Free Republic

Louisiana's U.S. Senate candidates tangled over illegal immigration, the federal deficit and the role of money in politics Thursday during their final face-to-face meeting of a campaign that has grown increasingly nasty and personal as Election Day nears. The hour-long debate between Republican incumbent David Vitter and Democratic challenger Charlie Melancon featured some of the strongest attacks of the campaign, as Melancon repeatedly accused Vitter of hypocrisy and panelists pressed the senator on whether he broke the law when he committed a "serious sin" involving a Washington, D.C., prostitution ring. Vitter refused to go beyond his previous statements about the...

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) was among the top beneficiaries of campaign donations from Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) leadership Political Action Committee during the second half of 2009, according to a bi-annual Federal Election Commission report filed Thursday. Landrieu dished out $10,000 to Reid, who is facing an increasingly tough re-election this cycle. Both those checks came in September before Landrieu became a key swing vote on the health care reform bill that was championed by Reid. Reid may also benefit down the road from a $5,000 donation Landrieu made to the Nevada State Democratic Party on Dec. 22,...

BATON ROUGE -- More than a year before Louisiana voters head to the polls in what promises to be one of the most closely watched U.S. Senate races in the country, the rhetoric already is heating up between incumbent Republican David Vitter and his Democratic challenger, Rep. Charlie Melancon, D-Napoleonville. The standard political playbook says incumbent politicians should ignore their opponents as long as possible, as mentioning them by name only gives them free publicity. But Vitter, who is seeking a second term after becoming Louisiana's first Republican senator since Reconstruction in 2004, turned that theory on its head during...

While [Senator David] Vitter is holding a series of town hall meetings across Louisiana, [Democrat Congressman Charlie] Melancon is deciding whether to challenge the incumbent Senator. If he runs, Melancon will have to deal with the relatively low approval rating for the Democratic Party’s top official, President Barack Obama, in Louisiana. Undoubtedly, he will find as many issues as possible to oppose the Obama administration. Melancon also faces a financial disadvantage against Vitter and will have a challenge matching the Senator’s fundraising success. To raise Democratic Party funds, Melancon recently attended a gathering in Martha’s Vineyard. Vitter wasted no time...

Governor stumps for Melancon By WILL SENTELL wsentell@theadvocate.com Capitol news bureau NEW IBERIA -- Gov. Kathleen Blanco campaigned Wednesday for fellow Democrat Charlie Melancon in a 3rd District race widely labeled as one of the nastiest political contests in years. Blanco, who attended grade school a short hop across Bayou Teche from where she spoke, praised Melancon as an experienced leader who will stick up for south Louisiana even if that means tangling with Republican President Bush. During a noon rally, Blanco also jabbed Republican Billy Tauzin III, Melancon's GOP opponent, who hopes to succeed his father in Congress. The...

Tauzin faces five opponents in bid to replace father By DOUG SIMPSON Associated Press writer HOUMA -- Some voters affectionately call him "Little Billy." A political rival calls him simply, "That Boy." Billy Tauzin III's name is as famous as any other in south Louisiana politics, familiar to the oilmen, shrimp fishermen and sugar cane farmers of Cajun towns like Houma and New Iberia. They know Tauzin's father, U.S. Rep. Billy Tauzin Jr., a former oil rig worker who won a seat in Congress in 1980, was re-elected 11 times and, as chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee,...