John Bel Edwards of Tangipahoa Parish made his mark upon Louisiana history before he was ever sworn in more than two years ago—and has continued to do so since moving into the Governor’s Mansion in Baton Rouge, says Jeremy Alford in his latest column.
“He was the 37th Democrat to win the votes for the post since 1812, and the second with the last name of Edwards,” Alford writes. “More on point, historically at least, he became the first sitting House member ever elected governor, although four other former lower chamber occupants won the coveted seat after leaving the body.”
But when it comes to Edwards accomplishments in his term so far, the list is thinner on the fiscal policy side, Alford says.
“Most of this term, on the fiscal policy front, has been consumed with the almighty blame game. The House GOP claims the governor’s so-called tax-and-spend proposals just won’t fly in a conservative body,” he writes. “The administration counters that the House is being guided by a ‘gang of no’ and a small handful of legislators who want to see Baton Rouge burn.”
How many more sessions will it take for Edwards to find his fiscal groove? The state is on its 10th in three years. Or, are we waiting on the Legislature to find a middle ground from which to legislate?
Alford says the politically honest answer, with no intellectual shortcuts, is that the administration has failed for more than half a term to advance any significant fiscal legislation.
At the same time, the House—even with a GOP majority—is way too fractured to institute budget and revenue reforms, he says. And then there’s the Senate, which gets a pass this term because the governor’s keys bills have been stalled or too heavily altered by the House to make it to the upper chamber.
“Edwards, though, has refused to embrace this troubling trend as a reality in Baton Rouge—a byproduct of the governor’s hard-headedness, which is both a strength and a weakness,” Alford writes.
Jeremy Alford publishes LaPolitics Weekly, a newsletter on Louisiana politics, at LaPolitics.com. Follow him on Twitter, or on Facebook. He can be reached at JJA@LaPolitics.com.
