Since It Looks Like Our Masters At The Capitol Don’t Give A Crap About Public Sentiment…
…maybe we’ll need to be a little more forceful about letting them know how unacceptable the choice of Edwin Edwards crony, unindicted co-conspirator and Democrat turncoat John Alario is as the Republican governor’s president of the Republican senate.
The best way to put this sentiment forward, it seems, is through the Parish Executive Committees within the Republican Party – and through them, to the state party.
In January of last year, the forward-thinking folks at the Caddo PEC passed a model resolution panning the idea of Alario as senate president. The rest of the PEC’s across the state could do themselves, and the rest of the state, a big favor by following suit.
The Caddo PEC’s resolution was pretty simple, and can probably serve as a template for the other 63 PEC’s…
Whereas, State Senator John Alario’s voting record during his many years of tenure in the State House of Representatives was not consistent with conservative values of smaller government and lower taxes, and;
Whereas, his voting record in his short time in the State Senate has demonstrated his continued lack of conservative principles, and;
Whereas, State Senator John Alario aspires to become president of the State Senate, and:
Whereas, the promotion to this level of power in the Senate is seen as a regression to the old ways of state government to tax and spend, and;
Whereas, the State of Louisiana under Governor Bobby Jindal has made great progress in changing the image of the State to one of higher efficiency and ethics in government;
Therefore be it resolved that the Caddo Parish Republican Executive Committee does hereby oppose the election of John Alario as president of the Louisiana Senate and further pleads with Governor Jindal to do the same lest his image as a reformer be diminished.
Passed this 10th day of February 2010 by the Caddo Parish Republican Executive Committee.
Signed by:
J. C. Allen, Chairman
If you don’t know who’s on the Parish Executive Committee where you are, feel free to contact us. We’d post the list here but the unintended consequences on private folks we’re not upset with are a little onerous.
There is a meeting of the State Central Committee in December, which gives us a month or so to work through the PEC’s and generate official opposition within the party the 24 Republicans in the state senate will have to ignore if they want to anoint Alario senate president in January. It seems pretty obvious that there’s a severe lack of sand within that cohort of 24, so it’s time to scare the hell out of them from the bottom up.
By all means, though, continue contacting your senators directly and demand they stand up against Alario. Chad Rogers at the Dead Pelican has supplied links to the current members of the senate and how to get them on the horn or by e-mail.
“Our Masters”? Seriously, Scott? That’s how you refer to our democratically-elected, representative government? That’s the kind of rhetoric I expect to hear from Cynthia McKinney or the OWS crowd. You’re better than that.
That’s because you’ve already expressed support for the anointment of Alario and haven’t gotten the high hat from senators who fail to see the impropriety of making this crook the top dog in the legislature.
Not interested in lectures on form from the other side today, thanks.
There is no Louisiana state senator who is not fully aware of Alario’s history as a populist and a liberal and as one of the shrewdest politicians to have served in the legislature. They are also all acutely aware of Governor Jindal’s power and the consequences of resisting it. This popular governor, who eschewed, to some extent, meddling in selection of chamber leaders in his first term, is bound to demand obeisance and obedience from all who expect a decent committee assignment and to remove any obstacles to enactment of his entire legislative program. Alario, who already has a hall named after him on the house side, possesses the skill, reach and persuasivenes to turn the screws as need be to aid Jindal in accomplishing his purposes, not all of which are conservative by traditional standards.
True Bob, but what must also be taken into account is the potential cost if the governor was successful in installing someone else as Senate President. If Alario were leading the opposition to Jindal’s proposals, how many of them would die in the Senate? Buddy Roemer successfully removed Alario and Nunez as leaders in the legislature, but that didn’t mean that Roemer was successful in “bricking up the top three floors of the education building”—quite the opposite. Nunez and Alario were completely successful in preventing Roemer from accomplishing any of the reforms he campaigned on. I hate the idea of Alario as Senate Prez, but I just don’t fault Jindal for co-opting his opposition.
Not true, and I resent that. I have expressed nothing close to support of Alario. I have defended Governor Jindal’s decision to pick him as a necessary recognition that Alario was likely to win anyway. Saying that I support it is something else entirely.
While working for the Republican Party of Louisiana in 1995, I actively campaigned against Alario and produced direct mail in the campaign against him, in a year that we were successful in removing Sammy Nunez and a number of other Edwards cronies. As a member of the RSCC, I strongly supported the state GOP’s efforts against Alario in 2007. My actions back up my words when I say that I despise everything about the man.
“Not interested in lectures on form from the other side today, thanks.” In other words, I’ll insult Governor Jindal with the ridiculous epithet of “master” if I want to and say “FU” to anyone calling me on it. That’s fine, but this says a lot about your character. You haven’t even insulted President Obama with something like that.
That’s absolutely ridiculous. I’ve called Obama far worse.
“As a member of the RSCC, I strongly supported the state GOP’s efforts against Alario in 2007.”
But now that he is a “new” Republican…