U.S. Sen. David Vitter
By Robert Mann
When Louisiana Democrats try to defeat Sen. David Vitter for governor next year, they’ll almost certainly roll out the fact that Vitter was embroiled in a very public and humiliating prostitution scandal in 2007.
In some fashion, they’ll ask the state’s voters, “Do you want someone as sleazy as David Vitter as your governor?” It’s not a bad question and it might cause some voters to pause before handing over the Governor’s Mansion to someone like Vitter.
Until this week, we didn’t know what the Republican response to that question might be. But now we do.
They will rightly shoot back, “This from the party that endorsed Edwin Edwards, an unrepentant felon, for Congress last year?”
It’s a good rejoinder that wouldn’t have been available to the GOP until Monday, when the Democratic State Central Committee overwhelming embraced Edwards, a sure loser in the race to represent the 24th most Republican district in the United States Congress.
But the Democrats endorsed the old crook anyway, taking a nostalgic stroll down Corruption Lane. They’d apparently rather revel in the good old days of Democratic cronyism. They’d rather embrace a disgraceful felon like Edwards than consider what it might take to rehabilitate their dying party.
By the way, the embrace of Edwards not only deprives the Democratic Party of any high moral ground in next year’s governor’s race; it also makes it much harder for Democratic leaders to credibly attack the cronyism in Gov. Bobby Jindal’s administration.
The party’s endorsement won’t help Edwards get elected to Congress, but it sure might help David Vitter get elected governor.
Filed under: Bobby Jindal, Louisiana Politics Tagged: Bobby Jindal, David Vitter, Edwin Edwards, Louisiana politics
