Excuse me? Don’t tell me our elected representatives lost the plot on Day 1.

Louisiana voters did NOT elect Republicans Legislators so that Democrats could become Committee Chairs.

What skill set do Louisiana Democrat Legislators have that sets them apart? Does that skillset revolve around working with Establishment Republicans to allow widescale COVID lockdowns or ramming through irresponsible spending bills (e.g, busting the 2023 spending cap)?

Because that isn’t what two thirds of the public voted for.

Obviously, Louisiana does not need establishment Republicans (RINOs) and Democrat Legislators to “unify.” There can be enough unity for a supermajority – 73 of 105 votes in the House, 28 of 39 votes in the Senate – simply with Republicans keeping faith with their own voters.

Besides, we already tried the idea of mind-melding with Democrats over the last four years when the Edwards-Schexnayder-Cortez Axis of Weasels held sway. That plan was so successful that the state shed population in droves.

Now, you may think that the Times-Picayune only wants to sow dissent between Louisiana’s conservative voting base and our Republican State Legislators. That explanation would make sense on its face. Hopefully that’s all this is.

Except on Monday, the Senate unanimously decided to give the Senate President Pro-Tem position to Democrat Rep. Regina Barrow.

Yes, you read that sentence correctly. Every single Republican State Senator–from the RINOs to “strong Conservatives”–voted for a Democrat as the Second-in-command of the Louisiana Senate.

Of course, the way legislative bodies work is once it’s obvious a certain result is coming, and the rout is thus on, there’s little point in making enemies by standing on principle.

Barrow’s role is largely ceremonial. It doesn’t mean anything, really.

The problem is, it’s an indication that Henry wants to coddle the Dems. And why coddle the Dems? The voters sure didn’t last fall – with results like we saw, Louisianans all but hunted them down with dogs on Election Day.

After this baffling move, I decided to call Senator Henry’s office to better understand the situation. I cordially asked his office if Senator Henry supports selecting Democrats as Committee Chairs in the State Senate. His office told me that Senator Henry “won’t appoint all Democrats but may appoint some” as Committee Chairs.

Those are not great optics.

Additionally, I called the Speaker DeVillier’s office and left a voicemail. However, his office did not call back.

To further confirm this mind-boggling situation, our good friend here at The Hayride Scott McKay shared this valuable information this week on Twitter (X):

Word is one of the Democrats who's getting a chairmanship is Dustin Miller and he'll chair House Health and Welfare.

All I'll say is Miller had better have promised to carry all the water in Opelousas for DeVillier on that committee. Anything less than that and frankly we're off…

— Scott McKay (@TheHayride) January 8, 2024

Everything feels like Deja-vu at this point. We can’t have this.

Why would a Republican supermajority legislature – again, with 73 of 105 seats in the House and 28 of 39 in the Senate – make concessions to a politically weak and powerless Democratic Legislative caucus at the very beginning of the term?

What else is going to happen? Are the RINO vanguards of the previous Louisiana Legislature–Clay Schexnayder and Paige Cortez–coming back as the Ghosts of Christmas past?

Let’s pray not.

At this point, “Louisiana First” patriots will have to see if the Legislature’s so-called “conservatives” completely cuck out to the Establishment Republicans and few remaining Democrats left in the State Legislature.

Perhaps there’s more going on behind the scenes, and let’s hope that the “RINO Redux” we are currently witnessing is just a brief hiccup.

On Wednesday there was word the committee chairmanship announcements would be pushed back to next week. If so, maybe it’s an indication that phone calls by voters – and maybe even Gov. Landry’s team – infused the incoming legislative leadership with a spirit of caution.

And that’s an encouraging sign amid some rough optics.

Because this isn’t complicated. As Barack Obama said, elections have consequences. It was one of the few things he was right about. Those consequences ought not be softened for the Democrats who’ve trashed our cities and put us in such a lousy competitive position vis-a-vis our pro-growth neighbors across the South.