Lost causers

Yeah they do have a bit of a problem letting this go.

A Shreveport lawmaker has again filed a bill that would prevent New Orleans from taking down statues of three Confederate officials and one to an uprising by a white supremacist militia.

This is the second time state Rep. Thomas Carmody, a Republican, has pursued legislation that would prevent the city from taking down the monuments to Confederate generals Robert E. Lee and P.G.T. Beauregard, Confederate President Jefferson Davis and the White League militia that attempted to overthrow the state's reconstruction-era government.

They're not likely to succeed. But that's hardly the point, especially for people like Carmody for whom any ineffectual lashing out at New Orleans is a no-lose proposition, politically.

And yeah, both the Advocate and the Times-Pica-dot-com have made certain to put "Shreveport lawmaker..." in their headlines.  But I would caution against the NOLA chauvinism this sort of thing is likely to inspire.  As the T-P story does manage to point out, the hard core support for these monuments comes from the local, white, nonprofit community.

According to WVUE Fox 8, the nonprofit that brought the unsuccessful legal challenges held a fundraiser Sunday evening and told supporters that the legislation was the last chance they had to block the removal.

"It's far from over," said Pierre McGraw, the chairman of the Monumental Task Committee. "We have a real good opportunity in the legislature this time around that's coming up soon and hopefully we'll get some intervention at the state level