Posted on 09/15/2014 8:39:18 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
I can’t help it: I sorta like Mary Landrieu.
In that admission lies a clue as to why Louisiana’s fairly liberal Democratic senator has been so hard for Republicans to defeat, and why she still has a chance to survive a Republican challenge in one of the most important races of this political year. Landrieu possesses a high degree of a particularly Louisianan style of political pugnacity that makes even many Republicans in the state pay her a grudging respect bordering on a form of fondness.
Political prognosticators can list manifold reasons why Landrieu should lose her reelection bid to Representative Bill Cassidy in this year when Democrats both nationally and in Louisiana face a rough political environment. There also are a host of good reasons why she deserves to lose. And, indeed, she may well be defeated. But Mary Landrieu is tough, and she will not go gentle into the political night.
I’ve watched Landrieu’s whole political career quite closely. My godfather ran (and lost) a campaign for mayor of New Orleans against her father, Moon Landrieu. Almost as soon as Mary — the oldest of Moon’s nine children — graduated from LSU, she was running for the state legislature in a district adjacent to mine, taking on a four-term incumbent with a decent reputation. As a 15-year-old watching the 23-year-old (24 by Election Day) Landrieu campaign, I was struck by a lasting impression: Although she was quite pretty and was the daughter of a powerful mayor-cum-cabinet-secretary, she didn’t campaign like a princess. Instead, she worked at it, running with energy and dogged persistence. She won in a landslide.
(Excerpt) Read more at nationalreview.com ...
Well, mainly because a democrat has sat in that seat since Reconstruction.
She knows how and when to deliver the pork. That plays big in the poorer states.
I despise Mary Landrieu.
She is far from “pretty”, more like “funny looking”.
Could it have something to do with who counts the votes?
Women, African-Americans, Leftist Fools. That's a majority in many places in the USA. Majority wins.
Eventually, in 500 BC, and today, Democracy becomes the Tyranny of the Stupid; more charitably: the Ignorant. It starts when incumbents realize that they can reward their followers with benefits paid for by public funds.
PS, you forgot to mention that Landrieu is a useless administrator, dumber than the proverbial box'o'rocks, but smart enough to do exactly as she is told.
DON’T HIT THE GIRL!!
Mary Landrieu has relied on that part of the “cowboy code” ever since she first ran for the office. Admittedly, she was sort of handed the office through family connections, as she probably would never have had the necessary gumption to fight her way up to it, in the normal give-and-take of political infighting. Sort of winning the genetic lottery, and not really a fair method of gaining office.
LA has been trending strongly red in recent presidential elections,although it did vote for WJC twice.
Although I think the GOP has an excellent to take out Landrieu this year, it is ALWAYS difficult to unseat an entrenched incumbent. We recently saw evidence of this in the primary elections held earlier this year.
I know Mary Landrieu and can report a similar experience. I am not from Louisiana and am not a political player, but I am related to someone who is and that someone is a very important person on Mary’s list of whom she needs to know. I see her rarely, but when I do, she also remembers my name, knows the connection, and she works it. She also knows that I am a serious conservative, doesn’t matter.
While she works this interpersonal stuff well, she also works to ensure that the people of Louisiana think that she is something that she is not: a moderate. She is one of Barack Obama’s biggest allies and she is all in for the liberal Democrat cause. I believe that there was a Landrieu, Blanco (Governor), Nagin (Mayor) conspiracy to blame George Bush and the Republicans should any hurricane strike the Louisiana coast. At that time, Louisiana was the only Democrat controlled state on the Gulf and south Atantic coastline and thus the only state pulling off what was done.
just lost any credibility right there.
Because she follows the time-tested tradition of Louisiana Huey Long Chicken-in-Every-Pot politics.
Rather half of the country.
Because they wake up the welfare voters at 3:00 PM on Election Day and take them to the polls when they see that Landrieu is losing. That’s the much heralded “get out the vote strategy” that keeps Democrats in office all over the country.
People would never vote for a D will vote for someone from the Cajun country.
The Landrieu name is still a strong political asset in Louisiana.
Vote fraud, vote buying, lying and cheating - just the usual for a democrat.
Plus add voter fraud to the mix.
Landrieu has close ties with the ACORN gang and other GOTV groups, so she will not be similarly neglected. If Cassidy is her runoff opponent, he better have a strong ground game in St. Tammany and Jefferson Parishes because those are the areas that can negate New Orleans.
There's one other thing I should probably mention: In Louisiana, Mary is primarily viewed as a New Orleans politician. That is not a positive factor throughout much of the state.
There is a fair chance that the LA runoff will decide who has the Senate majority. If so it will be a circus to end all circi (excuse my tortured Latin.)
Yep. Given the way the Dems are trying to prop up Landrieu with committee chair assignments and such, it’ll be a melee even if it doesn’t determine the majority. Outside influences and dirty tricks beaucoup.
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