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BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — A New Orleans lawmaker has been charged by Louisiana ethics officials of improperly using his position to help his legal clients, a conflict-of-interest charge that is one of three ethics violations alleged against state Rep. Arthur Morrell. The other two charges allege Morrell, D-New Orleans, failed to timely disclose his representation of clients before state agencies. A March 9 hearing has been set by the Louisiana Board of Ethics to decide if Morrell is guilty of the ethics violations and what fines, if any, are levied against him. Morrell, who has a fax machine in...

http://www.thenewsstar.com/localnews/html/BE29DE9E-AA65-4FA3-B60B-448B6EB2DDFF.shtml

Four Senate candidates get feisty on budget deficits By MARSHA SHULER mshuler@theadvocate.com Capitol news bureau Assigning responsibility for escalating federal budget deficits and raids on the Social Security trust fund prompted friction and feisty exchanges Wednesday among the four major candidates in the U.S. Senate race. U.S. Rep. Chris John blamed the Bush administration for pushing tax cuts and higher spending while the budget deficit soars to historic highs. State Treasurer John Kennedy and state Rep. Arthur Morrell said John and U.S. Rep. David Vitter -- who have been representing Louisiana in Washington -- contributed to the problem. Meanwhile, Vitter...

State could decide leadership in Senate By GERARD SHIELDS gshields@theadvocate.com Advocate Washington bureau It's still a big "if," but Louisiana voters could decide who runs the U.S. Senate for the next two years. Due to the state's unique runoff election system, the eyes of the nation could well be focused on the Pelican State and its politics beginning Wednesday. If no U.S. Senate candidate gains 50 percent plus one vote in Tuesday's general election, the top two vote-getters will compete in a Dec. 4 runoff. Because all the other 33 Senate elections will be decided next week, the Louisiana race...

We can no longer post from "The Shreveport Times," which endorsed John F. Kerry for President on Sunday. Today the Times had the unfortunate experience of publishing results of the tracking poll which now claims that Republican Rep. David Vitter has passed the magic 50 percent plus one vote mark to win the U.S. Senate election outright on Nov. 2. Vitter, with 51 percent in the poll, is vying with three high-profile Democrats, including State Treasurer John Kennedy, State Rep. Arthur Morrell, and U.S. Rep. Chris John, D-Crowley, in a strong bid to succeed popular retiring Sen. John Breaux, also...

Candidates decry outsider tentacles in senate race By MARSHA SHULER mshuler@theadvocate.com Capitol news bureau Two of the top contenders in the U.S. Senate race spent Friday arguing about which one of them was having strings pulled by national interests. Democrat U.S. Rep. Chris John continued to paint Republican U.S. Rep. David Vitter as the puppet of Republican leadership to the detriment of the state's interests. Meanwhile, Vitter said John is the puppet, not he. He noted that John's campaign is financed largely by out-of-state interests. The puppet spat came a day after John and Vitter took off the gloves during...

Senate forum turns testy Vitter, John rap each other's voting records, political stands By MARSHA SHULER mshuler@theadvocate.com Capitol news bureau LAFAYETTE -- A U. S. Senate forum got testy Thursday with words like "lying" being thrown around as four major candidates tried to differentiate themselves from one another on a range of issues. Republican U.S. Rep. David Vitter and Democratic U.S. Rep. Chris John slammed each other for misrepresenting the other's voting records on welfare reform and importing drugs. Democratic state Treasurer John Kennedy criticized both Vitter and John for participating in the budget raid on the Social Security trust...

Poll shows Vitter in lead, Dems launch attack By ADAM NOSSITER Associated Press writer With a new poll commissioned by Republican U.S. Senate candidate David Vitter showing him maintaining a substantial lead over Democratic rivals, the Democrats' national Senate elections committee launched a two-front, television-and-manpower attack on him Tuesday. The poll, by Public Opinion Strategies, gives Vitter 43 percent, more than the three Democratic candidates combined. In an independent poll in September, the Republican congressman from Metairie had 42 percent -- a result that already had analysts speculating that he could win the race outright on Nov. 2, and avoid...

Candidates trade Social Security policy accusations By MARSHA SHULER mshuler@theadvocate.com Capitol news bureau State Treasurer John Kennedy accused two of his U.S. Senate opponents on Monday of robbing the Social Security trust fund to pay for tax cuts for the rich. That and other accusations came flying as the four major candidates in the Nov. 2 Senate election squared off during the first of three statewide televised debates this month. U.S. Reps. David Vitter and Chris John voted for $1.3 trillion in tax cuts pushed by President Bush, Kennedy said. "Do you know where they got the money to fund...

First lady campaigns in La. for Vitter By The Associated Press SHREVEPORT -- While President Bush prepared for Thursday night's debate against John Kerry, first lady Laura Bush urged Louisiana voters to send the president more Republican help in the U.S. Senate. During an appearance at a fundraiser for U.S. Rep. David Vitter -- a Republican who is running for the Senate seat being vacated by Democrat John Breaux -- Bush called Vitter "a principled, skilled legislator who's not afraid to reach across the aisle." Vitter, who did not attend, was in Washington for a vote on a constitutional amendment...

"General Revenue Transfers to Social Security and Medicare as a Percentage of income taxes: 2003 – 3.6% 2010 – 8.6% 2020 – 28.6% 2030 – 52.7% 2040 – 66.4% 2050 – 76.1% 2060 – 88.0% 2070 – 101.6% Notes: Federal Income Taxes are estimated to be 10.89% of GDP, which is the 50-year average. Source: Social Security and Medicare Trustees Reports and Thomas Saving." How Are We to Pay for All This? By THOMAS R. SAVING Wall Street Journal September 22, 2004; Page A28

Poll shows Vitter in lead for Senate seat By The Associated Press Republican David Vitter is consolidating his front-running status in the U.S. Senate race, jumping to 42 percent in the latest poll by pollster Verne Kennedy. The Metairie congressman's three Democratic rivals -- state treasurer John Kennedy, U.S. Rep. Chris John, and state rep. Arthur Morrell -- are at 19, 16 and 3 percent respectively in the 600-person poll, taken while the Republican National Convention was held in New York between Aug. 30 and Sept. 2. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.1 percent....

http://www.thenewsstar.com/editorial/html/BF817F57-C937-413D-98E2-98570FEF740E.shtml

<p>WASHINGTON - Despite trailing in the polls, Democratic candidates in the race to replace retiring Democratic Sen. John Breaux of Louisiana are narrowly favored to win over the only Republican running, political analysts said last week.</p> <p>But that hairline Democratic edge, as one put it, could change in a puff of Louisiana's erratic political wind.</p>