Welcome to Shit Show 2016

Your host will deliver a video greeting this evening. He will plead for patience and cooperation during difficult times and all that stuff.

Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards will give a televised update on the state budget on major television networks across the state Thursday night.

According to the governor’s office, the address will be aired statewide at 6:30 pm on all major network television and radio stations, as well as Louisiana Public Broadcasting. It’s expected to last about 10-12 minutes, according to the governor.

“The challenges facing Louisiana are so severe, and the risk of doing nothing is so big, that it is important for me to outline these problems directly to the people,” Edwards said in a statement. “I promised to be open and transparent with the people of Louisiana and give them the facts, and that’s what I intend to do. There are some real consequences if we do not work together to solve the state’s financial problems and I want to personally communicate them to the citizens of our state.”

Unfortunately the guests have already signaled they are in no mood for any of that.

The Louisiana GOP is demanding equal time to respond to Gov. John Bel Edwards' planned televised address on Thursday (Feb. 11).

Reublicans made the demand in a letter to Louisiana Public Broadcasting and to television stations statewide on Wednesday, saying they deserved time to provide a counterpoint to Edwards plan to raise taxes to close the state's $870 million deficit. In the letter, the party accuses Edwards of proposing "historic" tax increases without doing enough to cut spending.

Just to translate that for a second that's the Republicans saying they don't think the Governor is planning to cut our already badly gutted  higher education and health care systems enough this year. They get to do this because they know that whatever cuts happen under this administration will be owned politicaly by the governor no matter what they say.  Everybody knows it's going to be bad either way. Why not maximize the political damage to Edwards in the meantime?  Sure beats doing anything to help.

Just to give you a sense of how cynical this "response" is, by the way...

Louisiana GOP spokesman Jason Dore said Republicans likely will have state Treasurer John Kennedy give the response. His speech will be provided to any stations that agree to air.

We see your desperate call for responsible governance and raise you one Kennedy For Senate commercial.  Welcome to the shit show that is the 2016 legislature.