Edwin Edwards is the last of a dying breed — a politician unafraid to reveal just how much he loves politics.
The former Louisiana governor and current Democratic congressional candidate for Louisiana’s 6th District spoke eloquently about the drama and grandeurs of governing, at a time when his younger fellow candidates seek to distance themselves as far as possible from the toxic unpopularity of career politicians.
When you ask the now-86-year-old politico what he likes to do for fun, his answer is immediate.
“I run for public office,” Edwards said. “I like politics. I like dealing with people. I like the clash of good minds who have different opinions.”
Edwards, who previously represented the state’s 7th District in the House of Representatives, rose to national prominence after serving four terms as Louisiana’s governor between 1972 and 1996. The state’s longest-serving executive endeared himself to voters with candid, crude comments on the true nature of state politics.
“I’m an egotist, I’ll confess to that,” Edwards said. “I like to get things done, and you get things done by having power.”
Edwards, who is currently barred from holding any state-wide office, openly admits he would run for governor if he were able, but he said he would not consider a hypothetical presidential campaign.
“I think, unlike our present governor, it’s unrealistic,” Edwards said with a laugh.
Despite his status as one of the country’s most legendary governors, Edwards’ current headquarters near Old Jefferson Highway are stripped of any trappings befitting of his larger-than-life political persona.
He sat behind a rented desk in the back room of a bare office building, accompanied by his 35-year-old wife and their infant son.
Edwards said he plans on hiring a more extensive staff as needed, even acquiring a campaign manager to relieve his wife of her current duties.
The politician’s age shows in his description of his potential campaign operation.
“I will have to staff the office with secretaries to do the typing and letter-writing and answer the telephone,” Edwards said. “And then I will have people who will be in charge of the sign brigade.”
Edwards’ candidacy in the 6th District race marks the first foray back into politics for the “Cajun Prince” since he was released from federal prison in 2011, after serving more than eight years on charges of racketeering, extortion and bribery.
Edwards does not shy away from talking about his jail time, instead turning his experiences behind bars into a badge of honor.
The lawyer tells stories of how he “walked the track” with his fellow inmates, writing letters for them, preparing powers of attorney for them, helping them get GEDs and comforting them upon news of a deserting wife or sick child.
“In so doing, I comforted myself,” Edwards said. “It made me feel good about myself because once again I was needed.”
Even today, Edwards maintains he received an unfair sentence.
“It was undeserved,” Edwards said. “But I’ve had a lot of undeserved good luck, so I accepted it philosophically.”
Although many University students only know Edwards as a corrupt politician from their parents’ generation, the candidate said he would make an attempt to rally younger voters to his campaign, even if it’s in vain.
“They’ve been lied to so much and disappointed so much, they just don’t trust politicians or public servants as they should,” Edwards said of younger voters. “Naturally you folks at your age are disillusioned. I understand that, and I know I have a hard job restoring your faith. But I’m gonna try.”
Edwards described himself as a middle-of-the-road candidate, though the 86-year-old candidate expressed the most tolerant views on gay marriage in the race.
“I would like to give gays and lesbians an opportunity to participate in the full freedoms of our country and to enjoy the benefit of what we now call a marriage,” Edwards said.
Though Edwards said he would not be opposed to the legalization of gay marriage in the state, he recognized it would be difficult to achieve, given Louisiana’s current attitudes on the issue.
If elected to Congress, Edwards plans to address Baton Rouge’s traffic problems on the House Public Works Committee, hoping to spur the construction of elevated roadways in the state.
“You could elevate a roadway over the present interstate, it could be built in record time, and people traveling east and west would use the overhead ramp without disturbing the ground-level I-10,” Edwards said.
Edwards also said he wants to get moving on the creation of a high-speed transit system between Baton Rouge and New Orleans.
“I’m 86 years old. That ain’t gonna help me a damn bit,” Edwards said of the long-term project. “I have the vision to see that it’s gonna be needed and we ought to get on with it now.”
On the subject of health care, the candidate has a muddled history.
Though Edwards criticized Gov. Bobby Jindal for rejecting Medicaid expansion, he said he would not have originally voted in favor of the Affordable Care Act.
However, Edwards supports many of the program’s aspects, like the option for young adults to stay on their parents’ plan until age 26, and he said he will not vote in Congress to repeal Obamacare in its entirety.
“By reforming it, you don’t risk losing the good provisions,” Edwards said. “You can address the bad ones.”

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Edwin Edwards