Lets end the day with some stupidity out of Louisiana courtesy of U.S. Senator "Diaper David" Vitter (R. LA):
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/...
U.S. Sen. David Vitter (R-LA) in an interview published Monday accused the sheriff of Jefferson Parish, Louisiana of arresting the senator's private investigator in order to embarrass him the day before the election.
Sheriff Newell Normand arrested the private investigator, Robert J. Frenzel, after he fled a coffee shop where he allegedly recorded the sheriff's breakfast meeting. Normand told local media that he believed Frenzel spied on him because he endorsed Lt. Gov. Jay Dardenne (R), one of Vitter's rivals in the gubernatorial race. Frenzel was reportedly employed by J.W. Bearden and Associated, an investigative agency in Dallas that billed Vitter's campaign for more than $130,000 in legal fees in 2015.
Vitter himself addressed the incident for the first time in an interview with Gannett Louisiana published Monday. The senator said he didn't personally order Frenzel to spy on Normand, whom he accused of playing up the incident to embarrass him on the eve of Louisiana's primary, according to the report. - TPM, 10/26/15
Here's more from Vitter:
http://www.thenewsstar.com/...
Vitter said he did not personally direct Frenzel to spy on Normand, a longtime political foil. The senator said he believes Normand, a Republican who was re-elected Saturday with almost 90 percent of the vote, seized on the opportunity to create an election eve embarrassment for Vitter.
"Sadly, he's been on a campaign against me for a long time," Vitter said. "I've reached out to him numerous times about legislation affecting law enforcement and other issues (to no avail). Obviously, (the sheriff's) motives in the arrest were political. It was a bizarre and silly incident."
Vitter's campaign spokesman Luke Bolar provided the following statement: "This person works for a firm that we hired to do research, all within the bounds of the law. This includes John Bel Edwards’ business associate and major donor, and his relationship with the John Bel Edwards campaign. It has nothing to do with Newell Normand.”
Edwards, who called the incident "Nixonian" Sunday, said he's unaware of any of his major donors who were among Normand's breakfast bunch. Normand told The Advocate he believes he was the target of the surveillance. - The News Star, 10/26/15
Yeah, ok. Speaking of Sherrifs:
http://www.arklatexhomepage.com/...
Louisiana State Rep. John Bel Edwards has picked up the endorsement of the Louisiana Sheriffs’ Association in his bid for governor.
Edwards will face off against Senator David Vitter in the November 21 runoff election.
Lincoln Parish Sheriff Mike Stone, president of the Louisiana Sheriffs’ Association, cited Edwards’ military background and said Edwards would help the state's overall image.
“We feel having John Bel Edwards as our next governor, will enhance Louisiana’s image, and show the entire country that Louisiana values honesty and integrity in government,” Stone said. - Ark Latex Homepage, 10/26/15
That's right, this race has shifted into a different direction and the Cook Political Report has moved this race into Toss-Up territory:
http://cookpolitical.com/...
Going into the run-off, Edwards has some advantages. First, he has momentum. He is also likely to get help from the Democratic Governors Association, which has been sitting on the sidelines until it became evident that the race is winnable. And, the same super PACs that attacked Vitter during the first phase of the campaign are likely to keep up their effort, and perhaps ratchet it up a notch or two.
At the same time, Edwards is going to come under relentless attack from Vitter and the super PAC supporting his candidacy. Every effort will be made to attach him to President Obama, who is unpopular in the state. This was Sen. Landrieu’s undoing last year, but Edwards isn’t as good a target. Unlike Landrieu, he has never cast a vote on the President’s agenda. At the same time, Edwards is not nearly as well known or well defined as Vitter is so there is room for his negatives to increase. Vitter is not without his advantages as well. He starts the run-off considerably better financed than Edwards given that he has a well-funded super PAC. The Republican Governors Association, which aired ads attacking Edwards in October, is likely to continue that effort. And, for better or worse, Vitter is pretty well defined. Voters’ feelings about him are pretty solidified and they aren’t likely to hear much – positive or negative – in the next month to change their minds. Finally, Louisiana has turned solidly red. No Democrat has won statewide office since Landrieu won a re-election bid in 2008.
There are plenty of observers of Louisiana politics who have a hard time believing that a Democrat has a real shot at winning the run-off. As Louisiana native Charlie Cook put it, “… the skepticism about any Democrat winning, even with these extraordinary circumstances, is almost theological rather than logical. It's just hard for us to believe that a Democrat can win, no matter the evidence to the contrary.”
The skepticism is understandable, but the reality remains that this has become a much more competitive race than anyone would have predicted six months ago. It moves to the Toss Up column. - Cook Political Report, 10/26/15
Now of course Louisiana is still a red state but Edwards is working on getting the anti-Vitter vote on his side by reaching out to Angelle and Dardeene voters:
http://bobmannblog.com/...
Vitter will try to paint Edwards as Barack Obama’s half-brother. “John Bel Edwards is not a casual supporter of Barack Obama,” Vitter said on election night. “He is a true believer.” Good luck with that. Edwards showed how his sterling West Point record might help him in the runoff when he said in his election night speech, referring to the honor code at his alma mater, “David Vitter wouldn’t last five minutes at West Point.”
Remember, Edwards has already endured several weeks, and almost a million dollars in attacks spots, by the Republican Governor’s Association. And, yet, he earned an impressive 40 percent of the vote on Saturday. Attacking Edwards as an Obama clone may not be as potent an attack against Edwards as it was against Mary Landrieu.
They won’t endorse Edwards, but Republicans Scott Angelle and Jay Dardenne will likely not endorse Vitter. The perception that Republicans are not united (and they will not be) will hurt Vitter. More than that, Edwards may not have a difficult time picking up the votes he needs from the anti-Vitter GOP vote.
Edwards only needs about 25 percent to 30 percent of the non-Vitter Republican vote — and less, if substantial numbers of disaffected Republicans refuse to vote at all (or if Edwards substantially increases his black vote on Nov. 21).
A certain percentage (maybe 5 points) of Angelle’s and Dardenne’s combined 34 percent were likely Democrats who voted for one of the two Republicans for various reasons (Baton Rouge-area or Acadiana residents who voted for the home boy). Those Dardenne-Democrats or Angelle-Democrats will come home on Election Day without much effort.
Edwards will have to work to persuade the others to vote for him, but they have already voted against Vitter once. It is not difficult to see how Edwards could peel off a mere 25 percent of the remaining non-Vitter vote by appealing to their disgust or disenchantment with Vitter. - Bob Mann Blog, 10/25/15
We'll see if they'll stick with party allegiance or if they're willing to vote for a Democrat over a scandal ridden clown like Vitter:
http://www.salon.com/...
First there was a story published by Jason Berry, an investigative reporter who writes for the blog, American Zombie. Berry interviewed Wendy Ellis, a former prostitute in New Orleans, who claims to have serviced Vitter between 1998 and 2000. She also alleges that Vitter requested that she have an abortion after he impregnated her, a claim Vitter vehemently denies. Berry’s story has since unraveled, but there’s enough smoke to sway voters, particularly those who are familiar with Vitter’s philandering past.
Vitter’s follies continued last week when a private investigator his campaign hired, a man named Robert Frenzel, was caught clandestinely recording a conversation between a local sheriff, a state senator, and a lawyer with ties to the Democratic Party. The PI was promptly arrested, after which Vitter released a vacuous statement about his intent to spy on the lawyer, not the sheriff. However you spin it, writes Lamar White, a prominent Louisiana blogger, it seems “David Vitter hired and paid someone $130,000 to spy on John Cummings, a private citizen, because David Vitter is absolutely terrified about what John Cummings knows.” No one knows for sure what Cummings knows, but it’s not hard to imagine what it’s about (hint: prostitutes).
On the same day his PI was arrested, Vitter was involved in a minor car accident. What’s interesting, though, as Manny Schewitz first reported yesterday, is that the driver of Vitter’s vehicle was Courtney Gaustella Callihan, a woman linked to Vitter’s Super PAC. Schewitz writes:
The driver was 36-year old Courtney Gaustella Callihan, the wife of Bill Callihan, a director at Capital One Bank. Their home address is also listed as the address for Fund for Louisiana, the Super PAC backing Vitter…So it would make sense that David Vitter would want to leave the scene, due to the fact that Mrs. Callihan is possibly connected to a Super PAC that is supporting his gubernatorial campaign. News reports list her name as Courtney Guastella, but fail to mention her married name which ties her to her husband.
This matters because, if it’s true, Vitter may be in violation of federal election laws. Regardless, though, it’s more of the same from Vitter, a man now irremediably tainted by scandal and hypocrisy. - Salon, 10/26/15
So lets kick some GOP ass down in the Bayou. Click here to donate and get involved with Edwards' campaign:
http://www.johnbelforlouisiana.com/