Avman has
a post up at the Louisiana Conservative criticizing Mitch Landrieu. He takes Mitch to task for announcing his candidacy after an event at Cafe Reconcile. Admittedly that was probably a hasty error on Mitch's part. But then, in typically over-the-top fashion, Avman implies that liberal Landrieu supporters approve of New Orleans' high murder rate and hate black people. Avman despairs about what Mitch's announcement meant:
The message from Mitch to inner city minority youth? A disturbing one, but one that makes sense when you think that people actually voted for him in the last election so “New Orleans can finally have a white mayor.”
Right. Because in 2006 people only voted for Mitch on the basis of race. There were no other good reasons imaginable to remove Mayor Ray Nagin from office. Luckily, as Paul at the conservative blog
Wizbang explained, white conservatives saved the day by voting for Nagin because Mitch would "rebuild the projects" and "destroy the city" (even though the Housing Authority of New Orleans was in federal receivership under
Bush's HUD department). Whew, we really dodged a bullet there.
Previously
I've pointed out that the conservative "rulebook states that Mitch Landrieu must always be mocked". And Avman doesn't disappoint:
[Mitch Landrieu] comes from a long time prominent political family in a city known for corruption, and he’s a heart beat away from being the Governor of Louisiana. He’s not short on power, but if that’s not enough, he’s capable of transmitting codes from the side of his head. To who, I don’t know. Maybe aliens, maybe Barack Obama, who knows? Maybe it’s a subliminal message that says “I got a $1,000 for you Reverend, just deliver them to evil.”
Avman is saying Mitch pays off pastors to get "them" (black voters) to vote for him (evil). Again, we were so damn fortunate to have the GNOR and Couhig Conservatives in 06, who strategically voted so that these
reprehensible payoffs wouldn't occur. But what's this talk about Mitch "transmitting codes from the side of his head"?
If you have as hard of a time paying attention to Mitch because you get mesmerized by the morris code on the side of his head, I went ahead and transcribed what I believe him to be saying in this video.
Avman then
presents a Youtube clip that shows the side of Mitch's head while he's talking to reporters. Recall that in the most important mayoral election in New Orleans history, conservatives decided it was a good time to
make fun of Landrieu's hair. Four years later Mitch has very little hair left, so Avman creatively finds a way to follow the rulebook by mocking... wait for it... the scars and bumps on Mitch Landrieu's scalp. To Avman McBritelite, they look like "morris code". He writes "I want to take a scrub brush to it, scrape it off..."
Can it get more deathlessly inane than that? Can it? No, but Avman tries his best.
Exactly how much will President Barack Obama be involved in the mayor’s race? And has any President since Andrew Johnson did it in 1866 interfered in New Orleans politics? One thing is certain, if anybody can bring the President in to meddle in New Orleans politics, Mitch and Mary Landrieu can do it.
Great Balls of Liar! That is so incredibly rich.
No, Avman, you don't have to go back to 1866 to find Presidential meddling. As BayouStJohnDavid correctly
pointed out this week, you only need to go back three and a half years to the conservative pro-Nagin effort. Political analyst Clancy Dubos
called it "a carefully orchestrated campaign attributed to the White House". And former Greater New Orleans Republicans leader and current political analyst
Jeff Crouere also cited the White House's involvement. Crouere should know, too, since his friends at the
GNOR were responsible for some of the political hit pieces against Mitch Landrieu, which Schroeder catalogued
here. There were also advertisements on radio (and tv?), plus significant online activism as well. What I want to know is where the money came from to fund the venture, and the details of the White House's involvement.
Ok, oyster, but why should we care about what some dufus Conservative writes on some political blog?
Well, because this dufus post is promoted on Chad Rogers'
Dead Pelican news aggregator page, so it is getting widespread exposure. Chad Rogers has a history of doing anti-Mitch Landrieu hit pieces, which YRHT has thoroughly
documented. And these hit pieces-- such as the
false story about Mitch Landrieu wearing "full makeup" and staging a Katrina rescue operation so he could film it for future political ads-- ended up
becoming sources for mayoral debate questions! That's why these things matter. Sadly Chad Rogers has never apologized for these false attacks*. And by the looks of it (he's linking to
this vid on the DP right now) he's going to stick to the "mock Mitch" rulebook during this mayoral election, as well.
So let's review: the opening salvo in the "Mock Mitch" campaign of 2010 begins with a Louisiana Conservative post promoted by the Dead Pelican which makes fun of the bumps on Mitch's scalp, saying they are "morris code" for bribing ministers to deliver votes. The post also raises the specter of Mitch getting the White House to meddle in the New Orleans mayoral election.
Follow the playbook, fellas.
===
* these false attacks took the form of Dead Pelican news "Flash Sheets". Though they have been
removed from the Dead Pelican web site, YRHT has preserved copies of them as historical keepsakes. Sadly it looks like we may have to refer to them again in the future.
Labels: Cons, Crouere, Dead Pelican, Elections and Campaigns, Mitch Landrieu, Rove
18 Comments:
"Morris" code?
OK, that's just funny.
Yeah I noticed that too. I thought it may be a pun referring to some political figure named Morris I didn't know about, but then I realized, no...he's just a dipshit.
This is what I love about the Landrieu bashers, they have no ammunition. They get so desperate they resort to adolescent crap like this.
I keep waiting for someone to claim he eats his boogers.
Can I just say something?
I'm a political independent and I want reform in this City.
When is Mitch going to:
- talk about corruption?;
- talk about Fradella, Meffert, Coleman, Edwards?;
- support the IG to the hilt?;
- talk about actually CHANGING the law so that open contracting is the permanent way of the City Charter and not put up the same 'defend the charter' bs that Nagin does and did?
Hey his dad was a COUP man who appointed Barthelemy who appointed benjamin Edwards. Does anyone think that Edwards has EVER gotten out the vote for Mary Landrieu? yes? No?
All this love for Mitch.
Great, he's not Murray.
Well, he wasn't Nagin either.
Well, what IS he then?
I like Mitch, but I agree-- elections should be about the candidates themselves, their record, their plans and the issues.
Readers should be reminded that LouisianaConservative.com, a website owned and published by Jeff Blanco, heavily promoted the Birther conspiracy theory and suggested that Obama's call for young Americans to serve their country was an attempt to "bring back slavery"-- suggesting that because Obama himself cannot trace back his roots to African-American slaves, he doesn't really care about "enslaving" people.
This is what "Avman" (Blanco himself?) said at the time. Direct quote:
"Um, requiring service? Look, I know during times of slavery, there were a lot of black people who would help capture and sell other blacks into slavery, and as Barack Obama would say, I mean think about it, wouldn’t that lineage still be from Africa? Now I’m not saying Obama’s father from Kenya is from that side of heritage. What I am saying is that I know Barack Obama doesn’t have a drop of slave blood, so he probably doesn’t understand this, but to require even one second of forced service is, um, UNCONSTITUTIONAL.
"I’m not saying Barack Obama is the black guy in the house, and some neighborhoods might actually have a different term for it. But I have to admit, I never imagined in my wildest dreams that the first black President would actually be proposing to force some people to work in servitude, or rather, slavery."
I agree that Rogers's decision to link to this wingnut's post about Mitch Landrieu's hair (a post in which he also suggests Landrieu may "hate" black people) will likely result to increased attention, and it does need to be called out. Early on.
No ammunition? How about an inability to get elected to anything resembling a meaningful public office on a statewide level?
I like how conservatives "playbook" is to deride Landrieu.
I think when you mentioned the word Bush in this post, it was the first time he wasn't derided.
Or anyone whose skeptical about the science (which the scientists deleted, for some reason, we don't know why. Ah, I'm sure its an honest mistake) of Global Warming.
Those folks are NEVER being derided on YRHT...
Wait...
this guy makes tonights ringside politics look like a love fest.
why do people keep going to the dipshit trough for a drink?
even punch drunk garland on wwl said today if people would shut off the noise we could cut 20% of imported energy thru bio mass fuel and energy efficent measures.
wouldnt matter if you were in the limbaugh or oberman camp.
every body would be happy.
like my ozark grannie used to say
"rickie, common sense aint that common"
happy holidays cuz.
oyster,
Conservatives have good reason to dislike Landrieu, if for no other reason than the fact that he pushed the idea of delaying tax cuts (i.e., raising taxes temporarily) to solve the state's budget woes.
Perhaps Avman is transmitting Dick Morris code from the side of his head in this post.
"the conservative "rulebook states that Mitch Landrieu must always be mocked"."
I've never seen that rule. The rule I've seen says that if a Landrieu is on the ballot, we must vote for the other candidate.
First anon, I think that's a bit of a stretch about Moon being a COUP man because he appointed a very young Barthelemy with no dirt yet in his record to a position in his administration. You might as well call Vic Schiro a SOUL for giving Don Hubbard and Sherman Copelin jobs.
FWIW, I just looked it up, and the Times Picayune published an article about Billboard Ben spending $100,000 (later upped to $250,000) of his money to re-elect on April 13 -- during the first primary. Suburban Republicans (e.g. the Greater New Orleans Republicans), conservatives from other parts of the state, and, of course, Rob Couhig did not endorse and start working to re-elect Nagin until Couhig came in fourth in April 22 primary. I bring this up because most of us don't have the time to thoroughly research candidates before voting in every election, but I suspect that most would agree that you do have some obligation to find out everything you can about a candidate before endorsing or otherwise working to elect. An article about MCCI (the company that got lucrative for the S&WB before it even finished filing its incorporation papers), Ben Edwards and O.C. Coleman had appeared the previous Autumn and the famous Gambit article about Edwards would have shown up near the top of any Google search. Those red flags should have very obvious to Rob Couhig, who cited the cost of repairs to the sewerage and water system as a reason to close the lower Ninth Ward and New Orleans East to resettlement in one of the debates. In other words, he should have known that Edwards would have considered the money he spent to re-elect Nagin an investment. At the very least, all of the conservatives who actively worked to re-elect Nagin behaved irresponsibly, because actively campaigning for or endorsing a candidate should requires a little more thought than merely voting for him. It's entirely appropriate to question the motivation of those who didn't even live in New Orleans.
Oyster, like I asked in my second comment at Humid Beings, are you aware of any examples of Crouere citing White House involvement other than what he said on channel 26 on election night? I'd love to ask him about it because he specifically said "Greater New Orleans Republicans," but I suspect that he might have thought "Oops," after saying it.
Actually, MCCI was awarded the contract in October 2005, but the Times Picayune article didn't run until May 13, 2006, a week before the election, but after the endorsements. I still think that Couhig should have toned down, if not withdrawn, his endorsement during the last week, because the May 13 article should have reminded him of the April 13 article. That's not 20/20 hindsight on my part BTW -- I made the connection at the time.
Bayou St. John David:
[same anon here]
COUP helped elect Moon Landrieu twice. And he rewarded them, it's that simple.
And the folks operating COUP etc. back then did not have clean records when they got where Barthelemy got.
You could maybe date it to Maestri but the modern framework for graft and inside contracts was laid by moon Landrieu.
I am not saying Mitch Landrieu is a COUP man [such as that even exists anymore]; what I am saying is that he has a soft spot for the old system and he has NEVER, ever spoken out against it.
he can barely mention word "corruption" when running, and I have no idea what he would do to make the Fradellas, Mefferts, Haydels, and etc. a thing of the past.
He would not be the idiot or absent mayor Nagin was. But then neither would Murray, no?
Before, he wasn't Nagin. Ok, not a toughie. What about now?
Add in the fact we're talking about a guy who tells close political friends and confidantes one thing, they rely on that to great investment, and then does the complete opposite and cuts them down a couple months later.
Now really WHAT does Mitch Landrieu stand for? What is he about? Why is he running? Why should someone vote for him over others?
- sobieski
Anon, you called Moon, not Mitch, a COUP man in your first comment. Like I said, that seems unfounded.
"And the folks operating COUP etc. back then did not have clean records when they got where Barthelemy got."
Are you talking about in 1972 when Moon Landrieu appointed Barthelemy? That's what you referenced in your first comment and what I responded to.
BTW, I'm looking for a better candidate than Landrieu for a few reasons that I won't bother to go into here. But, defending somebody from unfair attacks doesn't make you a supporter. Hell, I voted for Obama in the La. Primary (would have voted for Edwards had he not dropped out -- for whatever that says of my judgment), but I still called hardcore Obama supporters cultists for unthinkingly parroting some of the absurd attacks that they made on Clinton.
Even though I'm not a Landrieu supporter, at least not yet, I will say that he's a better choice than Murray. When he has taken time away from his legislative duties in Baton Rouge to involve himself in New Orleans politics (or tried to involve the state legislature in N.O. business) , it's been anti-reform or to further the patronage-based system or to advocate for giving his campaign donors fat sanitation contracts. Whatever you think of those contracts, there were pressing matters in Baton Rouge in October 2006 when he took a day off to lobby the city council on behalf of Richards and Metro. He's one of three candidates that I definitely won't vote for in the primary.
- You could maybe date it to Maestri but the modern framework for graft and inside contracts was laid by moon Landrieu.
I respectfully disagree. Our collective long term memory may only go back that far, and that particular moment in time ushered in a new level of journalism which may have added to the perception of a higher level of public corruption (on the heels of Watergate). Regardless, Moon Landrieu did not write the book on public corruption in this city...no way, no how.
I think that perception is tainted by not only chrono-centrism, but ethnocentrism as well. And I'm not calling you a racist S..by any means. I'm just saying that I think racial bias has tainted the general opinion of Moon in the city's collective memory.
i should have pointed out that many people hate Moon because they believe he was responsible for integrating City Hall and shifting the balance of power to the African-American majority.
I'm sure everyone has left this post far, far behind, but I just can't get away from it.
Because some blogger should pick it up.
>I'm just saying that I think racial bias has tainted the general opinion of Moon in the city's collective memory.<
Well, ok. I didn't mean to imply that Moon had "created" the culture of corruption here.
COUP was involved in his election. There's that, maybe Bayou SJ David doesn't accept this and maybe others don't but I think that was the case and that's based on what I've read and what I've been told (and not on er "conservablogs"). I guess my only point in bringing up Moon is that he got elected using the same political operations that operate today.
Maybe the groups are different, they're not the Old Regulars, but so what?
The corruption still there.
And as to Dambala's point: Well I think there is a perception among white voters - some of them - that they want Mitch in there because he *is* white.
And some white voters think or pretend or presume he's ethical because he *is* white. Or maybe they just don't ask the question.
But what do they really know about what he will do for the city?
What do they really know about what he stands for?
It has been 8 years since Nagin has been in office.
It was 8 years before that that Marc Morial was in office, and Barthelemy was in before that.
Mitch Landrieu has been an active and influential politician for all that time (most of it? How long?) and I do not recall his ever coming out front to support, push, propose or endorse any pro-ethics measure in the city of New Orleans, nor anything pro-transparency.
For example Fielkow's ordinance.
Or the release of emails.
Or the creation and strengthening of the IG's office.
So he wouldn't stick his nose into New Orleans politics while state senator or LT Gov.? Well, I don't remember him doing it when he was running for mayor either.
I like Mitch, i think a lot of people do whether they will vote for him or not. I just wonder why no one ever asks these questions of him and why we just don't something more from him in general.
By the way when I say "Because some blogger should pick it up" I'm not addressing anyone in particular, especially not this fine blog or anyone else's (You've all done a great deal for this city with great effort and it is very appreciated here)...
*********I'm just saying bloggers should talk about what it takes or what it would take to remove this city out of the pattern and system of corruption.*************
I'm not saying Moon was corrupt or that Mitch was corrupt, or anyone else (well maybe Nagin and Morial and Bathelemy are fair game there)....
....all I'm saying is that they've played in the system and have never shown any interest in changing it permanently to prevent the kind of activities we have gotten out of Nagin.
