From intellectually honest to bitingly sarcastic, the remarks delivered by state Rep. Rob Shadoin, R-Ruston, during this year’s record run of legislative sessions almost helped us forget just how rough 2016’s budget negotiations actually were, says Jeremy Alford.
“At one point, he told the entire House membership that ‘my brain explodes’ when faced with the chamber’s combined and infinite wisdom,” Alford writes in his latest column.
And don’t get Shadoin started on religion, Alford says.
“‘I was reared Southern Baptist,’ Shadoin said from the floor one Tuesday morning. ‘But in between I was Presbyterian and Methodist. And being a lawyer, I tell people I didn’t want to blow eternity on a technicality,’” Alford writes.
Shadoin provided a number of the most memorable quips and comments to come from Louisiana’s politicians in 2016. Many came during this year’s regular session, which Alford notes had some semi-spiritual moments of enlightenment as well—like the time the bottom of retiring lobbyist Bob Israel’s shoe came off while he was talking to lawmakers.
“You see,” quipped Rep. Julie Stokes, R-Kenner. “If you stick around here too long, you lose your sole.”
“You can always get advice on the cheap around the Capitol,” Alford writes. “For example, Rep. Robby Carter, D-Amite, advised against fishing in the Capitol lakes. ‘I was warned when I first got here that those fish glow in the dark,’ he told the House earlier this year.”
Lawmakers tend to ramble on during their floor speeches, Alford says, pointing to a quip from Rep. Sam Jones, D-Franklin: “Sometimes we suffer from mental constipation and we may need a laxative.”
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.
