Tuesday, April 17, 2007
LANEWSLINK.COM (Stories of the Day)
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Mitch Landrieu Won't Throw His Hat In Ring For Governor
WGNO Channel 26 (ABC) (excerpt)
NEW ORLEANS — Lt. Governor Mitch Landrieu announced Monday he will not seek the governorship this fall. Landrieu released the announcement in a written statement.
"After much serious consideration and prayer, I have decided to run for re-election as Lt. Governor.
Landrieu's decision ends a weekend of speculation, after former Senator John Breaux announced Friday that he too will not run.
Currently, there are two announced Democratic candidates for Governor, Public Service Commissioner Foster Campbell and Reverend Raymond Brown.
Republicans Bobby Jindal and Walter Boasso are also campaigning for the position. Bobby Jindal announced last week that he's raised over $5 million to fund his campaign.
The Gubernatorial primary is October 20th.
YOUTUBE VIDEO PARODY FROM NEW ORLEANS MAYOR RACE "THE LANDRIEU YEARS" (CLICK BELOW TO PLAY)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KcTUbRPdN1E
Breaux toyed with us, but it's no game
by Stephanie Grace - Times-Picayune (excerpt)
Well, that was a waste of everyone's time.
It's hard to know what else to make of John Breaux's long-running Hamlet act, which ended Friday after Attorney General Charles Foti refused to rule on whether Breaux, who has relocated to Maryland, can legally run for governor of Louisiana.
Yes, running under such uncertain circumstances would have been a risk, but it was no more of a risk on Friday than it was two months ago, when Breaux and a small group of his old cronies cooked up the idea at Washington Mardi Gras.
It seemed no coincidence it happened at the annual meeting of a krewe that Breaux captained for many years, an honor he had to give up when he left Congress to live the cushy life of a lobbyist.
Maybe being around so much politics made him miss being in the game, although perhaps he got over it quickly, once it became clear how hard the Republicans would fight his eligibility.
Or maybe, after being away so long, Breaux miscalculated the state's political mood and didn't anticipate that Jindal would still lead in early polling, even if his opponent was not named Kathleen Blanco. It wouldn't be the first time Breaux proved out of touch.
The state is looking for a solution to its post-Katrina and Rita woes. Breaux, in the end, offered little more than a distraction.
And we've already had quite enough of those.
Savior Breaux Discovered Winds of Change
by Neil S. Kavanagh (excerpt)
NORTHSIDE JOURNAL
The Democrats are in quite a pickle. In typical Breaux fashion, Maryland Johnny cruised in, discovered that he wasn’t popular, and abandoned his home state for a second time.
While it’s true that the Democrats have done a fine job of crippling themselves, Breaux pulled the wheelchair out from under them.
Needless to say, Breaux correctly assessed the poll numbers, saw Jindal’s $5 million dollar campaign war chest, and decided that moving back to his Maryland palace was much easier than moving into the Louisiana Governor’s Mansion. Bye-bye Breaux.
In his wake, he left the Louisiana Democrat party on life support. Now the entire party is searching for a credible candidate while the Republicans quietly wait to see who the sacrificial lamb will be.
Smart political observers say that it will be at least eight years before the Democrats can mount a challenge for control of the state. Term limits will force most of the good old boys out of the legislature and Jindal looks like the frontrunner for Governor.
The winds of Hurricanes Rita and Katrina appear to be winds of change, and while the Democrats stumble in disarray, the Republicans wait for a chance to prove to the nation that Louisiana is not a Banana Republic.
John Breaux may be remembered as Louisiana’s savior after all. By driving a stake in the heart of the good old boy network, he may have given responsible government a chance to take root and blossom.
Peppi Bruneau speeds up resignation
by ED ANDERSON - Times-Picayune (excerpt)
BATON ROUGE -- Rep. Peppi Bruneau, R-New Orleans, unexpectedly ended his legislative career at the close of business Monday, two weeks earlier than scheduled.
Bruneau, 64, submitted his letter of resignation to House Speaker Joe Salter, D-Florien. He had notified Salter on Jan. 19 that he would not serve out his term, which expires in January. At that time, he served notice he would step down at 1 p.m. April 30, an hour after the next legislative session begins.
Bruneau's son Jeb ran for the seat but lost a runoff March 31 to lawyer Nicholas Lorusso. Lorusso will have to face re-election this fall for a full four-year term.
During the primary and runoff elections, Bruneau and his son were hounded by criticism that the longtime House member timed the resignation and subsequent scheduling of the special election to help his son's chances to succeed him, an allegation they denied.
Lorusso said he was unaware of Bruneau's decision to step down immediately. "I am a little bit surprised," he said.
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.
.
WGNO Channel 26 (ABC) (excerpt)
NEW ORLEANS — Lt. Governor Mitch Landrieu announced Monday he will not seek the governorship this fall. Landrieu released the announcement in a written statement.
"After much serious consideration and prayer, I have decided to run for re-election as Lt. Governor.
Landrieu's decision ends a weekend of speculation, after former Senator John Breaux announced Friday that he too will not run.
Currently, there are two announced Democratic candidates for Governor, Public Service Commissioner Foster Campbell and Reverend Raymond Brown.
Republicans Bobby Jindal and Walter Boasso are also campaigning for the position. Bobby Jindal announced last week that he's raised over $5 million to fund his campaign.
The Gubernatorial primary is October 20th.
YOUTUBE VIDEO PARODY FROM NEW ORLEANS MAYOR RACE "THE LANDRIEU YEARS" (CLICK BELOW TO PLAY)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KcTUbRPdN1E
Breaux toyed with us, but it's no game
by Stephanie Grace - Times-Picayune (excerpt)
Well, that was a waste of everyone's time.
It's hard to know what else to make of John Breaux's long-running Hamlet act, which ended Friday after Attorney General Charles Foti refused to rule on whether Breaux, who has relocated to Maryland, can legally run for governor of Louisiana.
Yes, running under such uncertain circumstances would have been a risk, but it was no more of a risk on Friday than it was two months ago, when Breaux and a small group of his old cronies cooked up the idea at Washington Mardi Gras.
It seemed no coincidence it happened at the annual meeting of a krewe that Breaux captained for many years, an honor he had to give up when he left Congress to live the cushy life of a lobbyist.
Maybe being around so much politics made him miss being in the game, although perhaps he got over it quickly, once it became clear how hard the Republicans would fight his eligibility.
Or maybe, after being away so long, Breaux miscalculated the state's political mood and didn't anticipate that Jindal would still lead in early polling, even if his opponent was not named Kathleen Blanco. It wouldn't be the first time Breaux proved out of touch.
The state is looking for a solution to its post-Katrina and Rita woes. Breaux, in the end, offered little more than a distraction.
And we've already had quite enough of those.
Savior Breaux Discovered Winds of Change
by Neil S. Kavanagh (excerpt)
NORTHSIDE JOURNAL
The Democrats are in quite a pickle. In typical Breaux fashion, Maryland Johnny cruised in, discovered that he wasn’t popular, and abandoned his home state for a second time.
While it’s true that the Democrats have done a fine job of crippling themselves, Breaux pulled the wheelchair out from under them.
Needless to say, Breaux correctly assessed the poll numbers, saw Jindal’s $5 million dollar campaign war chest, and decided that moving back to his Maryland palace was much easier than moving into the Louisiana Governor’s Mansion. Bye-bye Breaux.
In his wake, he left the Louisiana Democrat party on life support. Now the entire party is searching for a credible candidate while the Republicans quietly wait to see who the sacrificial lamb will be.
Smart political observers say that it will be at least eight years before the Democrats can mount a challenge for control of the state. Term limits will force most of the good old boys out of the legislature and Jindal looks like the frontrunner for Governor.
The winds of Hurricanes Rita and Katrina appear to be winds of change, and while the Democrats stumble in disarray, the Republicans wait for a chance to prove to the nation that Louisiana is not a Banana Republic.
John Breaux may be remembered as Louisiana’s savior after all. By driving a stake in the heart of the good old boy network, he may have given responsible government a chance to take root and blossom.
Peppi Bruneau speeds up resignation
by ED ANDERSON - Times-Picayune (excerpt)
BATON ROUGE -- Rep. Peppi Bruneau, R-New Orleans, unexpectedly ended his legislative career at the close of business Monday, two weeks earlier than scheduled.
Bruneau, 64, submitted his letter of resignation to House Speaker Joe Salter, D-Florien. He had notified Salter on Jan. 19 that he would not serve out his term, which expires in January. At that time, he served notice he would step down at 1 p.m. April 30, an hour after the next legislative session begins.
Bruneau's son Jeb ran for the seat but lost a runoff March 31 to lawyer Nicholas Lorusso. Lorusso will have to face re-election this fall for a full four-year term.
During the primary and runoff elections, Bruneau and his son were hounded by criticism that the longtime House member timed the resignation and subsequent scheduling of the special election to help his son's chances to succeed him, an allegation they denied.
Lorusso said he was unaware of Bruneau's decision to step down immediately. "I am a little bit surprised," he said.
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.
.
Labels: BREAUX, GOVERNOR, LANDRIEU, LOUISIANA, POLITICS
