No, we don’t know if Rep. John Schroder reads The Hayride, or whether he was influenced by our take – which was also Americans For Prosperity’s take – that DOTD Secretary Shawn Wilson gave away the game on why the proposed gas tax increase deserved to fail with his now-infamous and deleted tweet threatening to pull road repair projects in House districts of gas tax opponents.

Schroder says it’s evidence the transportation-improvement process is fundamentally corrupt when the DOTD secretary feels comfortable enough to make such flippant threats against road repairs, and he won’t support giving that corrupt process any more money. He also rejects any need for a special session called for by Gov. John Bel Edwards.

Schroder’s clearly using these communications as a means of promoting his candidacy for State Treasurer this fall, but they’re worth passing along because they represent the thinking of a majority of the House. The gas tax did have some 60 or so votes for it, but most of the Republicans willing to vote for it only had that position out of a sense of alarm about the state of Louisiana’s roads – they’re not fans of tax increases generally, which is why the House standstill budget won enormous approval among the Republican majority and tax increase bills have fared so poorly across the board.

He takes that position on taxes generally; he’s a no. That’s what the state’s voters are saying in poll after poll, and it’s being reflected in the House, which is a body independent of the governor.

We should digress a little and touch on that subject, because it involves the other major controversy at the Legislature as this week comes to a close – yesterday’s Lafayette Advertiser editorial attack on House Speaker Taylor Barras. There is a good deal of talk that the Advertiser attack was designed as a precursor to an abortive coup against Barras designed to replace him with someone more malleable to tax increases and larger budgets, and that Gov. John Bel Edwards’ fingerprints are all over it. As such, a pair of conservative organizations put out statements taking shots at the Advertiser for their editorial. The Louisiana Committee For A Republican Majority…

The Daily Advertiser Editorial Board’s opinion piece calling for the Speaker of the House to step down due to a lack of leadership is one of the most ridiculous pieces of “journalism” we’ve seen in recent times in Louisiana.

We firmly and proudly applaud Speaker Barras’s leadership and commitment to the Louisiana taxpayer. Thank you for taking a stand against taxes and passing a stand still budget. You are exactly who we need in a position of leadership.

And Citizens For Louisiana Job Creators…

In a pathetic attempt at journalism, the editorial staff at the Daily Advertiser is the latest news organization to partake in shamelessly biased writing.

The paper recently published an article blaming Speaker Barras for the problems the state is facing. This is an outrageous accusation and calls into question the credibility of this “news organization.”

At a time when Louisiana has raised the most taxes out of any state in the previous year, Barras should be applauded for taking a stand fighting back against tax increases and passing a fiscally responsible standstill budget.

The Daily Advertiser should get their facts straight and Speaker Barras should be thanked for his conservative service to the people of Louisiana.

This is precisely why people don’t trust the media.

One gets the sense that an all-out war is coming between the Governor and the majority in the House. The move on Barras’ speakership, which has not gathered any particular momentum to date, can be seen as Edwards’ attempt to prepare the battlefield for that conflict.

Barras isn’t the problem, Gov. Edwards. You’re the problem. Your agenda runs counter to the will of the people and that fact, not Taylor Barras or even John Schroder, is why you’re failing.