We’re getting word tonight that as the special session kicks off tomorrow, one of the first items of business is going to be an attempted coup of House Speaker Taylor Barras. Supposedly, the Edwards-backed choice is our old friend, Kenny Havard.

Now, here’s where things get interesting. Again, these are all rumors, but they play perfectly into what we know about how the governor and his cronies work.

1. The Sheriff’s Association is reportedly lobbying folks to back Havard. The Association are big backers of Edwards, and they are one of the many political forces that would love to score points with him. So, in order to do so, they are calling legislators asking them to back Havard.
2. Edwards’ cronies in the Senate are offering up some sweet cash to folks in the House in exchange for supporting the coup – in the form of some extra pork spending. One of the examples we’ve gotten wind of is Ed Price supposedly giving up all of the money for his district, because they can blame that on Troy Brown. That’s right, folks, in a special session meant to fix the budget, they want to bribe the House with pork spending.

Havard, as you may recall, is the guy who opposed a gas tax in favor of taxing producers, which is just about the only idea worse than raising the gas tax. He is also the author of a bill meant to regulate Uber right out of the state of Louisiana.

The rumors flying around Baton Rouge will come to a head tomorrow. Barras is not a hated figure in the House, and as the regular session was adjourned it was widely believed that his opponents weren’t close to securing the votes to coup him.

This all-out press to get rid of him, should even half the rumors be true, is quite clearly an Edwards-backed scheme meant to get rid of the guy who humiliated him this session by not giving him everything he wanted. And Edwards is a sniveling, whiny man when he loses.