Forget You, David Melville

I felt good about David Melville when he announced that he was running for congress. I like John Fleming pretty well, but I always think that some competition is a good thing. I particularly liked Melville’s promise to bring a more reasonable, less partisan tone to the table. At one point I even emailed Andy and told him I was considering endorsing Melville on My Bossier. 
My Bad.
This morning I received this press release in the email.

• There will be an endorsement event on Monday morning at the headquarters of David Melville for US Congress. A large group of current and former elected officials will join Sen. Mary Landrieu, former Governors Kathleen Blanco and Buddy Roemer, and former Bossier City Mayor George Dement in support of David Melville.  Tentative attendees include Mayor Cedric B. Glover, State Representatives Barbara Norton and Patrick Williams, former legislator Billy Montgomery, Bossier City Councilman Jeffery Darby, and Bossier Parish School Board member Sandra Darby.

Quite an event, but wait a minute.
Barbara Norton?
Norton’s shameful behavior at the African American History Parade earlier this year should be enough to make any respectable person run from her, much less invite her to a media event for an endorsement.
I won’t even go into the Hurricane Chris episode, which was mostly funny if embarassing.
No, I’m referring to Norton’s behavior earlier this year at the parade when she was caught on video, incensed at having to obey the law regarding drivers of vehicles in the parade, turning her anger on police officers who were attempting to enforce that law.
Norton called one white officer a white motherfucker and a black officer, Kevin Anderson, an Uncle Tom.  And now the candidate who claims to be encouraging a more reasonable public discourse has invited her to his headquarters and is soliciting her endorsement?
I have a number of friends (and four family members) who are police officers, and if I didn’t denounce this I couldn’t look them in the eye.
I’ll stick with the good guys.
Forget you David Melville. Apparently you’re just another political hack who will do anything to get a few votes.

Texas pastor endorses David Melville in 4th District Race

Today David Melville, congressional candidate in Louisiana’s 4th District, accepted the endorsement of his campaign by Don Piper, minister and bestselling author of 90 Minutes in Heaven.
“I am honored and humbled to receive the support of a very good friend and fellow pastor,” Melville said. “Don’s story is one of hope and perseverance, and through his ministry, he has touched the lives of millions. I believe we could use more hope and kindness in our politics, and I hope to have the opportunity to represent the people of this district with positive leadership in Congress.”
“David has been a unifying force in churches and in this community,” said Piper. “Even though I’m a Republican, I didn’t hesitate in supporting him because we need to send someone with David’s heart to Washington. Congress has stopped working as it should, but we can get it back on the right track with people like David Melville.”
Piper, a native of Bossier City, lives in the Houston area.  Piper's book has been met with controversy from some who believe that what he went through was a 'near death' experience, and from others who claim he is a fraud.  Google the book if you are interested in more.
The first video is of a Piper appearance on The 700 Club, the other is more recent.

Caddo Commission President John Escude' criticizes David Melville in blog comment

John Escude'

I read the Central Louisiana blog CenLamar every day, and have it linked on my sidebar.
Lamar White, the blogger at CenLamar, published a blog post entitled Under the Radar, David Melville Prepares a Serious Campaign for Congress in LA-04, about the 4th District congressional race that is shaping up between David Melville and John Fleming. Melville, as most of you are aware, is the pastor of Fellowship United Methodist Church in Bossier City.
A comment appeared on the blog post last night that said, among other things:
“Give me a break. I’d rather keep an ex-naval officer and business man in office fighting for the soul of this nation than send one who makes a living preying on the fearful and week minded sheep in his flock. What’s a blogger from Alexandria doing writing about this race anyway. I think that Rodney Alexander is his congressman. Could it be that he thinks that the good Reverand will be sucessful at stealing even more of our money by way of increased taxes so it can be distributed to those who are deemed more deserving than we who earn it?”
Lamar answered with this:
“So let me get this out in the open: The e-mail address that “John” left in the above comment traces back to John Escude, the President of the Caddo Parish Commission. Mr. Escude is a Republican who was elected three years ago.
If the above comment was, in fact, written by Commissioner Escude, then I hope he will have the courage and integrity to publicly stand behind his words. And if it wasn’t written by Commissioner Escude and if he is the victim of a hoax, then I stand ready and willing to help him figure out if someone else is blogging under his personal e-mail address.”
I sent Mr. Escude' an email asking him if it was indeed his comment on the blog.  This is his reply:
Jim,
That was in fact my blog. This is the first time that I have responded to a blog and I just happened upon it. The blog started out as an analysis of the 4th district race and then turned into an endorsement of a candidate. I have not made my decision on who to vote for. In fact, I voted for and supported Paul Carmouche in the last election. (see filed campaign reports) I believe that our nation is on the brink of going down a road from which there will be no return. This belief is based on the policies of our President and the support that he gets from a democratically controlled congress. Although, many question Fleming's tactics as well as Vitter's at least they are not silently sitting by watching the damage being done. David Melville is a good man . Yes, I have met and spoken with him. I just do not want another Democrat in the house at this time when we need some balance to at least neutralize things until some sense of sanity returns to congress. As one with a daughter in law school and a former Seminary student myself, the sarcasm in my comments were meant as sarcastic humor.
I do not think that Congressman Fleming and Mr. Melville are to very far apart philosophically however, I am quite sure with their different backgrounds that their methods are. As I recall in the new testament, Jesus sent his disciples out to spread the word to the people, not to the Sanhedrin nor to the Roman senate. My questions are these: how would Mr.Melville have voted on the health care bill, the bailouts and cap and trade. If the answer is yes, then he's not my man. As for where I stand, you can look up Jeffersonian_Republican if you like..
Sincerely,
John Escude'

Vitter, Melancon win primary nods

Oh wait, the polls don't close until 8PM.  Think I'll stick with the headline though.
I am very interested in seeing how many people vote in the first ever Libertarian primary.

UPDATE:  It will be Vitter and Melancon.  In the 4th District congressional race Bossier City Minister David Melville won the nod from Democrats to face off against incumbent John Fleming.
Melville is former governor Buddy Roemer's brother-in-law.

Don't vote. You'll only encourage them.

No one knows who originated it, but the title of this post is one of my favorite political quotes.
Now to the point.
Our representative, Dr. John Fleming of Minden, appeared with David Vitter to speak to the Republican Women of Bossier. His speech is catching some attention (mainly from Democrats) around the country for this statement:
"We have two competing world views here and there is no way that we can reach across the aisle -- one is going to have to win," Fleming said.
“We are either going to go down the socialist road and become like western Europe and create, I guess really a godless society, an atheist society. Or we're going to continue down the other pathway where we believe in freedom of speech, individual liberties and that we remain a Christian nation. So we're going to have to win that battle, we're going to have to solve that argument before we can once again reach across and work together on things.”
Fleming went in two years ago in a squeaker of a general election when he defeated Paul Carmouche. This time, he has no serious opposition. He will win in a landslide.
If you don’t like him, don’t blame me. Just stating the facts.
As an interesting side note, term limited State Representative Jane Smith was there. A couple of people are already jockeying for position to take her seat in the legislature. As far as I know, only one has made his intentions pretty clear, and that is Duke Lowrie. Next year will be interesting.
Now back to, well, now.
Down in the 3rd congressional district things are getting heated.
There is a three way race for the Republican nomination. The best known candidate is Hunt Downer, former Democratic Speaker of the Louisiana House of Representatives.
The Tea Party of Louisiana (which really isn’t THE Tea Party of Louisiana, but a local organization), has started an internet assault on Downer.
It’s called “Down with Downer’. That’s original. Just a thought here, since John Fleming owns a whole gaggle of UPS stores could he cash in on ‘Up with UPS’?
Okay, I’m sorry, I said it was just a thought.
Anyway, the Tea Party of Louisiana (but not really) put up this YouTube video accusing Downer of being a ‘RINO’.

Chris Comeaux, a lead organizer of the Tea Party of Louisiana, said "You can't let candidates out there claim the tea party banner when time and time again they've voted for big government," Comeaux said. "There is no gray area here. You're either following the founders' view of a limited government or you're not."
Downer apparently upset some people when he canceled his commitment to attend a tea party forum last week in Gonzales sponsored by the Baton Rouge Tea Party and the Tea Party of Louisiana.
Downer campaign manager Buddy Boe said his boss "has great respect for the tea party" and has enjoyed speaking to party voters over the course of the campaign. He noted that the Gonzales debate was "sponsored by a group outside the district."
Yep, it’s that season and Lord help me, I love it.

Methodist Minister plans to run for congress

David Melville, Pastor of Fellowship Methodist Church on Barksdale Boulevard, has thrown his hat in the ring for the 4th District congressional seat. Melville, who wants to replace Dr. John Fleming, says that Fleming got caught up in partisan fighting on the health care issue rather than trying to make it a better bill.
Melville says politics has become too divisive, and that politicians are only worried about winning or losing. That's true, but it's not a new phenomenon.

I'm certain that Melville is sincere, but every politician who runs for office promises to work across the isles. That seldom happens.

Melville is married to the sister of former Governor Buddy Roemer.

Election 2010: Fleming announces for second term

Dr. John Fleming of Minden has announced that he will seek another term in congress. He already has one announced Democratic opponent, Steven Gavi.
I doubt that Gavi will get a lot of traction, but you never know. The last election between Fleming and Paul Carmouche, a well-known prosecutor, was a razor close race. Conjecture was that if Carmouche had forgone help from the national Democratic machine, and had he forgone a radio endorsement from Barack Obama, he probably would have won.
He didn't, Feming did.
I have some political differences with Fleming, but there are also some things I like. The main thing that I like is that he has been pretty true to his word and he seems to be an upstanding person. I think good character is important, and Fleming has it.
That's not to say that Gavi doesn't, I don't know anything about him. None of this is intended as a negative against him.
Barring unforeseen circumstances, it will be Fleming in a landslide.
Tomorrow, we'll take a closer look at the race for Shreveport mayor and council.

The Silly Season is almost here!

Okay, I admit the picture may be a little unkind, but the silly season is almost upon us, and soon we’ll have some interesting political races to watch - and you never know who will pop out of the box!

We have given a little space already to the congressional election, but so far not a lot to see there. Most interesting will be the school board races and the mayoral & council elections in Shreveport.
Cedric Glover is being challenged by Republican Bryan Wooley and Libertarian Parker Ward. Democratic State Representative Roy Burrell has said that he intends to oppose Glover, but has not declared formally yet. Council races are beginning to shape up and we will get into them later in depth.
We will be looking at the mayoral candidates in the next week or so. Qualifying will be July 7th – July 9th.
The Congressional election will begin on August 28th with the first party primary and again on October 2nd for the runoff primary, if needed. The congressional election is the only one affected this year by the closed party primaries.
October 2nd is also the date for the open primary which is the primary for all of the other races.
General election is on November 2nd.
(Confused yet?)
I’m already hearing a couple of interesting names popping up in the Bossier Parish School Board race, which promises to be a lot more exciting than it has been in past years. I think a couple of new candidates will be coming out in the next couple of weeks.
People are also jockeying for position in next year’s statewide and legislative races, but we won’t get ahead of ourselves – yet.

John Fleming has Democratic challenger for 4th District seat

It appears that Dr. John Fleming will have a Democratic challenger for the 4th District congressional seat this fall.

At this point I'd have to put the odds against him. I don't see Dr. Fleming being defeated in this district, but elections sometimes take unusual turns and it's early in the year.

His website has the usual political stuff on it, he wants to work across the isle, he wants to make things better etc., but the site is short on solutions and details. Maybe it will fill in as we go.

Gavi has a brand new Facebook page here if you desire to check it out.

From Mr. Gavi's website:

Steven J Gavi was born in Frankfurt, Germany to Staff Sergeant Manuel C. Gavi and Juanita G. Gavi. He grew up in Chaves County in New Mexico. His childhood years were spent in the small farm town of Dexter, New Mexico where he learned to appreciate the hard work and struggles of local farmers and ranchers. His early childhood was spent with an absent father who was serving in Vietnam. Even though he was young, he understood the importance of his father’s absence. His teenage years were spent in Roswell NM where he was active in his high school and church.
Steven always looked forward to serving the less fortunate. He served in American homeless ministries and participated in service projects in foreign countries. He loved seeing people smile when he gave them a new hope for their lives. He set out to serve his nation just like his father but was injured early in his military career and his dream of following in his father's footsteps was ended. He received his Criminal Justice Degree from Eastern New Mexico University Roswell. After graduating, he spent two years working in the Juvenile Correctional system. He also worked in the lumber industry for Kruse Enterprises and understands the importance this industry plays in Louisiana and the rest of the nation. He has recognized the important role the movie industry is playing in our state’s economy. Steven recently spoke out to help prevent local firefighters and policemen from losing their jobs due to city budget cuts in Bossier City. He has been a retail manager for the past seven years. Steven is married to Robyn Miller Gavi and has two children, Gabrielle and Jacob.

Race for the 4th is over, Battle for the 4th begins

Louisiana's shrinking population almost certainly will cost the state one of its seven congressional seats in 2012, and state lawmakers already are maneuvering to make sure their population hubs don't lose their voices in Congress.
Northeastern Louisiana, for instance, once was lumped into a congressional district that included Shreveport, which meant that Ouachita Parish voters rarely saw retiring U.S. Rep. Jim McCrery, R-Shreveport.
"We don't want to be in a combined district with Shreveport, because we'll always be behind Shreveport in priority," said state Sen. Bob Kostelka, R-Monroe.
Monroe and Alexandria are the population hubs -- and thus the focus -- of U.S. Rep. Rodney Alexander's 5th Congressional District.
"(McCrery) is a good congressman, but because the biggest population base was in Shreveport, he naturally spent most of his focus there," said Alexander, R-Quitman.
Preliminary 2010 Census figures released this week show that Louisiana's population fell by 1.3 percent from 2000 to 2008, which led the nation in population loss.
Louisiana's Legislature, beginning with the House and Senate Governmental Affairs committees, will determine the congressional district map following the 2010 Census.
Kostelka chairs the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee, which is a clear advantage to northeastern Louisiana.
"That's the reason I fought so hard for the chairmanship of that committee," Kostelka said. "My whole intention is to save our seat."
Another northeastern Louisiana lawmaker, state Rep. Rick Gallot, D-Grambling, is the chairman of the House Governmental Affairs Committee.
Gallot said it won't be easy keeping a northeastern Louisiana-based congressional district intact.
Complete article in The Town Talk
h/t to The Reduct Box

Mud-slinging, negative ads are alive and effective

Negative advertising apparently is still alive and effective.
In the areas where Paul Carmouche was least known, the southern parishes of Beauregard, Grant, Allen, Vernon and up into Sabine, Fleming carried large majorities. These are areas with heavy Democratic registration. I believe that the negative ads that the Republicans ran portraying Carmouche as a lackey of Obama and Pelosi were effective in those areas and gave the election to Fleming.
The rest was pretty predictable; Caddo went for Carmouche, and Bossier went heavily for Fleming. Bossier's vote was not surprising. You could dress a monkey in a suit and put an (R) behind his name and Bossier would vote for him. In Bossier it has nothing to do with conservative/liberal - it has everything to do with (D) and (R).
The Times, in mentioning that Bossier voted for Fleming, noted that Bossier adjoins Fleming's home parish of Webster.
What the Times did not note was the fact that Fleming did not carry his home parish of Webster. Carmouche did. You would have thought that the homeboy would have carried his own parish. I wonder what this is saying to us?
In any event, there are over 1,000 provisional ballots in Caddo Parish and I don't know how many in the rest of the district. Carmouche will not concede until these are dealt with.

Congressman Fleming

John Fleming by 356 votes of 90,000 + votes cast.

Bowen will participate in live chat tonight

Gerard Bowen, Jr, candidate for congress, will participate in a live chat tonight at 8 PM on Go Haynesville Shale.
If you have any questions for this candidate, sign on and participate. I'll be there and hope you will too.

Thoughts on Saturday's election

I have thought a lot about the upcoming congressional election. The two leading contenders are Paul Carmouche (D) and Dr. John Fleming (R).
We have had to suffer through terrible commercials sponsored by both the Democratic and the Republican congressional committees. I believe in free speech, and I suppose that this is a necessary evil, however, the people who come up with these things should simply be lined up and shot.
John Fleming isn’t a cruel millionaire who is plotting to make the people of the 4th District pay more taxes so that he can pay less.
Paul Carmouche is not ‘soft on crime’, nor is he a wild-eyed liberal anxiously awaiting his chance to go to Washington so that he can serve Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid.
No, these are both decent, honorable men who are caught up in a party-plagued general election.
The problem with Carmouche (D) and Fleming (R) is that the D’s and the R’s are responsible for placing our country in the untenable position in which it finds itself. Don’t kid yourself. The Republicans hold as much responsibility as the Democrats for careless, wreckless spending. The Democrats are just as responsible for an interventionist foreign policy that has almost bankrupted our nation.
In the name of ‘national security’ both parties have gone off the deep end engaging in foreign wars as a response to the attacks of 9-11, yet Osama Bin Laden, the planner and perpetrator of those attacks, is still a free man.
If you like the way things have gone in Washington for the last 20 years, then God love you.
I don’t.
Until we are ready to spurn the self-serving, greedy, power-loving cabals that run both political parties then we will suffer the same, and deserve it.
Think about real change. You don’t have to vote D or R in this election. There are two independents running for our congressional seat, and either one would be preferable to more of the same.
My preference is Gerard Bowen. Check out his website and consider voting for someone different.
The 4th District has an opportunity to send a resounding message that says ‘enough is enough.’.

Vote for true change on December 6th: Gerard Bowen, Jr.

Our country is in a tough situation. The major political parties, both Democrats and Republicans, have let us down.
The approval rating of congress is at about 10%, or conversely, their disapproval rating is at 90%. This is well deserved.
Both parties are more interested in power than in serving the people.
In his remarkable farewell address on leaving the presidency, George Washington warned us of the results of party politics.
Do you think his prediction has come true?

Let me now take a more comprehensive view, and warn you in the most solemn manner against the baneful effects of the spirit of party, generally.
This spirit, unfortunately, is inseparable from our nature, having its root in the strongest passions of the human mind. It exists under different shapes in all governments, more or less stifled, controlled, or repressed; but, in those of the popular form, it is seen in its greatest rankness, and is truly their worst enemy.
The alternate domination of one faction over another, sharpened by the spirit of revenge, natural to party dissension, which in different ages and countries has perpetrated the most horrid enormities, is itself a frightful despotism. But this leads at length to a more formal and permanent despotism.

The legislative branch of government is the first branch, so recognized in the U. S. Constitution. This is because most of the power resides in this branch. The executive department (the president) is charged with carrying out the wishes of the congress.
The executive may propose programs, wars or whatever – but only congress has the authority to authorize and to fund them.
This is where the dangers of party are at their worst. Whenever we have an executive and a congressional majority of one party, be it George Bush and the Republican congress of 2000-2006, or Barack Obama and the Democratic congress that will be seated when he takes office, an imbalance of power causes abuses.
Until the people, in whom the ultimate power resides, stand up and put a stop to this nonsense, it will continue.
In the 4th District we have a unique opportunity to make a difference. In the general election on December 6th, we have not only a Democrat and a Republican running, but two Independents.
In our opinion, Gerard Bowen, Jr. would represent the people of the 4th District well. Go to his website, read about Gerard and his background, study what he says on the issues, and consider voting outside the (party) box.
Until we vote for true change, there will be no change.
Vote for Gerard Bowen on December 6th (changed from November 4th due to Hurricane Ike).

Please take 2 minutes and listen to Gerard.

Congressional Candidate Gerard Bowen on the Issues

Access to your Congressman
I feel a Representative should be accessible to the people he represents, not just to deep-pocket contributors. Not only will I run a grassroots campaign, but I will run a grassroots office. I will be approachable and available to concerned citizens. I will continue to visit neighborhoods as much as Congressman as I do as a candidate and I will return phone calls.
The Budget
When I was in the Navy, toward the end of each fiscal year, if we had money in our budget that we hadn’t spent we were told we had to find a way to spend it or else we would get less the next year. That is absolutely ludicrous and it infuriates me that our hard earned tax dollars are being spent with this mentality. I will work towards the government using a zero-based budgeting process where you can’t spend any more money than you have just like all of us must do at home. Also, the merits of programs should be considered before funding them rather than just funding them because they were funded in the past. If a program is not working to produce the intended results it should be cut out and efforts should be made to encourage saving our money, not throwing it out the window. If there is a program worthy of us investing in we should cut back on one that is not working (of which there are many) to free up money for the new one. I will work towards balancing the budget and getting out of debt, but do it through spending less, not taxing more.
The Constitution
I believe our charter documents were not arbitrary, our founding fathers who created our charter documents were inspired and guided by God. The 10th amendment basically says that the federal government can’t just assume any power unless it is granted to the federal government by the states or by the people through the constitution. Whether they think can or not, the facts are in black & white that can not and should not restrict our rights to bear arms, free speech, and free practice of religion. In every vote I make in Congress, I will vote in a manner that upholds the constitution intentions of our founding fathers.
The Economy
The steps I outlined in my Budget discussion above would have a tremendous domino effect throughout the economy. Lower national debt would mean a stronger dollar. The price of gas is tied directly to the value of the dollar and the price of food is tied directly to the price of gas. Then with less debt they wouldn’t need to tax us so heavily and we could keep more of our money. If we keep more of our own money and things cost less we could better afford our own health insurance and our own retirement savings without the government interfering.
Family Values
While schools, teachers, coaches, church leaders and others act as influences on our children, I believe the family is the single most important unit in the development of the future moral core of our children and our nation. Children should be raised by a man and a woman who honor marital vows with complete fidelity. As such, I pledge to always act accordingly in my personal life and to promote measures designed to maintain and strengthen the family as the fundamental unit of society.
Healthcare
I will support H.R. 1846: Medicare Access to Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Services Improvement Act of 2007, because currently the government is restricting the choice of the Physician to decide which licensed medical professional is most appropriate for your physical medicine needs by restricting Medicare reimbursement to certain licensed medical professionals. This in turn is preventing people who need the services from having access to it and is putting other licensed medical professionals who provide these services out of work. This bill would expand payments to other licensed medical professionals who are qualified to provide these services and take the government out of the medical decision process of your healthcare needs and put it back into the hands of the Physician by allowing reimbursements to the licensed medical professional that your Physician feels is most appropriate for your condition. Social Medicine – How much would they take out of our check to pay for it and how much would they waste in the process? Too much! If they lower our taxes we could better afford our own health insurance.
Immigration
I am all for legal immigration. We all have ancestors that came from other countries in pursuit of the American dream. I hear people say of illegal aliens “they are hard workers and law abiding citizens”. Well by definition, if they are here illegally they are NOT abiding by our laws and therefore are criminals and should be treated as such. Immigration should not only be allowed, but be encouraged, but it should be done according to our laws, at our pace, without putting a strain on our infrastructure and economy, and with respect for our culture and traditions.
Taxes
It is my opinion that the government should only take enough taxes to do the things for us that we can not do for ourselves. Military, national defense, and border security are the most obvious. Beyond that there isn’t much that the government can do for us more efficiently than we could do for ourselves. For example: Social Security - Have you ever known anyone to receive more from Social Security than they put in? Who keeps the difference? It goes to red tape, government inefficiencies, and who knows what else. I am paying $100 per pay period to Social Security. If we could keep that money to invest in our own retirement, in 30 years at an average of 12%, which is the average annual gain of the stock market in its history, it would grow to $627,000. Do you think I will see anywhere near that amount by investing in the government’s retirement plan? We need to gradually phase out the current system so no one in or close to retirement gets cut off from needed benefits, and gradually replace it with a system more like a 401(k) or Thrift Savings Plan. This will allow people control of their own investments and retirement. I will always try to lower the tax burden that is on us. As such, I will work toward the adoption of the FairTax Plan. Currently there are many ways people avoid paying income taxes. Some of these include not reporting tips, not reporting moneys earned from illegal activities (drugs deals and prostitution), loopholes, and simply not paying it because they don’t want to. I want to revamp the system so that we pay federal sales tax instead of income tax. By charging tax on sales, no one can hide from it and everyone will pay their fair share. That will lessen the burden on those of us already paying more than our fair share.
To learn more details about the FairTax Plan go to http://www.fairtax.org/
To learn more about Gerard, click here: BOWEN FOR CONGRESS

The Louisiana Senate Race: Tweedle-de-de or Tweedle-de-dum

I am so unexcited by the Louisiana Senate race that I haven't posted anything about it yet. Mary Landrieu has 2 terms under her (ample) belt and has built up some deep support throughout the state.
John Kennedy. How can you trust anything he says? He was all for Kerry in 2004 when he was running against David Vitter and was actually considered more liberal than Landrieu. Now, he says he is a mavericky Republican like John McCain. I can think of better adjectives than 'maverick', but I won't use them here.
Check their websites and make up your mind, none of my sage advice in this one.
The Fourth District Congressional race is in full swing. Runoffs will be held on general election day, November 4th, for the Republicans and Democrats. The election itself will be held in December. On the Republican side, Chris Gorman has just released an ad decrying the $700,000,000,000 bailout plan in this video:


This seems to be in contradiction to the wonderful words he had for Jim McCrery:
"Louisiana’s Fourth District has been honorably served by Congressman Jim McCrery for many years. At the same time we honor him for his service, we look to the future and the opportunities that await us. I am a conservative Republican and I plan to bring our shared Louisiana values to the United States Congress."

I hate to tell Mr. Gorman, but McCrery voted for the bailout. The man he is praising is one of those big spenders he talks about in the video.
The race between Gorman and Dr. John Fleming promises to get very nasty.
Democrats also face a runoff between Paul Carmouche and Willie Banks, but this one will be milquetoast compared to the Republican race.
There are also two independents on the ballot in December, Gerard Bowen, Jr. and Chester Kelley. My choice is Gerard Bowen, Jr., who says "If we keep sending the same kind of people to congress, we will keep getting the same results".
Think about it.

Fourth District Congressional Race: The runoffs

Everyone has had an eye on the battle between Dr. John Fleming and Chris Gorman in the 4th District's Republican Primary. It has been very nasty so far, but you ain't seen nothing yet. As the two face off for the November 4th runoff battle, it is likely to get a lot worse.
Not suprisingly, it was a close race. Dr. Fleming received 14,500 votes to Gorman's 14,070. Jeff Thompson wasn't too far behind with 12,693. I believe that Thompson started too late and that Jim McCrery's endorsement on the day of his announcement probably drove away more supporters than it attracted. Look for Thompson to throw his support to Dr. Fleming.
On the Democratic side Paul Carmouche received 36,930 votes to runner-up Willie Banks' 17,620. This will be a clean runoff, with none of the acrimony that the Republicans are displaying.
I have pointed out before that the 4th district is a conservative Democratic district. These numbers prove the point. Paul Carmouche received more votes in the Democratic primary than both of the Republicans combined. Col. Banks received more votes than either.
Some of those Republican votes will go to Paul Carmouche in the general election.

There he goes again
Republican blogger Associate Professor Jeffrey Sadow, ever fearful of anyone who claims to be a conservative Democrat, is already warning the Republican candidates to go the extra mile to prove they are conservative:
"Therefore, the GOP nominee must be a solid conservative who won’t give ammunition to a negative campaign about themselves that will throw them off the message tying Carmouche to his liberal Washington masters."
Ah, those liberal Washington Masters. I think Associate Professor Sadow must have nightmares about them, his fear is so palpable. He wasn't, however, able to provide a photo of Carmouche hugging Barack Obama at a secret conclave at Bohemian Grove while the two were plotting to overthrow the government and the American Way of Life. I'm sure it wasn't from lack of trying.
My Bossier, however, has managed to get a photo of Nancy Pelosi waiting to show Paul Carmouche just who is in charge.

DISCLAIMER: I support none the of the above named candidates. My support goes to independent Gerard Bowen, Jr, about whom we will be sharing more in coming days.

Thompson, Fleming attack Gorman

Article by Sam Hanna, Jr in The Ouachita Citizen. You can read the complete story there.

It's not often two congressional candidates get together and simultaneously issue news releases criticizing a third candidate. That's especially true when the candidates in question are all Republicans who are running against one another in a party primary election. But that's exactly what transpired this week in the 4th District congressional race in northwestern Louisiana where Congressman Jim McCrery, a Republican, opted not to run for re-election. McCrery's decision to bow off the elected scene in lieu of a more lucrative one as a lobbyist opened the door for a host of Republicans who desire to succeed him.
The possible successors include Dr. John Fleming of Minden, businessman Chris Gorman of Shreveport and Jeff Thompson, an attorney from Bossier City. It was Fleming and Thompson who jointly decided they were fed up with Gorman's campaign tactics, dispatching separate news releases on Monday in which they called out Gorman for running a negative, misleading campaign in the 4th District race. The party primary election is Oct. 4.
Armed with a family fortune, Gorman has spent a boat load of his daddy's money on campaign television advertisements and the like. He claims he's a Ronald Reagan Republican who's created some 500 jobs in the private sector. He also says he's pro-life and pro-gun, key talking points for any Republican candidate in the Deep South.
Yet, telephone calls and direct mail pieces 4th District Republicans received from Gorman's camp in recent weeks apparently angered Fleming and Thompson enough to prompt them to respond, questioning Gorman's integrity, or lack thereof. Of the two candidates—Fleming and Thompson—it was Thompson who was a bit more pointed in his criticism of Gorman, according to the news releases filtered to the media.

Fleming 32%, Gorman 30%, Thompson 15%

Today, the Gorman For Congress Campaign released the results of the most recent public opinion survey in the race for the Republican primary in Louisiana's Fourth Congressional District.
The survey was conducted of 300 likely Republican primary voters by Public Opinion Strategies over September 9-11. The margin of error is 5.66 percent.
The survey shows a dead heat between Chris Gorman and John Fleming with 30 and 32 percent of the vote, respectively. Meanwhile, Jeff Thompson trails with 15% of the vote. Twenty-three percent are undecided going into the final days of the extended GOP primary.
According to pollster Gene Ulm of POS, "Chris Gorman is the front runner in several parishes, including Bossier Parish, which comprises nearly one quarter of all GOP voters in the district. Furthermore, he continues to have the best name recognition and favorability of any candidate in the race."

From The Dead Pelican

Meanwhile, Jeff Thompson picked up an endorsement from Jerry Jones, former Shreveport City Attorney and candidate for mayor.
Running with the McCrery endorsement has him at 15%. This one should drop him to about 12% or 13%