New Orleans Needs a Rudy, Violent crime is still the Big Easy’s biggest problem.

NRO ^ | April 21, 2006 | Nicole Gelinas

[ncountylee]

Voters in New Orleans go to the polls Saturday to choose the mayor who will shepherd the city through its slow and uncertain recovery. To give their city its best chance for renewal, old-line New Orleans Democrats should do the unthinkable. They should do what New Yorkers had to do to save their own city in 1993: suppress their natural instincts and vote for the Republican.

New Orleans hasn't had a Republican mayor since Reconstruction. But the credible Republican in the seven-person race of top-tier candidates, Rob Couhig, is the only candidate who, during this week's debates, correctly identified New Orleans's number-one city-killer: its violent-crime rate. (New Orleans doesn't hold separate party primaries: the two top vote-getters in Saturday's primary advance to a run-off May 20, unless one candidate wins a majority of votes.)

"The first thing we have to do is have a safe city," Couhig said when a debate moderator asked each candidate for his or her top three goals for the next mayoral term. "We're going to have a zero tolerance toward crime from day one." In interviews, Couhig has said that he would model his crime-fighting strategy after former Mayor Rudy Giuliani's successful strategy for New York in the nineties.

Couhig, a corporate lawyer, doesn't have Giuliani's prosecutorial experience, but at least he has diagnosed the top problem. By contrast, the three front-runners in the race — Democrats Ron Forman, Mitch Landrieu, and current mayor Ray Nagin — named top goals ranging from fixing the city's broken public-education system or encouraging the feds to build stronger levees to jumpstarting new-housing construction.

[Cate]

If the Republican wins, it will be fun to see the shocked faces of some of the corrupt free loaders that are running amuck down there.

[Lurker]

There isn't enough room in all the jails in Louisiana to hold all the corrupt LA politicians let alone the street thugs.

They'd have to send their crooks to Texas. Wait, they already did that.

Never mind.

L

[Onelifetogive]

New Orleans Needs a Rudy

The scrawny guy who played football at Notre Dame???

[the invisib1e hand]

new orleans isn't worthy of Rudy. Come to think of it, I don't think New York is either.

[stuck_in_new_orleans]

A Rep wont come close to winning. The 2 top names in the poll are Nagin and Landrieu. Both Dem's. All/most republicans have moved to Metairie/Northshore/Kenner aka outside of orleans parish

[rocksblues]

I know that if the inept Nagin gets reelected that New Orleans famous cemeteries have been very active at the voting booth this year.

[zarf]

New Orleans needs another race pimp to stir the pot.

Yeah, that's the ticket.

[Hardastarboard]

New Orleans needs a Rudy. Is that kind of like a wedgie, only from the front? Can someone please explain?

[Salvation]

Well, they better not elect a dimocrat then...............they are part of the corruption.

[ZULU]

New Orleans needs about twenty tons of Draino and big flush to clear it of the problems it suffers - all running from the State Governess to the half-wit they have for a mayor.

[isthisnickcool]

Houston has these damn Ray Nagin for mayor signs on the freeways. There is a thread about it here.

[metalurgist]

NEW ORLEANS NEEDS A RUDY

Do you mean to tell me that in the entire city of New Orleans that there is no one that will marry their cousin, appoint corrupt officials and cheat on their wife in front of their children?

[Red6]

The people of NO are like those you find in most other third world nations. They want the wealth, the safety, the clean streets and the nice roads found in the more affluent places........ but do the people of NO really want a police to crack down? Do they really want city ordinances enforced etc? No. They like living with the rats. They like their do anything city where the police watch prostitutes and do little, where they see a crime and do nothing, where mayors talk of chocolate cities and and and. They want their moron mayor and will vote for him again.

Wants amazing is that in the US the MSM actually does not bring light on this situation even more for what it really is! First there was denial (Like Rather denying the documents were forged). Then after they could no longer ignore it and people even had aerial pictures of the buses under water, sworn testimony of the Red Cross, the orders for the National Guard which came to late and and and, the MSM still did not paint a picture that was one of a incompetent Mayor, a poor NO Police department where 250 quit at the onset of the disaster and Governor. When you elect morons into office who go around talking about "chocolate cities" and so fourth, but lacks basic organizational skills and core competencies required to be a mayor you will eventually pay a high price. Did NO learn this lesson? I don't think so. There is a reason why this is a poor state and Texas next to them is a booming state. Why Texas dealt with the aftermath of several disasters much better...... NC has been hit many times, and they too dealt with it much better........ Maybe, just maybe the issue is not the President (The way the MSM did paint the picture) but those in the state and city level that failed.

[I got the rope]

I thought they already had an anti-gun, pro-abortion mayor.

[Tzimisce]

The only problem with New Orleans is that it's not "Chocolate" enough, right Ray?

[dk/coro]

You may have this one just right.

A decade ago, my cousin from North Carolina and his wife were visiting New Orleans.

In broad daylight a duo of young black assailants accosted hi as he was parking their car in the vicinity of the cathedral in the French Quarter.

My cousin was mugged and stabbed to death in front of his wife for the contents of his wallet.

Of course, the blacks were never caught. and the police treated the crime as "just another day's work" in the Cesspool of the South.

In my view, Nagin and New Orleans deserve each other. And, if the truth be known, no matter what Bush did in the aftermath of Katrina, it would not have made ANY difference whatever to the political outcome of this sordid mess.

Pox on this over-rated and under-criticized hell-hole of a metropolis. Let Bechtel Co. in there to re-build it into a Petro-Port and be done with it.

[KentTrappedInLiberalSeattle]

New Orleans Needs

... fewer lifelong New Orleans residents.

[texgal]

I drove to New Orleans to spend Easter with my daughter and her husband who is a 3rd year law student at Tulane Law. New Orleans is, for the most part, a city under siege. In some areas like the Garden District, where they live, you can hardly tell any difference. In others the destruction is unbelievable. Groups of youths roam the streets wearing the "I am stupid" uniform of pants pulled down past their butts, caps on backwards and wearing chains. When I say chains, I don't mean gold and silver. These were chains like you would use to secure a bicycle or motor scooter with Master locks like pendants around their necks. I'm sure these are used for weapons or to break windows on homes, businesses or automobiles. I did not feel safe at all and am concerned for their safety.

My son-in-law says you get used to seeing it but they plan to install an alarm system and an 8 foot fence around their property this week.

Interesting to note that while you see a lot of Nagin signs in the city, very few are in yards of residences. Most are on the roadside or in street medians along with the garbage that is piled waist high in some places. The kids are supporting the Republican candidate but with 24 candidates in the running and voter fraud already evident you can bet it will be a while before this is decided.

[Extremely Extreme Extremist]

The city should be razed and rebuilt into a huge national park IMO.