Despite President Obama being unpopular in the Bayou State, Seantor Mary landrie (D. LA) stands by her vote for the Affordable Health Care Act and has been scolding Republican Governors and legislatures for delaying it's full implementation:
http://www.shreveporttimes.com/...
U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu says Louisiana officials are dragging their feet in helping put in place the health care changes required by the federal Affordable Care Act.
Landrieu said Wednesday that the state should have taken the lead in creating the health insurance marketplace for people to shop for coverage, rather than letting the federal government run it.
But the Democratic senator also acknowledged that federal officials are scrambling to get the state marketplaces — called exchanges — set up by the Oct. 1 deadline. - Shreveport Times, 8/14/13
And of course Landrieu singled out her home state's Governor and long time nemesis, Bobby Jindal (R. LA), for dragging his feet on implementing Obamacare because his sights are set on 2016:
http://www.insurancejournal.com/...
Landrieu said Republican Gov. Bobby Jindal’s administration should have taken the lead in creating the mandated health insurance marketplace for people who don’t qualify for Medicaid to shop for coverage, rather than letting the federal government establish and run it.
Jindal, a possible Republican presidential candidate in 2016, opposed the Affordable Care Act and wants the law repealed, calling it too costly, unworkable and an improper expansion of government.
In addition to rejecting a state-run exchange, Jindal has refused to expand the state’s Medicaid program as allowed under the law, though the federal government would fully cover the initial costs of providing coverage to as many as 400,000 uninsured people in Louisiana.
The nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Office estimates the Medicaid expansion could save Louisiana as much as $510 million over 10 years, with the state receiving up to $15 billion in federal funding. The Jindal administration disputes the numbers, saying the expansion could cost the state up to $1.7 billion over a decade. - Insurance Journal, 8/16/13
Landrieu's opponent, Rep. Bill Cassidy (R. LA) is of course on the Repeal Obamacare bandwagon but lately he's been arguing that President Obama will use efforts to defund ObamaCare in the upcoming vote to fund the government as an excuse to slash the military and take social security away from seniors:
http://www.buzzfeed.com/...
“Put it this way, it’s gonna be hard, we may not be able to do it, but we need to stop ObamaCare however we can,” Cassidy said. “Now, I’ll tell you, there’s some people who say let’s roll that funding mechanism into the entire government. I don’t trust the president not to use that as an excuse to do things such as slash the military or to take it out of the hive of people who are receiving social security. This is a very political president.”
“If the law had that effect, you can’t support that,” Cassidy continued. “We can not not support our troops. We can not fulfill our obligations to senior citizens who have paid into funds. On the other hand, if we can have a funding bill that doesn’t impact those, absolutely. Believe me, I have been working. I think I’ve voted 40 times to get rid of it. Been working on alternatives, trying to come up with proposals, that don’t just oppose ObamaCare, but propose replacements so that the patient is in the power not a Washington D.C. bureaucrat.” - BuzzFeed, 8/13/13
Word of advice Senator Landrieu, take note of how Cassidy is already attacking Obama on Social Security. I know you need to distance yourself from Obama, that would be a good issue to distance yourself from the President on. I would even advocate co-sponsoring Senator Tom Harkin's (D. IA) to expand Social Security. Louisiana Kossacks, if you want to jump on that, you can contact her here:
http://www.landrieu.senate.gov/...
I've always been a fan of watching Landrieu make a complete ass of Jindal. Since it's Friday, here's some more stories of people dumping on Jindal. First there's Jindal's potential 2016 primary rival Governor Chris Christie (R. NJ) throwing the first punch:
http://www.nydailynews.com/...
The outspoken Jersey pol took aim at Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal after the Southerner said Republicans needed to stop being the “stupid party" and needed to learn to "talk like adults."
After Romney failed to nab the White House in 2012, Jindal said it was time "to articulate our plans and vision for America," in a January speech at a party gathering in Charlotte.
Now Christie is telling Republicans, "I am not going to come and call you the stupid party.” - New York Daily News, 8/16/13
And Jindal has also been getting bad press about this:
http://theadvocate.com/...
The blogosphere appears outraged over the machinations that led to the anointment of state Sen. Neil Riser, R-Columbia, as Louisiana’s next congressman.
Gov. Bobby Jindal did indeed put the fix in to deny the Democrats an even break, but anyone who finds this shocking should stay away from politics. There is no point in running for governor if you don’t want to throw your weight around. The proper Democratic response is not disgust but envy.
Rodney Alexander’s announcement that he is quitting Congress may have come as a shock to voters, but it followed months of planning. Jindal has a long history of finding cushy jobs for well-behaved former state legislators, and now he has kept one open for Alexander. Riser, meanwhile, an avowed Jindal disciple ever since he ran for office in 2008, was preparing his congressional campaign. As soon as Alexander made his announcement, Riser’s new website was up and he commenced twittering relentlessly.
Jindal was in no mood to tarry, and called the election for Oct. 19. Qualifying ends next week. After stealing such a considerable march on the competition, and picking up the support of the GOP establishment, Riser would have to pull out the stops to lose this one. Jindal’s chief fixer, Timmy Teepell, will be working on the campaign, and Riser can afford a vigorous one. He has an ample campaign chest and can always lay his hands on extra cash, if need be, because he owns Riser Funeral Homes. With such a reassuring name, business is bound to be good. - The Advocate, 8/16/13
Of course Jindal claims he didn't rig the special election:
http://www.nola.com/...
U.S. Rep. Rodney Alexander did not plan his departure from Congress to rig the election in favor of state Rep. Neil Riser, Gov. Bobby Jindal's office said Tuesday. State Rep. Jay Morris made the claims during an interview with The Monroe News-Star, in which he also announced he would be running in the special election to fill Alexander's 5th Congressional District seat.
"There is no truth to Representative Morris' claims. There are a number of candidates who have expressed an interest in running for the seat, and voters will have plenty of options to choose from after next week's qualifying period," Jindal Press Secretary Sean Lansing said in a statement Tuesday.
He added, "We haven't chosen a candidate to support at this time. We're thrilled to have Rodney in the Administration. He is going to be a strong voice for Louisiana veterans and we're excited about the work he will do." - The Times Picayune, 8/16/13
Yeah Jindal is a real weasel. But enough about him, back to Landrieu. In other related news, Landrieu saw the NRSC's latest ad and threw in her two cents:
http://www.nydailynews.com/...
Spoofing the Nintendo's '80s video game, the GOP campaign spot declared the Democrat incumbent had "bad aim" since she has been "firing and missing" in her legislative agenda.
Hunting references laced the 41-second clip, as ducks representing key issues like healthcare, energy, taxes and jobs fly overhead as the player, Landrieu, fails to nab anything.
But now Landrieu's camp is showing she can fight back with puns of her own.
Declaring the ad a "total quack," her office called it a "misleading attempt" to help Republicans "duck the fact" that Landrieu is fighting for the state. - The New York Daily News, 8/16/13
If you want to help Landrieu fight back against "total quacks" like Rep. Bill Cassidy (R. LA) and the NRSC, you can get involved with her re-election campaign here:
http://www.marylandrieu.com/...