Civic Duty
** Update ** Bobby Jindal will be the next governor of Louisiana.
It was election day today in Louisiana. This was actually a primary election, an open primary, which means all candidates for office are on the ballot, regardless of party affiliation. If a candidate for a particular office gets a clear majority of votes on this day, then that person is elected to that office. If no one receives a majority of the vote then we have a runoff election in November between the top two vote getters for those offices. I am watching the results roll in now to see who may have been elected outright, who will be in runoffs and which, if any, of the issues we voted on passed.
We know that we will have a new governor, regardless of who wins, whether by a majority today or in a runoff next month. Kathleen Blanco, our sitting governor, chose not to run for a second term. It was a wise choice. She made many mistakes after the Katrina disaster, mostly huge political mistakes that cost our state some early relief. She has not been forgiven. She was however, a far more effective governor aside from the Katrina debacle, in my opinion anyway, than many of her predecessors. As a matter of fact, if it were not for her total downfall after Katrina, I think she was a solid governor and would have been a shoe in for re-election.
Louisiana is a tough place folks. It is totally unique in how it has been governed since the days of pirate rule, long before statehood. It has been riddled with fraud, run by criminals and good old boys and much of the natural resources have been destroyed over the years by waste, poor management and political rape. What we didn't do to ourselves directly, we allowed the federal government to ruin indirectly by not taking care of our own business. This state has so much potential but somehow always manages to come out last or near last in every measurable category of social, political and cultural area of life. Our infrastructure is poor. Our educational system is poor, we continue to lose jobs that we only gained a few short years ago. Yet this area is truly beautiful and unlike any other state in the union. It has a proud and diverse background and heritage. I wish you all could see the best of this state, unfortunately the worst of it is what usually hits the national news.
The numbers are getting interesting here so I am off to see if we've elected someone or if we will wait until November.
It was election day today in Louisiana. This was actually a primary election, an open primary, which means all candidates for office are on the ballot, regardless of party affiliation. If a candidate for a particular office gets a clear majority of votes on this day, then that person is elected to that office. If no one receives a majority of the vote then we have a runoff election in November between the top two vote getters for those offices. I am watching the results roll in now to see who may have been elected outright, who will be in runoffs and which, if any, of the issues we voted on passed.
We know that we will have a new governor, regardless of who wins, whether by a majority today or in a runoff next month. Kathleen Blanco, our sitting governor, chose not to run for a second term. It was a wise choice. She made many mistakes after the Katrina disaster, mostly huge political mistakes that cost our state some early relief. She has not been forgiven. She was however, a far more effective governor aside from the Katrina debacle, in my opinion anyway, than many of her predecessors. As a matter of fact, if it were not for her total downfall after Katrina, I think she was a solid governor and would have been a shoe in for re-election.
Louisiana is a tough place folks. It is totally unique in how it has been governed since the days of pirate rule, long before statehood. It has been riddled with fraud, run by criminals and good old boys and much of the natural resources have been destroyed over the years by waste, poor management and political rape. What we didn't do to ourselves directly, we allowed the federal government to ruin indirectly by not taking care of our own business. This state has so much potential but somehow always manages to come out last or near last in every measurable category of social, political and cultural area of life. Our infrastructure is poor. Our educational system is poor, we continue to lose jobs that we only gained a few short years ago. Yet this area is truly beautiful and unlike any other state in the union. It has a proud and diverse background and heritage. I wish you all could see the best of this state, unfortunately the worst of it is what usually hits the national news.
The numbers are getting interesting here so I am off to see if we've elected someone or if we will wait until November.
1 Comments:
Hope things went down to your liking, Marsha!
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