Below is a release by the Louisiana GOP which picks up, to an extent, on the issue of the Louisiana Democrat Party’s endorsement of the coastal/oil and gas lawsuits that we talked about earlier this week.
This is actually a gold mine for the Republican Party and the Bill Cassidy campaign (not to mention Rob Maness and Paul Hollis, if they’re willing to get in on it), because of Mary Landrieu’s positioning of herself as a friend of oil and gas. It’s gotten her money, it’s crucial to her ability to call herself a centrist despite a pretty dubious voting record and it’s gotten her some votes in places like Lafayette, Lake Charles and Houma/Thibodaux where they otherwise hunt Democrats with dogs.
But for somebody who’s such a friend to oil and gas, Mary sure doesn’t produce great results. We’ve talked about the Jazz PAC funds which have made their way to some pretty anti-oil and gas Democrat candidates, the coastal lawsuits and the Rhea Suh nomination just this week in our recent posts, and that’s just a scratch on the surface of a large body of evidence that she’s a lousy friend to oil and gas.
So somebody has recognized that delegitimizing the case for Mary as a big friend of oil and gas might be a path to beating her in November. Don’t be surprised if you see more of this…
Today, the Republican Party of Louisiana called on Senator Mary Landrieu to direct her Louisiana Democrat party to change its position on the anti-energy resolution adopted at the Democrat State Central Committee meeting last Saturday and to cease all fundraising for the party until it does.
The DSCC unanimously voted in favor of opposing efforts to hinder the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority East’s lawsuit from moving forward.
“Since the passage of this resolution, we’ve heard from many small businesspeople who depend on the energy industry for their livelihoods. They are deeply concerned and asked us to help draw attention to this important issue,” LAGOP Chairman Roger Villere said. “As the only statewide elected Democrat, Mary Landrieu is the defacto head of the Democrat party. She needs to take charge and support our oil industry. We’re demanding a public statement by Senator Landrieu calling on the Democrat party’s executive committee to immediately reconsider the resolution.”
“These lawsuits threaten the entire Louisiana energy economy to the benefit of a few politically connected trial lawyers. This blatant attack our our energy industry should not be tolerated,” Villere said. “We know Senator Landrieu was busy visiting with the national trial lawyers on Saturday in New Orleans while this vote was being taken in Baton Rouge. The party leadership needs to hear from its supposed pro-energy leader. Senator Landrieu has talked up her support for the industry, but now we’ll see if she’s all talk or a true advocate for the people of Louisiana. How can we expect Mary to stand up to Harry Reid and Barack Obama if she is unwilling or unable to stand up to Senator Peterson and Foster Campbell?”
According to The Advocate, “In July 2013, the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-East filed a lawsuit in Orleans Civil District Court against 97 oil, gas and pipeline companies. The litigation seeks damages for the extensive network of canals cut by energy companies through wetlands areas. The canals allowed increasing amounts of saltwater to intrude into the marshes, which weakened the vegetation and resulted in land loss, the suit says.”
According to the Louisiana Oil and Gas Association, in November of 2013, Jefferson and Plaquemines Parish filed 28 lawsuits that name 88 different companies and 259 defendants.
