Free Republic

Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards (D) reinstated a statewide mask mandate for everyone 5 years old and up as the Pelican State has hit the most cases per capita in the U.S. The governor announced the mask requirement over Twitter, citing surging COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, which he said are “threatening the ability of hospitals to deliver care.” The mandate will go until at least Sept. 1, but Edwards said it could be extended if needed.

The Louisiana Legislature voted overwhelmingly Thursday to move approximately $300 million annually from a fund that pays for higher education and health care to a fund that pays for large transportation projects. Supporters have said the spending will not only improve the state’s infrastructure system, but that it will also create construction jobs. Critics are concerned the proposal would exacerbate an already expected budget deficit in July 2025 affecting state universities, hospitals and other health care programs. Gov. John Bel Edwards needs to sign the legislation for it to become law. Edwards hasn’t decided if he approves of the bill...

Louisiana residents who get a COVID-19 vaccine by the end of July will be eligible to enter to win a $1 million jackpot, Gov. John Bel Edwards said Thursday. It's one of 14 cash prizes and scholarship awards totaling $2.3 million that Louisiana will dole out in weekly drawings beginning next month as part of a campaign to juice the state's dismal vaccination rate. But any Louisiana resident who has received at least one dose of the Moderna or Pfizer vaccines or the single-dose Johnson & Johnson shot is eligible for the lottery. Louisiana will award nine $100,000 scholarships to...

The Louisiana legislature passed SB 118 with veto-proof majorities. The House sent the bill, with amendments to the Senate, after voting for it 73 to 27 on 27 May 2021. Constitutional Carry is a reasonable facsimile of the state of law when the Second Amendment was ratified in 1791. At that time, no state, nor the federal government required any governmental permission to carry arms openly or concealed.The Senate passed the amended bill on 1 June 2021, 27 ayes to 9 nays. SB118 will be sent to Governor Bel Edwards. It was enrolled on 3 June. Governor Edwards has 20...

Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry (R) said Wednesday in a 9-page legal opinion that the Democrat governor’s mask mandate is “likely unconstitutional and unenforceable.” Democrat Governor John Bel Edwards over the weekend announced a statewide mask mandate and additional restrictions ... Landry also said that the Governor has no power to make substantive law through an executive order, even in an emergency and asserts that the mask mandate “exposes individuals to unlawful searches and seizures, as well as burdens them with exposing potentially sensitive personal health information and having it exposed to others in a public setting.” “The mask mandate...

You knew it was a matter of time before Louisiana entered the realm of lots of other states where the government officially solicited the involvement of citizens to rat each other out. But the rats are now here. For the most part, so far there hasn’t been a plethora of examples here of police harassing or abusing people for the sin of exercising their freedom of speech or association as in places like Wisconsin, California, North Carolina or New Jersey, and thankfully Gov. John Bel Edwards hasn’t issued forth any anti-semitic threats like New York mayor Warren “Bill DeBlasio” Wilhelm...

A state representative from Covington is urging an end to the stay-home order at month's end, saying that Louisiana is facing an economic abyss if the coronavirus measure put in place last month by Gov. John Bel Edwards is extended. In a news release, Rep. Mark Wright, a Republican, said that he respects Edwards' effort protect the people of Louisiana and what health care professionals and people are doing to reduce the the spread of the virus. "But at the end of the day, we cannot continue with these drastic measures as unemployment soars and countless small businesses close their...

The political world would be a much better place if all public officials knew how to apologize for mistakes the way Louisiana Lt. Gov. Bill Nungesser did on Easter Day. CNN’s Wolf Blitzer was interviewing Nungesser about Louisiana’s unusually high incidence of the coronavirus, part of which probably was exacerbated by Mardi Gras celebrations in February. Nungesser was saying there was only one known case in the whole state by the time of Mardi Gras, but that had federal or medical guidance come sooner, officials certainly would have considered canceling Mardi Gras.

This morning we had a post talking about the letter that State Rep. Danny McCormick (R-Shreveport) released to his colleagues and the public calling for an end to the economic shutdown Gov. John Bel Edwards is imposing on the state of Louisiana as a response to the Wuhan virus. As we noted Friday, the primary justification for the shutdown was to protect the state’s health care system from being overwhelmed by virus patients, and that justification is no longer valid, if it ever was, because it’s now unmistakably clear the system will not be overwhelmed. McCormick might have been the...

A popular song once told us that “One is the loneliest number that there’s ever been.” And that’s the case for Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards. Edwards is the only Democrat governor in the nation who is pro-life on abortion. He one of just a handful of pro-life Democrats elected at any major federal or statewide level — a reminder that most pro-life Democrats have become Republicans as the Democrat Party has drifted further left and become ubiquitously pro-abortion. Edwards beat pro-life Republican businessman Eddie Rispone 51.3% to 48.7% over the weekend. national pundits tried to use the victory as...

Marco Rubio was roundly criticized when during the 2016 primary he made suggestive remarks about Donald Trump's supposedly small hands. But Joe Scarborough decided to jump right down in the same gutter on Monday's Morning Joe. Commenting on the loss of Ed Rispone, the Trump-backed candidate in the Louisiana governor's race, Scarborough smirked: "Little hands, little fingers, little coattails."Get the rest of the story and view the video here.

The contest is also an increasingly close one. Incumbent Gov. John Bel Edwards faces a serious challenge from Republican businessman Eddie Rispone, who’s attempted to tie himself tightly with Trump during the campaign. In the week ahead of the election, polling had the two candidates nearly tied, and Cook Political Report has classified the race as a “toss-up.”

f you thought there weren’t any major elections until the Iowa caucuses on Feb. 3, guess again. On Saturday, Louisiana will choose between incumbent Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards and Republican businessman Eddie Rispone for governor. And the race down in the Bayou looks increasingly close, so it’s an open question whether Edwards can once again overcome Louisiana’s deep red hue to win reelection. Here’s where things stand heading into Election Day.

Back again for the weekend.... "There was the Duke of York he had ten thousand men, he marched them up to the top of the hill and he marched them down again..... Jeffrey Epstein was a mistake we are being told.... When it comes to sex my experience is that the wrongdoing is in thought word and deed or some combination of the three..... I go into the literature of my experience to page 69, no kidding. "One set of voices cry that sex is a lust of our lower nature, a base necessity of procreation. Then we have the...

Voters elected John Bel Edwards to a second term as Louisiana’s governor in a General Election held Saturday, Nov. 16, according to projections by WAFB Political Analyst Jim Engster. Edwards was first elected in 2015, breaking through an eight-year lockout of Democratic governors across the Deep South. ... With a clear challenger for Edwards, President Trump and other prominent Republicans rallied behind Rispone. But, Edwards used President Trump’s backing of Rispone to his own advantage, increasing his support among minority voters. Edwards is expected to make his victory speech shortly.

President Trump cut an ad for Louisiana gubernatorial candidate Eddie Rispone as Republicans seek to gin up support for their candidate with early voting underway starting Saturday. “Louisiana, you got to get out and vote for Eddie Rispone on Nov. 16. He is a fantastic man, a great success. Everything he’s touched has turned to gold, and now he wants to help your state,” Trump said in the ad released on the event of early voting. “Your current governor, John Bel Edwards, is a disaster. Eddie Rispone will protect your Second Amendment. John Bel Edwards will not,” he added. “So...

President Donald Trump is heading to Monroe next week, U.S. Rep. Ralph Abraham confirmed Thursday. The president is making a second trip to Louisiana in two months to stump for Abraham's once-rival Eddie Rispone, who is attempting to stop Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards from getting a second term. "I appreciate (Trump) making the time to visit Monroe next week," Abraham, R-Alto, tweeted Thursday. "The people of Louisiana's 5th District love their President and support him all the way. His visit to northeast Louisiana will be a historic moment this region will never forget." The Monroe News-Star first reported that...

The last of the Louisiana state election numbers are in and it's not pretty for the Democrats. Not only does its moderate Democratic governor, John Bel Edwards, face a runoff as noted here, the state Senate has taken a supermajority. And a whole bunch of key state offices went squarely to Republicans. Funny how the press isn't covering this much. But Guy Benson at Townhall is, and he found a Democratic Party "decimated": Among statewide office-holders, the incumbent GOP Lieutenant Governor (68 percent), Attorney General (66 percent), Treasurer (60 percent, and Agricultural Commissioner (58 percent) were all re-elected without the...

Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards’ quest for a second term as the Deep South’s only Democratic governor will stretch over another month, as voters denied him an outright primary win Saturday and sent him to a runoff election. The incumbent’s inability to top 50% of the vote in the six-candidate field raised questions about his reelection chances against a national Republican offensive that includes President Donald Trump. Trump made a last-minute appeal to Louisiana’s voters to reject Edwards. Edwards will compete in the Nov. 16 runoff against Eddie Rispone, a Baton Rouge businessman and longtime GOP political donor making his...

President Donald Trump will make an 11th-hour trip to Louisiana to stump for Republican candidates who are attempting to unseat Gov. John Bel Edwards, the only Democratic governor in the Deep South. The president plans to hold a rally in Lake Charles on Friday, alongside Republicans Eddie Rispone and Ralph Abraham. "Keep Democrat Governor Edwards under 50%, force a runoff and have a great new Republican Governor," Trump tweeted Sunday, announcing his plan to visit Louisiana on the eve of Election Day. The Louisiana Republican Party also tweeted about the news, along with an image of Trump altered to make...