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30.1.06

New Louisiana Democrat leader shows party still doesn't get it

The next person to preside over the long-term decline of Louisiana’s Democrat Party is party insider Chris Whittington, its legal counsel. His ascendancy and rhetoric demonstrate why he will be unable to improve the party’s fortunes.

Long ago the Democrats nationwide forfeited the battle of ideas to the conservatism largely embraced now by their Republican opponents. The liberalism echoed by the Democrats, and (particularly in this state) its cheap knockoff populism, has been thoroughly discredited through logic and fact, so the party has become reduced to name-calling, emoting rather than thinking, and to an exercise in trying to fool voters into misperceiving reality.

Whittington’s comments at his election of state party chairman shows he remains enthralled in this political retardation. Instead of trying to provide intellectual arguments to support the party’s positions that those who contribute more to society must have more taken from them than ever before, that it is moral to murder the unborn, that your characteristics matter more than you as a person in determining who gets what rewards from government, etc., instead we get this:

We have let the Republicans define us as something we are not…. We love our families. We stand for the proposition you should love the God of your choosing. You should be able to speak freely without fear.

I challenge Whittington to name one Republican officeholder or elected official who has said any of (1) Democrats do not love their families, or (2) Democrats do not support loving the God of peoples’ own choosings, and/or (3) that people in this country should fear speaking freely (unless the First Amendment and laws supported by it are violated in the process). If he can’t do that, then what he said has no connection to reality but instead is yet another emotional pandering designed to stop people from thinking about the issues.

That’s because he knows Democrats lose on the issues, and, given his backers, that is especially true. Significant in this leadership battle was that the liberal-in-conservative-clothing wing of the party, comprised of Gov. Kathleen Blanco, Sen. Mary Landrieu, her brother Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu, Rep. Charlie Melancon, and others, lost to Whittington who was backed by the good-old-boy populist wing of Agriculture Secretary Bob Odom, Public Service Commissioner Foster Campbell, and others, joined by the unrepentant liberal wing fronted by state Sen. Cleo Fields.

Whittington lives in delusion if he believes the reasons state Democrats increasingly lose is because they don’t define themselves to their own liking. Just the opposite; they define themselves all too well as the party that believes in property as theft, that government knows best how to spend resources that people earn, in death to the most vulnerable in our society, that irresponsible behavior is to be rewarded, and so on. Ideas better than these, not improved public relations, is the only hope the Democrats have of reversing their sliding fortunes in Louisiana, and Whittington looks like the next victim ready to learn this the hard way at the ballot box.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Lawyers and the Democrat Party

In January of 2006, Chris Whittington, Baton Rouge Attorney, stated the following when he was elected Louisiana Democrat Party Chairman. “We have let the Republicans define us as something we are not”, (Baton Rouge Advocate – Jan 29, 2006)

Recently, in April 2006, Brian Cespiva, Member of the Rapides Parish Democratic Party Executive Committee, stated the following about Chris Whittington, Democrat Party Chairman, during a Party Rally. “Democrats are fighting for better public schools for our children, greater access to healthcare, and quality jobs for all of our citizens. When Democrats win, Louisiana wins. That is why it is crucial that we continue to strengthen our Party under Chris Whittington’s leadership.” (Democrat Party Website – April 7, 2006 Press Release).

In February of 2006, Chris Whittington’s Law Firm, filed a lawsuit against the East Baton Rouge Parish School Board on behalf of Carlos & Alicia Bailey. The lawsuit seeks compensation for physical damages and emotional pain and suffering. (Baton Rouge Advocate, Feb. 8, 2006)

In March of 2006, Chris Whittington’s Law Firm sued ExxonMobil on behalf of Larry Adams. After a three-day trial, an East Baton Rouge Jury awarded Larry Adams $4.2 million against ExxonMobil. (Baton Rouge Advocate, March 18, 2006).

Less than two months after Chris Whittington was elected Louisiana Democrat Party Chairman, Chris Whittington’s Law Firm has represented lawsuits against the East Baton Rouge School Board and ExxonMobil. Yet Democrats say their new Louisiana Democrat Party Chairman, Chris Whittington, is leading the party in their fight for better public schools and quality jobs.

When Lawyers win lawsuits, does Louisiana really win?

Do Lawsuits really improve our public schools, provide better healthcare and provide better jobs for Louisiana? Does it make sense to support Louisiana Public Schools and at the same time file a lawsuit against the East Baton Rouge Parish School Board? Are the Republicans defining the Democrat Party, or do Trial Lawyers define the Democrat Party?