Back to life

Now that the Bobby Jindal/Grover Norquist eight year quest for national advancement and right wing ideological purity has ended, it's fascinating to watch all these folks in Baton Rouge wake back up to the fact that they might actually be there to do some shit.  Or as Stephanie Grace puts it,

Edwards may be trying to make a point by painting such a bleak worst-case scenario, but it’s a real one. Handy solutions are in short supply.

And that’s not just on the governor but on the Legislature, which did little to fight off years of tax cuts, giveaways and raids of one-time money on Jindal’s watch. Lawmakers, particularly in the House, are now making a big show of claiming their independence and asserting their status as a coequal branch of government. It would have been nice if they’d been acting as a watchdog all along.

Grace is right. The governor's speech yesterday was meant to frighten people. It was meant to spur action. I mean, I'm gonna go out on a limb right now and predict that we aren't canceling football season. But suggesting the idea is a good way to get through to the many people in this state who are fans of the football team but don't necessarily care one way or another about higher education funding on its own.

Edwards made some bold threats last night and it's reasonable to assume they are (mostly but not entirely) bluffs. But somebody has to DO SOMETHING to kick the legislature in the butt. Bobby and Grover's happy playtime is over. They're going to have to come to Baton Rouge expecting to work. Judging by the Republican caucus's highly questionable choice to air a disingenuous  John Kennedy For Senate commercial in "response" to the governor last night, it's not at all clear they are ready to do that.