Jeff Landry’s Quiet Entry Into The 2023 Governor’s Race – The Joe Cunningham Show
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Check Out This Spiffy New Jeff Landry Shirt
USAToday Network's Greg Hillburn made an interesting observation from Attorney General Jeff Landry's gator hunt fundraiser over the weekend. Someone was wearing some interesting campaign wear out in the bayou.
It's not so much that this is surprising news - we've known for a long time now that Landry was interested in running for Governor when John Bel Edwards' term is up next year, but unlike Billy Nungesser, Landry hasn't been vocal about it. Instead, he's been fighting very political and very open battles against Edwards and Democrats around the state, and he's gained a lot of popular support for it. That these shirts may have been handed out at the event, though, is no coincidence. While everyone is focused on the federal midterms, this is a good opportunity for Landry to fundraise quietly while letting allies know it's happening.
The GOP Strategy For November
I have an op-ed out this morning on the remainder of the midterm cycle, where Republicans stand and how they should move forward. You can read the whole thing here, but the bottom line is this part:
In this last stretch, the GOP should be focusing on positive messaging. The Democrats are running on division and fear, as evidenced by President Joe Biden's speech last week. That speech was seen by both sides of the political spectrum as the home stretch speech of the Democratic campaign (something, according to rumor, even Democratic strategists are quietly admitting was a bad move to make). The optics were bad and the speech was worse.
The GOP, meanwhile, can learn from Herschel Walker's latest ad campaign in Georgia, focusing on uniting voters. As more and more voters worry about the future, Republicans should, essentially, borrow the Biden campaign's 2020 promises of a return to normalcy and unity. They need to focus on the good in an effort to help voters feel better about the future. The Democrats offer dire warnings of the future, so the GOP should offer a sunny solution.
Right now, voters need to have their fears assuaged, if not eased entirely. The GOP is in the best position to do that, should they decide to stop the in-fighting and actually wrap up this election cycle on a high note.
Don't Accidentally Vote For Slavery In November
Jeremy Alford's LaPolitics Weekly newsletter has an interesting tidbit about one of the ballot initiatives coming up in November. Apparently, thanks to some awkward phrasing, an anti-slavery amendment proposal could be interpreted as pro-slavery.
[Rep. Edmond] Jordan, a Democrat from Brusly, said he came to this conclusion only recently, while reviewing the proposed ballot language: "Do you support an amendment to prohibit the use of involuntary servitude except as it applies to the otherwise lawful administration of criminal justice?"
The current language in the Constitution allows for an exception only for a "punishment for crime."
Rep. Alan Seabaugh, a Republican from northwest Louisiana, warned supportive lawmakers during the regular session that the amendment wouldn’t do what they thought it would do. Still, Jordan’s legislation was adopted by the Legislature without an opposing vote.
"If the amendment passes, you could see someone sentenced to slavery," said Seabaugh, who helps grade the constitutional law portion of bar exams. "But ultimately that would be pointless, like this whole debate, because the U.S. Constitution addresses this issue."
Look, it's an honest mistake. There is an initiative across multiple states to eradicate slavery from the criminal justice system. Essentially, it's an effort to take unpaid labor off the table for those incarcerated, as well as a general, symbolic obliteration from state constitutions.
Jordan himself says he's going to vote against it and is reaching out to groups like the ACLU and others to get them not to engage so the legislature can come back next year and try again.
Headlines Of The Day
- Judge throws out Trump's sprawling lawsuit against Hillary Clinton, ex-FBI officials over Russia probe (CNN)
- Councils Strike Guillory’s Proposed Quarter Million In Pay Raises From Budget (KPEL)
- A publisher abruptly recalled the '2,000 Mules' election denial book. NPR got a copy. (NPR)
- SC Democrats call on their party’s US Senate nominee to quit (AP News)
- Beijing's Plan to Control the World's Data: Out-Google Google (Newsweek)
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