with the 2006 Legislative session – doing the bidding of special interests, certainly not on the behalf of the people.
On the one hand, she signed HB 1281, as well as HB 658. These bills allow special interests in Jefferson and Sabine Parishes to siphon off state money indefinitely and to receive favorable land deals. On the other hand, she vetoed HB 699 which would have brought more competition and lower prices to consumers for cable television; instead, she kowtowed to greedy cable television companies and to the voracious appetites of local government for more of the peoples’ money.
She also largely whiffed on line-item vetoes in the state’s operating budget. A handful of small items being refused hardly rids the budget of millions of dollars of unnecessary spending that should be the responsibility of local governments to fund on their own or represent outright gifts with no accountability to private organizations. Again, she would rather please politically-connected special interests than to be a proper steward of the people’s resources.
What does it take for this opportunist to put the people, not governments and special interests, first? Do they have to rise up in mass to articulate their disgust? That’s the impression left with a veto it seems Blanco unwillingly did cast, against HB 1028 which would have allowed state legislators to give themselves premium access to state insurance even if they are only part-timers.
It shouldn’t have to come to that, and these poor decisions give yet one more reason why Louisiana cannot wait until she leaves office.
Now Jeff,
ReplyDeleteAre you surprised?? Since when has Louisiana Governor's looked out for the welfare of the people??? It is always about the special interests! And if the little guy benefits from benefitting the special interest, then it is a "win-win" in their books!
Brad Duhe
Blanco also signed SB 570 that gives preferential treatment to hospitatls and mandates that physicians invest with a hospital if they want to start a business that competes with a hospital. This is basically like writing a law that says if there is a Wal Mart in your town and you want to open a True Value, you must give Wal Mart a portion of your investment.
ReplyDeleteThe good Senator Hines was behind this along with the hospital associations. Senator Hines, by the way, is paid $75,000 a year by his local hospital. "Confict of interest? What conflict of interest?"
The only hope for the taxpayers of Louisiana is to declare war on Texas....and to capitulate! And even then.....Texas would rather continue to let us sink in our own bed of manure!!
ReplyDeleteWe must initiate OPERATION CLEAN SWEEP and vote out every incumbent in the Louisiana Legislature!!
Agreed, Sharpsman.
ReplyDeleteI'm in the process of very possibly moving back to Louisiana (my home state) from California (don't even ask) and am dismayed how Louisiana continues to mire itself in the cesspool of "good old boy" politics and can't see an inch ahead of them.
And Blanco? C'mon! Even in Louisiana she is so out of her league it would be laughable if it were not so sad.
I love Louisiana but hate the politics.
This is not a surprise to any of us who are aware of how Blanco got where she is. Her husband, Coach, is an old political hand. According to one insider I spoke with several months ago, the coach was running polls and precinct data on computers at USL (legal?) for Sen. Edgar Mouton and Edwin Edwards back in the 1970's. Kathleen is his creature and they're creatures of the Edwards machine.
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