Because, as previously
noted, there is no way that, as he was known before conviction for his
felonious activity, former Gov. Edwin Edwards can win this seat. All right, never say
never, so let’s say he can, using
his own words, if all the other male candidates kill the females and drag their
bodies to a homosexual/necrophiliac orgy amongst themselves. That seems
unlikely to happen.
Why this is happening is the
convergence of a community of interests, and neither has to do with his ability
to win. For Edwards, it’s a matter of getting enough attention for what he sees
as redemption. Even as he continues to show he has absolutely no redeeming character
by refusing to
admit to and ask forgiveness for his known betrayal of Louisiana by the
criminal activities that landed him in jail, as pitiable as a human being
as he might be, it got worse when he was trotted out for national ridicule in
the delusional pursuit of grandeur and increased self-esteem engineered by his
latest wife in the form of a (poorly-received) reality television show. If
there was any time one
could feel sorry for the exploited wretch, it was then.
And that seems to have registered
with the sap who must feel, with the ridicule delivered from his betters in
character concerning his boorish behavior generally and specifically his orange-jumpsuit
period, that wasn’t the way he wanted to go out, and figured before his
increasingly-unsteady gait got worse and (hopefully not) he became too
doddering he could try, once again, to present himself as a serious individual
that could bring him the adoration and attention for which he has craved his
entire life. If he could recreate this illusion of self-worth and relevance,
sublimating whatever inner demons may haunt him that remind for all of his
posturing he remains a weak coward, he believes he can replace true redemption that
comes from making amends and striving to put his neighbor ahead of himself with
a faux variety built upon
self-deception that makes his self-worth dependent upon votes instead of from the
actual love of others from what they see in you by your choices that make you a
lovely person worthy of being loved.
And this Citizen Kane-style task of reaffirmation finds a partner in a far more
self-aware set of Democrat leaders, who understand they cannot win the district
and therefore feel comfortable in delivering up a sacrificial lamb instead of
pretending any quality Democrat exists who can win. Just like The Blob, not only does Edwards’ ego
stultify those around him, its political manifestation in a campaign setting leaves no room for any
other competitive Democrat in this theatrical production.
But party leaders have faith that
the sideshow can have a positive spillover effect on the fortunes of Sen. Mary Landrieu, the last standing statewide-elected
of Democrats at this juncture distinctly in trouble in her reelection bid. By
having Edwards slightly down the ballot, it’s hoped his past preternatural
ability to attract votes can rub off on her fortunes in the Baton Rouge area. It’s
why the few serious among them are willing to hold their noses and let the
attention whore have his way with them one last time.
Regardless of the fact that today’s
district never was fertile ground for Edwards. The parish with the largest
registration, almost half of it, is that part of East Baton Rouge not
apportioned to the Second District. Second-most registration goes to the whole
parish of Livingston, which brings the two of them together up to 61 percent of total
registrants. In neither has Edwards done well in the past (and keep in mind the
historical East Baton Rouge figures include areas of higher concentrations of likely
Edwards voters now not in the district). For his five contests (1971, 1975,
1983, and 1987 general elections, 1991 general election runoff), statewide he
grabbed, in order by percentage, 57.2, 62.4, 62.3, 27.9, and 61.2. In the two
parishes (weighed), he drew about 35, (I don’t have the data for 1975) 60, 14,
and 61.
The lesson is when he has a
quality opponent (1971, 1987) he lags and quite badly in most of these two
parishes – an opponent
he appears to have in the form of Garret
Graves and possibly others. In a district of above average wealth and whose
electors typically are better educated than the state as a whole, unless you’re
a patronage-monger (a reward not really available as a member of Congress as
opposed to being governor), it’s historically been hard to sell Edwards’ act –
and now, 23 years after his last statewide attempt, in a district much less
friendly to Democrats as a whole than it was then.
So it’s disputable whether
Edwards does anything for Landrieu’s chances. Which leads to a revelatory
conclusion about this mistaking of nostalgia for strategy: Louisiana’s
Democrats truly are in a desperate situation, both in the district and statewide.
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