Thank You Senator Peacock!

Back in October I endorsed Barrow Peacock for Louisiana Senate 37 in his race against term limited Rep. Jane Smith and I took some heat on this blog for it in the comments:

Thankfully, people do not take stock in what a low traffic blogger has to say about politics. Your bias against Representative Smith discredits you as a viable source of anything other then ignorant opinions.

I have to say, we at SIGIS enjoyed the give and take on that one!  (It got worse from there.)  Heh! 

 Mr. Peacock won that race and this week he showed his constituents why we voted for him.  He was the lone vote against John Alario for Senate president.

John Alario has served as an elected politician for 41 years now;  thirty-seven of those years he served as a Democrat until he decided it would be politically expedient to switch to Republican.  I wrote about Governor Jindal's outrageous support of Alario in late October.

John Alario was quite open at the time of his party switch about the fact that the switch was motivated by political expediency.

From my American Thinker article in November:

Alario was elected to the House in 1972, was term-limited in 2007, and decided to run for the Senate.  His primary goal was to serve as Senate president.  As Alario said:

"Whether I'm a Democrat or Republican or the Whig party, I'd like to be president of the Senate," Alario said. Switching parties "certainly plays into the politics of the situation ... it doesn't hurt to be in that party."

If this happens, Alario will become the second politician in Louisiana history to be president of both chambers, but to attain that objective, he needed to change parties, after 37 years, from Democrat to Republican.

At any rate, the election has come to pass.  Alario has been elected and as demanded by his constituents, Senator Barrow Peacock was the lone vote against him:

The lone vote against Alario was cast by Sen. Barrow Peacock, R-Shreveport. He said after the housekeeping legislative session at the inauguration that he promised his conservative district during the campaign that he would vote against Alario. "It was a campaign issue in District 37," Peacock said.

Senator Peacock chose to stand up against career politicians and the good ol' boy system.  

The only question now is will he be punished with a sorry committee assignment or ostracized by the system?  

SIGIS thanks Senator Peacock for his courage in taking a stand and for honoring his promises.  This is the kind of politician we need - one who recognizes he is a public servant, not there to feed from the taxpayer trough for 41+ years. 

Gov. Jindal Wants New $80 Million Slush Fund

Just as critics of the recently approved Amendment No. 1 predicted,, Governor Jindal is making plans to ask the legislative budget committee to establish a new slush fund for "economic development" when the Legislature meets next year.

The constitutional amendment, approved October 22, was approved by a 69.6% to 30.4% margin.  It changes the state Constitution to make permanent a four-cent cigarette tax, a tax increase that was to expire next year.  The Legislature had previously attempted to extend the tax as a separate measure, but Jindal vetoed it as a "tax increase."  The amendment also changes funding for TOPS, the Louisiana merit-based scholarship program which benefits about one-third of Louisiana's full time college students.

TOPS is funded through the general fund as well as through investment revenue generated from the Millennium Trust.  About 11% of TOPS funding came from the Millennium Trust last year (about $16.1 million).

The Millenium Trust was established in 1999 and  holds the proceeds of tobacco settlement the State of Louisiana receives.  The Trust funds TOPS and two other educational programs, one of which would receive the revenue from the four-cent cigarette tax.

Back to the Amendment: it takes about $40 to $45 million per year that has annually been deposited from the tobacco settlement into the base monies of the Trust and moves it straight into TOPS. The base amount of the Trust would be frozen.

The result is that funding for TOPS will rely less heavily on the general fund. 

The Public Affairs Research Council explains (emphasis mine):

This amendment and companion legislation would redirect annual tobacco settlement payments ($40-45 million per fiscal year) that currently are deposited into the Millennium Trust and place them directly into the TOPS fund, beginning with proceeds received after April 1, 2011. This change would provide a new dedicated revenue stream for TOPS. The proposal allows TOPS to receive two payments – totaling about $80 million – from the tobacco settlement during the current fiscal year and single payments in subsequent fiscal years

Of this amendment, C.B. Forgotston recommended a "No" vote:

It’s not about TOPs it is about giving more of our hard-earned tax dollars to the governor and the leges to waste. It really about a tax increase which can not be lowered or repealed without another amendment to the constitution which we will have to depend on the leges to put on the ballot.  This is a very poor precedent to establish in a state that badly needs tax reform.
We shouldn’t be forced to address two separate issues in one amendment. Tell the leges to do it right and stop playing games with our constitution.

Now that the Amendment has passed and the general fund will bear less of a burden to support TOPS, Jindal wants that $80 million for a slush fund for "economic development":

Jindal’s spokesman, Kyle Plotkin, said the governor will ask a legislative budget committee to approve money for economic development projects as needed from the $80 million.

When the Legislature meets next year, the governor will ask for the balance of the money to be deposited into an economic development megafund, Plotkin said.

The megafund is designed to provide incentives for businesses building large projects in Louisiana.

The plot thickens when you realize that Louisiana is facing a potential budget crisis contingent on the outcome of a lawsuit filed in response to the leges taking $198 million from the Rainy Day fund two years ago without replacing it.  Should the State lose that lawsuit, they'll have to pay back $150 to $200 million to the Rainy Day Fund, some of which would have to come from the $80 million slush fund.

Does it surprise anyone that John Alario was the sponsor of the Amendment?

It seems to me to be just a shell game with the State's money. 

I might be mixing apples and oranges here, but with the leges record of funding NGOs and designating pet projects for their districts with state money, something Jindal said he would NOT allow but certainly has (extensively), I'm not convinced that we need to designate another $80 million for anyone to play with. 

If the leges believe that a new fence in a private subdivision in New Orleans is a wise use of state dollars that "benefits the entire state," I can only imagine what they will decide to do with $80 million toward "economic development" or "incentives" to entice businesses. 

Time to Melt the Phones in Louisiana

Via The Dead Pelican, the Louisiana Republican Party then, and now:

Many seem to be taking Jindal's recommendation of John Alario for State Senate President.

What's changed?  Besides the letter after Alario's name?

The Hayride is asking for statewide outrage.  Here's the contact list:


1st District – A.G. Crowe is the incumbent and likely retainer of the seat.
A. G. Crowe: 985-788-7551
“Nita” Rusich Hutter: 504-920-9020

2nd District – Republicans are longshots in this one.
Alfred “Al” Carter: 985-870-5548
Zaine “The Queen” Kasem: 225-747-6288

6th District – an open seat that will be Republican.
“Mike” Mannino: 225-261-8346
Mack “Bodi” White Jr.: 225-261-3903

8th District – Alario’s seat.
John A. Alario Jr.: 504-347-3556
You won’t likely get anywhere calling Alario and telling him not to run, and he’s unopposed, but this entry wouldn’t be complete without including contact information for him.

9th District – uncontested GOP seat.
Conrad Appel: 504-887-6026

10th District – uncontested GOP seat.
Daniel R. “Danny” Martiny: 504-464-9045

11th District – Jack Donahue is the incumbent.
“Jack” Donahue Jr.: 985-727-7949
Gary J. Leonard: 985-845-3766

12th District – Democrat Ben Nevers is the incumbent.
“Beth” Mizell: 985-839-3508

13th District – Dale Erdey is the incumbent.
Derek Babcock: 225-505-9505
Dale Erdey: 225-686-7405

14th District – Democrat Yvonne Dorsey is the incumbent.
Christopher Toombs: 225-590-1225

16th District – uncontested GOP seat.
“Dan” Claitor: 225-757-0159

18th District – uncontested GOP seat.
“Jody” Amedee: 225-647-1300

19th District – outgoing Senate President Joel Chaisson’s seat and a crucial pickup if Alario is to be prevented from getting the Senate presidency.
Garrett C. Monti: 985-240-4114

20th District – uncontested GOP seat.
“Norby” Chabert: 985-232-9882

21st District – open seat sure to go Republican (no Dems are running).
R. L. “Bret” Allain II: 337-828-9107
Darrin Guidry: 985-872-6658

22nd District – uncontested GOP seat.
Fred “T-Fred” Mills Jr.: 337-332-3475

23rd District – open seat that went uncontested to the GOP.
Patrick “Page” Cortez: 337-993-0603

25th District – uncontested GOP seat.
Dan “Blade” Morrish: 337-477-7754

26th District – uncontested GOP seat.
Jonathan Perry: 337-643-2057

27th District – open seat that went uncontested to the GOP.
“Ronnie” Johns: 337-625-4431

28th District – Democrat Eric Lafleur is the incumbent.
Paul “Doc” Miller: 337-331-2550

29th District – open seat; Democrat Rick Gallot is the favorite and inexplicably was endorsed by Jindal.
Tony “Bo” Vets: 318-419-2235

30th District – John Smith, a Democrat party-switcher, is the incumbent.
James David Cain: 337-328-7266
John Smith: 337-397-7222

31st District – uncontested GOP seat.
Gerald Long: 318-354-2879

32nd District – uncontested GOP seat.
Neil Riser: 318-649-0977

33rd District – uncontested GOP seat.
Michael A. “Mike” Walsworth: 318-614-0336

35th District – Bob Kostelka is the incumbent.
Harris Brown: 318-388-2500
“Jeff” Guerriero: 318-325-4306
Robert W. “Bob” Kostelka: 318-323-7591

36th District – uncontested GOP seat.
Robert Adley: 318-965-9513

37th District – open seat likely to remain Republican.
Barrow Peacock: 318-518-0812

38th District – Sherri Cheek is the incumbent.
Sherri Smith Cheek: 318-687-4820
Troy Terrell: 318-773-1111

39th District – Democrat Lydia Jackson is the incumbent.
“Jim” Slagle: 318-375-3536

Melt the phones!

Governor Jindal Causes Another Uproar With His Support of John Alario

Conservatives all over Louisiana are already upset with Governor Bobby Jindal just four days after his landslide re-election victory.  Jindal came out yesterday in support of Republican John Alario for Louisiana Senate President.  Never mind that Jindal doesn't get to appoint a Senate president; that is actually up to the Senate. Jindal wants his preference known.

(Not only that, but he's interjected himself into the House Speaker race, too.)

Most of the nation (who already believes Governor Jindal is the next great hope) will shake their heads at this...."What?  What's the big deal?  Alario's a Republican isn't he?"

Let me explain.

One of the chief objections to Alario is that he switched from Democrat to Republican in 2010 after 37 years in office.  Alario joined the Louisiana House in 1972 as a Democrat and served faithfully as a Democrat up until his switch in 2010.

As a matter of fact, Alario was House speaker for Governor Edwin Edwards (D) from 1992-1996;  even folks outside of Louisiana are familiar with Governor Edwards.  He was indicted in 1998 and finally convicted in 2001on 17 of 26 charges including racketeering, extortion, and money laundering, among other things.   Edwards was released from prison this year, just in time to marry his prison pen pal and third wife, Trina Grimes.  Edwards and John Alario remain close and Alario recently participated in a birthday bash/roast event for Edwards.  Edwards, by the way, is not impressed with Governor Jindal:

Edwards also said Louisiana's current Governor Bobby Jindal won't be able to solve the problems now facing Louisiana on his way to Washington, D.C.

"I think he makes a good governor for California, Minnesota, Florida, all those places where people have been putting up all that money concerned who the governor of Louisiana is."

Ah, but the sins of Edwin Edwards do not necessarily reflect the sins of John Alario, (even though my mother always told me I would be judged by the company I keep), and so back to Alario.

John Alario was quite open at the time of his party switch about the fact that the switch was motivated by political expediency:  (emphasis mine)

Alario said his switch was motivated by dissatisfaction with the national Democratic Party, which has seen many of its conservative Blue Dog members replaced by Republicans in recent years.  "I'm not angry with my local Democratic friends," Alario said. "I have an issue with the national Democratic Party and the direction it's going."

But Alario said state politics also played a role in the decision; specifically, a desire to be Senate president next year, when Republicans are expected to take majority control of the upper chamber.  "Whether I'm a Democrat or Republican or the Whig party, I'd like to be president of the Senate," Alario said. Switching parties "certainly plays into the politics of the situation ... it doesn't hurt to be in that party." 

In fact, Alario would be only the second Louisiana politician to be both president of the House and the Senate.  The late Senator John J. Hainkel, Jr. (who also switched to the Republican party) held both posts, and oddly, he was Speaker of the House when John Alario replaced him after Edwards was elected to his third term in 1983. 

Tangled enough yet?

Alario has other skeletons in his closet although nothing that he's ever been nailed for.  In November of last year the conservative Louisiana blog The Hayride described a flyer put out by the Louisiana Republican Party in protest of Alario:

The flyer went into detail about a number of shady deals Alario has been involved in, including his son’s rather resilient career as a government bureaucrat despite the phenomenon of state dollars at times being redirected to various bookies thanks to the younger Alario’s nasty gambling habit. It also included a reference to Alario’s involvement in the River Birch landfill debacle – a classic case of a political shakedown Alario was involved in.

But, as The Bayou Buzz points out, Alario has been convicted of nothing.

Governor Jindal has made a few missteps during his tenure so far, the most nasty of which is the legislative pay raise issue. In fact, during that mess many Louisianans participated in a grass roots campaign to rip their Jindal bumper stickers off their cars and mail them back to the governor (myself included).  The short version is that Jindal promised during his campaign not to raise leges pay and certainly not during their own tenure.  Next thing you know the leges voted themselves a pay raise and Jindal said he would not veto it because he needed their cooperation to pass his agenda.

The populace was outraged.

Outraged!!

After public pressure became insurmountable Jindal "changed his mind" and vetoed the pay raise.

Again, there have been other Jindal miscues but this one, this support of John Alario for Senate President, has many conservative bloggers and groups in a tither.

Jim Beam writes:

Why would Jindal even think of supporting a controversial lawmaker like Alario, who has directed millions of state dollars to his favorite projects in Jefferson Parish? 

Shreveport pollster Elliot Stonecipher:

To me, and to many others with my tenure, John Alario is easily recognizable as the last active political leader of the Edwin Edwards erea, a dark and painful chapter in our state's history.  that Governor Jindal picks him for such a key leadership position just after Mr. Edwards' recent prison release is ironic, yes, but more to the point, deeply troubling and disheartening.  Any claim by Governor Jindal that Louisiana has by his service turned the corner in "ethics" or anything else positive is, by our governor's personal action, now loudly refuted.  Our governor's unreserved pride in this selection is, well, incomprehensible. 

The Hayride:

That this is an uncommonly bad prospect should go without saying. Alario was Edwin Edwards’ Speaker of the House when the latter was busy stealing the state blind, and Republicans in Louisiana at the time considered him as signifying everything that was slimy and corrupt about Louisiana politics. The backroom deals, the Chicago-style pay-for-play, the lack of transparency and the petty agendas lending a Byzantine quality to the formulation of policy rather than the honest debate of substantive ideas were what infuriated Louisiana voters into getting rid of Democrats, and Alario was neck-deep in all of it.

But when it became patently clear that Louisianans no longer had any stomach for the kind of Capitol politics Alario’s Democrats had on offer, he simply switched parties. After all, his sheepish defenders say, his voting record looks pretty good for business and he can make the case that he was a conservative Democrat all along.

The Dead Pelican has more.


So far it seems like Senate republicans are falling in line behind Jindal although Senator David Vitter is in opposition.  The Hayride is calling for statewide outrage against Alario similar to the action that forced Jindal to veto the leges payraise.

It is up to the Senate to pick their own president but Jindal is inserting himself into the process and for what reason?  Compromise?  Political expediency?   Most conservatives feel that Alario represents a throwback to the "good ol' boy" politics of pre-Jindal Louisiana and that this will ensure that Louisiana has not, in fact, moved far beyond that after all.  Jindal can tout "ethics reform" all he wants (even though Elliot Stonecipher says thats a sham), but if he thinks that supporting the only active legislator still closely connected with Edwin Edwards and the old regime, one who clearly operates out of the old corrupt system of Louisiana politics, is the path to "gold standard" ethics, well, he might not be the Bobby Jindal the nation thinks he is.

Added:

  Jeff Sadow has comments as well.