We all remember November in Louisiana, when David Vitter won a resounding victory over Charlie Melancon. It wasn't even close. Melancon expended considerable effort reminding voters of Vitter's involvement in a sordid DC prostitution case. But Louisiana's conservative, anti-Obama electorate shrugged the hookers off and figured that being a john paled in comparison to being associated with the President. Vitter deployed every vicious tactical "slur" in his arsenal against Melancon; he linked him to the hated "trial lawyers" by pointing out Melancon attended a lawyer-hosted fundraiser in Canada; Vitter accused Melancon of coddling undocumented immigrants in a borderline-racist TV commercial; and, the coup de grace, he reminded Louisianians that Melancon endorsed the Democratic candidate for President, Barack Obama. Despite calls of racism and factual inaccuracy, Vitter played the electorate perfectly and ran away with victory.
Once shamed and dogged by his morally hypocritical behavior, Vitter's decisive victory freed him from the embarrassment and ridicule of the press and his critics. What can one say? He won despite our best efforts. And there's no turning back.
The renewed Vitter swagger is best exemplified by the return of his Louisiana political arm, the Louisiana Committee for a Republican Majority. Formed around 2005, the LCRM was created to funnel money from a cadre of wealthy donors toward "independent" expenditures attacking Democrats. The ostensible goal is to create a Republican majority in the State Legislature.
The LCRM will recruit and train new candidates, impact public opinion and mobilize Republican voters. “Operation Clean House” is the first effort of the LCRM, whose long-term goal is to build Republican majorities at all levels of government.
The Louisiana Committee For A Republican Majority is co-chaired by Donald "Boysie"Bollinger and Joseph C.Canizaro. Find out more about the LCRM and make an on-line contribution at lcrmnow.com.
As our friend once famously said, "Mission Accomplished."
Vitter's group, a foreshadow of the groups unleashed by Citizens United, like Freedom Works, spent over $30,000 helping to defeat Democratic State Senate Candidate Nathan Granger this past weekend. Louisiana's Senate now has a Republican majority for the first time since reconstruction.
LCRM conducted polling, paid for direct mail and pushed Vitter robo-calls to the area. They also helped float a "story" that Granger's campaign was being managed by a former Obama campaign staffer (true, but so what? Socialist conspiracy, of course!).
The moral of this tale is to expect much more of this in the future nationally and statewide. Vitter is unbound, and has little else to do now but further solidify Republican gains. The Republican majority is achieved, and was completed before the coming Legislative session. What's left? All statewide seats are now held by Republicans, except for one: Mary Landrieu's senate seat. For the LCRM, 2014 can't come soon enough.
For Progressives, there's no where to go but up.