There he goes again! John "Wanna Be" Kennedy sends out an email to his supporters blasting Senator Mary Landrieu for not agreeing to debate yet. Here's the pertinent language:
Over one month ago, John Kennedy called on Mary Landrieu to debate, because he believes Louisianans deserve ample opportunities to hear directly from the candidates. On Wednesday, John even sent Mary Landrieu a formal letter reiterating his call for campaign debates.
... she's now trying to duck debates until October!
Oh, Wanna Be ... Your confusion is confounding. Because the Louisiana Municipal Association had a major conference in Lafayette that started on Thursday and ends today. And they invited you and Senator Landrieu to discuss the issues at a forum before their members. Senator Landrieu accepted. YOU, John "Wanna Be" Kennedy, DID NOT, instead choosing to campaign at the Hot Air Balloon Festival in Baton Rouge.
I guess because the TV cameras weren't going to be in Lafayette, it's not a debate. So enjoy your time at the Hot Air Ballon Festival ... because that's just what your campaign is, Wanna Be. A whole lotta hot air about nothing.
Note: Originally I'd planned on posting this Friday, but the library was closed due to bad weather. But it's still current...
Below the fold is how Politico screwed Katrina/Rita/flood survivors in Louisiana and Mississippi, and their supporters, out of having a question relevant to their plight asked during last Wednesday's and Thursday's debates.
On Saturday, Jan. 26, on Daily Kos, I diaried a way, per colorofchange.org, to vote on Politico for the following debate question:
Two years after Katrina and Rita and Gulf Coast schools, hospitals, police stations, roads and flood protection still lie in ruins, keeping displaced residents from returning and communities from recovering. Will you support H.R. 4048, the Gulf Coast Civic Works Act, as President to rebuild community infrastructure and create job and training opportunities for residents?
As anybody who regularly watches candidates' debates knows, questions about Katrina and New Orleans have been extremely rare, even though this is a valid national campaign issue. Here's a chance to vote for such a question to be asked during either of the two debates, one Republican, one Democratic, which are slated for Los Angeles on Jan. 30th and Jan. 31st, and will be aired on CNN.
Times Picayune columnist Chris Rose recently has an interesting idea. He tells in this column how he attempted to book a lot of Oxford, Mississippi's 650 hotel rooms for the night of the presidential debate to be held there. And found that they'd already been booked. So here's another idea:
John Edwards' remark Monday night about having opened his campaign in the Lower 9th and saying he thought Americans were surprised at how much devastation still remains in New Orleans came just in time. Because after having heard nothing on the topic from him for several weeks, I'd been wondering if he'd fallen silent on the issue. However, he needs not only to say more, but also to assume leadership on New Orleans and Katrina. Unfortunately, Edwards' website's issues page just like Barack Obama's and Hillary Clinton's, makes no mention of New Orleans or Katrina above the fold. So even Edwards is falling very short of being the sort of candidate New Orleans and the rest of the Gulf Region need.
