Fire and loss prevention department

 Oh no, Billy!

Lt. Gov. Billy Nungesser's Plaquemines Parish home was burglarized Thursday, according to the Plaquemines Parish Sheriff's Office.

The criminals took sports memorabilia and rare coins, WDSU reported. Nungesser said he was in the process of moving during the break-in

The Highway 23 home, located in Point Celeste, was also damaged by a small kitchen fire that occurred during the burglary, according to the Sheriff's Office. 

"We're still investigating, but at this time, it's believed that the fire was unintentional," said Lt. Chaun Domingue, spokesman for the Sheriff's Office.

That sounds bad. I feel bad for Billy. I hope they didn't get his socks. But because of certain circumstances and Billy's status as a person of some prominence, we do have to ask if there's something beyond just simple burglary going on here. We do know, for example, that this wouldn't be the first time something strange happened to collectibles under Billy's supervision. In 2017, he was involved in "some pretty strange crap" along those lines. 

Lt. Gov. Billy Nungesser has been using a Lower Pontalba Building apartment and space in other state museum buildings in the French Quarter for his personal benefit and has engaged in a pattern of political interference with the agency's operations, the Louisiana State Museum's interim director said Monday while resigning in protest.

Nungesser’s interference includes attempting to override museum officials and board members who objected to plans to loan U.S. Sen. John Kennedy artworks for his office in Washington, D.C., and threatening to sell museum works of art on eBay to raise funds, said Tim Chester, a museum consultant who took the interim position in October.

“I have never encountered anything like this in the 40 years I’ve worked in the field, ever,” Chester said. “I’ve seen some pretty strange crap come down in museums, but this one takes the cake.”

We also know that, intentional or otherwise, this would not be the first time a Louisiana politician or political operative suddenly found their home and/or car to have been set on fire. Let's look at a few relatively recent examples. 

In 2009, a political gadfly/consultant type named Brian Welsh was involved in a stunt of a campaign promoting Stormy Daniels as a challenger to then Republican Senator David Vitter. Then his car burned up.  Welsh went on the news to air his suspicions that Vitter's henchmen had it out for him.  A lot of people were skeptical of this. (I was skeptical.) The fire department was also skeptical. 

“It was a fire. The car didn’t explode,” said Public Information Officer Jonathan Pajeaud. An arson investigation is underway and foul play hasn’t been ruled out. But, Pajeaud said, Welsh told firefighters he’d recently gotten electrical work done on his 1996 Audi, and investigators are also looking into that as a possible cause.

Welsh told a local TV news station that police told him they’d never seen anything like it.

But, Pajeaud said, “Car fires here are very common.”

He added that investigators, on average, have a preliminary report in about two weeks. Pajeaud said that, for now, the investigation is being handled solely by the fire department and not by police. The police department has not responded to our questions.

Welsh persisted, however, posting surveillance videos that appear to show someone tampering with his car just before the fire happened. Still, nothing ever came of the investigation.  "Car fires here are very common," after all.

In 2014, Mario Zervignon was consulting for a Public Service Commission campaign challenging Eric Skrmetta when this happened.  

An apparent firebombing ignited a pair of early morning blazes Thursday in Uptown New Orleans, incinerating three vehicles and scorching a house in a startling scene that resembled a war zone. Federal law enforcement officials said they were investigating whether Mario Zervigon, a well-known political fundraiser, had been specifically targeted in the attack.

Flames engulfed Zervigon’s vehicles and quickly spread to his home at the corner of Prytania and Constantinople streets. Eight people escaped the home’s three apartments uninjured, but three cats were believed to have perished in the fire, said Katy Patterson, Zervigon’s wife, who made it out safely with Zervigon and the couple’s two young children.

If the Zervignon case was ever solved, I don't remember seeing it. Maybe someone can clear that up. Casual googling doesn't get me very far today.  The usual pattern with these things is they happen, they look suspicious, we talk about them in the news, and then everyone forgets about them until the next one happens.  Every now and then they solve one, though. In fact, that 2014 story also references a prior incident from 1997 that resulted in a guilty plea.  

Firebombings, while exceedingly rare, are not unprecedented in New Orleans. Thursday’s incident recalled a series of intentional fires beginning in 1997 that targeted Stuart Smith, a vocal opponent of loud music in the French Quarter. Bar owner George Mellen Jr. pleaded guilty in 1999 to hiring an arsonist to toss Molotov cocktails at Smith’s home and vehicle on several occasions.

Here is more detail on that one in case anyone is interested.  There are a lot of old favs in this story.  None of them (including Stuart Smith, even though he was the victim of the attack) comes off looking particularly good.

Smith, a lifelong New Orleans resident who moved to the French Quarter in 1997, blamed the decline on the city's refusal to enforce noise and zoning ordinances.

But city officials said their hands are tied.

"Every time we come up with a resolution, we're sued by one side or another," said Councilman Troy Carter.

Mayor Marc Morial, who had all performers cleared out of Jackson Square when he was married there, has been otherwise reluctant to get involved. "A lot of what the complaining is about really has to do with the comeback of the entire city," Morial said. "The Quarter is not a suburban neighborhood."

The stance by Smith and his allies has at times drawn an aggressive response.

When Smith tried to stop the city from issuing a music license to an outdoor bar around the corner from his 5,000-square-foot home, Molotov cocktails scorched his Mercedes-Benz and rained down on his roof and into his courtyard. His home was not badly damaged.

The bar's owner, George Mellen Jr., and an associate, Richard Jones, pleaded guilty to conspiring to plant firebombs.

Unlike Mellen and Jones, the New Orleans Police officers who murdered Henry Glover and burned his body in a car after Hurricane Katrina did not plead guilty. Their convictions were overturned and they were eventually set free.

In 2015 a vehicle was set on fire near the site of a Planned Parenthood facility under construction.  It was investigated as a suspected arson.  Not sure if anything came of that either. 

Then, in 2016, this happened. 

A Lamborghini found burned to the ground Tuesday belonged to the owner of a Baton Rouge company that last week pulled out of a New Orleans contract to remove Confederate monuments after he had received death threats.

David Mahler’s Lamborghini, worth in excess of $200,000, was parked in the H&O Investments parking lot at 17425 Opportunity Ave., in Baton Rouge when flames were spotted from the air, said Roy Maughan Jr., Mahler’s attorney.

Immediately, we were told, we'd never really know what happened. 

It’s likely investigators will never know how the fire started, though, as the evidence was destroyed in the fire, Tarleton said. He said the department has not ruled anything out.

All that was left of the car was the seat frames, the tires and a heap of melted debris.

Accidental car fires are not unusual, often caused by mechanical issues, he said.

These things just happen all the time. It's pretty amazing when you think about it.  At least we won't go bored puzzling over the stream of unsolvable enigmas we're presented. 

Did anyone ever figure this one out, by the way?

NEW ORLEANS — Someone set two vehicles on fire in a Lakeview neighborhood last week in an explosive moment caught on camera. 

The man fires what appears to be a flare at one of the cars, soaked in gasoline, blowing it and another nearby vehicle up.

According to neighbors, it happened around 2:15 a.m. on July 29. 

That's a strange story, right?  Because of the long history of these, I thought it worth noting at the time that it was really close to qualifying week for the 2019 state legislative and executive elections. But nothing else surfaced in the news to connect back to it.  It did have me looking sideways at some of the fishy goings on in the state house races. But there's no evidence any of it is related. Anyway, it's likely we'll never know. 

Happy Anniversary!

Hey look, Waste Management's civil RICO suit against Fred Heebe and Jim Ward is turning 10 years old.

Both sides have lined up high-powered attorneys – Waste Management is represented by a group of lawyers from Phelps Dunbar, a white-shoe New Orleans law firm, as well as the Washington firm Baker Botts, while Heebe and Ward’s legal team includes, among others, Kyle Schonekas and Billy Gibbens, the lawyers that blew up the federal investigation and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in 2013.

Given that legal horsepower, it’s perhaps not surprising that the litigation is about to celebrate its 10-year anniversary. There are more than 600 items in the online court docket, including dozens of complex motions, and the plaintiffs want to introduce more than 400 exhibits, a move Heebe and Ward are opposing.

Do you think all those big money lawyers are "celebrating" this cash cow? I think they are celebrating.  Ray Nagin, whose bribery conviction, obviously, figures into this case, once said he decided to go into politics because it was, "the dominant industry." And now everyone involved in this case has a decade's worth of stimulus checks to prove it. 

But that isn't the only interesting principle of politics this group of "high-powered attorneys" has proven in the course of their work.  They've also demonstrated that amassing great fortune and influence through corrupt political dealings and environmental endangerment, is nowhere near as serious a crime as commenting on websites. 

Heebe, meanwhile, was represented by some of the city’s most aggressive defense lawyers, who pushed back as federal investigators dug into how he secured a near-monopoly on the local landfill business. They didn’t wait for the feds to strike. Instead, they went on offense, revealing that two top prosecutors had routinely posted comments — using aliases — on news stories about cases the U.S. Attorney’s Office was handling.

The scandal turned the office upside down, ending the long reign of popular U.S. Attorney Jim Letten. More remarkably, it won Heebe and his stepfather, Jim Ward, his partner in the River Birch landfill in Waggaman, the equivalent of a pre-emptive pardon. The Department of Justice, which rarely even confirms the existence of investigations, announced that its probe of Heebe and Ward was over, and that neither would be charged.

This astonishing precedent was further cemented when we learned that commenting on websites is, in fact, so egregious an offense as to outweigh actual murders committed by police.  

“Legacyusa” turned out to be one of the top federal prosecutors in New Orleans. His post was just one of many anonymous barbs that led a federal judge Tuesday to throw out the convictions of those ex-cops in the Danziger Bridge shootings, which left two people dead and four seriously wounded.

In a 129-page ruling, District Judge Kurt D. Engelhardt cited long list of “egregious and inflammatory” comments by at least three Justice Department officials using a variety of online identities. Those comments fueled a “21st century carnival atmosphere” that tainted the 2011 trial and will require a new one, Engelhardt wrote.

Engelhardt actually threw out the River Birch case at one point too, even though that ruling didn't stick.  Wonder how that happened. 

Engelhardt had connections to other players in the case. When Heebe and Ward pushed to unmask the pseudonymous commenters in the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Engelhardt joined the crusade, eventually directing the Department of Justice to appoint a special prosecutor to probe the commenting scandal.

Engelhardt owed his appointment to the federal bench to then-U.S. Sen. David Vitter; he had served as Vitter’s campaign treasurer. Vitter was also an ally of Heebe and Ward. He was among the politicians who questioned decisions by the state DEQ to hastily open landfills around the region, moves that also drew scorn from environmentalists.

The "dominant industry" works in fascinating ways, doesn't it.  I mean.. look what happened even during the time it took me to type this up. 

This time, there was no 11th-hour surprise. But once again, Fred Heebe and Jim Ward, owners of the River Birch landfill in Waggaman, found a way to dodge a public accounting of what their detractors have long portrayed as an improper influence campaign meant to keep potential rivals at bay -- and as much local garbage going into their dump as possible.

On the eve of trial of a civil racketeering lawsuit that was filed a decade ago, the two men settled with their accuser, Waste Management, one of the largest garbage companies in North America. Terms of the settlement, noted in the case's lengthy docket on Friday by U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier, were not disclosed. The case was set for trial Monday.

Well, happy anniversary, in any case. To quote Nagin once more, thanks for "keeping the brand out there."

I wonder what the term is

It's hard to imagine a descriptor for something an attorney can become that is worse than what they already are. (Bam! Lawyer joke! Nailed it!)

There is an old saying among attorneys about what one of their number turns into on becoming a federal judge.

The unflattering term they employ cannot be quoted here.

But whether it will apply to Wendy Vitter will not be the focus of their attention when, as seems highly likely, she joins the bench in New Orleans. In her case, the question must be not how she will treat counsel appearing before her, but whether she will have any idea what she is doing.

Judge Wendy Vitter

Bill Cassidy continues to deliver the goods for his key constituents. 

Cassidy has taken the lead on the nomination, under an agreement between Cassidy and U.S. Sen. John Kennedy, also a Republican.

Her nomination could generate controversy given the potential appearance that Cassidy is returning a political favor. David Vitter played a decisive role in helping Cassidy win election to the Senate three years ago. 

Vitter served two terms in the Senate before losing the 2015 governor’s race and then announcing he would not seek a third term in 2016. He is now a lawyer and lobbyist.

Hard headed attorneys

Believe it or not the legislature has a better than even chance to accomplish something significant this session. A package of modest criminal justice reforms could, according to the task force recommending them, reduce the state's prison population by 13 percent and save about $300 million in the process. Louisiana is frequently cited by human rights organizations for its first in the nation incarceration rate.

Unlike the governor's surely doomed tax reforms, much of this stuff can probably pass. Some of it, in fact, probably has to. Here, for example, is the context behind Dan Claitor's bill to curb life sentences without parole for juveniles which just made it out of committee this week.

The legislation is largely motivated because the state is in violation of two U.S. Supreme Court decisions.

One court ruling, Miller v. Alabama found that life without the possibility of parole for juveniles was considered cruel and unusual punishment and could only be used for the rare, incorrigible cases of juvenile convictions. A subsequent decision Montgomery v. Louisiana found that the prohibition on life sentences for juveniles should be applied retroactively. 

Another reason for optimism, the broad support for reform from conservative groups and individuals who, in the past, one would assume to hold a lock-em-all-up position. Here they all are at a recent breakfast hosted by the Kochs' organization.  The Advocate report on that event also links to a part of the recent Reilly survey of Louisiana residents itself titled. "Large Majority Favors Criminal Justice Reform."  So there's significant momentum.   The only remaining obstacle... the Louisiana District Attorneys.  We mentioned this the other day, but don't take it from us. The Kochs' people are also bewildered.

Law enforcement generally start off opposing such efforts in other states, said Mark Holden, the general counsel for Koch Industries Inc. and the featured speaker at the event. But he expressed surprise that Louisiana’s district attorneys are uniformly opposed to the revamp.

“Deep red states like Texas and South Carolina and Georgia passed it and found that it works for them,” Holden said in an interview. “You’d think that they would find comfort in the experiences in those states.”

The two brothers that head Koch Industries contribute liberally to conservative causes and have pushed criminal justice reform as a way to lower crime as well as save money for cash-strapped state governments.

When you find yourself positioned to the right of a majority of Louisiana voters, the Kochs as well as David Vitter and Tony Perkins who were also in the room that morning, maybe it's time to rethink things.

Direct action Billy

So the city is having trouble finding a contractor. And there are a couple of (very long shot) bills in the legislature aimed at stopping their removal. But even with all that the time may come very soon   for Billy Nungesser to throw his (not unsubstantial) body in the path of the machine.  

Lt. Gov. Billy Nungesser is worried that three bills aimed at keeping New Orleans' Confederate monuments in place could die a quick death once the Louisiana Legislature opens on Monday (April 10), he told WVUE Fox 8. So Nungesser says he's asking President Donald Trump for some help outside the Capitol, and is also consulting with lawyers from the Louisiana Attorney General's office, the TV station reported.

"Some of the lawyers for the state are looking at it to see if the lieutenant governor's office has any grounds. I know a lot of people are hanging their hat on the legislation in Baton Rouge," Nungesser told Fox 8. "My concerns are the committees that those bills are being put in are not favorable committees for those bills to get out of committee and we need to be honest about that."

Well, okay, but while the "lawyers are looking at it," somebody is gonna have to stall for time. Expect Billy at Lee Circle any minute to climb up and chain himself to the monument just like one of those #WildIsFree protesters.  Or maybe Billy can't quite manage that. In which case we have a showdown to look forward to.

The bulldozers and cranes have arrived. Lt. Gov Billy Nungesser stands between them and the monuments. The moment is tense, almost exactly like Tank Man at Tienanmen Square. Billy nervously wipes the sweat from his brow.. and the rest of his face from which he is basically always sweating... and produces a single can of Pepsi. The contractors turn and go home. The Confederacy is saved.

Probably next month sometime. Watch for that.

Update: Whoa! Hey! Now I think we know why Billy is hiding behind the ol Generals. 

Lt. Gov. Billy Nungesser has been using a Lower Pontalba Building apartment and space in other state museum buildings in the French Quarter for his personal benefit and has engaged in a pattern of political interference with the agency's operations, the Louisiana State Museum's interim director said Monday while resigning in protest.

Nungesser’s interference includes attempting to override museum officials and board members who objected to plans to loan U.S. Sen. John Kennedy artworks for his office in Washington, D.C., and threatening to sell museum works of art on eBay to raise funds, said Tim Chester, a museum consultant who took the interim position in October.

“I have never encountered anything like this in the 40 years I’ve worked in the field, ever,” Chester said. “I’ve seen some pretty strange crap come down in museums, but this one takes the cake.”

We didn't get a chance to talk about that thing where Kennedy wanted to take state owned artworks to Washington with him.  It's pretty funny given his previously expressed feelings about public art. But that's not the important matter at hand right now. What is is the "strange crap" that seems to follow Billy Nungesser wherever we find him. Billy is probably the stupidest corrupt person in the entire state of Louisiana.. and, yeah, that is certainly saying something.

But let's do a quick review here. The charges levied by Chester aren't actually all new. We hadn't seen the stuff about the Pontalba apartments and the disputes over use of museum facilities.  But we had previously noticed the threat to sell parts of the collection on ebay. 

Prior to that, there was the time Nungesser's communications director resigned saying his office "was not a comfortable environment." That was probably related to the bizarre event where Nungesser fell for a phishing scam involving the Iraqi oil minister and a shipyard and a guy selling medical equipment by mail order or something... anyway. It was some "pretty strange crap."

And that's only what's happened since he's been in the Lt. Governor's office. Before then, there was lots of worse stuff. Consider Billy's cynical efforts to "save" Plaquemines Parish by.. selling it off to oil and chemical companies.  (See also here) There's also, of course, the matter of Nungesser's name showing up on the clients' list at the Canal Street brothel that David Vitter once helped to make famous. The "strange crap" associated with those stories eventually put Vitter's career to an end.  Nungesser's is still alive, though. Life is funny that way.

Everything's coming up Vitty

Even if Wendy doesn't end up with this job, David Vitter really like had the last laugh this year 

Though her husband will no longer be in the Senate next year, Vitter could still be in a strong position politically.

Both U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy and Republican senatorial candidate John Kennedy, who is in the Dec. 10 runoff to replace David Vitter, are allies of the outgoing senator. Both received significant organizational and political support from Vitter in the past two years in their Senate bids.

Tuesday Night Debateball

(Some of) Your 2016 Louisiana U.S. Senate Candidates take the field tonight in Ruston. The debate is carried by LPB and you can (probably) stream it here. I suppose this means we should note a few recent developments in the race this week to get ourselves hyped up.

First of all, there is this JMC poll out. More than anything else, it appears to show a little Campbellmentum.



There are people (real people... seriously reputable people.. not just me) out there who have been speculating for months about the possibility of sneaking two Democrats into the runoff somehow. Theoretically, this still might might be ever so slightly mathematically possible if we assume enough of that 16% undecided vote are Democrats.  It's hard to know just what the electorate will look like in this crazy year. But we do have this tantalizing take on the scenario via this week's Gambit cover story.

That outcome would be a nightmare for the GOP, and the chances of that nightmare becoming a reality increase as front-running Republicans play it safe on the issues in order to protect their respective bases around the state. For example, all are pro-life, pro-gun, pro-oil, anti-Obama, anti-Hillary Clinton, anti-union and, of course, pro-Trump — though some may be less enthusiastic in their support of the GOP presidential nominee after his latest pronouncements.

  The same could be said of the leading Democrats, except there are only two of them to divide the 40-42 percent of the electorate that reliably votes "D" in national elections. On the Republican side, at least four major candidates — plus at least two more with 5-8 percent of the vote on average — will be competing for the other 58-60 percent of the vote. Add to that another 5 to 8 percent gobbled up by the 15 or more also-rans and it's easy to see how "jungle" is an apt political metaphor in Louisiana this year.

One thing else to consider here is this particular national election could skew the electorate slightly more Dem than usual given waning enthusiasm for Trump among "moderate" (I know, I know, just go with it) Republicans combined with the much stronger and more professional "ground game" operation on behalf of Hillary and the general understanding... even among Trumpistas... that the election is pretty much over at this point.   Given all of that, it is conceivable that the Democrats get a significant edge in turnout. Consider also that the Republicans who do turn out are likely to be  Trump true believers who split more of their vote somewhere along the Duke-Flemming-Maness end of the field and you can still sort of see that Double D runoff happening.

Of course it's a long shot.  For what it's worth, JMC's own analysts  don't think it's worth mentioning in their narrative.  According to them, the demographic trends don't look favorable for Fayard.

Four candidates now have a viable path to the December runoff. Democrat Foster Campbell essentially has clinched one of the runoff spots, while Republicans John Fleming, John Kennedy, and Charles Boustany are competing for the second runoff spot.

Foster Campbell is essentially a lock for the runoff because his lead among black voters has expanded from 33-24% to 48-18% over Fayard; if undecided “leaners” are included, his lead among this demographic expands to 52-18%

Meanwhile, as for the Republican front-runners, there's a bit of news about them this week as well.  Hillariously, NOLA.com/The Times-Picayune endorsed Boustany. Their editorial board writes that Boustany  is "poised to play a significant role in reforming the Affordable Care Act."  Actually he wants to repeal it and has boasted of the 60 times he voted to do just that. They also praise his work to "stop China from unfairly subsidizing shrimp to undercut U.S. producers."  But they don't mention his work to help his friends in the Louisiana seafood processing industry to "compete" with imports via the use of virtual slave labor.  But oh well.  Of course, we all remember last year when the T-P endorsed David Vitter for Governor. Maybe they just like candidates who prefer a certain kind of lifestyle.

Speaking of David Vitter, today's Stephanie Grace column is about the similarities in style and strategy between last year's failed Vitter campaign and this year's John Kennedy operation. 

But with Kennedy facing tough competition from fellow Republicans Charles Boustany and John Fleming for a spot in the December runoff, he's clearly hoping the plan that helped Vitter ward off GOP rivals Jay Dardenne and Scott Angelle will work for him as well.

The strategy that Vitter's affiliated Super PAC used, its executive director Joel DiGrado explained at a post-gubernatorial election discussion at LSU’s Manship School of Mass Communication, was to make sure that neither of the other Republicans emerged as the single alternative in voters' minds. So when one seemed to be rising in the polls, the group would target that person for attack.

“Every week, we had to reassess who we’re beating up,” said DiGrado, who likened the exercise to playing “whack-a-mole on a balance beam.”

Kennedy also has an affiliated Super PAC, called ESAFund, It's ostensibly independent even though most of its money came from Kennedy's state campaign fund, and it just so happens to be run by Vitter's former campaign manager, Kyle Ruckert. And it too is running harsh attacks against fellow Republicans, with an obvious eye toward keeping either of Kennedy's main GOP rivals from edging him out or joining him in an all-GOP runoff, when he'd clearly prefer to face a Democrat.

This, of course, is the part of the plan that worked for Vitter. His Super PAC's brutal attacks against Dardenne and Angelle may have kept either from catching up to him at the polls.

But being a big aggressive asshole to Dardenne and Angelle came back to haunt Vitter in the runoff when both of those guys were all too eager to hit back at him. Even at the height of his power, it was pretty much a given that Everybody Hated David Vitter. But they were also afraid of him. That worked for a long time. Until it didn't.  Everybody may hate John Kennedy too before this is over but I don't think anybody is all that scared of him.

Anyway, happy debating, kids.

Update: Sorry. I missed this little intrigue today between fringe Trumpista Rob Maness and The Man Who Would Be King Of All Fringe Trumpistas John Flemming. 

Louisiana Senate candidate Rob Maness said Tuesday he was asked to drop out of the race and throw his support to GOP opponent John Fleming in return for significant funding in a future race.

Maness told The Advocate that he met Paul Dickson over coffee at Abita Roasting Company in Madisonville on Monday afternoon. There, Dickson, who identified himself as the person “running the John Fleming PAC” and a decision maker with the Louisiana Committee for a Republican Majority, offered support to Maness’ future political endeavors, he said.

“He told me that he would provide opportunities for my future, if I left the race for Senate and endorsed John Fleming. But, if I didn't do it before (Tuesday night’s statewide televised) debate, I'd be finished as a politician,” Maness said. “Although I'm not naive, the unethical threats and power play by the thugs behind the John Fleming campaign against me was shocking even by Louisiana standards.”

It's certainly a believable story. But then again, Maness is kind of a nut so who knows? Also, isn't there usually a private investigator filming surreptitiously whenever these little coffee shop meetings happen?  Maybe a tape will turn up.

Vitter's shadow

Some of the more compelling sport to be had during last year's governor's race was watching how many Republicans were willing to be seen at David Vitter campaign events. The supposition at the time was that a Governor Vitter would be in position back one of them as the successor to the Senate seat he would vacate. Turns out Vitter is leaving anyway. But not exactly by the way he had hoped. 

At the time, though, the Senatorial aspirant most conspicuously present at Vitter events was usually Charles Boustany. 

In the book, Murder in the Bayou — which will be released by Simon & Schuster’s Scribner imprint next week — investigative journalist Ethan Brown cites three anonymous sources claiming Republican Rep. Charles Boustany was a “client” of some of the murdered sex workers known as the “Jeff Davis 8.” The book also reveals that the motel where some of the victims did their sex work was run by Martin Guillory, a field representative for Boustany who goes by the nickname “Big G.”

Boustany, who is now running for U.S. Senate in Louisiana, denied the allegations to the author through a spokesman. Guillory, who ran the Boudreaux Inn from the late 1990s through the end of 2004, told the author he’d met “one or two” of the sex workers, as well as Frankie Richard, their pimp. But Guillory said he was unaware of any criminal activity taking place at the motel.

Between 2005 and 2009, the bodies of eight women were discovered in the canals and swamps surrounding the small town of Jennings in Louisiana’s Jefferson Davis Parish. The victims, whose murders remain unsolved, became known in the national media as the “Jeff Davis 8.”

Storm(front)y Daniels

Remember back when the brainy pranksters got together and pushed a porn star to run against David Vitter? Yeah, this is pretty much the same thing but tailored for Steve Scalise's problem.

David Duke says he is getting ready to run for Congress.

The former grand wizard of the Ku Klux Klan and ex-candidate for Louisiana governor told The Daily Beast he is heavily leaning towards challenging Rep. Steve Scalise. Scalise is the No. 3 Republican in the House who reportedly once called himself “David Duke without the baggage” and spoke at a white nationalist group that Duke founded.

“I’ve very seriously set up an exploratory committee to run for the United States Congress against Steve Scalise,” Duke said. “I expect to make a decision in a few days” ahead of the July 22 ballot deadline.

Don't worry. Much like Daniels before him, Duke won't actually run. The PR stunt is cute, though. 

Elections have consequences

Back in November, the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry did something they don't always do. They endorsed a candidate for Governor.

Less than 10 days before the gubernatorial election, U.S. Sen. David Vitter has picked up the endorsement of the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry, arguably the state's most powerful lobbying entity.

LABI's endorsement in a gubernatorial campaign is fairly rare and -- in this case -- appears to be as much about concerns over state Rep. John Bel Edwards, the Democrat in the race, as it is about Vitter, a Republican. The organization has only endorsed in three gubernatorial elections in the last 35 years, according to Stephen Waguespack, LABI's president.

They lost.  That's too bad for them. It's also too bad for the people in Flint, Michigan right now.

The race for the White House has put Flint’s water crisis in the spotlight — but it hasn’t been enough to move a $250 million aid package backed by Michigan’s congressional delegation.

A day after both Democratic candidates for the White House called on Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder (R) to resign or be recalled, two Republican senators kept their holds on the bill in place.

Sens. Mike Lee (Utah) and David Vitter (La.) have different reasons for their holds, which keep the bill from being approved by the Senate under unanimous consent.

Vitter’s hold is intended to win concessions dealing with fishing in the Gulf of Mexico on a related energy bill.

While Senator Vitter is still in Washington fighting for dirty water, his LABI friends are in Baton Rouge fighting for dirty pennies. 

A state Senate committee on Tuesday passed an amendment that would remove the exemptions from the four existing state sales tax pennies, a move opposed by business lobbyists who would rather lawmakers increase the sales tax hike beyond just the one penny proposed by Gov. John Bel Edwards.

The amendment, which has to go to the Senate and the House for approval, could generate an estimated $100 million this year and $450 million next year, said state Rep. Jay Morris, R-Monroe, who sponsored the original House Bill 61, which only called for removing exemptions, or “cleaning,” one penny. Morris said he didn’t support the amendment.

“It goes too far,” he said following the vote.

At the committee meeting, Stephen Waguespack, president of the Louisiana Association of Industry and Business, testified against removing exemptions on sales taxes, urging the Legislature to instead move forward with a plan to increase the state sales tax beyond just the single penny to generate more revenue to close the budget shortfalls for this year and next.

The good news is, they've moved the Republicans off of their absolutely-no-new-revenue pose and onto debating the question of who pays.   Now things are pretty simple. 

Under the 5 "clean pennies" plan, we will have raised one additional cent in sales tax. That's bad (all options are bad right now) because sales taxes are regressive taxes which disproportionately affect the poor. But the additional penny will likely sunset in either 18 months or 5 years so the effect is temporary. Meanwhile, cleaning the other 4 pennies means business will at least share some of that burden making a regressive tax slightly less inequitable.

Under the LABI plan, the business exemptions remain in place and the revenue is made up by adding another half penny or so on top.  So instead of sharing at least some of the burden, we will just be caking on more regressive taxes.  

But, see, LABI just lost an election so they don't actually get to make all the decisions. Also, when they did, that didn't work out so great anyway.

But Waguespack, who formerly worked as chief of staff in the Jindal administration and was involved in pushing some of the Republican governor’s budget plans, was not a welcomed guest before the majority Democratic committee.

“It’s hard for me to trust you, you helped create the problem we have,” said Sen. Karen Carter Peterson, D-New Orleans, to Waguespack amid his testimony opposing eliminating the exemptions. “You have no credibility. The things you have said ended us up in mid-year cuts every year.”

This afternoon they all went up the Governor's office and talked over some kind of deal... according to the Twitters.  We all know the whole budget will be written up in conference at the end of the session anyway.  So almost nothing that's passed so far looks anything like what we'll end up with.  

Probably got crowded out by Joe Cao

Scott Angelle decides to run for Boustany's congressional seat rather than David Vitter's soon to be empty Senate seat. He promises to (possibly) not make things worse.

"Time and time again, when things get bad, the politicians in Washington rush in and make it worse! It's time we make them listen," he said in a statement announcing his plans.

So that's pretty bold. Not sure Scott can live up to that.

Meanwhile, what is David Vitter up to these days, anyway? 

Calling Mayor Mitch Landrieu and Sheriff Marlin Gusman "incredibly naive," Sen. David Vitter, R-La., excoriated them Thursday (March 3) over their decisions to enforce "sanctuary city" policies for undocumented immigrants in New Orleans.

"I do not need to remind you that New Orleans is struggling with a devastatingly high murder and violent crime rate," Vitter wrote in a letter addressed to the pair. "Providing incentive for undocumented criminals to flock to the city is a huge mistake and I hope you will immediately reverse this policy."

Vitter's letter was prompted by Landrieu's recent decision to order the New Orleans Police Department to not cooperate with federal immigration officers in civil raids* or to ask crime victims questions about their immigration status.

Oh there he is taking the Trumpist line that all immigrants are dangerous criminals.  That's nice. Unlike Trump, though, Vitter isn't actually running for anything so can we reasonably assume this outrageous statement is close what the man actually believes?  Not expecting any "Miss me?" Vitter ads any time soon. 

They hated each other to death

Among the many highlights of the final week of the very special 2015 election season was the part where Bobby Jindal descended from the heavens.. or from Iowa... to disrupt David Vitter's last minute strategy.  Vitter had been trying to build late momentum by flogging the Syrian refugee controversy du jour.  Jindal interrupted that by suddenly dropping out of the Presidential race, returning to Louisiana and forcing both candidates to talk about the state budget instead.  

Then on Wednesday afternoon, Jindal floated a new budget plan, a move that further sucked up the political oxygen Vitter’s campaign desperately needs. A press conference on the refugee crisis originally planned to be held in front of the Catholic Charities’ refugee assistance office was scraped at the last minute in favor of one focused on the budget on the state capitol’s front steps.

Vitter may have been seeing a shift in voter sentiments, “but then Bobby Jindal parachuted in,” said Edward Chervenak, director of the Survey Research Center at the University of New Orleans.

Jindal is currently embarked on a Legacy Tour Of Louisiana. If you happen to cross paths with him this month, remember to say thank you.  He did his small part to help end David Vitter's political career. That's a legacy deserving of commemoration.

Or maybe we should just thank David Vitter.  Oyster argues this week that Vitter's troubles were a major factor in ending Jindal's Presidential campaign in the first place.

Jindal had to decide whether to drop out to 'pre-frame' a potential Vitter defeat, or continue running for President in Iowa and endlessly explain why Edwards' resounding win wasn't a rejection of his policies. He chose the former.

So the failure is circular, really.  Bobby Jindal and David Vitter have long been political enemies. But this year, in particularly, each needed each other to succeed to some degree in order to further his own ambitions.  In the end, they hated each other too much to let that happen.
 

Loose ends

Here's one of several Gubernatorial election summaries I have collected. I'll post more of in the next few weeks.  It references one of several loose ends that may never be fully drawn out.

But I believe the real event that ended Vitter’s political career—and many people scorned me for saying that he was done in politics—allegedly occurred at the IHOP in Hammond, Louisiana, three days earlier than the Royal Blend fiasco.

According to Sheriff Normand, Vitter’s chief PI, not the junior PI who got caught hiding behind an air-conditioning unit, but the “Big” PI, met with a woman at the IHOP near I-12 on Oct. 20. There Vitter’s paid PI allegedly solicited an affidavit to discredit Jason Brad Berry and Wendy Ellis. Berry is a first-rate investigative blogger who videoed Ellis telling her story. She claimed to have had a long-term relationship with Vitter, which included allegations of a child fathered by the Senator, despite his request that she have an abortion.

What made the IHOP story so compelling was the video, recovered on a clandestine recording device, which happened to be the same device the gumshoe used to record Sheriff Normand. The Sheriff maintained the recording had been deleted but his forensic technicians recovered the video.

Why would a PI record himself doing something highly questionable that could bring down his boss, a US Senator? I suppose we’d have to ask Richard Nixon.

The video and other information was turned over to the FBI by Sheriff Normand.

(I went ahead and added that one link in there.)

What happens with that stuff now?  Will this mean serious federal charges for Vitter and his spooks?  Also are we ever going to find out why Vitter was following John Cummings around? What about all these questions Jason asked after all the shit had hit the fan?  Who follows up on that? 

Farewell Tour

Not sure Bobby Jindal has put out his tour dates just yet. Please keep us appraised if any announcements are forthcoming.

Jindal plans a statewide tour to highlight his achievements before leaving office in January. He said he hasn’t decided on his political future just yet. At 44 years old and with an impressive resume of political jobs under his belt, Jindal is certain to have an array of options.

Whether the charm offensive in his last weeks as governor will improve his reputation in Louisiana, however, remains questionable.

But Jindal isn't alone. Lots of longtime favs (and not so favs) are finishing 2015 with conspicuous exits. So if you want to follow along behind the tour, you might be riding in a crowded party bus.

We already know Rob Ryan is riding it off into the sunset of vengeance or something. 

Ryan, who acknowledged that the Saints didn’t fire him until at least four hours after the initial Fox Sports report came out Monday morning, was in California visiting his son Joe when the opportunity to make an appearance on the NFL Network arrived.

But he doesn’t plan to move into TV full-time. Despite the way things ended in New Orleans, Ryan expects to be back in coaching soon.

“The bottom line is this: I’ll hold my head high and walk out in the sunset,” Ryan said. “But believe me, I’ll come back with a vengeance.”

We also know that "Voice of the Tigers" Jim Hawthorne is walking out into the same sunset... or maybe that's Jack Hunt.

And, of course, David Vitter is going away too.

I think his legacy is two-fold: First, he did more than any other individual to make Louisiana a solidly Republican state through party building at the grass roots level, precise messaging, very successful fundraising and unrelenting criticism of the opposing party.

Second, he proved that fear, anger and intimidation are still powerful political weapons, especially in the hands of someone without a conscience, but the oldest rule in politics is still “What goes around comes around,” and if you spend an entire career fucking over people you’re supposed to work WITH, sooner or later you’re going to be hoist on your own pee-tard–probably in a very ugly and public manner

Or to put that another way, 

Vitter has spent the first half of his career criticizing adulterous liars and the second half skirting questions about being an adulterous liar. He relentlessly scapegoated gays, sounded the alarm about brown illegals and leveraged racially-charged issues.

Now these two awkward, arrogant, irritating, weird, friendless men (Vitter and Jindal) — who have been in office for so long and have accomplished so little good— go home defeated.

Or to put it still another way, David Vitter is a disgrace to humanity and will be long remembered as such.

Speaking of which, Vitter's pal and.. um.. PR professional Scott McKay is also making sounds as though he may go off a wanderin' too.

You guys already know everything I have to say on the elections this weekend, since I did seven different posts on them yesterday. We’re moving on from that. I am not sanguine about the prospects for Louisiana’s future, and frankly I’m going to be thinking about whether to include myself in it.

One imagines that is very similar to what Wendy Ellis said once that Vitter money dried up for her too. 

But wait. We may need to save some room on the bus for Les Miles.  We used to be pretty hard on Les around here. That was until a few years into the run when we made peace with his obvious flaws as a football strategist and learned to appreciate the things he does better than a great majority of college coaches.

Les is a top notch recruiter. Not only that but, once he convinces kids to play for him, he is supportive of them throughout their tenure. There have been some tough situations with some of these players, but you never see Les Miles hang anyone out to dry. He's genuinely loyal and his players seem to like playing for him. During his time at LSU, the program has developed more professional talent than any other school.

After many years of this, you'd think LSU fans and alumni would be well used to the product Les Miles delivers: Always very talented. Not particularly well organized or.. well... prepared to play fundamentally sound or smart football. But always very entertaining and successful far more often than not.  Shouldn't that be enough? If you dump that overboard, who knows what comes next?  How many Curley Hallmans will LSU fans suffer through now before they find anything close to the fun we had watching Les Miles goof off and accidentally beat people for a decade?

But more and more the rumors point us to the notion that Les is gonna be on that Farewell Tour bus with the rest of these guys.  I hope they don't let him drive.

Well now we're gonna need a new Senator

You may think it's as simple as going down to the pound and adopting another one but, no, there's all sorts of stuff to put up with.  For example, we now have to put up with a full year of Charles Boustany saying things.

BATON ROUGE — U.S. Rep. Charles Boustany is making it clear he intends to run for the U.S. Senate next year, after Republican David Vitter announced he won't seek re-election.

Boustany released a statement Monday (Nov. 23) saying Louisiana deserves a senator "who can lead in times of challenge, offer conservative, workable solutions to complex problems and bring unity in times of division."

Boustany has to be relieved that he doesn't have to run against David Vitter after spending the gubernatorial campaign working to get him elected. Same goes for John Kennedy and John Fleming.  Those guys might be vulnerable to attacks from Scott Angelle (who is also likely to run) should he decide to tie his opponents to their unpopular friend Vitter. Everyone knows how Angelle feels about Vitter now. 

That's assuming Vitter will even be relevant anymore next year which he may not be. Meanwhile, expect more rumors that Russel Honore might run right up until he decides not to. The same can be said for Mitch Landrieu although, he will probably decide three different ways before not qualifying.  John Georges is probably already polling his own name just in case.  And, as always, there's this.

Did somebody say "Open Senate seat?"

— Biscuit ForLA (@Biscuit4LA) November 22, 2015

Anyway, it's almost time to start politickin' again.  Better gas up the party bus.

Like swatting a fly with a party bus

Bye, David

State Rep. John Bel Edwards, a relatively unknown Democrat from a rural Amite, will be the state's next governor after toppling Republican U.S. Sen. David Vitter, R-La., in one of the biggest political upsets in the state's history.

Numbers are still coming in as I'm typing but look at it! It's 55-45 or thereabouts.  That's about the max of what I had considered possible in my most optimistic moments this week. (I was less confident by the end of it but.. HAPPY TO BE WRONG) This was a complete drubbing.  Vitter, once a dominant and feared figure in state politics, was beaten so badly he announced tonight that he's not even going to run for reelection to his Senate seat next year.



Some quick reactions:

- Vitter giving up his Senate seat will be good news for Charles Boustany and John Kennedy.  The two have been conspicuous supporters of Vitter throughout the campaign and it's no secret that they both are interested in inheriting the office he's vacating.  Neither will have to suffer the embarrassment of turning right around to run against him now.

Kennedy, shameless as ever, was quick to leap in front of a camera and begin kissing John Bel's butt the minute the race was called. He also said the state budget was like "Thelma and Louise headed toward that ditch," which sounds.. bad.. I guess? But maybe heroic.. it's not really that clear. Anyway, now that Vitter is going away and Bobby Jindal is almost gone, smarmy phony John Kennedy is probably the worst person in state politics right now.  He's one of the favorites to be your next Senator.

- Clancy DuBos kept talking about how "stunning" it was that David Vitter lost his "home parish."  Sure, it's notable. And it does tell you a lot about how bad a night it was for him.  But "stunning" isn't the word simply because it can't come as much of a surprise. Just this week, even at the height of Vitter's refugee barrage, 25 Jefferson Parish politicos endorsed Edwards including, of course, Sheriff Newell Normand who we already know has an ax to grind with Vitter. If you're trying to win Jefferson Parish, it's not a great idea to be enemies with Newell Normand.

- TV newspersons  also could not stop fawning over the "gentlemanly" manner in which Billy Nungesser and Kip Holden agreed not to attack one another during the runoff. Given the dirt these candidates could have slung at one another, it's likely this collusion was arrived at more out of a sense of mutually assured destruction than it was out of any sense of "civility."  But our newspersons do enjoy their little fantasies about the nobility of our so-called leaders.

- Jeff Landry was elected Attorney General immediately making him the smart pick in next year's State Officeholder Stupid Scandal office pool.

-Edwards specifically thanked Jay Dardenne in his speech tonight. We're looking forward to learning what Jay is getting for his endorsement. 

- The conventional wisdom post-mortem on this election will conclude that Vitter lost more than Edwards won. That's only partially true. Yes, it contrasts with the party line results in the other statewide races. And, yes, it is primarily a rebuke of the most despised person in state politics.  But saying the result is just about those things unduly discounts the very well run Edwards campaign. Sure, Vitter's damaged status provided the opportunity, but greater opportunities than this one have been squandered by many an inept candidate.

I didn't care for the "Prostitutes over Patriots" ad and I thought the "me too" stand on refugees was pretty low (and potentially damaging) but otherwise it was a disciplined and sneaky smart campaign.  Edwards proved to be a talented candidate. Bright but affable and not easily rattled, Edwards held up well in both debates.  He presented as calm, clear-eyed, and "grown-up" without sounding condescending or pandering.

His victory speech was remarkable. Edwards spoke earnestly about some themes that typically come off as tropes in these situations; "bipartisanship," "putting Louisiana first," etc. while also emphasizing some things that might sound controversial in another context; diversity, public education (emphasis on public), and "protecting the environment."  

Edwards may not have been well known before now but he is well-liked and respected in Baton Rouge. He's also known as a smart, savvy "doer." Because of the unique circumstances of his election, the press is likely to underestimate him politically. But some important fights are coming up in the next legislative session. Perceptions may change as he starts winning some of those.

-By electing Edwards governor Louisiana immediately improves access to health coverage for some 225,000 residents. That's already huge.

- Finally, congratulations also to President Obama on another stunning electoral victory. Somewhere in Washington D.C. he's looking over these results and laughing with that one Syrian refugee Vitter told us John Bel sent up there to conspire with him. I hope he gave him a nice celebratory fist bump. 

One hour until the polls close

Some tweets.

I'm thinking we might see something like 51-49 Vitter. But we won't know for a while.  Keep refreshing The Lens until they put the map up.

Please participate in our exit poll

Here is the final poll before the election.

— skooks (@skooks) November 21, 2015

Some surprising results so far. Not sure what it means as far as final projections go, though. I look at a lot of social media on election day so I get a lot of anecdotal stuff that tends to worry me. A charter school teacher says she's voting for Vitter because she believes that will preserve her livelihood. Some folks reporting what looks to them like heavy turnout in Vitter-friendly white precincts.  That kind of thing.

Also it's raining in a lot of places. If Vitter is going to pull this off, it will be by the slimmest of margins; probably within one percent of the vote.  Should be an interesting night.

Election Day Party Bus

This is it, y'all.  Despite our long history of bad experiences with having one, we're on our way out to make a new Governor.  I'm typing this post up late on Friday evening. We're voting on Saturday. So, in Carnival terms, this is the Lundi Gras of the election. Accordingly, it's been pretty low key. Everyone has an early morning and long day ahead of them.

Monday night (or.. I guess.. the "Muses Thursday" of the Carnival schedule) was a different story as the gubernatorial candidates met for a final.. um.. energetic debate. David Vitter and John Bel Edwards struggled to make themselves heard over the hooting and hollering of charged up spectators. I'm not sure but I got the impression the noise began with Vitter partisans packed into the building specifically for the purpose of making a scene.  But the Edwards supporters were making themselves heard was well.  Anyway, it was a raucous atmosphere. I'm a little surprised no shoes were thrown.

This was a fun debate. Which is surprising at this point in the campaign.  We've heard the candidates' plow through their standard pitches so many times on TOPS, on the transportation trust fund, on the seemingly perma-fucked state budget, so many times that our eyes glaze over when they go through those motions for the n^th time.  Not that those things aren't important. It's just that.. it's been a long campaign. One supposes all that stuff is worth going over again for the benefit of those just now tuning in.  But, in all likelihood, that audience isn't joining us now to hear about the Inventory Tax Credit.  They're there to see some fireworks. And that's what the candidates provided Monday.
 
Granted, a lot of that was stupid.  For instance Edwards called Vitter out for "lying" about John Bel's position on Syrian refugees.  Despite Vitter's "distortions" Edwards assured the audience that he is willing to assume a posture every bit as hateful and suspicious of the homeless victims of ISIS who aren't actually coming to Louisiana right now as Vitter's.

Nevertheless, Vitter continued full steam ahead with his nonsensical harangue about "unaccounted for" Syrian refugees let loose in Louisiana and now ominously descending on Washington D.C. to receive a fist bump from President Obama. Vitter continued with this the next day in an email blast despite some rather glaring factual difficulties and.. um.. uncomfortable ironies.

Ironically, David Vitter's wife Wendy is the general counsel for the Archdiocese of New Orleans, which means she also is the lawyer for Catholic Charities — the people who are bringing in refugees. Apparently the senator is so desperate that he doesn't even mind throwing his wife and Archbishop Gregory Aymond under the bus for a few cheap political points.

For the record, the Syrian man that Vitter and the GOP say is “missing” and “unaccounted for” is totally accounted for. He had to fill out multiple forms before moving around in Baton Rouge, let alone before moving to Washington D.C. to be with his family. (See The Advocate's story HERE confirming all this.) It's noteworthy that The Advocate story came out a full day before the GOP sent the hysterical email, which means they had to have known they were spreading lies in order to foster hysteria — and raise money.

Salon ran a Bob Mann column with a headline stating that Vitter had (again) thrown his wife "under the bus" as well. This bus thing is an interesting choice of imagery given that Vitter had spent the debate making multiple references to the "purple party bus" the Edwards campaign apparently used to ferry attendees at a campaign event in New Orleans over to City Hall so they could vote early.  Seems pretty cool to me. But Vitter clearly intended some sort of racial dig by it.  In Vitter world, driving black voters to the polls at all is suspicious activity. Later in the week, Vitter was asked to square his position on Syrian refugees with his wife's relationship to Catholic Charities.  He said he thought the question was "mean spirited."

It's likely that Vitter's mean spirited xenophobic and racist flavored attacks have done him some good this week. The polling averages could suggest a narrowing of the margin by which he still trails, although that's in no way definite.  He might have made more noticeable progress had his momentum not been blunted by the news of Bobby Jindal's decision on Tuesday (Hermes/Krewe d'Etat Friday on the Carnival calendar) to end his Presidential campaign. 

Not only did Jindal interrupt the flow of the campaign with his announcement, the outgoing Governor also quite inconveniently decided he was in the mood to also do a little governing.  On Wednesday (Endymion Saturday of the campaign) Jindal unveiled a package of emergency cuts to address a mid-year budget shortfall. The legislature approved the plan Friday. They had little choice but to do just that. Still, both candidates publicly urged them not to. 

Jindal's sudden budget action especially disrupted Vitter's plans on Thursday.

A press conference on the refugee crisis originally planned to be held in front of the Catholic Charities’ refugee assistance office was scraped at the last minute in favor of one focused on the budget on the state capitol’s front steps.

Vitter may have been seeing a shift in voter sentiments, “but then Bobby Jindal parachuted in,” said Edward Chervenak, director of the Survey Research Center at the University of New Orleans.

According to our Carnival calendar, Thursday would have been the Thoth/Bacchus Sunday of election week. Most people agree that event-packed day is probably the real climax of the Carnival season.  The campaign version lived up to this billing. 

Vitter had wanted to talk about refugees all day. Jindal forced him to talk about the budget instead.  And when Vitter was his typical overly aggressive self in going about this, Jindal and his staff executed the most exquisite rope-a-dope of the entire campaign.

Jindal, who hasn’t endorsed either of his potential successors, challenged both to release plans of their own.

“Leadership often requires a willingness to make tough choices, but both David Vitter and John Bel Edwards are suggesting they may take the easy way out by raising taxes, even though they won’t quite come out and say it,” Jindal said in a statement. “It’s easy to be a critic, but critics are not leaders. Both candidates have been light on details and should outline their solutions in more detail.”

During his news conference, Vitter implied that he didn’t have a detailed plan because he didn’t have enough information from the Jindal administration.

Commissioner of Administration Stafford Palmieri responded online, saying that her door is “always open to discuss the budget.”

Actually this article leaves out the best part of the exchange. Here is the rest of Palmieri's response.

@JohnBelforLA You are of course invited as well but I know you'd probably call me instead of holding a presser

— Stafford Palmieri (@SOPalmieri) November 19, 2015

Ouch!

So what's gonna happen on Saturday? I don't think anyone knows.  On Friday night I watched Jeremy Alford and Stephanie Grace struggle on Informed Sources. Alford referred a few times to the tightening margins and said something about "white voters coming home to Vitter" this week. That sounds probable but, like I said earlier, it's difficult to see in the polling with any certainty.

Here, in Huff-Po's chart you can see the averages narrowing in the final week.



But the numbers are so tight that it's hard to know what to read into that.

Sabato analyst Geoffrey Skelley moved the race into the "leans Democratic" column this week but, in the text, he emphasizes that they "can't say we're supremely confident" in this call.

Here, Tyler Bridges visits the "bellwether" House District 50 and just goes around asking people who they're voting for.  There's nothing conclusive here but that's by design. Still it's worth paying attention to why voters say they're making the choices they make.

Here, Adrastos explains why there are still probably more Vitter voters than people think there are.

In addition to my concerns that Vitter’s racist and xenophobic slurs might work, I’m convinced that Vitter is underpolling. Most recent surveys have him 15+ points behind Edwards. I’m convinced that there are a substantial number of Vitter voters who are too embarrassed to admit that they’re voting for the sleazy Senator. I’m not the only one.

On the positive side, there was one pretty conclusive poll taken this week. It's probably an outlier, though.

Tracking poll please indicate your #lagov  preference

— skooks (@skooks) November 20, 2015

All indications are, your vote will definitely matter so do not neglect it. Part of me is rooting for the election to come down to something like 1,000 votes so we can do some recounts and lawsuits and spend the next several years arguing about who stole it and how. Seems an appropriate way to finish this.

Saturday is the Fat Tuesday of Election Week.  Do what you wanna otherwise but please get out and vote.  The polls are open from 7 am - 8pm. If you want to know where to vote, click here. If you need a ride to the polls, just keep an eye out for the big purple bus.