Welcome to the norm in Louisiana U.S. Senate
elections as the state transitions fully into Republican majority-party rule.
This week, Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy announced his
entirely expected reelection bid for this fall. So far, he has but one
announced opponent, a Democrat with little name recognition and few resources.
Possibly a bigger name among Democrats could
enter, but even among the party’s most prominent politicians none likely could
come within 10 points of Cassidy in the general election. Simply and especially
because national issues come into play in consideration of this seat, no state
Democrat is close enough to the median center-right voter in Louisiana on the
entire scope of issues to triumph against a solid conservative like Cassidy (American
Conservative Union rating voting score: 83).
There’s no reason to oppose having Louisiana joining
the 16 states at present that allow carrying of concealed
handguns without having to go through a permitting process.
HB 72 by
Republican state Rep. Danny McCormick
would eliminate the need to qualify and pay for costs associated with a permit,
making where allowed by law concealed carry legal for any legal state resident with
a handgun legally obtained unless they don’t meet a long list of conditions
associated with prior criminal behavior, mental instability, certain discharges
from the armed forces, or drug use, or who have violated federal guns laws. It
would eliminate the education requirement or a display of firearm competency,
or an application statement
vouching that training has occurred and that the applicant is not ineligible for
the permit by virtue of one of the legally disqualifying conditions..
McCormick calls the fees connected with obtaining
an existing permit a tax triggered merely by concealing the weapon. If carried
openly, no permit or fee is necessary. He argues that the state shouldn’t put unnecessary
impediments in the way of exercising a constitutional right.
Earlier this month, Louisiana mainstream media
covered the release
of the state’s faux executive budget by Democrat Gov. John Bel Edwards. Lots of surface
details emerged, but they all glossed over, if not missed entirely, the deeper
and more substantive stories.
Primary among these in the pretend budget – a sham
because it contained revenues unrecognized by the state’s panel empowered to do
so, the Revenue Estimating Conference – was without its fake revenue Edwards essentially
couldn’t make any new spending commitments. The reason: Medicaid
expansion expenses are eating the state out of house and home, despite over
$300 million in tax increases for the program Edwards falsely alleged would
save the state money.
Other consequences followed. You couldn’t swing a
dead cat during last year’s gubernatorial campaign without Edwards pledging to
raise salaries for educators, but even with the unauthorized money included his
spending plan had no room for these. With a half-normal-sized increase in the
Minimum Foundation Program Edwards suggested districts individually approve raises
with that bounty.
Some pre-filed bills for the 2020 regular session of
the Louisiana Legislature take the wrong approach to dealing with the state’s
most useless elective office.
Last
year, lawmakers rejected a bill to amend the Constitution to tie the election
of the lieutenant governor to that of the governor. This year, identical bills HB 42 by
Democrat state Rep. Kyle Green and HB 50 by
Republican state Rep. Mark Wright
seek to do the same.
It’s still a bad idea, at two levels. It obscures accountability
for both offices, especially in a blanket primary system that already devalues the
important policy stand-in cue of party identification, by promoting personalistic
and geographic characteristics for both candidates.