Posted on 08/27/2009 5:46:30 PM PDT by Clintonfatigued
....who votes exactly the way Nancy Pelosi tells him.
The good news: we will probably pick up his House seat.
The bad news: Melancon is one of the few LA Democrats that could actually win a U.S. Senate election.
But I think that Obama’s unpopularity in LA (and the expected low black turnout in LA in 2010 with Obama not on the ballot) will allow Sen. Vitter to win despite his personal scandal.
I find it interesting that there are so many Lebanese American politicians in Louisiana. I think that there were three serving at once if I recall (Malancon, Jean, Boustaney).
They sometimes get mistaken for Cajun, particularly if they’re Catholic.
I work with a Petroleum Engineer who is Lebanese and went to LSU.
Is Melancon Lebanese-American? I do know that Chris John, Charles Boustany, Richard Ieyoub and Suzanne Haik Terrell are of Lebanese descent.
Ieyoub finished third in the 1996 Senate jungle-primary; Terrell finished second in the 2002 Senate jungle-primary; and Chris John finished second in the 2004 Senate jungle-primary. I was hoping that Charles Boustany (who, as a Protestant from Cajun Country is ideally suited to defeat a Catholic Democrat a statewide race) would break the Louisiana Lebanese-American curse and beat Mary Landrieu in 2008, but, alas, he didn’t run.
If Melancon is indeed Lebanese-American, I hope he meets the same fate as his paisans that ran for the Senate during the past 15 years.
“Other Republicans haven’t ruled out running even if Vitter stays in the race. Secretary of State Jay Dardenne and former state Supreme Court Justice Chet Taylor are quietly gaging support.”
Typical, just falling into the usual democrat trap in LA. Runoff time and we loose.
“They sometimes get mistaken for Cajun, particularly if they’re Catholic.”
Charles Boustany is Lebanese on both sides, yet is an Episcopalian, not a Catholic. I find that really strange. Congressman Nick Rahall is a Presbyterian, but being for West Virginia it would have been difficult for his family to find a Catholic church; that certainly wouldn’t have been a problem for the Boustanys in Laffayette.
Lousiana no longer holds “jungle primaries” (with a run-off for the top two finishers if no one gets 50%+1) in federal elections. There will be a Republican primary and a Democrat primary, with the winner of each to go on to the general election (along with any third-party candidates).
“Louisiana deserves better.”
Yeah? So then why’s he running?
Oh right, they can have French last names.
Clemenza, Boustany succeeded Chris John. Melancon was elected the same year 2004. Both seats went to a runoff and switched parties.
Now we will reclaim Melancon’s. That will cancel out the likley loss of Cao.
Vitter is lucky his state leans Republican and that 2010 is looking like it will be a good year.
Predictably Chuck is saying what a great family man he is while not specifically mentioning the hookers. His beloved wife is named “Peachy”.
I have a friend who’s wife was expecting a baby in late 1998. He would joke that had the baby been born on December 19, the day that Clinton was impeached, he would nickname her “Peachy.”
The real first name of Melancon’s wife is Alida. “Peachy” doesn’t sound that bad now, does it?
If we could get someone in there with a better voting record, it’s one thing. But the problem is, Vitter may have an unfortunate track record personally, but his voting record is, frankly, just about the best of any Senator. Replacing him now means recklessly jeopardizing this seat and replacing him with Dardenne means replacing with another bland moderate. Even damaged, Vitter is needed now... badly.
Chet Taylor, a former state Supreme Court Justice, is another possibility. I don’t know mucb about him, but he could be just as conservative as Vitter.
Speculation on a voting record is all you can do with other potential candidates, but with Vitter, the record is there. If we were in the high 50s, we might take the risk to replace him, but with Gen. Honoré’s declaration, we jeopardize this seat needlessly at a time we can’t afford to lose one of our top 3 voting members. LA is forgiving of Vitter’s sort of personal indiscretions, and we should be grateful for that.
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