I know the campaign has been in swing for quite some time now. But I want to take this moment to christen dear old John with a nickname. As I'm sure you've discerned from the title, it's "Wanna Be."
It's pretty self-explanatory ... John Kennedy is one big Wanna Be. First, he bought the website url "www.johnkennedy.com" from a memorabilia dealer that hawked products about the Kennedys (you know, the family from Massachusetts that produced two U.S. Senators and U.S. President) back in 2003 to use as his campaign websites. That's all good and fine, as his name is John Kennedy. What's not good and fine is that he left the original signature for his website up for 5 years. Why is that a big deal? Because when folks searched on Google for John Kennedy for Senate up until the last two months or so, they would find this:
"Wanna Be" wants so badly to be linked to the Kennedy name that he sent out flyers to African American voters in 2004 that stated:
"John Kennedy. . . Not just another election day Democrat! The Kennedy tradition! The Kennedy commitment!"
"Wanna Be" is also a wanna be big shot politician ... always seeking to run for other, more important elective offices rather than serve as a mere State Treasurer. After all, he's run for the following offices over the last 20 years:
Attorney General: 1991, 1995 and considered it in 2007
Governor: 2003, but dropped out to run for re-election as Treasurer
Senate: 2004, as a LIBERAL Democrat
Yep, John "Wanna Be" Kennedy ... coming to a town near you soon!
Wow. I know that John Kennedy thinks he's probably the smartest politician in the state, but I would hope he respects the people of Louisiana enough to tell them the truth. You know, that traditional American value of honesty? Apparently, John doesn't believe in it, as the Kennedy campaign believes they can pull a fast one on the people of Louisiana.
A Kennedy campaign email alleges:
But not everyone agrees. After legislators stalled on an opportunity to bring transparency and accountability to our broken earmark system, our opponent in Washington - who still refuses to disclose her own earmarks - inexplicably applauded its defeat after telling the Monroe News-Star just days earlier that she disagreed "with anyone who is against earmarks."
There's only one BIG problem with that. Senator Landrieu discloses her earmarks at her official website - http://landrieu.senate.gov/appropriations/index.cfm. Hell, she even breaks them down by parish!
I'm guessing the Kennedy campaign has no clue how to work the internets, or the tubes, which is apparently what technologically illiterate Republicans think they are. Actually, they have a website for their campaign, so I guess they might know how to work the tubes.
They just don't think Louisianans know how to navigate the world wide web.
Speaking of their campaign website, I noticed something very interesting ... the basic format is plagiarized from the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee! The screen shots for you to make an informed decision about that below the jump ...
[UPDATE: The $18 million for the barataria Land Bridge Project is NOT an earmark. It's in legislation that Senator Landrieu authored.]
Oh, I love all the material that Republican Senate Candidate John Neely Kennedy is giving us all to work with these days. I received an email from his campaign last night:
On the same weekend The Associated Press (AP) released a comprehensive report on our broken system of earmarks saying there is "no end to what has become ingrained behavior in Congress," State Treasurer John Kennedy's opponent for Senate vehemently defended more of the same in Washington.
In a shocking defense of the status quo, the Monroe News-Star quoted Mary Landrieu saying: "I beg to differ with anyone who is against earmarks."
Huh. I guess Mr. Kennedy doesn't appreciate the most recent earmarks for health care and national defense that Senator Landrieu has recently been able to get for Louisiana:
$300,000 for Community Hospital Telehealth Consortium information technology networks
$350,000 for Point Coupee Better Access Community Health to sustain a community-based clinic and diabetic outreach program
$1,500,000 for Saint Bernard Health Center, Inc. for construction, renovation and equipment
$750,000 for Dillard University, recruitment and training program for nursing assistants and home health aides
$200,000 for Northwestern State University of Louisiana, nursing education program
That's $3.1 million that Senator Landrieu was able to secure for Louisiana. You know what's even more impressive about these earmarks?
I would hope that Mr. Kennedy would recognize the bullshit his team is spinning about earmarks being necessarily bad. In this case, those "terrible and evil earmarks" would help the health care system take better care of Louisianans.
And I'm not even mentioning the stunning hypocrisy of Mr. Kennedy in this attack on Senator Landrieu, as he himself has, on occasion, you know, approved earmarks himself:
As treasurer, Kennedy serves as chairman of the state Bond Commission, which has approved hundreds of millions of dollars in recent years for groups that otherwise appear as earmarks in Louisiana's budget bills. Between 2004 and 2007, the Bond Commission approved $225,000 for the Louisiana Yambilee Building, $2.6 million for the Shreveport Little Theatre, $77.9 million for the Audubon Institute and $12.9 million for the Acadiana Arts Council.
Can you PUH-LEEEEZE stop with the hypocrisy, Mr. Kennedy? Pretty please?
So, there is official confirmation that rare coins dealer and long-time Republican Paul Hollis is indeed running for the US Senate. How do I know? His website, for one. And, with a hat tip to The Reduct Box, Hollis plans to officially announce on Monday, May 12th.
Also, Louisiana Victory 2008, the coordinated Democratic campaign for Louisiana, has come out with a great website parodying John Kennedy ... Kennedy For Whatever.
In addition, expect the calls for Vitter to resign to come up yet again, as yet another New York elected official, this time Republican Congressman Vito Fossella is likely going to resign for being arrested for DWI, and apparently having a child from an affair.
I have received two emails today - one from Senator Mary Landrieu and one from John N. Kennedy. Both remineded me to donate today, as it is the last day of the 1st Quarter for fundraising purposes.
I notice, however, that Mr. Kennedy, is setting the his goal so low ... at a mere thirty thousand, whereas Senator Landrieu is shooting for a nifty fifty thousand. So, if you've got some spare change sitting around in the couch, or are willing to give up for your cup of joe for the next week, go donate to Mary.
In last week's U.S. News and World Report, National Republican Senate Committee Chairman Sen. John Ensign (R-NV), promised a "bloodbath" here in Louisiana. Here's why:
Senator Landrieu has won two very, very close elections (1996 and 2002).
Republicans believe that the Democratic base in this state has shrunk considerably since Hurricane Katrina.
Ensign wants a bloodbath? Then let's give him one. Contribute to Mary by clicking on the link to the right, or by going to the little Louisiana Blue Krewe box on the left side of the blog.
I am currently unsure if our current State Treasurer, and wanna-be Senator, John Kennedy even has a campaign manager. If it is the case that he does not, it seems that he has finally hired his campaign manager for this race - one Mandy Fletcher.
Ms. Fletcher recently worked as the Florida campaign manager for failed Presidential wanna-be Mitt Romney. Her resume also includes working for the Bush family - she was the exeecutive director of the Foundation for Florida's Future, which was former Florida Governor Jeb Bush's issue advocacy campaign; she worked for the Bush-Cheney '04 campaign as a political director; and she was a field coordinator for the Bush-Brogan '02 gubernatorial re-elect campaign in Florida.
I just have one question for our State Treasurer: Couldn't you find someone with more ties to Louisiana:
"The only two people I know in Louisiana is a guy from high school who works for the Saints and Alan Levine," said Fletcher, referring to the Florida's former AHCA Secretary who just took a similar job in Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal's administration.
Yesterday afternoon, in an email to supporters, State Treasurer John Kennedy announced his intentions to stand for re-election as State Treasurer this fall.
This is somewhat significant, as there was talk about Mr. Kennedy running for AG, as lots of folks are pissed at the current AG, Charles Foti, to the point that he has 2 challengers, including one from his own party, Buddy Caldwell, in addition to the ethically impugned Royal Alexander.
Now, however, (as long as he remains a Democrat), Mr. Kennedy will have a smooth ride to re-election this fall, possibly freeing him up to start campaigning for what many Republicans are hoping and praying he will - a run at Senator Mary Landrieu next fall, as a Republican.
Only time will tell. You can read the text of the email he sent out yesterday below.
(I too believe the TIF program is overexploited by private corporations. My diary on one developer's attempt to utilize the TIF program to the benefit of his private corporation contributed to its eventual derailment. - promoted by pointecoupeedemocrat)
Since when do taxpayers have to help pay the costs of privately owned investments? For over 4 hours on Thursday, July 26, I sat through a Louisiana State Bond Commission meeting in Senate Room A in Baton Rouge. Covington Mayor Candice Watkins and Mandeville Mayor Eddie Price defended the interests of their communities as did many local residents and myself, as candidate for the U.S. House, District 1.
Nor Du Lac is a privately owned development planned for the intersection of I-12 and Highway 21 near Covington. The developers had applied to fund infrastructure of their retail shopping complex with Tax Increment Financing bonds (TIF). TIF bonds use tax revenue from sales tax or property tax to develop blighted, depressed areas. This would have required a ¾ cent additional local sales tax plus 1-cent out of the state's 4-cent state sales tax netting the developers $24 million to pay for infrastructure.
Louisiana: According to Bob "Count Chocula" Novak, the Republicans may have their challenger to Senator Mary Landrieu:
John N. Kennedy, Louisiana's conservative Democratic state treasurer, is expected to change parties and run against Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu as a Republican at the urging of White House aide Karl Rove, despite harassment from the Democratic-controlled state legislature.
So Treasurer Kennedy shall forever be tagged as "Karl Rove's boy." Last November, Bush's disapproval in Louisiana was already over 50%. I wonder what it is now. I wonder what Karl Rove's is?! I hope Rove comes to Louisiana frequently and fundraises for Treasurer Kennedy - it should be as effective as Joe Lieberman fundraising for Susan Collins.
So what's Treasurer Kennedy's reputation? What's your gut reaction on the challenge Kennedy could offer Landrieu? Any possibility that there could be a Republican Senate primary battle between Treasurer Kennedy and either (or both) Secretary of State Jay Dardenne and/or Rep. Richard Baker?
I know the campaign has been in swing for quite some time now. But I want to take this moment to christen dear old John with a nickname. As I'm sure you've discerned from the title, it's "Wanna Be."
