Over-the-top ads show panic over Fleming strength

As reality finally begins to intrude upon the political and chattering classes, the inevitability of realizing Republican state Treas. John Fleming is a serious candidate to win the senatorial seat up for grabs this fall finally has prompted what in retrospect may turn out to be a too-little-too-late series of go-for-broke attacks on his candidacy, validating his growing strength.

To date, the campaigns of his GOP nomination opponents incumbent Sen. Bill Cassidy and Rep. Julia Letlow, but more instructively political action committees pledged to support either, almost exclusively had trained their fire on each other. This is done in good cop/bad cop fashion, where the campaigns extoll the virtues of their candidates and the PACs lambaste the opponents. Candidates and their allies follow this strategy because the PACs keep the candidate they prefer from looking demeaning through attacking that tries to detach voters from the opponent while the campaign presents a pristine candidate and positive reasons to vote for the candidate.

However, they now have put Fleming in the crosshairs, although in a spectacularly clumsy and manufactured way with a couple of negative television advertisements recently aired. One claimed Fleming supported carbon capture and sequestration, despite Fleming being the candidate most assertively and visibly arguing against the use of tax dollars to subsidize the activity, by its saying he voted for budget bills that allow the subsidization. It attempts guilt by association by trying to tie Fleming to leftists who also oppose CCS (but for reasons with which Fleming disagrees), a connection that becomes even more ludicrous when considering that meant, according to voting on last year’s budget reconciliation bill, just about every Republican in the House of Representatives and Senate also were in league with leftist bogeymen – including both Cassidy and Letlow.

Error like Cassidy's may sink Letlow campaign

What has brought Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy close to extinction in his quest for reelection now threatens the chances of GOP Rep. Julia Letlow for promotion to that office.

Last week, news escaped concerning Letlow’s endorsement of diversity, equity, and inclusion practices during her time as a University of Louisiana Monroe administrator prior to her election to Congress. Recordings of her interview process to helm the university in 2020 as well as internal documents revealed her expressing support for the divisive measures, which posit that American societal differences among races comes from irredeemable racism practiced, whether consciously, by majority whites that may be compensated for only through reverse discrimination.

Actually, it was only the publicity of her past statements that was anything new. Media had reported on the documents and the video has been publicly online for years, but the presence of these recently picked up amplification by additional media reporting.

Easter Sunday, 2026

This column publishes five days weekly after noon U.S. Central Time (maybe even after sundown on busy days, or maybe before noon if things work out, or even sometimes on the weekend if there's big news) except whenever a significant national holiday falls on the Monday through Friday associated with the otherwise-usual publication on the previous day (unless it is Thanksgiving Day, Independence Day, Christmas, or New Year's Day when it is the day on which the holiday is observed by the U.S. government). In my opinion, in addition to these are also Easter Sunday, Memorial Day and Veterans' Day.

With Sunday, Apr. 5 being Easter, I invite you to explore this link.

Make patriotic election integrity measure law

Not only does it make good sense but also is vital and patriotic to put into law procedures that obviate the cheapening of democracy.

HB 691 by Republican state Rep. Beau Beaullieu would strengthen voting integrity by requiring Louisiana, if there is no charge to the state or it appropriates money for the purpose, to use the federal government’s Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements database 180 days prior to a regularly scheduled federal general election (every two years). This allows vetting of registered voters for citizenship, and already is being performed as a matter of policy since the federal government dropped access charges.

Even though noncitizens can’t vote legally, GOP Sec. of State Nancy Landry has found that layer of security breached. She reports over 400 such registrations and over 100 actual votes cast by such individuals during this decade, citing the need for this bill.

Democrats flooding GOP primary not happening

If there’s some strategy afoot to have Democrats raid the May 16 Republican primary to have a preferred candidate win that nomination since their field is so crippling weak, rank-and-file voters of that party aren’t cooperating.

Speculation has risen about the impact of party registration, or raiding, with the reinstalment of closed primaries for congressional contests in Louisiana. With the new rules such as they are, there’s not much incentive for unaffiliated voters to pick a major party label as they can choose which party primary (carrying through with the choice if a runoff emerges) in which to participate.

But with incumbent Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy under duress for nomination, some observers have wondered whether he would make explicit appeals to non-Republicans to vote for him. He apparently already has done that in one media appearance.

Bills unlikely to faze Caddo-Bossier port panel

The Octopus of the Red River has drawn attention from a pair of lawmakers who see a need to bring greater accountability to, if not clip the wings of, it on behalf of Caddo and Bossier Parish citizens.

Since a law a few years ago gave the Port of Caddo-Bossier expanded economic development powers, its nine commissioners have flexed their muscles to exert power over parish residents, such as in bringing deals, that could remain confidential until the bottom lines were signed, within the entire two-parish area that allowed override of local government taxing authority. Citizens have no direct accountability over the Commission, as its members are selected by all of Shreveport (4), Bossier City (2), Caddo Parish (2), and Bossier Parish (1) governing authorities for staggered six-year terms (except for one Shreveport appointee who serves concurrently with the mayor) with the city appointees needing their respective city council confirmations.

Republican state Rep. Danny McCormick wants to change that. His HB 667 would make the commissioner posts elective for four-year terms concurrently with state legislative offices, running in nonpartisan, at-large fashion combined between the parishes.

Changes to bring needed Medicaid savings to LA

The good news is federal government legal changes to discourage able-bodied adults without dependents who don’t want to use Medicaid as a bridge to reduced government dependency will allow the overwhelming majority of Louisianans to continue in the program. The bad news is for that reason taxpayers won’t see much savings.

The federal budget passed last year by Republican Pres. Donald Trump and the Republican majorities in Congress introduced many changes coming to Medicaid, among which were community engagement requirements (working, studying, or volunteering for 80 hours a month) for ABAWD and increased eligibility checks for those Medicaid expansion recipients in states like Louisiana. The former removes Medicaid expansion as a crutch from achieving personal independence while the latter reduces waste, which according to the latest annual data available meant state taxpayers lost over $9 million from the expansion population (known; these were just the ones flagged), for which overall state taxpayers ponied up $489 million.

The requirement may end up cutting taxpayer costs in another way. Research notes that adding such a requirement doesn’t change short-term health outcomes and may improve them over the long run because of resulting increased upward economic mobility that allows escape from low-performing Medicaid service provision to better privately-insured care.

LA judicial election sections may go to dustbin

Overlooked in all the hubbub about the likely-momentous U.S. Supreme Court decision in Louisiana v. Callais is how that will impact judicial elections in Louisiana.

The Callais case appears poised to restrict heavily how the racial composition of an electorate can play in drawing districts. While a great deal of attention of its probable outcome has gone to how that impacts Congress, and a small amount to state legislatures, it also could alter the way in which some Louisiana judicial elections occur.

Technically, in states where there are judicial elections, the racial composition of the electorate shouldn’t matter as judges are not parts of policy-making majoritarian branches of government. However, not long after the jurisprudence now challenged in Callais was codified, the Louisiana case Clark v. Edwards was jackknifed (along with its successors) into that. This case basically held that at-large selection violated the Voting Rights Act in nine judicial districts plus East Baton Rouge Family Court and the second district of the First Circuit Court of Appeals. In the following consent decree, two more district courts and the Second Circuit’s first and third districts were offered up.

New degree puts LA universities on slippery slope

For its senior institutions, Louisiana higher education launched their intents and purposes down a slippery scope by allowing a hollowing of select bachelors degrees.

This week, the Louisiana Board of Regents approved a request by the Louisiana State University System to offer “accelerated” such degrees. LSU Alexandria will offer two and another the flagship campus in Baton Rouge will house, which take only 90 hours to complete rather than the typical 120. The system points to nascent programs scattered across the country, local business demand, and average salaries ranging from $68,000 to $145,000 for graduates with these three majors as justifications for their introduction into the degree inventory.

All are related to artificial intelligence, with the LSU one more directly so. The one at LSU is designed to train those in the fields of machine learning engineering/data science, artificial intelligence research (computer and information research scientists), and artificial intelligence software development (including quality assurance and testers). The ones at LSUA will crank out computer information and systems managers and information security analysts, and data scientists, database administrators, and software developers. Somewhat similar programs for the LSUA pair are in computer science, cybersecurity, and biology, while the LSU one claims it is entirely dissimilar to any other in the state although it facilitates entry into a masters degree in computer science.

Monroe should shore up finances, not splurge

Last meeting, the Monroe City Council heard some potential good news that could portend the disappearance of bad news it will have to deal with starting at its meeting this week – but maybe discover a whole new set of problems for which it will require foresight and discipline to manage.

At that last session, independent Mayor Friday Ellis revealed the city could be receiving a major economic development project. He asked for, which the Council granted, permission to sell the old Ouachita Candy Company riverfront property which the city bought a few years ago to a developer that would create a mixed-use complex.

The project builds upon the win down the road in Richland Parish snagging Meta’s Hyperion Project, a data center that is forecast to pump in $27 billion to the region for startup and continue with hundreds of higher-paying jobs. Anecdotal reports are that the activity has pumped up lodging, entertainment, real estate, and general retail sales, and triggered interest in the historic property, which Ellis said those elements making it historic will be retained because of the tax credits involved and the complex built around it.

The boost in downtown development reflective of the Meta activity promises to line additionally city coffers, with that bonus already starting to be detected in year-over-year numbers. That provides a ray of sunshine to offset disappointing budget news.

According to the budget Ellis sent to the Council, which was covered in budget meetings a week earlier, it sees a nearly million-dollar deficit, which will drive the general fund balance to its lowest level since the start of Ellis’ first term in office. Even as revenues advanced three percent, expenses went up four percent.

Ellis noted increased costs came primarily from higher insurance premiums, fire department compensation hikes, and pouring more into repairs and maintenance of community centers, a priority of the majority Democrats on the Council. He declared that streamlining through reductions in force – 69 percent of the budget is in personnel expenses – would be pursued to balance in the future.

Yet the good economic news could change all of this. The budget anticipates only a one percent jump in property tax revenues, which comprise about 11 percent of all, and just three percent in sales taxes, which make up 63 percent. Putting more property on the rolls and with more sales at prices above assessments from two years ago, and with sales tax revenues up 10 percent year-over-year, that could add as much as $5 million in revenue from these rather than a projected $1.4 million, padding the general fund nicely.

What’s more, the budget has Monroe Regional Airport losing $4.2 million. Yet because of Hyperion, MLU already has seen flights added and passenger volumes going higher, so the passenger facility fee revenue could take a bite out of that deficit.

The larger question that remains is if the bounty transpires whether later in the year the Council will want to spread it around. The Democrat majority has made no secret that it would like to spend more on city government and particularly with capital projects in their districts, calling neglected the areas of the city they represent. At the same time, Ellis has an ambitious capital program, Oneroe, that doesn’t entirely mesh with the majority’s agenda.

Normally, when a government lands some unexpected largesse, its elected officials become a big, happy family with bucks to go around for all. Taxpayers should hope if that this scenario plays out that the city still pursues its efficiency measures and thinks ahead with the bounty; for example, increased activity will mean greater needs for roads, their repairs, and traffic management. Now is not the time to splurge.