This year has been one of the most dynamic in American political history — what began in 2006 as a fundamental shift in power from the Republican Party to the Democratic Party in Congress culminated on Nov. 4 with the election of America’s first black president. President Obama’s victory on election night was the result of a nearly two-year long national campaign, first through a hard-fought Democratic Primary against former New York Senator, and current Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, and ending with the national election against Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.Obama carried 365 electoral votes — far exceeding the 270 required to win — and 53 percent of the popular vote, representing more than 69 million votes. But in Louisiana, the story was much different.McCain carried Louisiana with 59 percent of the popular vote, compared to the 40 percent Obama garnered — making Louisiana one of only five states that tended more Republican than in 2004. Sen. Mary Landrieu was able to fend off a strong challenge from Republican State Treasurer John Kennedy, while former Rep. Don Cazayoux lost his District 6 Congressional seat to Republican Rep. Bill Cassidy.And after former Rep. Bill Jefferson’s defeat in heavily-Democratic District 2 by Rep. Joseph Cao — the nation’s first Vietnamese-American Congressman — Louisiana currently has only one remaining Democratic Congressman, Rep. Charlie Melancon, from its seven Congressional districts. A RISING STARObama wasn’t the only politician to come out of the 2008 election with glowing fans.Speculation surrounding McCain’s vice-presidential pick included Gov. Bobby Jindal — introducing a largely unknown and new name into the national political discussion.Jindal became the favorite pick of influential conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh, and former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich endorsed Jindal on June 15, 2008 as “far and away the best candidate” to be McCain’s running mate. “Jindal is, without question, seen as a rising star within the national GOP,” wrote Washington Post political analyst Chris Cillizza on Oct. 22, 2008. “He has already gotten a taste for the national limelight by his consideration in the veepstakes.”But becoming a national star in a political party has its drawbacks, as Jindal learned in late February after his much-derided “response” speech to Obama’s address to a joint session of Congress on Feb. 24.Jindal was widely caricatured as “Kenneth the Page,” a character from NBC’s comedy show 30 Rock, and state Democrats reacted harshly to Jindal’s partisan message.”Bobby Jindal needs to focus on the needs of Louisiana, not his political ambitions,” said Scott Jordan, spokesman for the Louisiana Democratic Party. Since that speech, Jindal has associated himself with more partisan battles, articulating national Republicans’ concerns with aspects of Obama’s policy agenda — including deriding the stimulus package, which received no Republican votes in the House and only three in the Senate.IT’S THE ECONOMYObama’s inauguration bliss was quickly tempered by a bleak economic picture, with many economists predicting a recession that could last at least until 2010 — and, without proper action, slump into a depression. Such was his rationale for advocating the hasty passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, an approximately $787 billion stimulus package aimed at giving a quick jolt to the sagging economy by aiding state governments with additional funds for infrastructure projects, healthcare, education and unemployment benefits and giving individual tax payers an income tax cut. The bill was met with heavy Republican opposition — with Sen. David Vitter becoming a leading and vocal critic for the GOP, continuing a trend some political analysts say is part of Vitter’s attempts to gear up for the 2010 Senate race, where he will be tested with voters for the first time since revelations about his business with a prostitution service in Washington D.C. surfaced in 2007. “[Vitter] can win most Republican-leaning voters by running against Obama and the Democratic majority. And who cares — from his perspective — what the other consequences may be,” said Regina Lawrence, political science professor. Jindal also got entangled in the stimulus fight after he announced he would reject $98 million in stimulus money aimed at expanding unemployment benefits, a move that has angered some Democratic legislators who want the state to use all the stimulus money — complicating an already rocky relationship between Jindal and the Democratic-controlled state legislature. Other aspects of Obama’s economic agenda — like the Troubled Asset Relief Program, designed to provide failing financial institutions capital — have received staunch Republican opposition and, at times, mixed reactions from the public. Obama, though, remains popular after his first 100 days in office with a 62.8 percent average favorability rating, according to Pollster.com, a nationally-recognized polling aggregator.FROM SURPLUS TO DEFICITSPerhaps the largest challenge facing Jindal’s administration will be dealing with the state’s projected budget deficits. It will be a fundamental and, possibly, painful change for Louisiana to shift from a state traditionally driven by budget surpluses to one driven by budget deficits, said Kirby Goidel, director for public policy research for the Manship School of Mass Communication. Jindal will face additional pressure to continue funding state-provided services like education and healthcare while not increasing taxes to raise revenue. “We are going from a time of plenty to a time of frugality,” he said. The deficits are expected to take up large portions of the new legislative session, where legislators already have more than 1,000 prefiled bills to consider. ——Contact Nate Monroe at [email protected]
Power changes hands between national parties
May 2, 2009