Free Republic

The "Cajun John Wayne" is on his way to Washington, D.C. Louisiana voters in Acadiana and Lake Charles voted Saturday (Dec. 10) to replace U.S. Rep. Charles Boustany, R-Lafayette, with tough-talking former sheriff's captain Clay Higgins over Public Service Commissioner Scott Angelle in the all-Republican runoff. Higgins, like Donald Trump, has no experience as an elected official and had never run for office. He became a celebrity, largely because of videos he recorded while working for the St. Landry sheriff that went viral and gained national attention. An internet sensation, Higgins is often referred to as the "Cajun John Wayne."...

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Louisiana congressman Charles Boustany won a fifth term on Saturday by handily defeating his fellow Republican incumbent, Jeff Landry, in a runoff election. The two men were forced into the same district when Louisiana lost a congressional seat because of anemic population growth in the latest federal census. The state will have six U.S. House seats in the new term that begins in January.

The crisis in this country isn’t really economic. It’s a crisis of confidence in our political leaders on both the Left and the Right. After a decade of elections predicated on change, policies have essentially stayed the same: Central banks have enabled central governments to fuel deficit spending in pursuit of consolidating central control of society. Perhaps the spending priorities change depending on which side of the aisle you inhabit, but one thing is certain: both Democrats and Republicans have complicity in creating the fiscal crisis that now faces the country. Unless Republicans offer a real alternative to the big...

After three weeks of wrangling, lawmakers in the final hours of a special redistricting special session finally agreed on a plan to shrink Louisiana's seven congressional districts to six and sent the measure to Gov. Bobby Jindal, who said he will sign it into law. The plan also needs the approval of the U.S. Justice Department to ensure that it does not dilute minority voting strength. Senators revised House Bill 6 by Rep. Erich Ponti, R-Baton Rouge, after three hours of debate and gave it 25-13 approval. The House went along with the Senate changes, 64-35. The vote on the...

Rep. John Fleming, R-Minden, on Thursday accused Rep. Charles Boustany, R-Lafayette, of actively backing a redistricting plan that could hand Fleming's seat to a Democrat in order to make Boustany's already safe district even more "perfect." Rep. Charles Boustany, left, and Rep. John Fleming are in a sparring match over state redistricting. The verbal fireworks are a very public display of what has become a tense effort to shrink the state's current seven congressional districts into six while balancing racial, regional, partisan and incumbent interests. It also reveals a surprising rift among the six Republican members of the House delegation,...

Health Reform: The tax-exempt seniors group that pushed hard to get ObamaCare passed stands to reap a billion-dollar reward over the next decade as ObamaCare destroys the competition to the products it endorses. During what passed for a debate on ObamaCare, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), which administers benefits under Medicare, issued what can only be called a gag order after private insurer Humana Inc. warned its Medicare Advantage customers in a letter that ObamaCare might cause them to lose some benefits. It was because that letter exposed one of Obama-Care's biggest lies — the claim that...

It’s relatively new fundraising and political turf for Republicans. Unlike other well-educated and traditionally profitable professions, such as trial law, physicians comparatively are not as politically involved, according to several GOP Members and candidates. “It is a good fundraising base, and I do think right now with the health care issues in the Congress and the Senate that doctors are more open than normal to contributing to political candidates,” said heart surgeon Larry Bucshon (R), who is challenging Rep. Brad Ellsworth (D-Ind.). “Doctors, in general, don’t give a lot of money to candidates.” There are 16 doctors in the House...

Video at link.

Below is the full text (as prepared) of tonights Republican address on health care, delivered by Dr. Charles Boustany (R-LA) following President Obamas speech to a Joint Session of Congress

EC interviews US Representative Charles Boustany (R-LA), fresh off of Obama's pitch to the nation. Congressman Boustany has 20 years experience as a practicing physician, and some strong words of caution about the REAL reasons Obama wants to control healthcare in America.

Evil Conservative Radio at 7PM on Wednesday, 25 February: 1. Before 9/11, Al Qaeda attacked the USS Cole off the coast of Yemen. 17 American heroes were murdered, including 26 year old Navy Fireman, Petty Officer Gary Swenchonis. On Feb 5, Obama dropped the charges against mastermind Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri. EC is honored to interview Petty Officer Swenchonis' father about this betrayal, and his subsequent refusal to meet with Obama. Every American who ever wore a uniform should support Gary Swenchonis, Sr. and be irate at this abomination. 2. EC will interview US Representative Charles Boustany (R-LA), about Obama's Trillion-Dollar...

BATON ROUGE, La. -- U.S. Rep. Charles Boustany endorsed Rudy Giuliani in the 2008 presidential race on Monday, joining U.S. Sen. David Vitter among Louisiana Republicans backing the former New York City mayor. Boustany, R-Lafayette, cited the New York Republican's position on national security, "protecting our families," low taxes and government efficiency as issues that qualify him for the presidency, according to a news release from the Giuliani campaign. A Boustany spokesman confirmed the endorsement. Vitter, R-Metairie, is Giuliani's regional campaign chairman for the South.

LA Rep. Boustany endorsed the former Mayor of New York for President Monday morning. The move is the latest in a mounting campaign that could thrust Louisiana voters into peculiar position of rendering to the most moderate of the GOP Presidential candidates a Conservative Respectability. First, David Vitter became the first US Senator and the first major statewide elected official South of the Mason-Dixon line to support Rudy Giuliani's Presidential Exploratory Committee. Now, Louisiana's Seventh District Congressman Charles Boustany has joined the campaign of America's Mayor, responding to the intensive wooing that Rudy has been doing towards the state's political...

Can't link to Lafayette's own Gannett rag (and arguably the worst newspaper on the planet), the Daily Advertiser, but what this basically boils down to is that one of the few House seats the Democrats had a shot at next year has been taken out of play, further slimming their chances of taking over that chamber. John, the 7th's former congressman, was the only candidate who stood a chance of upsetting the district's current GOP congressman, Charles Boustany. Tough luck, Dems.

Democrat chairman resigns after disappointing fall elections By The Associated Press After a series of stinging disappointments in this fall's congressional elections, the head of the Louisiana Democratic Party said Monday that he is stepping down from his leadership post. Party chairman Mike Skinner said his resignation would become effective at the next meeting of the Democratic State Central Committee early next year. Skinner, a former U.S. attorney in Louisiana, was elected chairman in March 2003, and that year the Democrats regained the Governor's Mansion with the election of Kathleen Blanco and held onto nearly every statewide elected position. But...

La. GOP backs party primaries Group to target federal vote first By MARSHA SHULER mshuler@theadvocate.com Capitol news bureau State Republicans voted Saturday to support a return to party primaries in federal elections, after abandoning the idea of including state and local elections as well. Meanwhile, the Republican State Central Committee also decided to investigate moving Louisiana's next presidential primary to February 2008 to bring more attention to the state and its voters' preference. The business marked the first meeting of the Republican leadership since the party scored major victories in fall elections. Party leaders rejoiced and there were plenty of...

NEW ORLEANS -- Republicans picked up a congressional seat in southern Louisiana on Saturday, but gave another right back to Democrats in a second, much closer runoff election that was also in Cajun country. A longtime Democratic bastion in Louisiana's 7th District went to Republican Charles Boustany, a retired heart surgeon. With 94 percent of the precincts reporting, Boustany had 72,223 votes or 55 percent, and Democratic state Sen. Willie Landry Mount had 58,968 or 45 percent. Farther south, Billy Tauzin III narrowly lost a race to succeed his retiring father, a Republican House of Representatives powerhouse. In the 3rd...

Boustany, Melancon top vote Tauzin III awaits final tally By PATRICK COURREGES and ANGELA SIMONEAUX Acadiana bureau Southern Louisiana voters Saturday appeared to have decided the last two congressional races in the nation, electing Democrat Charlie Melancon in the 3rd District and Republican Charles Boustany Jr. in the 7th District, giving the Democratic and Republican parties a split of the final two seats available. But the 3rd District race was decided by slightly more than 500 votes out of more than 114,000 cast, and 3rd District Republican candidate Billy Tauzin III is not conceding the race. In the 3rd District,...

Thougths, comments, concerns? One thought I have, if Tauzin III loses, he should be shot. If he wins, he should be given the worst possible committee assignment.

For those of you who may not be aware of it, the final makeup of the House of Representatives will be decided today in Louisiana. We have two runoff elections to decide representation for Louisiana's 3rd and 7th congressional districts. Both of these seats are currently open. In the 3rd congressional district where Republican Billy Tauzin, Jr. is retiring there is a runoff election between his son, Republican Billy Tauzin, III of Chackbay and Democrat Charles Melancon of Napoleonville. In the 7th district, where Democrat Chris John vacated the seat to run for the U.S. Senate -- unsuccessfully -- Republican...