The Capital City was abuzz and in the national spotlight last week with the first presidential visit to Baton Rouge by Barack Obama and the inauguration of our new governor, John Bel Edwards.
Because of their historic nature, these events created much excitement in the state and city. You could certainly see the smiles and sense of pride on the faces of those at McKinley High School, especially minority residents, while the president spoke.
But while we should all respect the offices of the president and governor, we have the right to disagree with what they say and the philosophy or policies they promote.
From the beginning of his inauguration speech, it became clear that Gov. John Bel Edwards’ team jersey would be Democratic blue. Forget any idea of “purple” or “one Louisiana” bipartisan rhetoric. From Edwards’ inaugural speech to his attempt—and failure—to name a Democrat as speaker of the Republican-majority House of Representatives, the lines are being drawn and we are seeing what we can expect.
In his speech he espoused some of the same ideas Obama championed the next night, like raising the minimum wage, equal pay and expanding Medicaid and Obamacare. More government.
I am sure Edwards enjoyed his visit with the president from the airport last week, chatting about Medicaid and other such entitlement programs. Obama gave Edwards a “shoutout” at McKinley for his actions last week to expand Medicaid. But I think kudos from Obama will only make his jersey a darker blue. One wonders what message the national coverage of our new Democratic governor being praised by Obama will send to corporate execs around the nation.
(Side note: One good thing that could come out of the president’s visit is help with the one-lane exit off the I-10 bridge. The governor and Mayor Kip Holden, who both rode with the president to his hotel, said they mentioned the issue as they rode by. Our thanks to them.)
A real setback for the governor to start the game happened before he was even sworn in. Edwards had cast his lot with Rep. Walt Leger (a Democrat from New Orleans) for speaker of the House, where more than 60 of the 105 representatives are Republican. The governor historically has gotten his man—but not this time. The “red jerseys” handed Edwards his first defeat—and a big one. Speaker Taylor Barras, a Republican from New Iberia, gets to choose all committee chairs and members. BOOM!
When I read his speech and witnessed his brazen move to publicly endorse his pick for speaker, I assumed he must be reading his own press, like the Sunday editorial in the liberal opinion page of The Advocate, which wrote, “Edwards’ election suggests the Louisiana voters are ready to look beyond party labels in selecting stewards of public trust.” Really? Does The Advocate think voters would have looked beyond party and elected Edwards if either of the other Republicans made the runoff instead of Vitter?
“Edwards has promised a bipartisan administration. He’s honored that ideal in tapping outgoing Lt. Gov. Jay Dardenne, a Republican and former gubernatorial rival, as his commissioner of administration. Dardenne had crossed party lines to endorse Edwards …” Does The Advocate believe Edwards would have picked Dardenne had he not endorsed him? And would Dardenne have endorsed Democrat Edwards if Angelle had been in the runoff? The Advocate knows better, and Edwards’ loss in the speaker vote gave him a dose of reality and clearer picture of the jerseys worn and their colors. He is outnumbered.
So Tuesday comes along and it’s blue jersey day. Edwards signs the Medicaid expansion and Obama gets to deliver his final State of the Union, proclaiming how great things are in America and the world under his watch. And that is followed by Wednesday when these two Democratic leaders get to meet at the Baton Rouge airport—both wearing deep blue team jerseys. Isn’t it beautiful? (Will Hillary Clinton be coming next?) And the picture for voters becomes clearer with each day—and it’s only been a week.
PRESIDENT HERE AND THERE
I watched the president give his State of the Union address at the Capitol and then listened to him speak and take questions at McKinley High School, too. I found a few things he said in Baton Rouge that I actually believed—and agreed with.
As for his State of the Union, I wondered if we were living in the same country. He spoke of our positive economic growth and said, “Anyone claiming that America’s economy is in decline is peddling fiction.”
But an economist told me last week that this is the worst recovery after a recession since World War II. (Who’s the peddler?) Our national debt approaches $20 trillion. The president spoke as if respect for America around the world was high and our foreign affairs are in order and we have nothing to fear. Was he serious? (And what did Hillary Clinton tweet? She wrote, “Seven years of progress. We need to build on it—not go backwards.” She must be living on his planet.)
As for his remarks in Baton Rouge: At the end he gave some good advice. First, to a student at Tulane University he said, “Don’t aim at what you want to be—but what you want to do. Focus on that and you can make a difference.” And he said, “… the same for business. Bill Gates didn’t set out to be the second wealthiest person in the world. He wanted to figure out this computer and how to make it better.”
He concluded by saying to the audience and all of us, “Our system only works when you vote and stay informed. There are those who will oppose change and like the status quo. If you want to see change you have to make it happen. Remember when I ran eight years ago I didn’t say, ‘Yes I can,’ I said ‘Yes WE can.’” Obama made it happen.
GRAHAM HAS HIS OWN MESSAGE
Franklin Graham, son of evangelist Billy Graham, brought his “Decision America Tour” to Baton Rouge last Wednesday. He spoke at noon in the North Boulevard Town Square with a strong message that contrasted the one President Barack Obama shared the night before in the State of the Union and repeated last Thursday at McKinley High here in Baton Rouge.
“The state of the union,” Graham declared, “is broken.”
“We’re here today because we see that our nation is in trouble—that’s the state of the union,” Graham said before a cheering crowd of reportedly 4,200. “We are in trouble spiritually, racially, economically, and we’re in trouble politically. No political party is going to be able to turn this thing around—only God can fix it.”
Graham stated, “I have zero hope in the Democratic party. But before you Republicans start high-fiving each other, I have zero hope in the Republican Party—or any other political parties. The only hope for our nation is the Almighty God.”
Graham is traveling to all 50 states asking America to come back to biblical values. He encouraged Christians to stand firm for their beliefs, vote and get involved.
Baton Rouge was his third stop and largest crowd (Des Moines, 2,500; Tallahassee, 3,500).
