Posted on 03/31/2002 5:09:53 AM PST by Theodore R.
COLUMN: President's nod would tip scales for Cooksey
Byron McCauley / The Times
Posted on March 31, 2002
Last week in an editorial board meeting with The Times, I asked U.S. Rep. John Cooksey whether he has sought the support of President George W. Bush in his bid to unseat U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu.
Answer: It is Republican Party policy not to choose sides when there are two Republicans in a race.
This must have been Cooksey's lucky day because hours later, Public Service Commissioner Jay Blossman, the other Republican in the race, announced he was quitting for personal reasons.
Now that Cooksey is the lone Republican in the race, one wonders whether the Republican cavalry will come to Louisiana. With so much on the line, not the least of which is the reclamation of a majority in the Senate, it stands to reason the president would be champing at the bit to swing through Louisiana and campaign for Cooksey.
If he doesn't, it means one of at least two things: The president sees the race as unwinnable and doesn't want to fight a futile battle, or he is distancing himself from Cooksey, whose infamous "diaper on the head" statements in the days after Sept. 11 may return to haunt him.
This much is true: Without presidential support, Cooksey's chances of unseating a popular incumbent are slim to none.
It'll be interesting to watch. In Northwest Louisiana and particularly in Acadiana and New Orleans, polls show Cooksey has an uphill battle. A poll conducted Feb. 25-March 2 by Southern Media and Opinion Research showed Landrieu, D-New Orleans, with a 41-point lead over Cooksey.
Of course, that can change with Blossman out of the race. Cooksey's first order of business should be to improve his name recognition statewide in order to have a chance to win in November.
During a speech to the Republican Women of Bossier, Cooksey struck a familiar strategy. "Louisiana is a conservative state. Mary Landrieu is a liberal senator," he said.
It will take more than the worn-out, conservative-liberal argument to win this race. Landrieu really is a moderate and has cozied up to the Bush administration on a number of issues, including support of defense initiatives. She is publicly and smartly touting her record of bipartisanship.
Cooksey, an eye doctor who lives in West Monroe, will do well in the Northeast part of the state, where his name recognition is high. The first time many people were introduced to him, however, was in the national media, following his encouragement of ethnic profiling and the "diaper on the head" incident after the terrorist attacks.
That kind of politics might go over well with ardent conservatives, but progressive-minded people of Louisiana are less concerned with culture wars and more concerned about jobs, honesty in politics and changing the image of Louisiana.
They also overwhelmingly supported Bush in November 2000.
Cooksey needs zealous support of Bush and the GOP to have a chance at winning. Lukewarm support in a race this important essentially is a vote of no-confidence, and the people surely would take note.
Byron McCauley is editorial page editor of The Times. His column appears on Sundays. He may be reached at 459-3281.
So Mcauley thinks Mary Landrieu is a moderate? With an American Consertive Union lifetime rating of 14. No media bias there huh?
That kind of politics might go over well with ardent conservatives, but progressive-minded people of Louisiana are less concerned with culture wars and more concerned about jobs, honesty in politics and changing the image of Louisiana.
Progressive-minded people can't be Conservatives? I guess it depends on your definition of "progress".
I will have that distinct pleasure. I'll be thinking of you as I pull that lever. :-)
Ah yes, it helps when you can count on the residents of Lake Lawn and many other fine cemetaries to shore up the vote.
I have called her office many times in Washington, her staff is hesitant to state what position Landrieu will take on this issue or that issue. Partial Birth Abortion during the Clinton 1996 and her own election is an example of her waffling. She told a crowd in NO that she was not in favor of Partial Birth Abortion, but was in favor of a womens right to choose.(I guess that even means murder of an unborn child). SHe supported Clinton at every turn and during the impeachment she appeared on Larry King and said that all of this was all about sex.
Cooksey on the other hand is a very weak candidate. He appeared with McCain in South Louisiana last year on CFR (Although he recently voted against the bill in the house). He told an audience who stood to question Landrieu and Cooksey replied, "Don't beat up on my friend Mary" I saw this on c-span. By the way Landrieu's husband is a Snelling, whose if from the prominent Snelling family in Monroe, where Cooksey practiced Opthamology, prior to his run for representative. I don't know if he has the stomach for a fierce battle to unseat Landrieu. I hope that I am wrong. Bush will need to come to Louisiana, if he really wants to take the Senate back. He might not fight so hard if it were Breaux runnig, but it is not Breaux, this is the left wing EMILY'S list liberal Landrieu that is in the race. Bush had better get this one right because without out Cooksey the democrats will remain in Daschle's hands.
One other interesting point is that in a letter to her supporters, Landrieu opened the letter with a comment(paraphrase) WE JUST WON A HUGE BOOST WHEN SEN. JEFFORDS JOINED WITH THE DEMOCRATS AND PLACED DASHOLE IN CHARGE OF THE SENATE. This was reported on a state wide conservative radio talk show, Moon Graffon.
First, Landrieu is not a moderate in any way. She is a Hillary Clinton liberal who wants to destroy our nation. Only an absolute idiot or a lying liberal would see her as a moderate.
Secondly, I've only lived here for two months, but I don't think that the voters of Louisiana are primarily moderate and I don't think they care about making themselves look good in the eyes of of liberals who call themselves "progressives." I think they might elect Cooksey just to send a message to idiots like Hillary that they hate her.
I will make one criticism of the Cooksey campaign. Two months ago, I e-mailed them through their website asking some questions about Dr. Cooksey and his stands on the issues. I told him that I was considering both him and Mr. Blossman and that these questions would help me decide between the two of them. I also told him that I wanted to volunteer in a campaign and told about some of my previous volunteer efforts. After two months, I have heard nothing from the campaign. I gave my e-mail address, phone number, and home address. I haven't received an e-mail, phone call, or letter acknowledging that they even received my e-mail. If their system screwed up and they didn't receive it, they need to fix their system. If they received it but were too lazy to respond to someone interested in helping the campaign, then they may not have the organization and energy to run a winning campaign.
I had the same experience with Mr. Blossman as well. I should have mentioned that fact. I'll support Dr. Cooksey and will probably volunteer for him fairly soon. I wrote what I did only out of concern that the campaign isn't as organized as it should be. I was once webmaster for a Congressional campaign, and I kept after the campaign to answer every e-mail that came to the site. I guess I'm just hypersensitive to answering e-mail.
WFTR
Bill
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