I’m going to break some confidences here, and probably lose some relationships that heretofore I would have called friendships. After some consideration, it occurs to me that I would much rather do a service to The Hayride’s readers, to whom I owe far more, than maintain a few confidences with people whom I trust in very, very small amounts. The subject is the toxicity of Louisiana politics, and the corrupt nature of some – and one in particular – of the players in it.

It starts with a party. Monday night was the Elephant Stomp, which is an event put on each year by the House Republican Delegation on an early-week night in the latter half of May – toward the end of the legislative session. I am a sometimes-attendee of the event; it’s usually a good time, though occasionally in my capacity as a critic of the goings-on in the legislature from a conservative standpoint the party can at times serve as an uncomfortable social venue.

That wasn’t the case this year. But when the soiree closed down at the Country Club of Louisiana a number of its attendees were looking for a place to convene for an after-party. I have no idea why I was part of that crowd; it was my plan to go home but for some reason, perhaps related to the fact I wasn’t driving and was therefore (1) less encumbered by the need to keep the intake of alcohol to a minimum and (2) much more susceptible to the concept of “going with the flow,” I didn’t go home when the Elephant Stomp was over.

As such, I ended up at a small event at the Pentagon Barracks, in the apartment of a member of the Louisiana legislature. As he did nothing untoward, I will not name that legislator – in fact, I appreciate his hospitality, as I’ve written things in the past uncomplimentary of him. That is part of the negative side of this job – one endeavors to be as candid and truthful as one can be in describing the events let loose by the political class, but these are people, and candid and truthful commentary often has negative effects on personal relationships with the subjects of that commentary.

I have never held that good relationships with large numbers of Louisiana’s legislators is crucial to our operation here. For the most part, our relationships with legislators and other politicians are “arm’s-length” at best – we have a small number of public officials who, over time, we’ve cultivated a relationship with based on trust because they’ve consistently shown themselves to be reliable conservatives and those who would stand upon principle. A politician not willing to stake his or her future on a stated set of beliefs is and always has been, for us, someone not worthy of cultivation as a source or an ally.

Louisiana has a very large number of those politicians. In the legislature they make up very near a majority.

Thus when I found myself at the Pentagon Barracks at a late-night get-together, I was confronted by Norby Chabert, the state senator from Houma. I have had relatively cordial relations with Chabert prior to Monday night; we have been at times critical of his voting record, with ample reason – last year he had a 51 score from LABI, while in 2015 he was a dreadful 34 – but it has never been a matter or personal animus. In the past we’ve disagreed with votes he’s made, and we’ve said so, and he has not made it personal.

For some reason, however, at the late-night Pentagon Barracks get-together on Monday night, Chabert decided the time was appropriate to attack on the issue of past Hayride writings – and specifically, favorable articles appearing on the site two years ago about a challenger to his Senate seat named Mike Fesi. I didn’t write those – if I recall they were Kevin Boyd’s posts – but Chabert jumped me over the fact that he’d done Google searches of his name and one or more of them showed up on the first page of the results, and he demanded I do something to change that.

My response was that if I could control how Google crawls The Hayride I would be considerably richer than I am, and the only way I know to change those search results is to delete those articles, which I would not do.

He didn’t buy that at all.

He proceeded to tell me that he knew I could “fix” those search results, and what we were talking about was my price for doing so. After all, he said, it was pretty obvious Fesi had paid us to get favorable coverage. And he said he wasn’t mad about that, because he knows that’s how the game works.

To be clear, that is not how this game works. It has never worked that way here at this site. It will never work that way here. I won’t say who but I was offered a $10,000 bribe by someone just last week to shut up about the gas tax bill. It’s been seven years of making a hell of a lot less than I’m worth doing this site – if I was for sale I could have been living a lot more comfortable life over the course of that seven years.

And furthermore, no money ever changed hands in any way between the Fesi camp and us. Often, political candidates (usually conservative Republicans) will advertise here – as you would expect them to given the reach and target market of our readership. What they buy is banner ads, not editorial space. Fesi bought neither.

You don’t have to take my word for it. Here is a statement from Chris Comeaux, who was Fesi’s political consultant.

“The Mike Fesi campaign never advertised with The Hayride. We were satisfied when they wrote about Norby doing some of the most reckless things seen in recent history – like paying for a Christmas party for his bar – out of his campaign account. But we had no influence on The Hayride for writing about those things. Frankly, we were shocked that more news sites didn’t cover it.”

And by the way, nothing has changed where Chabert and his campaign account shenanigans, either. From his 2016 report, there was this…

ABEARS CAFE	Houma	LA	Meals	10/6/2016	$58.68
ACADIAN DELEGATION	Baton Rouge	LA	Dues	4/24/2016	$50.00
ACADIAN INSURANCE	Houma	LA	Sponsorship	9/30/2016	$300.00
ADOBE BUSINESS CATALYST	San Jose	CA	Website Design	3/21/2016	$419.88
ALBERTSONS	Baton Rouge	LA	Senate Cookout	5/2/2016	$68.76
ALLEN AND NORMAN	Houma	LA	Office Rent	1/4/2016	$3,000.00
AMERICAN LEGION	Chauvin	LA	Sponsorship	9/27/2016	$150.00
AMERICAN MARINE & WIRE	Chauvin	LA	Fundraising Expense	1/25/2016	$42.85
AMERICAN MARINE & WIRE	Chauvin	LA	Fund Raising Expense	5/9/2016	$30.65
AQUIANA SPRINGS	Belle Chase	LA	Water	12/6/2016	$8.84
AQUIANA SPRINGS	Belle Chase	LA	Office Supplies – Water	6/14/2016	$17.68
AQUIANA SPRINGS	Belle Chase	LA	Office Expenses – Water	7/5/2016	$8.84
AQUIANA SPRINGS	Belle Chase	LA	Office Expenses – Water	8/2/2016	$33.84
AQUIANA SPRINGS	Belle Chase	LA	Office Expenses – Water	9/2/2016	$8.84
AQUIANA SPRINGS	Belle Chase	LA	Office Expenses – Water	10/4/2016	$8.84
AQUIANA SPRINGS	Belle Chase	LA	Office Expense – Drinking Water	4/27/2016	$122.60
AQUIANA SPRINGS	Belle Chase	LA	Office Expenses WAter	11/3/2016	$8.84
EUGENIA ARDOIN	Houma	LA	Consulting	2/8/2016	$1,000.00
EUGENIA ARDOIN	Houma	LA	Consulting	2/14/2016	$1,000.00
EUGENIA ARDOIN	Houma	LA	Consulting	3/14/2016	$1,000.00
EUGENIA ARDOIN	Houma	LA	Consulting	4/19/2016	$1,000.00
EUGENIA ARDOIN	Houma	LA	Consulting	3/2/2016	$1,000.00
EUGENIA ARDOIN	Houma	LA	Consulting	4/6/2016	$1,000.00
EUGENIA ARDOIN	Houma	LA	Consulting	4/28/2016	$1,000.00
EUGENIA ARDOIN	Houma	LA	Consulting	6/30/2016	$100.00
EUGENIA ARDOIN	Houma	LA	Consulting	7/17/2016	$500.00
EUGENIA ARDOIN	Houma	LA	Consulting	9/9/2016	$600.00
EUGENIA ARDOIN	Houma	LA	Consulting	9/23/2016	$300.00
EUGENIA ARDOIN	Houma	LA	Consulting	9/15/2016	$400.00
EUGENIA ARDOIN	Houma	LA	Consulting	10/1/2016	$500.00
EUGENIA ARDOIN	Houma	LA	Consulting	10/6/2016	$500.00
EUGENIA ARDOIN	Houma	LA	Consulting	10/12/2016	$500.00
EUGENIA ARDOIN	Houma	LA	Consulting	10/14/2016	$600.00
EUGENIA ARDOIN	Houma	LA	Consulting	11/10/2016	$275.00
EUGENIA ARDOIN	Houma	LA	Consulting	11/28/2016	$320.00
EUGENIA ARDOIN	Houma	LA	Consulting	12/12/2016	$500.00
EUGENIA ARDOIN	Houma	LA	Consulting	12/19/2016	$500.00
EUGENIA ARDOIN	Houma	LA	Consulting	1/18/2016	$1,000.00
AT&T	Atlanta	GA	Cell Phone Expense	6/21/2016	$636.03
AT&T	Atlanta	GA	Cell Phone Expense	1/25/2016	$525.94
AT&T	Atlanta	GA	Cell Phone Expense	3/23/2016	$526.22
AT&T	Atlanta	GA	Cell Phone Expense	5/10/2016	$262.91
AT&T	Atlanta	GA	Cell Phone Expense	8/12/2016	$243.79
AT&T	Atlanta	GA	Cell Phone Expense	9/16/2016	$290.97
AT&T	Atlanta	GA	Cell Phone Expense	10/17/2016	$244.19
AT&T	Atlanta	GA	Cell Phone Expense	11/21/2016	$446.58
AT&T	Atlanta	GA	Campaign Staff Cell Phone Expense	1/15/2016	$168.98
AT&T	Atlanta	GA	Campaign Staff Cell Phone Expense	2/15/2016	$172.78
AT&T	Atlanta	GA	Campaign Staff Cell Phone Expense	3/15/2016	$165.74
AT&T	Atlanta	GA	Campaign Staff Cell Phone Expense	4/22/2016	$264.83
AT&T	Atlanta	GA	Campaign Staff Cell Phone Expense	5/15/2016	$190.89
AZTECA’S	Baton Rouge	LA	Meals	2/22/2016	$52.37
BERTINOT’S BEST BAKERY	Houma	LA	Sponsorship	12/21/2016	$157.83
BRYSONS	Houma	LA	Fuel	8/11/2016	$30.07
CAFE DOMINIQUE	Houma	LA	Meals	4/18/2016	$101.77
CAJUN ENTERPRISES	Houma	LA	Carnival Expenses	1/28/2016	$234.22
CAJUN MAGIC GAS STATION	Houma	LA	Fuel	12/6/2016	$51.02
CAJUN MAGIC GAS STATION	Houma	LA	Fuel	12/27/2016	$26.18
CASA	Houma	LA	Sponsorship	11/15/2016	$100.00
CASTALANO’S DELI	Houma	LA	Fundraising Expense	11/2/2016	$2,050.00
CHARTER COMMUNICATIONS	Bourg	LA	Cable	10/28/2016	$260.75
CHAUVIN BROTHERS	Chauvin	LA	Fund Raising Expense	2/4/2016	$350.61
CHAUVIN SENIOR CITIZENS CLUB	Chauvin	LA	Sponsorship	3/16/2016	$250.00
CHEVRON	Concord	CA	Fuel	1/6/2016	$43.08
CHEVRON	Concord	CA	Fuel	1/19/2016	$39.00
CHEVRON	Concord	CA	Fuel	3/17/2016	$36.90
CHEVRON	Concord	CA	Fuel	5/2/2016	$48.02
CHEVRON	Concord	CA	Fuel	5/9/2016	$45.00
CHEVRON	Concord	CA	Campaign Staff Fuel	5/13/2016	$26.00
CHEVRON	Concord	CA	Fuel	5/23/2016	$33.00
CHEVRON	Concord	CA	Fuel	6/20/2016	$39.48
CHEVRON	Concord	CA	Fuel	8/5/2016	$50.47
CHEVRON	Concord	CA	Fuel	8/25/2016	$49.14
CHEVRON	Concord	CA	Campaign Staff Fuel	8/26/2016	$36.45
CHEVRON	Concord	CA	Fuel	9/6/2016	$41.95
CHEVRON	Concord	CA	Campaign Staff Fuel	9/19/2016	$30.06
CHEVRON	Concord	CA	Fuel	9/21/2016	$44.22
CHEVRON	Concord	CA	Campaign Staff Fuel	10/10/2016	$32.00
CHEVRON	Concord	CA	Fuel	11/14/2016	$37.38
CHEVRON	Concord	CA	Fuel	11/21/2016	$36.00
CHEVRON	Concord	CA	Campaign Staff Fuel	12/12/2016	$25.00
CHEVRON	Concord	CA	Campaign Staff fuel	12/19/2016	$35.01
CHEVRON	Concord	CA	Fuel	12/30/2016	$32.00
CITGO	Houston	TX	Fuel	3/1/2016	$38.03
COASTAL BROADCASTING	Larose	LA	Media	11/1/2016	$400.00
COASTAL COMMERCE BANK	Houma	LA	Bank Service Charges	1/7/2016	$12.48
COASTAL COMMERCE BANK	Houma	LA	Bank Service Charges	1/27/2016	$223.61
COASTAL COMMERCE BANK	Houma	LA	Bank Service Charges	2/4/2016	$11.11
COASTAL COMMERCE BANK	Houma	LA	Bank Service Charges	3/4/2016	$10.10
COASTAL COMMERCE BANK	Houma	LA	Bank Service Charges	4/6/2016	$13.39
COASTAL COMMERCE BANK	Houma	LA	Bank Service Charges	5/5/2016	$10.38
COASTAL COMMERCE BANK	Houma	LA	Bank Service Charges	6/6/2016	$13.48
COASTAL COMMERCE BANK	Houma	LA	Bank Service Charges	6/29/2016	$256.62
COASTAL COMMERCE BANK	Houma	LA	Bank Service Charges	7/7/2016	$11.11
COASTAL COMMERCE BANK	Houma	LA	Bank Service Charges	8/4/2016	$10.95
COASTAL COMMERCE BANK	Houma	LA	Bank Service Charges	9/7/2016	$12.16
COASTAL COMMERCE BANK	Houma	LA	Bank Service Charges	10/6/2016	$12.54
COASTAL COMMERCE BANK	Houma	LA	Bank Service Charges	11/4/2016	$17.15
COASTAL COMMERCE BANK	Houma	LA	Bank Service Charges	12/6/2016	$12.16
COASTAL CONSERVATION ASSN OF LA	Baton Rouge	LA	Retreat	7/5/2016	$85.00
CONOCO PHILLIPS COMPANY	Baton Rouge	LA	Fuel	11/29/2016	$45.97
CORNER STORE	Houma	LA	Fuel	3/14/2016	$40.85
CORNER STORE	Houma	LA	Fuel	4/8/2016	$22.04
CORPORATE WORX	Houma	LA	Fundraising Expense	10/7/2016	$170.66
COX COMMUNICATIOS	Atlanta	GA	Office Expenses – Cable	11/23/2016	$89.17
COX COMMUNICATIOS	Atlanta	GA	Office Expenses – Cable	12/23/2016	$89.17
COX COMMUNICATIOS	Atlanta	GA	Office Expenses – Cable	3/30/2016	$145.07
COX COMMUNICATIOS	Atlanta	GA	Office Expenses – Cable	5/18/2016	$148.61
COX COMMUNICATIOS	Atlanta	GA	Office Expenses – Cable	8/11/2016	$105.56
COX COMMUNICATIOS	Atlanta	GA	Office Expenses – Cable	10/24/2016	$306.49
CRACKER BARRELL	Gonzales	LA	Meals	2/23/2016	$20.02
CRISTIANO’S	Houma	LA	Meals	1/22/2016	$55.45
CRISTIANO’S	Houma	LA	Meals	9/20/2016	$56.41
CRISTIANO’S	Houma	LA	Meals	11/23/2016	$36.52
CUSTOM INK	Baltimore	MD	Fund Raising Expense	12/8/2016	$37.82
DOLLAR STORE	Chauvin	LA	Office Expenses	8/9/2016	$18.98
BRAD DUPLANTIS	Houma	LA	Fuel	10/7/2016	$200.00
EL PASO	Houma	LA	Meals	3/2/2016	$56.67
EXXON MOBILE	Houston	TX	Fuel	12/13/2016	$36.01
FACEBOOK	Menlo Park	CA	Media	2/1/2016	$114.99
FACEBOOK	Menlo Park	CA	Media	3/1/2016	$5.00
FINANCE AND SUPPORT UNIT	Baton Rouge	LA	Pentagon Apartment Rent	2/1/2016	$740.00
FINANCE AND SUPPORT UNIT	Baton Rouge	LA	Pentagon Apartment Rent	4/20/2016	$555.00
FINANCE AND SUPPORT UNIT	Baton Rouge	LA	Pentagon Apartment Rent	11/28/2016	$1,295.00
FLETCHER CONSULTANTS	Baton Rouge	LA	Consulting	1/5/2016	$3,857.00
FOUNDRY ON THE BAYOU	Thibodaux	LA	Meals	9/20/2016	$122.00
FRENCH FOOD FESTIVAL	Larose	LA	Sponsorship	11/2/2016	$350.00
FRIENDS OF STHS	Bourg	LA	Football Sponsorship	11/3/2016	$200.00
GOLFBALLS.COM	Lafayette	LA	Fund Raising Expense	10/6/2016	$991.37
GOVERNOR’S MANSION	Baton Rouge	LA	Christmas Party	12/15/2016	$125.00
HERBSAINT	New Orleans	LA	Meals	10/28/2016	$104.49
HOTEL MONTELEONE	New Orleans	LA	Lodging	9/21/2016	$816.72
HOUMA – TERREBONNE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE	Houma	LA	Dues	9/30/2016	$200.00
HOUMA SIGN SERVICE	Houma	LA	Fundraising Expense – Signage	10/7/2016	$795.60
HOUMA TERREBONNE CARNIVAL CLUB	Houma	LA	Carnival Expenses	1/29/2016	$1,784.56
INSTITUTE FOR GLOBAL OUTREACH	Shreveport	LA	Sponsorship	4/12/2016	$500.00
JUBILEE	Houma	LA	Fuel	3/11/2016	$21.41
JUBILEE	Houma	LA	Fuel	4/4/2016	$36.84
JUBILEE	Houma	LA	Fuel	12/20/2016	$51.00
L’AUBERGE DU LAC	Lake Charles	LA	Lodging	8/29/2016	$159.50
LA CAPITOL FOUNDATION	Baton Rouge	LA	Sponsorship	4/20/2016	$145.00
LA TOUR GOLF CLUB	Mathews	LA	Fundraising Expense	10/7/2016	$7,731.32
LAVIS CONOCO	Houma	LA	Campaign Vehicle Expense	11/1/2016	$184.26
LOUISIANA LEGISLATIVE WOMENS CAUCUS	Baton Rouge	LA	Sponsorship	5/18/2016	$300.00
LOUISIANA RURAL CAUCUS	Baton Rouge	LA	Dues	5/18/2016	$50.00
LOUISIANA SENATE	Baton Rouge	LA	Lapel Pin	3/16/2016	$20.00
LOUSIANA OIL AND GAS ASSOCIATION	Shreveport	LA	Meals	2/8/2016	$22.50
LOWES	Houma	LA	Fundraising Expense – Supplies	10/6/2016	$31.35
LSU ATHLETICS	Baton Rouge	LA	Tickets	4/21/2016	$1,302.00
LSU ATHLETICS	Baton Rouge	LA	Ticket Fee	4/22/2016	$1.00
LSU ATHLETICS	Baton Rouge	LA	Tickets	4/22/2016	$1,287.00
LSU ATHLETICS	Baton Rouge	LA	Tickets	5/3/2016	$1,326.00
LSU ATHLETICS	Baton Rouge	LA	Tickets	6/3/2016	$605.05
LSU ATHLETICS	Baton Rouge	LA	Tickets	7/1/2016	$590.03
LSU ATHLETICS	Baton Rouge	LA	Tickets	7/14/2016	$379.00
LSU ATHLETICS	Baton Rouge	LA	Tickets	8/2/2016	$607.92
LSU ATHLETICS	Baton Rouge	LA	Tickets	9/8/2016	$3,244.00
LSU ATHLETICS	Baton Rouge	LA	Ticket Fees	10/17/2016	$12.00
MANSURS ON THE BAYOU	Baton Rouge	LA	Meals	11/21/2016	$159.10
EDMUND MARTIN	Houma	LA	Contract Labor	10/7/2016	$200.00
MARTY J’S	Baton Rouge	LA	Inauguration Party	1/12/2016	$468.70
MATHERNE’S SUPERMARKET	Baton Rouge	LA	Senate Cook out	5/23/2016	$33.68
MATHERNE’S SUPERMARKET	Baton Rouge	LA	Senate Cookout	2/17/2016	$74.33
MATHERNE’S SUPERMARKET	Baton Rouge	LA	Senate Cookout	3/4/2016	$105.69
MORRISON TERREBONNE HOME CENTER	Houma	LA	Office Supplies	8/10/2016	$41.88
MURPHY	Houma	LA	Campaign Staff Fuel	1/5/2016	$51.89
MURPHY	Houma	LA	Campaign Staff Fuel	1/14/2016	$45.45
MURPHY	Houma	LA	Campaign Staff Fuel	1/20/2016	$25.00
MURPHY	Houma	LA	Campaign Staff Fuel	1/27/2016	$31.67
MURPHY	Houma	LA	Campaign Staff Fuel	2/1/2016	$46.76
MURPHY	Houma	LA	Campaign Staff Fuel	2/9/2016	$38.00
MURPHY	Houma	LA	Campaign Staff Fuel	2/16/2016	$30.00
MURPHY	Houma	LA	Campaign Staff Fuel	2/24/2016	$39.15
MURPHY	Houma	LA	Campaign Staff Fuel	3/2/2016	$44.58
MURPHY	Houma	LA	Campaign Staff Fuel	3/7/2016	$48.67
MURPHY	Houma	LA	Campaign Staff Fuel	3/15/2016	$30.00
MURPHY	Houma	LA	Campaign Staff Fuel	3/21/2016	$39.87
MURPHY	Houma	LA	Campaign Staff Fuel	3/29/2016	$53.89
MURPHY	Houma	LA	Campaign Staff Fuel	4/5/2016	$38.98
MURPHY	Houma	LA	Campaign Staff Fuel	4/11/2016	$41.00
MURPHY	Houma	LA	Campaign Staff Fuel	4/18/2016	$32.75
MURPHY	Houma	LA	Campaign Staff Fuel	4/26/2016	$25.00
MURPHY	Houma	LA	Campaign Staff Fuel	5/1/2016	$41.00
MURPHY	Houma	LA	Campaign Staff Fuel	5/17/2016	$36.89
MURPHY	Houma	LA	Campaign Staff Fuel	5/30/2016	$38.23
MURPHY	Houma	LA	Campaign Staff Fuel	5/12/2016	$33.30
MURPHY	Houma	LA	Campaign Staff Fuel	6/2/2016	$36.78
MURPHY	Houma	LA	Campaign Staff Fuel	6/10/2016	$32.42
MURPHY	Houma	LA	Campaign Staff Fuel	6/16/2016	$37.79
MURPHY	Houma	LA	Campaign Staff Fuel	6/20/2016	$33.08
MURPHY	Houma	LA	Campaign Staff Fuel	7/3/2016	$39.95
MURPHY	Houma	LA	Campaign Staff Fuel	7/16/2016	$38.25
MURPHY	Houma	LA	Campaign Staff Fuel	7/23/2016	$41.79
MURPHY	Houma	LA	Campaign Staff Fuel	7/27/2016	$22.36
MURPHY	Houma	LA	Campaign Staff Fuel	8/2/2016	$50.10
MURPHY	Houma	LA	Campaign Staff Fuel	8/16/2016	$37.62
MURPHY	Houma	LA	Campaign Staff Fuel	8/22/2016	$29.73
MURPHY	Houma	LA	Campaign Staff Fuel	9/7/2016	$32.08
MURPHY	Houma	LA	Campaign Staff Fuel	9/11/2016	$35.06
MURPHY	Houma	LA	Campaign Staff Fuel	9/17/2016	$32.02
MURPHY	Houma	LA	Campaign Staff Fuel	9/23/2016	$37.34
MURPHY	Houma	LA	Campaign Staff Fuel	10/1/2016	$39.20
MURPHY	Houma	LA	Campaign Staff Fuel	10/6/2016	$39.56
MURPHY	Houma	LA	Campaign Staff Fuel	10/15/2016	$23.79
MURPHY	Houma	LA	Campaign Staff Fuel	10/19/2016	$27.74
MURPHY	Houma	LA	Campaign Staff Fuel	10/28/2016	$30.00
MURPHY	Houma	LA	Fuel	11/25/2016	$45.07
NEW ORLEANS SAINTS	New Orleans	LA	Tickets	4/21/2016	$1,154.00
OFFICE DEPOT	Houma	LA	Office Supplies	1/12/2016	$108.56
OFFICE DEPOT	Houma	LA	Office Supplies	2/15/2016	$63.10
OFFICE DEPOT	Houma	LA	Office Supplies	2/4/2016	$30.10
OFFICE DEPOT	Houma	LA	Office Expenses	4/27/2016	$34.17
OFFICE DEPOT	Houma	LA	Office Expenses	4/20/2016	$11.04
OFFICE DEPOT	Houma	LA	Office Expenses	5/10/2016	$8.83
PALERMO RISTORANTE	Baton Rouge	LA	Meals	11/30/2016	$168.80
PAPERLESS POST	New York	NY	Postage	9/23/2016	$130.00
PEPPERS PIZZARIA	Thibodaux	LA	Meals	10/10/2016	$29.24
PIGGLY WIGGLY	Chauvin	LA	Sponsorship Chili Cook Off	1/25/2016	$217.57
PLANTATION GAS	Houma	LA	Fuel	2/12/2016	$35.61
PLANTATION GAS	Houma	LA	Fuel	1/28/2016	$17.79
PLANTATION GAS	Houma	LA	Fuel	6/6/2016	$40.01
PRESS PLUS	New York	NY	Houma Courier Subscription	1/26/2016	$11.90
PRESS PLUS	New York	NY	Houma Courier Subscription	2/26/2016	$11.90
PRESS PLUS	New York	NY	Houma Courier Subscription	3/28/2016	$11.90
PRESS PLUS	New York	NY	Houma Courier Subscription	4/26/2016	$12.50
PRESS PLUS	New York	NY	Houma Courier Subscription	5/26/2016	$12.50
PRESS PLUS	New York	NY	Houma Courier Subscription	6/27/2016	$12.50
PRESS PLUS	New York	NY	Houma Courier Subscription	7/25/2016	$12.26
PRESS PLUS	New York	NY	Houma Courier Subscription	8/24/2016	$12.26
PRESS PLUS	New York	NY	Houma Courier Subscription	9/23/2016	$12.26
PRESS PLUS	New York	NY	Houma Courier Subscription	10/24/2016	$12.26
PRESS PLUS	New York	NY	Houma Courier Subscription	11/22/2016	$12.26
PRESS PLUS	New York	NY	Houma Courier Subscription	12/22/2016	$12.26
RACETRACK	Boutee	LA	Fuel	1/11/2016	$31.00
RACETRACK	Boutee	LA	Fuel	3/21/2016	$38.49
RACETRACK	Boutee	LA	Fuel	3/25/2016	$38.67
RACETRACK	Boutee	LA	Fuel	4/18/2016	$40.93
RACETRACK	Boutee	LA	Fuel	5/16/2016	$38.00
RACETRACK	Boutee	LA	Fuel	6/27/2016	$44.02
RACETRACK	Boutee	LA	Fuel	9/19/2016	$35.09
RACETRACK	Boutee	LA	Fuel	10/12/2016	$48.45
ROUSES	Houma	LA	Cook Off Supplies	4/22/2016	$480.17
ROUSES	Houma	LA	Cooking supplies donated -Rougaroo Festival	5/9/2016	$83.91
ROUSES	Houma	LA	Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Flood Cooking	8/15/2016	$162.52
ROUSES	Houma	LA	LSU Football Cookout	10/10/2016	$78.37
RUTH’S CHRIS	Baton Rouge	LA	Meals	10/26/2016	$58.85
RUTH’S CHRIS	Baton Rouge	LA	Meals	10/27/2016	$157.24
SAC-A-LAIT	New Orleans	LA	Meals	10/20/2016	$193.54
SAMS	Houma	LA	NSU Homecoming Cook out	10/24/2016	$140.17
SAMS	Houma	LA	Food Supplies Donated to Rougaroo Festival	5/9/2016	$153.93
SAMS	Houma	LA	Cook-off Supplies	3/14/2016	$347.63
SAMS	Houma	LA	Fundraising Expense – Golf Tournament	10/7/2016	$1,358.09
SARAH’S DISCOUNT	Houma	LA	Fuel	11/4/2016	$21.00
SENATE DINING ROOM	Baton Rouge	LA	Meals	11/1/2016	$130.00
SENATE DINING ROOM	Baton Rouge	LA	Meals	4/25/2016	$205.00
SHAMROCK	Houma	LA	Campaign Staff Fuel	11/28/2016	$24.69
SHELL	Houston	TX	Fuel	5/26/2016	$44.05
SHELL	Houston	TX	Fuel	2/4/2016	$22.50
SHELL	Houston	TX	Campaign Staff Fuel	1/11/2016	$31.46
SHELL	Houston	TX	Fuel	1/14/2016	$20.01
SHELL	Houston	TX	Fuel	4/1/2016	$43.78
SHELL	Houston	TX	Campaign Staff Fuel	5/5/2016	$41.53
SHELL	Houston	TX	Campaign Staff Fuel	5/25/2016	$43.26
SHELL	Houston	TX	Fuel	6/9/2016	$52.49
SHELL	Houston	TX	Fuel	7/27/2016	$29.99
SHELL	Houston	TX	Fuel	8/3/2016	$30.86
SHELL	Houston	TX	Fuel	9/1/2016	$53.19
SHELL	Houston	TX	Fuel	9/29/2016	$30.08
SHELL	Houston	TX	Fuel	10/7/2016	$30.01
SHELL	Houston	TX	Fuel	10/17/2016	$33.41
SHELL	Houston	TX	Fuel	10/25/2016	$52.05
SHELL	Houston	TX	Fuel	10/31/2016	$35.00
SHELL	Houston	TX	Campaign Staff Fuel	11/4/2016	$48.81
SHELL	Houston	TX	Fuel	12/8/2016	$39.31
SHERATON	New Orleans	LA	Lodging	10/28/2016	$517.95
STHS GATOR CLUB	Bourg	LA	Sponsorship	4/20/2016	$100.00
BISHOP STUART	Lafayette	LA	Golf Sponsorship	3/11/2016	$250.00
SULLIVANS	Baton Rouge	LA	Meals	1/12/2016	$87.94
SULLIVANS	Baton Rouge	LA	Meals	12/21/2016	$96.91
TERREBONNE ADVOCATES FOR POSSIBLILTY	Chauvin	LA	Sponsorship	10/6/2016	$500.00
TEXACO	Houma	LA	Fuel	11/9/2016	$53.95
THE LITTLE VILLAGE	Baton Rouge	LA	Meals	12/16/2016	$152.10
ULTIMATE PARTY	Houma	LA	Fundraising Expense	10/7/2016	$18.35
US POSTAL SERVICE	Houma	LA	Postage	3/1/2016	$138.00
US POSTAL SERVICE	Houma	LA	Postage	3/14/2016	$35.45
US POSTAL SERVICE	Houma	LA	Postage	5/20/2016	$404.00
US POSTAL SERVICE	Houma	LA	Postage	7/14/2016	$7.36
VERIZON	Baton Rouge	LA	Campaign Staff Cell Phone Expense	5/2/2016	$177.36
VERIZON	Baton Rouge	LA	Campaign Staff Cell Phone Expense	6/13/2016	$177.36
VERIZON	Baton Rouge	LA	Campaign Staff Cell Phone Expense	7/13/2016	$184.50
VERIZON	Baton Rouge	LA	Campaign Staff Cell Phone Expense	8/14/2016	$179.27
VERIZON	Baton Rouge	LA	Campaign Staff Cell Phone Expense	9/16/2016	$176.22
VERIZON	Baton Rouge	LA	Campaign Staff Cell Phone Expense	10/17/2016	$173.97
VOLUNTEER LOUISIANA	Baton Rouge	LA	Sponsorship	5/3/2016	$50.00
CRAIG  WEBRE	Raceland	LA	Golf Sponsorship	10/12/2016	$600.00
MACK “BODI” WHITE	Watson	LA	Donation	11/29/2016	$500.00
YOUR CLEANERS	Houma	LA	Cleaning	4/4/2016	$34.90
YOUR CLEANERS	Houma	LA	Cleaning	6/2/2016	$36.41

There’s a whole lot of questionable expenses in that report indicating Chabert is paying personal expenses out of his campaign account, just like Fesi accused him of doing back in 2015.

That’s why we favored Fesi over Chabert. We don’t like crooked politicians, we don’t like Democrats who slap an “R” next to their name in order to fool the voters into thinking they’re something they aren’t and we especially don’t like smarmy, entitled punks from old-school political dynasties who think everybody else is as bent as they are.

So when Chabert accused me of being for sale, I pointedly explained how off-base he was. And by pointedly, I mean I was actually pointing at him. Upon which time he grabbed my finger and tried to break it.

And when I yanked my hand back and told him this confrontation was going to escalate if he touched me again, he said I was “out of control.”

Were that true, I wouldn’t have done what I did, which was to leave. Even late at night in a place I had no business being in, somehow I managed to make a good decision. Had I done otherwise and this argument had escalated, you’d be reading in the Advocate about how Scott McKay in a drunken rage attacked a state senator in front of a bunch of witnesses and got himself hauled off to the parish prison, and I can reasonably safely predict that would have been the effective end of this site as a credible voice for conservatism in Louisiana.

So perhaps it was a minor miracle things turned out as they did.

I look at it as a wake-up call, and a reminder of something it’s easy to forget when you’re socializing with some of the state’s political swells. Louisiana’s state senator from the 20th district is a morally corrupt individual who believes everyone can be bought for the right price just as he can be, and he represents a brand of politics which is the reason this state is last in every category. Until that brand of politics is finally shown the gate, we will continue to be last in every category.

Word is that Chabert will run for the Public Service Commission seat being vacated by Scott Angelle, who just took a job in the Trump administration. If the people of south-central Louisiana allow him to win, it will be another nail in our political coffin. That was made very, very obvious to me late last night.