Issues spur, blanket primary retards, party switching

Yes, it is a milestone that registered Democrats in Louisiana no longer comprise a majority of registered voters, and that blacks now comprise a plurality of registered Democrats. But, from published comments about these phenomena (predicted in this space months ago), there appears to be little accurate understanding about why this has happened.

One of my colleagues, and reported also “several political observers,” asserted that the presence of the blanket primary (incorrectly termed an “open” primary in the report) what was helped bring about this state of affairs. In fact, more than anything the ability for voters in a first election to cast ballot for candidate where all run together in all state and local and most federal contests form almost four decades has blunted the conversion of Democrats because the system does not penalize voters registered as Democrats from having influence with Republican partisan decisions.

The most important decision a party can make, and the greatest place where registrants can influence a party’s fortunes, is in selection of a party’s nominees to offices.

Selective enforcement, aided by govt, oppresses

Law exists, among other reasons, to facilitate the treatment of equals equally and unequals unequally. When it does not do that, it ceases to act as law. That’s the heart of the complaint registered by a Bossier City family sued by their homeowners’ association for having a non-compliant sign in their front yard.

(Note that the home-owning couple in question is the aunt and uncle of my niece and nephew. Also, I also own property under a homeowners’ association, although a different one but which has similar kinds of restrictions.)

Timothy and Jodi Burr months ago put a banner of 18 square feet in their front yard in the Gardens of Southgate subdivision in Bossier City, supporting their son Cody, an active-duty Marine in the Middle East.

Corporate welfare law to cost public extra million

When the media are not trying to get their hands into taxpayers’ wallets by using government, they are refusing to step up and take responsibility for their actions that cost the people additional money.

As noted previously, state law requires that state and local governing authorities must choose a publication of certain longevity and frequency as an official journal to publish hard copy of certain documents, and use taxpayer dollars to compensate – even though there is no good reason preventing this notification from being done by Internet-only firms, or just having government do it, such as, for example, at the state level have the Public Service Commission put on its web site all of its minutes. Certainly members of the public would find it much easier to go to the PSC site and find these notices that having to discover out what is the official journal where they live and then scour editions of it to find this information.

Such a revised law could have prevented what appears to be a million-dollar mistake caused by the present law.

Tucker can't get it, disqualifying him from higher office

House Speaker Jim Tucker, wishing to extend his political shelf life has announced he’ll try for the most boring elected job in state government – which also has attracted the most suitors to date – of secretary of state. He hasn’t realized he lost that contest three years ago.

Tucker referred to that moment when he addressed the Legislature’s attempt, driven by him, to pay Louisiana’s part-time legislators a full-time salary (ironically, he as speaker was one of the few already drawing full-time pay). Passing both chambers, Gov. Bobby Jindal, after declarations he would let the Legislature determine its members’ salaries, vetoed it amid strong public outcry for him to do so.

He called that issue a “red herring” and that the only mistake involved making it effective immediately instead of with the next batch of legislators. Which only again demonstrates the poor judgment Tucker has and that he still seems unable to fathom, or at least admit, the fundamentally flawed nature of the entire idea.

Recycled, fresh faces both see chances to win seats

With qualifying less than a month away, perhaps Louisiana has in store for it a return of the living dead – lawmakers sent to their political graves by term limits, now resurfacing in attempts to get back into office. At least a little more fresh meat seems willing to join them, as a few incumbents (perhaps) voluntarily join them. And behind most decisions lay a political story.

A few incumbents actually are taking off because, although they would likely win, they just don’t want to do it any more. State Sen. Buddy Shaw is such an example, as he is 77 and he out-campaigned others, some half his age, to win last time. But Buddy has done his service and now can take a break.

Others leave (even as they do not publicly announce this) because they don’t know that they could win again, mainly because of redistricting.

LA education establishment discomfited by latest data

As the emphasis in Louisiana education continues migrating to no child left behind from no government employee left behind, reformers continue to get good news about their efforts – which is bad news to entrenched interests in the education establishment.

Recent data show public education in New Orleans, once considered a statewide if not national basket case, since reform began in the later 1990s not only has improved for lower-performing groups more quickly than in the rest of the state, but that the improvement has accelerated since institution of post-Hurricane Katrina reforms marked by increasing reliance on charter schools. These results adhere to field research that shows in Orleans charter schools outperforming traditional schools.

While this news no doubt comes reassuringly to the families whose children are receiving this education, it bodes ill for critics invested in the current command-and-control, government monopoly system of education. Some who have tried, unsuccessfully, to disparage the research demonstrating greater efficiency from the charter model in Orleans, while others who have questioned the completeness of the data find their arguments weakened by the comprehensiveness of data in the latest release.

With the data against those who argue for adequacy of the current system that places little emphasis on school and teacher accountability,

Statistics vindicate Jindal on rejecting federal funds

While many states flounder trying to deal with their latest funding crisis, by contrast Louisiana fares very well thanks in part to good decisions made by Gov. Bobby Jindal.

States have had to weather getting operating budgets in order, fending off a looming pension crisis, and now facing shortfalls in their unemployment insurance trust funds. States gather from employers a tax, based upon a myriad of factors with both a base federal component and additional state part, which goes into a fund from which the eligible unemployed may draw. The prolonged recession – ironically lengthened because the Pres. Barack Obama Administration with Congress’ compliance in the first half of his term slackened eligibility requirements – has created unemployment levels not seen in nearly 30 years, draining these funds in the states. This has caused many of them to do one or more of tighten eligibility requirements, reduce payments, increase taxes, or seek costly loans from the federal government.

But, while Louisiana has had to tackle budgets and pensions (in the case of the latter, half-heartedly), it has had no real worries with its unemployment trust fund.

Events unfolding to make Smith more vulnerable

It hasn’t been a good past few weeks for state Rep. Jane Smith, and it may get worse as far as her political future for someone in politics for almost half her adult life.

Smith, who has spent the last 17 years first as superintendant of the Bossier Parish School District and then representing House District 8, wishes to extend her political career by running for the Senate District 37 being vacated by state Sen. Buddy Shaw. The Republican faces term limitation after her 12 years.

Since Smith’s first election in 1999, when she was the only state representative candidate not running for reelection to win without opposition, among conservatives then enthusiastic for her slowly some disenchantment grew.

Replace tenure with area competency in LA schools

Perhaps momentum continues to build for a truly comprehensive restructuring of Louisiana elementary and secondary education, through the elimination of teacher tenure as this space long has recommended. Adding another element to the effort can help overcome resistance from defenders of the concept.

The latest statistics release shows a tenured teacher in Louisiana has a greater chance of dying during the school year than being dismissed for poor job performance. The trend continues where 98 percent or more each year continue to receive satisfactory evaluations, bringing into question the validity of the entire process. As with the state civil service that posts similar retention statistics, the only justification for this is that these government jobs recruit talented individuals far disproportionately to the private sector.

Dismal achievement statistics by Louisiana students should disabuse anybody considering that possibility, and tenure is held out as the reason allowing subpar teachers to continue on.

Politics further delay savings from plan reform

Continued confusion, in part due to politics surrounding the issue, lamentably has pushed back the proposed sale, in some fashion, of Louisiana’s state-run health care plan for its employees. It’s a loss to employees and retirees as well as taxpayers, for reasons still not entirely clear.

Commissioner of Administration Paul Rainwater announced that the timeline, originally to make any transfer occur at the beginning of the next plan year, starting Jan. 1, 2012, if it happens now would be for the 2013 plan year. (In fact, one reason why plan years were shifted on the calendar this year – until this past Jul. 1, they had run from Jul. 1-Jun. 30, necessitating a plan half-year for the last half of 2011 – was to accommodate this possibility.) No doubt the main reason dragging down the process, which would have to identify a feasible buyer acceptable to the state with time enough to take over operations, was the surprising resistance to the entire idea.

The facts are readily available about the issue, even as opponents continue to circulate claims of ignorance about them, or to avoid them entirely, or spreading misinformation about motives.