The Hayride has joined with the Louisiana Committee for a Conservative Majority (“LCCM”) and 10 other media entities and citizen groups to put a simple question to all 39 state senators:  “Will you vote to hold a Veto Session?”

The question was put to every single senator in a series of emails issued by the members of this group, which includes the Louisiana Family Forum, the NRA and several radio shows, such as Ringside Politics and and the Moon Griffon Show.

A complete list of all the organizations participating in this poll of the senate may be found at PeopleOfLouisiana.org.  http://peopleoflouisiana.org/index.html

Whether or not they will support holding a Veto Session was the only question put to the senators, versus how they might vote on individual bills if indeed a Veto Session takes place.  “You do not have to state your position on any bill,” the website explains.

This is believed to be the first time such a diverse group of entities have acted in concert to question the entire senate.  In this regard it is more evidence that the grass roots are waking up and pressuring the senate to indeed hold the Veto Session.

Emails from the legislative leadership to individual legislators requesting a formal and legally binding answer regarding a Veto Session were first issued on July 3rd, but answers are not due until July 15th and many legislators have not announced their position publicly.  This poll appears to be an effort to obtain answers “on the record” from senators prior to the July 15th deadline.

“We want to know who is with us while there is still time to communicate to the others,” explained Chris Patron, of the Firearm Professionals of Louisiana, FPofLa.com.  “We presume the House will vote for the session and we don’t want to waste energy on senators who will vote similarly.  But if a senator hesitates when he or she gets this question, that tells us something,” he stated.

The votes of 20 senators are needed if a session is to be held, and it is presumed that most Democrat Senators will vote against the session, but perhaps not all.  Senator Katrina Jackson, for example voted for Senator Mizell’s transgender sports bill and might also vote for a Veto Session.

On the Republican side, there are 27 Senators but 7 are term limited and are therefore not immediately vulnerable to grass roots pressure.  That makes holding all 20 who are not term limited nearly imperative if the Veto Session is to be held.  We say “nearly” imperative because some term limited senators, such as Barrow Peacock, may vote for the session out of principle, as contrasted with practical political considerations.

As of this writing one thing is certain:  The vote in the senate will be close, and if the proponents of a Veto Session are to prevail they will need to apply all the persuasive powers they possess.