The Times Picayune/NOLA.com, which endorsed Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA) twice, is pulling out all the stops to try and save their beloved golden girl.
In an article today titled “If Mary Landrieu loses, no women will hold statewide elected office in Louisiana,” the Times Picayune is playing the gender card when it comes to Landrieu’s run-off race with Rep. Bill Cassidy (R-LA).
As usual, the Times Picayune plays identity politics, reporting that should Landrieu lose her Senate seat, there will be no women representing the state in Washington DC. This has been obvious since the beginning of the election cycle. But, now, with an attempt to distract from public policy and ethical issues with Landrieu, the Times Picayune wants to make a big fuss over women in Washington.
Here’s a snippet of the Times Picayune’s totally unbiased reporting (sarcasm intended):
You have to go back 54 years to find the last time Louisiana found itself without a female holding a statewide elected office. Moreover, aside from a 5-year period in the 1990s, Louisiana has also had a female in its congressional delegation for more than 40 years. Those streaks, however, will come to an end if Landrieu tumbles to Rep. Bill Cassidy this weekend.
The number of women serving in elected positions in Louisiana at the state and federal level has steadily declined over the past seven years. In 2007, Louisiana not only had Landrieu in the Senate, but also Kathleen Blanco in the governor’s office. Seventeen percent of the state Legislature was also represented by women that year, a record-high for the state.
A Landrieu loss on Saturday means Louisiana will be without a woman holding statewide office for the first time since 1960. Females in the Legislature are also on the decline, making up just 12 percent of the state House and Senate, the lowest rate of female participation in any statehouse in the country.
The piece goes on to claim that there “aren’t that many women in elected office anywhere.” It is only toward the bottom of the article when the Times Picayune mentions the fact that women made history this election cycle when Joni Ernst, a conservative Republican, was elected as the first woman to represent Iowa in the US Congress and the first veteran to hold office in the US Senate.
All of the gender division and identity politics talk is nothing new for the Times Picayune, but its a good thing a majority of Louisianans do not buy into some of the BS that NOLA.com tries to sell.
Advertisement
Advertisement