A tax break for rum produced in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands may trigger a hangover for proponents of Congress' huge bailout bill after the U.S. Senate tacked on tax reductions for the islands' liquor.
In its current form, the estimated cost of the U.S. Caribbean rum tax proposal, which provides payment to Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands for rum imported into the mainland, is US$192 million over 10 years.
Normally, this tax break would be extended with little fanfare, but the Senate screwed the pooch on this one, y'all. Something tells me that we're going to be revisiting this mess under the next Administration come January.
Anyhow, here's the breakdown of the Louisiana delegation in the House vote:
Ayes:
LA-03: Charlie Melancon (D)
LA-04: Jim McCrery (R)
LA-05: Rodney Alexander (R)
LA-07: Charles Boustany (R)
Nays:
LA-01: Steve Scalise (R)
LA-02: Bill Jefferson (D)
LA-06: Don Cazayoux (D)
Steve's in the fight of his life in LA-01; and so is Bill over in LA-02; and Don is facing a tough re-election battle against Bill Cassidy. Still, Don sent out this statement about his vote: (emphasis added)
""Today, I cast my vote against Senate version of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act. This was decidedly one of the toughest votes I have taken during my career in elected office, but I am confident that I cast the right vote. It is my firm belief that giving Wall Street $700 billion in taxpayer money is not the right way to solve the fundamental challenges facing our economy and financial markets. I was hopeful that the new compromise bill would have a smaller pricetag with less taxpayer liability, but it did not."
The folks that qualified yesterday AND Wednesday are in green text, unless they have are a Democrat AND have a website that I can find. If they are Repewblicans, then they have no linky to their site. This is a progressive website, and there is no need to link to those we are trying to defeat. The folks that qualified today are in black. So, without further adieu:
Senator Landrieu is currently on her "Winning for Louisiana." There will be events in Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Shreveport, Monroe, Alexandria, Lake Charles and New Orleans over the weekend. The New Orleans stop will be the final one, and that is being held at the Basin Street Station in New Orleans. You find out about the rest of the stops in the Events Box up in the right corner.
The field you see up there will likely be who is on the ballot come November, as Mr. Stewart is running as an Independent, and will appear on the November ballot. The entrance will likely make things very difficult for the former Democrat turned Republican who now says party labels are irrelevant. I say that because Mr. Fontanesi is a Libertarian and will likely earn votes otherwise intended for the Republican nominee.
LA-01
Jim Harlan, Democrat
M.V. "Vinny" Mendoza, Democrat
Steve Scalise, Republican
James Carter, Democrat Troy "C" Carter, Democrat
William Jefferson, Democrat
Byron L. Lee, Democrat
Helena Moreno, Democrat Cedric Richmond, Democrat
Malik Rahim, Green Party
Kenya J.H. Smith, Democrat
"Jerry" Jacobs, No Party
Anh "Joseph" Cao, Republican
This is likely to remain in Democratic hands, no matter the outcome of the Democratic primary. The real fight here will be on September 6th.
Charlie won his re-election by acclamation. That's more money that can go to Don Cazayoux, Don Cravins, Jr., Jim Harlan, Mary Landrieu, and whomever comes out of the Democratic primaries in LA-02 and LA-04.
John Fleming, Republican
Chris Gorman, Republican
Jeff Thompson, Republican
Chester T. "Catfish" Kelley, No Party
Gerard J. Bowen, Jr., Other
So we'll see one Democrat and one GOPer on the November ballot in the 4th along with Mr. Kelley and Mr. Bowen.
LA-05
Rodney Alexander, Republican
A Republican has stepped forward to take on the traitor ... his name is:
Andrew Clack, Republican
No Democrat emerged to take on the traitor. Oh, well. This race will be decided on September 6th. My guess is that the traitor will win handily, but what do I know about GOP politics?
Michael Jackson, No Party
As far as I am concerned, the Democrats in the State House ought to dump Mr. Jackson. Let him run as an Independent from here on out. Party rules require Democrats to support the Democratic nominee in general elections, and Mr. Jackson is blatantly dissing that rule. Come on EBR Democrats, show Mr. Jackson that you've got a spine!
LA-07
Don Cravins, Jr., Democrat
Charles Boustany, Republican
Peter Vidrine, Other
The folks that qualified yesterday are in green text, unless they have are a Democrat AND have a website that I can find. If they are Repewblicans, then they have no linky to their site. This is a progressive website, and there is no need to link to those we are trying to defeat. The folks that qualified today are in black. So, without further adieu:
Senator Landrieu plans to qualify on Friday morning, after which she will kick off her "Winning for Louisiana" tour with stops in Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Shreveport, Monroe, Alexandria, Lake Charles and New Orleans over the weekend.
John Neely Kennedy kicked off his "Nonsense on a Bus" tour through the state, and will apparently qualify tomorrow.
LA-01
Jim Harlan, Democrat
Steve Scalise, Republican
M.V. "Vinny" Mendoza, Democrat
James Carter, Democrat Troy "C" Carter, Democrat
William Jefferson, Democrat
Byron L. Lee, Democrat
Helena Moreno, Democrat Cedric Richmond, Democrat
Malik Rahim, Green Party
Kenya J.H. Smith, Democrat
"Jerry" Jacobs, No Party
Kenya Smith's filing leaves State Senator Cheryl Gray as the lone Democrat still considering the race. The two Republicans I mentioned yesterday, attorney Joe Lavigne, who finished 4th in the 2006 jungle primary, and Dillard University professor Gary Clark, are still considering it.
So far, no one else has qualified. It'll be interesting to see if any Republicans bother to throw their hat in the ring, considering that Charlie will be seeking his 3rd term this fall, and he won his re-election campaign quite convincingly over former State Senator Craig Romero, 55-40 in 2006.
John Fleming, Republican
Chris Gorman, Republican
Jeff Thompson, Republican
Chester T. "Catfish" Kelley, No Party
Mr. Kelly ran back in '06, and garnered some 2% of the vote as a Republican. My guess is he'll garner about the same as that, or even less than that in a competitive open seat election.
LA-05
Rodney Alexander, Republican
A Republican has stepped forward to take on the traitor ... his name is:
So here's the list of folks who qualified to run for the eight federal offices up for election in Louisiana this year, with a note as to when various folks are planning to qualify:(if there is no link to a website, it's because the candidate is a Republican, or they don't have one)
LA-Sen
None today.
Senator Landrieu plans to qualify on Friday morning, after which she will kick off her "Winning for Louisiana" tour with stops in Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Shreveport, Monroe, Alexandria, Lake Charles and New Orleans over the weekend.
John Neely Kennedy kicked off his "Nonsense on a Bus" tour through the state, and will supposedly qualify at some point during the tour.
I believe these two are the only ones planning on running from either party ... there may be some minor candidates that come out of the woodwork between now and Friday, but this will be main event here in LA-01.
LA-02
James Carter, Democrat Troy "C" Carter, Democrat
William Jefferson, Democrat
Byron L. Lee, Democrat
Helena Moreno, Democrat Cedric Richmond, Democrat
Malik Rahim, Green Party
Apparently, Karen Carter-Peterson is not running. There are still others considering it, including Nagin aide Kenya Smith, State Senator Cheryl Gray, both of whom are Democrats. There are two Republicans considering making the race, attorney Joe Lavigne, who finished 4th in the 2006 jungle primary, and Dillard University professor Gary Clark.
So far, no one else has qualified. It'll be interesting to see if any Republicans bother to throw their hat in the ring, considering that Charlie will be seeking his 3rd term this fall, and he won his re-election campaign quite convincingly over former State Senator Craig Romero, 55-40 in 2006.
John Fleming, Republican
Chris Gorman, Republican
Jeff Thompson, Republican
Mr. Banks and Mr. Milkovich are first-time candidates for this seat, I believe. Dr. Cash ran back in '06, and split the Democratic vote with Patti Cox 17% and 13%, respectively, with little or no Louisiana Democratic Party backing. This time, Mr. Carmouche is considered the heavy front-runner for the Democrats, thanks to his long service as the Caddo Parish District Attorney.
On the Republican side, outgoing Congressman Jim McCrery has been instrumental to Jeff Thompson, going so far to endorse him, and secure the endorsements of House Minority Leader John Boehner of Ohio, Republican Whip Eric Cantor of Virginia, Rep. Dave Camp of Michigan and Rep. Pete Sessions of Texas. Needless to say, the Republicans back home aren't sitting on their hands ... they're challenging McCrery's pick.
LA-05
Rodney Alexander, Republican
So far, no one has stepped forward to take on the traitor. Hopefully, someone will, but it will be an uphill fight, as it is late in the game to start the fundraising.
Don Cravins, Jr., Democrat
Charles Boustany, Republican
Peter Vidrine, Other
Boustany has been an absolute disappointment as a Representative for Southwest Louisiana, refusing to earmark any money for this district, which is struggling to rebuild after Hurricane Rita washed ashore in 2005. Mr. Cravins offers an attractive alternative for voters ... and will give Boustany a run for his money.
Tooling around the internets, or the tubes, this morning, I came across a valuable resource, GovTrack, which tracks all of the happenings and going-ons in the United States Congress. Currently, it is missing the votes and names of Scalise and Cazayoux, along with a picture of Boustany, which I've emailed to the creator and operator of the site. Hopefully, that will be rectified shortly.
I've set up a tracking page for all of the votes in both the House and the Senate, so we can keep track of what our Representatives are doing in our name. You can check it out on the far right near the bottom, where it says GovTrack.us.
I've also set up an Events Calendar on the far right at the top, where folks can add events happening in their area. While this is a Democratic leaning site, I'm cool with linking to the events held by the elected officials of the Republican Party. They are our representatives, too, and need to be held accountable as well. I will likely be tinkering with it a bit, so it may not look the same in the coming days.
UPDATE: You might need to sign up at GovTrack.us to view the entire Louisiana delegation. When I'm not signed in, all I see are our Senators. When I am signed in, I see the entire delegation, save Cazayoux and Scalise.
Mr. Carmouche has been the District Attorney of Caddo Parish forever, having been first elected back in 1978. Even conservative bloggers believe that Mr. Carmouche would walk away with this seat ... regardless of whom he faces in a general election.
The Cook Political Report (subscription required) upgraded Democratic chances to take this seat from Solid Republican to Leans Republican. Their explanation for doing so is this:
To the South, Democratic Caddo Parish District Attorney Paul Carmouche became the highest profile candidate to enter the race to replace retiring Louisiana GOP Rep. Jim McCrery on either side this week. The Shreveport-based district's politics - it has a PVI of R+7 - suggest an uphill climb for any Democrat running in a presidential year, but Democrats are confident that Carmouche's law-and-order profile will win him necessary crossover support. Already, several well-known Republicans have passed on the race, leaving trucking company owner Chris Gorman as the current GOP favorite. Following in the track of AL-02, this race moves to the Lean Republican column.
However, Mr. Carmouche will likely face a Democratic primary, as it seems that both Artis Cash and Patti Cox will run again. Both ran in 2006, and the links bring you to a blog on that race in 2006.
I put Baker and McCrery up there, because they still have some dough left - Baker with some $141,000; and McCrery with nearly $800,000 in the bank. They can only transfer the money to other federal races, or donate it to charity. Something tells me that they will help out other Republican candidates down the line.
Also, Governor PBJ only has $50 in the bank. It seems that he is done with federal offices ... at least those that are in Congress.
UPDATE: A reader emailed me the link to the Shreveport Times write-up on the race. There is another Democratic candidate considering the race ... look below for the green text.
As most of y'all know by now, Congressman McCrery has chosen to retire, rather than continue on in the minority up in Washington, D.C. Amazingly, I cannot find one article in the major local paper up there - The Shreveport Times - about any potential successors planning to run for the seat.
But that's beside the point. Among Democrats, there are three four men rumored to be considering a bid. There are ranked in no particular order.
One is former Shreveport Mayor Keith Hightower. He ended his second term as one of the most popular Mayors Shreveport ever had in 2006. He was also one of the focal points in the getting the old New Orleans Committee reorganized as the Local and Municipal Affairs Committee in the State Legislature. He reminded folks that Shreveport is just as much a part of Louisiana as New Orleans is. If he were to throw his hat in the ring, we just might see a Democrat representing the Sixth again.
Another potential candidate is current PSC Commissioner Foster Campbell. While Foster didn't do as well as I had hoped in the Governor's race, he should do better in a Congressional race that includes his home parish - Bossier. If he jumps in the race, I hope he'll flesh out his platform beyond the oil processing tax on foreign oil companies that send their oil to be refined here in Louisiana.
Another potential candidate is former Caddo Parish Police Juror Jim Crowley. Mr. Crowley has served in the following capacities: former member of Democratic State Central Committee, former member of Caddo Parish Democratic Executive Committee and former Chairman of the Board of Caddo Parish Young Democrats. However, I find it interesting that he ran as an Independent for Secretary of State back in 2006.
And the last potential candidate is Artis Cash, Sr., a longtime activist up in Shreveport. He ran against McCrery in 2006, garnering 17% of the vote. He seems to be a perennial candidate, so I include him here because it is likely he'll run just to make waves.
According to the Washington Post, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is bringing a slightly amended SCHIP bill to the floor of the House today, one week after an overwhelming majority of House Republicans voted nay on overriding our compassionate conservative President's veto.
And yet, all of our Republican Congresscritters - Rep. Charles Boustany, Rep. Richard Baker, Rep. Rodney Alexander, and Rep. Jim McCrery - either voted to hold the President's veto last week, or, in the case of our new Governor-elect, stayed home. Needless to say, both of our Democratic Congressmen - Rep. Jefferson and Rep. Melancon - voted to overturn the President's heartless veto.
Will any of these GOPers realize that they're just shooting themselves in the foot by voting against children and for Mr. 24% on this issue? Personally, I hope not, as I would love to see all of them knocked out of office come November 2008. Call your Congressman ... numbers below:
Rep. Rodney Alexander
DC Office: (202) 225-8490
LA Office: (318) 445-0818
Rep. Richard Baker
DC Office: (202) 225-3901
LA Office: (225) 929-7711
Rep. Charles Boustany
DC Office: (202) 225-2031
LA Office: (337) 235-6322
Rep. "Bobby" Jindal
DC Office: (202) 225-3015
LA Office: (504) 837-1259
Rep. Jim McCrery
DC Office: (202) 225-2777
LA Office: (318) 798-2254
While the 2007 Louisiana Gubernatorial race and 2008 Presidential speculation are probably gaining the bulk of the attention, the 2008 Senate race in Louisiana should be interesting. Mary Landrieu is regarded as the most vulnerable Democrat of the cycle across the country. So, what is the current state of the NRSC and LA-GOP finding an opponent for her?
It's like the LA-GOP and NRSC are standing at a microphone mumbling, "Is this thing on?" While there is still almost 18 months until Election Day 2008, Republican options are slimming awful quickly.
Put yourself into the shoes of someone else will you? Imagine you were in a minority. Imaging the majority HATED YOU. Imaging now those same people that hate you… yell terrible things at you when you walk by them. Imagine the local police seem to turn a blind eye to this, or when you do complain they tell you are just being sensitive and to not worry about it.
Then, picture yourself on a split rail fence in the middle of Wyoming. You barely remember how you got here and you can't bare to try to remember for the pain you are suffering is so great. Your face so bloody that you can barely see your skin, except where the tears washed your face clean in a small line down to your chin.
Hate crimes are more heinous and more violent and do not have only one target - an entire class is effected by these crimes and why we as a country should demand that these crimes are prosecuted at a different level.
UPDATE: A reader emailed me the link to the 
