Katrina +15: LA politically put in better place

Hurricane Laura has started to bring its unpleasantry to Louisiana. But over time you can find a bright spot even with extremely and highly wind-swept dark clouds.

The end of this week will mark 15 years after Hurricane Katrina struck Louisiana (and almost that long since Hurricane Rita piled on). In a silver linings view, concerning the world of state and local politics it actually brought some benefits.

Politics in the near-epicenter, New Orleans, abruptly changed. After levees overtopped and broke, state and local officials, largely Democrats, tried to misplace primary blame for this upon the federal government, whether in the form of claiming the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers had fallen down on the job, to weaponizing the event as an indictment of the Republican Pres. George W. Bush Administration, to wild conspiracy theories that would not look out of place in today’s era, where the political left and Democrats bend over backwards to assert ludicrously that systemic racism in America exists, that deliberate destruction of levees had occurred to harm black folk.

In reality, although the federal government bore some fault for a flawed protection system and response, the main culprits were state and local government. A dysfunctional flood control system allowed cronyism to triumph over provision of adequate protection, while the indifference Democrat former Gov. Kathleen Blanco had shown in planning to deal with such a crisis turned into full-blown evasion of responsibility and failed leadership when it came.

Perkins adds fuel to untrustworthiness fire

As bad weather looks set to attack Shreveport, its mayor manufactured another attack ad against his own Senate campaign.

Democrat Shreveport Mayor Adrian Perkins in fewer than two years in office has given the city’s citizens plenty to wonder about his transparency and whether they can trust him. The moment he entered office he put into motion an insurance deal with a relation to a political ally that he alleged would save the city money. Instead, it cost much more for much less. He also had a campaign organization of his try to bill the city for disallowed inauguration expenses. When it came time to pick a permanent police chief, he said he would follow the choices of a committee he appointed, only to reject its recommendations. And he apparently claimed improperly an automobile allowance even though he used a city-provided car.

Incidents like these will make it easy for supporters of his Senate opponents, principally those backing incumbent GOP Sen. Bill Cassidy, to portray Perkins as just another shifty politician who acts out of personal or political gain at the expense of the people. And now Perkins has delivered more ammunition to his critics with a disastrous television interview.

Blame Edwards, not rain, for bad virus policy

Don’t go all Milli Vanilli and blame it on the rain. Go all reality and blame it on the governor.

That would be Louisiana Democrat John Bel Edwards, who found yet another way to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory when he declared onerous restrictions on some businesses would last past this Friday as part of his response to the Wuhan coronavirus pandemic. In place since mid-July and in full needlessly extended in early August, Edwards declared these would continue because, even as in his estimation the state had shown progress in keeping down infections and the resulting hospitalizations and deaths, looming bad weather would interfere with population testing for the next several days. Plus, education institutions have restarted on-campus classes, adding another element of congregation that could spread the virus.

If this comes off as grasping at straws to continue command and control over the political environment, it is. Edwards still clings to the notion, believing a ratcheting down of disease metrics now can compensate for his botched performance to date, that government must indemnify everybody from any risk, rather than pursue policies that only intrude upon individual autonomy insofar as to protect the vulnerable while also placing that responsibility as well in the hands of free people making their own decisions.

LA election law will disappoint Angry Left

Too bad, Angry Left. One person’s demise won’t get you a Senate seat.

Modern liberalism, shorn of its intellectual groundings with history revealing its invalid assumptions about human nature and with data proving the inferiority of its policy prescriptions, has devolved into a conduit of hate. By definition, it seeks to divide and axiomatically pits the resulting groups against each other, positing imaginary bogeymen that only government can stop from allegedly oppressing the others. Today’s liberalism is all emotional rage and no coherent thinking or wisdom.

Thus, it’s never a surprise that when a conservative of note suffers misfortune this not only prompts some activists on the left to revel in it, but also leaves them hoping matters become even worse – just look at their reaction that the Grim Reaper had taken the wrong sibling when Republican Pres. Donald Trump’s younger brother recently died. Unfortunately, to a lesser degree the same rhetoric emerged with Louisiana’s Republican senior Sen. Bill Cassidy.

Bossier poll points to real 2021 competition

From the phone lines came another hint that Bossier City actually might have some meaningful, widespread competition for its city government in next spring’s election.

Last week, Baton Rouge firm JMC Analytics conducted an automated telephone survey largely about this election. After a perfunctory question about the 2020 presidential contest, it asked questions about the mayor’s race, at-large city council races, and council district races specific to the district in which the call was received.

For the mayor’s contest, it asked abut voting for 2001 council candidate Tommy Chandler, current councilors Jeff Free and David Montgomery, city chief administrative officer Pam Glorioso, and incumbent Mayor Lo Walker. In addition, it asked whether the respondent would vote to reelect Walker.