Landry may pull rabbit out on coastal suits

Another “middle way” strategy by Republican Gov. Jeff Landry, implemented before he was governor, may end up backfiring – or perhaps could pay off depending upon the inclinations of his ally GOP Pres. Donald Trump; just follow the money.

At present, Landry is battling to put an insurance reform package into law, one that he proclaims casts a pox on both houses of insurers and trial lawyers for practices he claims needlessly drive up the cost of insurance. The move is somewhat of a gamble, as in comparison to other states’ laws where insurance rates are much lower Louisiana’s encourages litigation and Landry’s agenda doesn’t appear to move the needle enough to substantially reduce rates through measures discouraging litigation while not discouraging industry participation.

But this isn’t the first time Landry tried to find a path between opposing sides of an issue. As attorney general, he tried to discourage the state from intervening legally against energy companies which was alleging, along with coastal parishes, that explorers had caused coastal damage through activities illegal or without permission under state law. Use of state resources this way was part of his predecessor Democrat Gov. John Bel Edwards’ sue-and-settle strategy: treat these firms as piñatas to be busted open for cash by allying with plaintiffs, use the state’s notoriously plaintiff-generous/jackpot justice courts to come up with a judgment against the target, and then work out a semi-extortionist agreement using the judgment as the hammer waiting to come down, with appellate prospects uncertain, that shovels settlement money to plaintiffs – in this case, government.

Landry stakes much in annual governor address

Republican Gov. Jeff Landry’s State of the State address was the longest in recent history, and perhaps the most fraught with political peril for its speaker.

Much of what he spoke about tended very much in the other direction. He had plenty of good economic news that he used to draw a deep contrast with conditions under his predecessor Democrat former Gov. John Bel Edwards, who typically used his such speeches to stump for tax increases, higher costs for doing business, and greater government largesse accompanied by bigger government. That Louisiana depopulated and sank on most economic indicators during those eight years testify to the refreshing change Landry and a Legislature with more inspired leadership and membership to follow to have implemented a (so far, slightly) smaller and smarter government agenda.

In another area and less obviously, Landry drew another contrast. Edwards and his leftist allies ran a con game about health care, where they defined higher spending on it and to more people as a badge of compassion, regardless of the counterproductivity and wastefulness of that approach (consistent with liberal ideology) that abandons any attempt to infuse personal responsibility into the health care equation.