Friday, March 03, 2006
Blanco's "failure of leadership"
Political Fax Weekly Highlights
by John Maginnis
(excerpt)
The Disaster Tour That Counts
The long-awaited visit to New Orleans by Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert and about three dozen congressmen marks an important step toward Louisiana securing the additional $4.2 billion in federal housing aid that has been requested by the White House but must be approved by Congress.
If the funding clears the House, there are new concerns some of the money could be siphoned off in the Senate by Sen. Thad Cochran, R-Miss., chairman of the Appropriations Committee.
Landrieu follows Jindal's lead
Sen. Mary Landrieu next week introduces a offshore mineral revenue sharing bill that tracks provisions in a House bill by Congressman Bobby Jindal.
While there are several bills in the Senate, Jindal has the only one in the House. This week, he announced growing support from members, including from majority whip Roy Blunt, R-Mo.
Non-Candidate Vitter Slams Blanco's Leadership
Gov. Kathleen Blanco is getting the good cop-bad cop treatment from the state's two most prominent Republicans.
It was all smiles and cooperation last week when she held a joint news conference with Congressman Bobby Jindal and lauded his revenue sharing bill.
But Sen. David Vitter, who took himself out of the governor's race last week, wasted no time in taking a shot at Gov. Kathleen Blanco. In a radio interview, Vitter blamed Blanco's "failure of leadership" for the session's shortcomings, besides levee reform.
