BusinessReport.com

There will be better days for Louisiana Democrats, but the week after former senator/citizen John Breaux’s bow-out from the governor’s race finds them at their nadir and close to losing their tenuous hold on power.

The most remarkable aspect of Breaux’s decision not to run was his speed and certainty in making it—unlike every other stage of his flirtation with candidacy. Ever the deferential hopeful, he first waited patiently for Gov. Kathleen Blanco to get out of the way, then asked and waited longer for Attorney General Charles Foti’s opinion on his eligibility, all the while barely showing his face in the state, even as Republican commercials and Web sites repeatedly assaulted his honor and legitimacy.

Foti’s non-opinion could not have come as a surprise to Breaux, for it was widely rumored in the political community for a week. Maybe it was just the out he was looking for, even as he went about exploring potential fund-raising and strategy.

Breaux’s citizenship question, which he originally dismissed as not a big thing, only got bigger. On the day the attorney general’s opinion was released, Breaux learned of poll results showing that voters overwhelmingly thought he did not meet the qualifications to be a candidate.

The most decisive actor in this play was the state Republican Party, which blistered Breaux in TV commercials even before Blanco decided not to run. Breaux said the ads fired him up more, but what they—and the whole controversy—really did was energize Congressman Bobby Jindal’s already-relentless fund-raising effort, pushing him over the $5 million mark while Breaux was parked at go.

Now Democrats are left to sort through their diminishing options. Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu followed Breaux’s retreat a few days later, sticking to his re-election and putting his family first, including his sister. Had he run and beat Jindal, he would have created for Sen. Mary Landrieu an opponent on the rebound (which is how she first won) and raised the dangerous question of how many Landrieus it takes to run Louisiana. Had little brother lost, it would have exposed her vulnerability all the more.

That gets the Democrats down to former Attorney General Richard Ieyoub, now a lawyer, and former Congressman Chris John, now a lobbyist, who both got out of elected politics after running underwhelming races for governor and senator, respectively. Does Treasurer John Kennedy run or turn Republican to position himself for the Senate race? Toward the bottom of the barrel are wild cards like industrialist Jim Bernhard or anyone else who can write a big check.

This desperate casting about by Democratic powerbrokers no doubt aggravates Public Service Commissioner Foster Campbell, virtually the only live and kicking—and announced—Democrat. His single issue of taxing the oil companies to give the people a big tax break best represents the historic populist values of the Democratic Party that go back to Huey Long but that its most successful politicians have long since disavowed.

If there is one Democrat who could quickly pull together and rev up the party, it’s former Secretary of State Al Ater. His take-charge leadership in running last year’s delayed municipal elections in New Orleans made him the most popular country politician in the city. But, heartbreakingly for Democrats, he is also Campbell’s best friend and has committed to assisting his campaign.

Even if Ater wanted to run this year, he would do so only if his pal stepped aside, which is pretty unlikely now that Campbell has the stage to himself.

Meanwhile, the Jindal juggernaut is hitting overdrive on fund-raising before his campaign even begins. Though there are those who doubt his ability to win, including two other self-funded GOP candidates, he has grown past whiz-kid status to become a stabilizing force in his party. He’s even held the same job going on three years now.

Jindal can raise $10 million and there is still a large part of the electorate who will vote against him or any other Republican. It’s far from a hopeless cause, but the Democrats need to quickly find and fund someone to vote for.