When my time in Louisiana is done, I’m going to miss many things: the food, the culture and our way of life. Despite all that, there is one aspect of our lives, never taken for granted, that I’ll miss the most.Our politics.Our politicians are colorful. They are larger than life. They are scandalous. Who needs celebutantes and TMZ when you have a governor’s mansion and a stripper? Or, more recently, a senator and a madam?Sadly, our politicians have sordid and colorful pasts when it comes to extramarital dalliances.With a major motion picture devoted to it, it is impossible to overlook Gov. Earl K. Long and Blaze Starr’s affair, which began in 1958 and continued until his death in 1960.When it began, Starr was already a famous burlesque dancer from West Virginia and attained greater prominence through her relationship with the self-described “last of the red hot poppas.” The two met when Starr was a dancer at the Sho-Bar on Bourbon St. in New Orleans. Despite her fear of going to jail when the governor walked in with his state trooper escort, the two became friends and then lovers.It was a relationship that caused some embarrassment for our late governor.The relationship was widely known throughout the state. While it was disgraceful for our governor, it was even more so for his wife Blanche, who had him committed to the state mental hospital in Mandeville. Unfortunately for Blanche, the case was dismissed, and Long was released.Once freed, Earl and Blaze got a room at the Green Springs Motel outside of Covington, and went on a vacation to New Orleans and then Texas. When Earl died in 1960, it was rumored that he left Blaze $50,000 — which she refused to accept.While Uncle Earl is entertaining, in many ways the tale of Rep. Bob Livingston is far more interesting.Livingston rose to prominence in 1995 when the Republicans took over Congress and he was named chairman of the Appropriations Committee. He even attended a meeting brandishing a machete to demonstrate his seriousness as a budget cutter.Then Monica Lewinsky and the blowjob scandal erupted in Washington.Livingston was indignant demanding that President Clinton resign the presidency because of perjury charges stemming from the incident. In the aftermath of the scandal, the Republicans lost seats in the house but retained their majority. This turn of events led then-speaker Rep. Newt Gingrich to step down. Livingston announced that not only was he running for the vacant position, but that he already had enough support to win. With supporters already locked in, Livingston became Speaker-elect of the United States House of Representatives.Unfortunately, Hustler publisher Larry Flynt had other ideas.Flynt made it public knowledge that Livingston, after denouncing President Clinton over his adultery, had skeletons in his own closet. During Clinton’s impeachment debate, Livingston announced that he would be stepping down as the Speaker-elect and resigning from the house in May of 1999. Apparently Livingston’s self-righteous indignation stemmed from some deeply-seeded self-loathing.Like the former president, Livingston also liked to keep mistresses on the side. In addition to these extra women, it became known that Livingston also liked to spice things up in the bedroom. The representative was a fan of sexual bondage games, role playing and liked to attend fetish parties. Although it was never made public what that evidence was, Flynt asserted that he did have proof of these allegations.What were the people of New Orleans to do?When a congressman resigns in the face of a massive sex scandal, it is natural the residents of that district would fall in love with a “family values” politician. No one fit the bill better than David Vitter. He was a lifelong resident of New Orleans. He attended Harvard, Tulane law, and was a Rhodes Scholar at University College, Oxford.He was perfect.He had all the right conservative credentials. He is pro-life and pro-gun. He wrote legislation against gambling and same-sex marriages. Perfect. Unfortunately, he wasn’t perfect enough.During his 2004 senatorial campaign, he was accused of having a lengthy affair with a New Orleans prostitute. Vitter described these allegations as “absolutely and completely untrue,” and went on to say that it was “just crass Louisiana politics.”Then came July 2007 and Larry Flynt again.Not only had Vitter been seeing New Orleans prostitute Wendy Cortez for $300 per hour, but when he went to Washington, he frequented Pamela Martin and Associates, which was a brothel owned by Deborah Jean Palfrey.Most crazy zealots defend this as what makes Louisiana politics so much fun.And they’re right — it is what makes politics in our state fun.  But maybe it is time to stop worrying about our leaders being entertaining and demanding them to lead.—-Contact Matt McEntire at [email protected]