REPLIES REDUX

Notice from the header above that this article is in the category of "Replies from Dr. Jack."  It is my fault this category has been defunct for a while, even though it remains listed in the left side bar. 

One reason is because I try to participate in our User Forums and respond to member questions there.  But this means a short response, and often a member comment or question requires something longer.

So I am re-instituting the "Replies" section and will try to have at least one every week from now on. 

What triggered this was a question member Jeffrey W. had regarding Red State Louisiana.  I had predicted that the destruction of the New Orleans' corrupt 9^th ward meant the destruction of the Democrat Party machine in the state and the election of Republican Bobby Jindal as governor this coming October.

Jeffrey asked:

Interesting article, but what are your thoughts about the machinery which re-elected Ray Nagin even after the Katrina disaster? How could this play out when the time comes to elect a new Governor? Do you think enough of this machinery is still intact to thwart a Republican victory? 

After discussions with conservative Republican friends of mine in Louisiana who have a deep and long-time understanding of politics in their state, the answer that emerged was really surprising.

Their consensus – get ready for this – is that Ray Nagin is "the first honest mayor in New Orleans in a couple of generations."  Not a professional politician, he was vice president and general manager of the Cox Communications cable company before running for mayor in 2002.  He ran against the Democrat machine and won. 

Last year his opponent was Mitch Landrieu, son of former New Orleans mayor Moon Landrieu and brother of current Senator Mary Landrieu.  The Landrieu family forms part of  the core of the corrupt Democrat machine.  Conservatives voted for Nagin rather than put Mitch Landrieu in office.

One reason:  in 2003, Nagin endorsed and campaigned for Republican Bobby Jindal against Democrat Kathleen Blanco for governor. 

So once again, Nagin ran explicitly against the machine in 2006 – and won.

My friends tell me that overall, Nagin has been a pretty good mayor, excepting a number of "idiotic" statements he made under the stress of Katrina.    His goofy "chocolate city" remark was to curry favor with blacks who knew how much support he was getting from whites against Mitch Landrieu.

Thus they conclude that Nagin will be a "major plus" for Jindal, not a negative, and will support him once again this October.  Surprising, eh?

Thanks for asking, Jeffrey.