The Wilder Effect - Why Bobby Jindal lost in Louisiana, despite being ahead in the polls.

Weekly Standard ^ | 11/17/03 | FredBarnes

[bigeasy_70118]

Jindal lost b/c the poor whites in North Louisiana and some in So. Louisiana (Tangipahoa and Washington Parishes)wouldn't vote for him. Had they supported him in the same manner they supported Suzie Terrel for senate last year, he would be the governor.

You can assign any number of reasons for this (healthcare, Dem identification, etc) but these are the same people who came out in droves for David Duke in 1991, thus my conclusion is that Jindal lost b/c of racism.

[LucyJo]

What happens, their wives do it for them? ;)
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it = nothing

Or, apparently in this case, with them.

[CoolPapaBoze]

Why do people think Jindal as governor would have changed anything one whit in Louisiana? Does anybody remember Buddy Roemer? He was a highly intelligent governor with fresh ideas 15 years or so ago and he got jack done because of the Legislature. Everything he tried to do was shut down.

Hell, Abraham Lincoln could be elected governor of Louisiana and still nothing would change. The corrupt legislature and the old boy network run the state and I doubt very seriously that will ever change until all of the money and oil and intelligent residents have left the state. If/when Jindal is governor, I doubt very seriously he's going to ever be able to make any meaningful reforms.

[SauronOfMordor]

From the official election returns, Jindel got 676,484 people to vote for him. In 1991, Klan leader David Duke got 701,024 to show up and vote for him, after the National republican leadership urges everybody to vote for his opponent, rather than see a Klansman be a Republican governor.

[SauronOfMordor]

Remember when Kemp spent most of his VP campaign trolling around in black neighborhoods telling them how much he cared? He and Dole didn't get any more of the black vote than Reagan did. It was a waste of time. Fact is, the Republicans should more or less write them off and hope for a low turnout.

The best Republican candidate would be somebody who would energise the white, middle-class vote, while not scaring the black vote too much.

[deport]

What was the bumper stickers that were around at that time?

'Vote for the Crook, it's important'

or something like that..........

[wardaddy]

You can assign any number of reasons for this (healthcare, Dem identification, etc) but these are the same people who came out in droves for David Duke in 1991, thus my conclusion is that Jindal lost b/c of racism.

Didn't Jindhal carry the white vote in Jefferson Parish which is also the only place Duke ever won a seat as State Senator for Metarie in 1989?

[SauronOfMordor]

There are far too many Pubs who hold your view(s), and this is why I will remain an Independent instead of becoming a Republican. You just write us off. Gee, thanx.

If you were a typical black voter, there would be fewer people holding kimoajax's viewpoint. There would be more hope that we could do something to bring around the black vote. But, let's face it, you're not typical.

The facts on the ground are that, in election after election, the vast majority of the black vote goes to the Democrats no matter what the Republicans try. The facts of life are that when Republicans try to be more like Democrats in order to attract some of the black vote, the Republican base stays home and the die-hard democrats will still vote democrat

[rdb3]

The facts on the ground are that, in election after election, the vast majority of the black vote goes to the Democrats no matter what the Republicans try.

IMHO, the Pubs haven't really done anything until very recently. I call it a benign neglect. But this is beside my point.

I understand what you are saying about me being non-typical. But still, why would I want to be joining an organization where a significant number of said organization hold these views of either me or those who look like me?

On the left-hand (no pun intended), I'm used. On the right-hand, I'm "written off." So with no real house to call a politcal home, this vagrant will remain independent. Let's just say that I will not impose myself on anyone's party.

[SauronOfMordor]

I understand what you are saying about me being non-typical. But still, why would I want to be joining an organization where a significant number of said organization hold these views of either me or those who look like me?

Which is a contributing factor for white males have been leaving the Dems.

Then again, why is it so important for the Republicans to be addressing blacks as blacks? When the economy tanks, both blacks and whites have hard times. When the WTC was hit, both blacks and whites died. If Al-Queda sets off a dirty bomb in NYC, or we get a bio hit, both blacks and whites will be affected. It seems to me that perhaps we should be focusing on which party will produce a better environment for all Americans, rather than which one caters best to this or that group

Actually, I don't know why I'm in this Dem/Pub debate, since I'm a dues-paying Libertarian, who voted for Andre Marrou for Pres in 2000.

[warchild9]

The system is broken, ma'am, and no amount of voitng will change things.
Secondly, our military is being used for empire-building, and not for protecting us (for example, why do we have massive forces in Germany to protect us against the Soviet Union when the Chinese now run the Panama Canal?). Even my daddy says the military is being criminally misused, and he has 35 years in the Marine Corps under his belt.

[LucyJo]

"The system is broken, ma'am, and no amount of voitng will change things."
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So...what are you saying? The system is broken, voting won't fix it, so the citizenry should follow your stated example to just not vote, sit on our hands, and criticize every effort put forth by anyone else who steps forward to participate in making the system work?

I don't know that I would disagree with all of your daddy's opinions, or even yours, to a degree about politicians and current events. That isn't the point. Few of us will rarely, if ever, agree on everything. Each of our efforts alone may not amount to much, but we can join with others of like mind to petition, and write letters to newspaper editors, and telephone, and email, and generally make our voices heard to those whose decisions and actions do have the power to effect our lives, and to those who need to be educated on the issues. (That's one of the reasons I became a member here.) We can vote, and I think it is wrong not to do so. And, those of us who believe can pray. The brother of my Lord Jesus Christ says in James 5:16 that "...the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much."

A defeatist attitude didn't get us thru the past 200 + yrs. with all of their flaws, and it will not help us now, or ever. We the people still have the power, but vigilance is required to keep it, else the day may soon come when voting REALLY won't make a difference.

I may never leave bloody footprints in the snow at Valley Forge, or do any of the countless other heroic deeds that guaranteed my privilege to enjoy the freedoms of this the greatest country on earth, but I'll contribute what little I can. If that type of attitude seems naive, or melodramatic, to jaded or skeptical minds, I'll just say it was good enough for our forefathers...it's good enough for me.

[warchild9]

I swallowed the red pill years ago. I have no fantasies about what Washington's suits mean to my life. I realize the system has gone bad, is deteriorating, and have joined a Southern Nationalist organization which will, hopefully, let my people pick up the pieces.
We honor the patriots of the past, and those who believe they're doing right in the present. I also know when the debt bubble bursts, and Washington uses force to again suppress our freedoms, someone has to have a level head and sense of reality to maintain some memory of the free people we had been.

[185JHP]

Keyes was an irksome guy. I don't know how much of it was conscious, but Keyes seemed to rely on a kind of presumption that "I can be as ornery and cantankerous as I want to be, and you'll still have to support/vote for me, to prove you don't have any racism in you."

[Char B]

Excellent comments. The cream will rise to the top, and Bobby Jindal has a great future ahead of him.