BLANCO LAUNCHES FIRST NEGATIVE TV ATTACK AD (2003 Governor's Race)

Less than 24 hours after claiming that she was not attacking Bobby Jindal at a Baton Rouge press conference on Tuesday, Kathleen Blanco launched the first negative attack TV ad of the run-off campaign. This comes on the heels of her releasing an ad earlier claiming that she is not running a negative campaign. She started her negative radio ads almost immediately after the October 4th primary.

“From day one, Kathleen has been in attack mode. At first her personal attacks on Bobby Jindal were under the radar, now she is blasting them across the airwaves. This one even resorts to name-calling," said campaign spokesman Trey Williams.

"This ad represents a new low for Blanco, with her resorting to name-calling and making the bizarre claim that Bobby ‘crunches people’, whatever that means,” Williams said. “Her negative attacks prove that she has seen public polls showing Bobby pulling ahead and gaining momentum.”

"I continue to be disappointed by the course of action that Kathleen has chosen. Unfortunately, she seems undeterred and I have resigned myself to the fact that these attacks will continue unabated,” Jindal said.

“Blanco, who said Jindal was ‘a very young man with very little life experience…’” (Times Picayune, 10/16/03)

"This started back eight years ago. Today's problems are decisions made by immature people of the past." (Times Picayune, 10/21/03)

“Bobby ended up with $1 million in the bank, but I have to work for it. That’s the story of my life. I don't have a sugar daddy,” Blanco said. (Lafayette Daily Advertiser, Gannett Newspapers, October 14, 2003) (Jindal actually ended the primary with $400 thousand, not $1 million in the bank.)

“‘Anybody who tries to tell people they have all the answers is fooling the public,’ Blanco said, referring to Jindal's penchant for promoting detailed, multipronged policy proposals as a solution to Louisiana's problems. …Blanco blamed the state's poor health outcomes on Jindal's performance as secretary of the Department of Health and Hospitals under Gov. Foster. ‘We've made the same mistake over and over again,’ Blanco said. ‘This started back eight years ago. Today's problems are decisions made by immature people of the past.’” (Jan Moller, “Blanco Blames Jindal For Health Care Woes,” Times-Picayune, 10/21/03)

“The comments were part of a wide-ranging discussion during an appearance at the Baton Rouge Press Club, where the Democratic candidate spent much of her time attacking Jindal and outlining her differences with the 32-year-old Republican, whom she has ridiculed as too immature for the

job. ‘This ship of state does not come with training wheels,’ said Blanco, 60. Blanco also continued to focus attention on Gov. Foster's vocal role in supporting Jindal in the race. ‘Perhaps the biggest difference in our campaigns is that Bobby is running against me, one person, and I'm running against two people,

Bobby and the governor,’ Blanco said.” (Robert Travis Scott, “Blanco Avoids No-Tax Pledge,” Times-Picayune, 10/28/03)

“Choosing not to address before the crowd an increasingly negative campaign tone that had been lauded for its civility by observers before the Oct. 4 elections, Blanco later spoke frankly on the topic to reporters… As an ‘outsider,’ his perceived lack of practical policymaking experience would be detrimental to being an effective governor, she said.” (Eugene Sutherland, “Blanco Points To Opponent's 'Dirty' Campaigning,” Alexandria Town Talk, 10/24/03)

“I have earned my way here. Nobody gave me anything," Blanco said, in a veiled slap at Gov. Mike Foster's fierce support of Jindal. (Associated Press, 10/20/03)

“Now Kathleen is in the fight of her political life against the hand picked candidate of the right wing Republicans…and their millions of dollars. They are confident they will win, because they hope that we won’t vote.” --Blanco radio ad.

“We love our politics in Louisiana, but we don't like outsiders coming and telling us who to vote for,” Blanco said. (The Advocate, October 6, 2003)

“I’m sure that Bush and Cheney will come in here to raise money for Bobby. You know, we don’t have any Bush- and Cheney-level people. But I believe the Louisiana people understand what the impact of Washington is, and it’s not always a positive impact. I’m always going to base my strength of support on Louisiana people and not outsiders.” (The Independent in Lafayette, 10/15/03)

“I’m not sure how to express this, but it seems like we are two non-traditional candidates so now [voters] just have to look at our background and the reality of our experiences to discern, if they feel we have solid backgrounds of what our claims are, built on reality or if it’s a paper tiger. I think his background is a paper tiger.” (Nathan Stubbs, “Blanco Unites Dems to Fight ‘Paper Tiger’ Jindal,” The [Lafayette] Independent Website, http://www.theind.com/news.html#blanco, 10/15/03, Accessed 10/26/03)

“First of all, I was never anointed to have jobs, sometimes that, like Mr. Jindal, he wasn’t even qualified, he didn’t have the basic credentials for. But, I will tell you that I have worked hard and earned my way… I would say I have very clear plans and ideas over what has to be done. But the big thing is that I know how to get them done and have gotten them done, and you have to have that inside knowledge of how to make government work for you. You can’t just pretend, like, well, I’ve started this, I’ve started this.” (Nathan Stubbs, “Blanco Unites Dems to Fight ‘Paper Tiger’ Jindal,” The [Lafayette] Independent Website, http://www.theind.com/news.html#blanco, 10/15/03, Accessed 10/26/03)

“Everyone realizes that the health-care delivery system is in chaos right now, and I would suggest some of the reasons are the decisions that were made in 1996 and 1997,” Blanco said. (“Kimberly Krupa, “Blanco brings gubernatorial campaign to Houma, Houma Courier, 10/23/03)

“Blanco said she never thought about the propriety of accepting money from associates of the former governor. ‘Edwin is now not a player,’ Blanco said. ‘That's just not something that came to my mind, and the other campaign (Jindal's) is looking for red herrings every day to get us off track and distract us.’” (Jan Moller, Robert Travis Scott, “Governor Hopefuls Shun Edwards Crony Links ,” Times-Picayune, 10/23/03)

“Blanco, who leads in some polls, later told reporters that Republican opponent Bobby Jindal has employed ‘dirty’ campaigning strategies as election day draws near.” (Eugene Sutherland, “Blanco Points To Opponent's 'Dirty' Campaigning,” Alexandria Town Talk, 10/24/03)

“Gubernatorial candidate Kathleen Blanco took her gloves off in a debate here Friday, openly criticizing what she said were failures during Bobby Jindal's terms as head of the Department of Health and Hospitals and as head of the University of Louisiana System. …Blanco also criticized the way Jindal handled financial problems at DHH. When Jindal was appointed to head DHH by Gov. Mike Foster, the Medicaid budget was $1 billion short. He said he ‘crunched’ numbers to slice the budget and was able to secure additional federal funding to makes things balance without significantly affecting the delivery of health care. Blanco asserted ‘When you crunch numbers, you crunch people.’

Blanco took every opportunity to knock Jindal, sometimes not answering the questions posed to her. For example, when he asked her to name legislation that she had authored as a two-term legislator or proposed as lieutenant governor in the past eight years to solve the state's problems, she said, ‘It's not negative to talk about accomplishments or lack of accomplishments.’ She also said, ‘I've lived a life that has never been challenged.’ Jindal sometimes used most of his allotted time trying to respond to Blanco's criticisms.” (Mike Hasten, “Blanco Vs. Jindal,” Louisiana Gannett News, 10/25/03)

“Blanco took direct aim at Jindal's campaign claim of being a problem solver, and said Louisiana's national ranking for immunization rates fell from 10th to 39th during the two years he served as secretary of the state Department of Health and Hospitals. ‘You were young; you didn't know the implications of some of the decisions you were making,’ Blanco said.” (Jan Moller, “Candidates Sharpen Attack In Shreveport Debate,” Times-Picayune, 10/25/03)

“Monday, Blanco continued to highlight the differences between herself and Jindal, who at different times was the head of both the state Department of Health and Hospitals and the University of Louisiana System. Both DHH and the UL System needed bailing out after Jindal left, Blanco said. ‘I have left every job responsibility better than when I found it,’ she said. ‘I completed every job I set out to do.’ Jindal, on the other hand held a series of ‘18-month political appointments . that he was not essentially qualified for. The ship of state does not come with training wheels,’ Blanco said. ‘Leadership and change are the two ingredients . I bring to the table,’she said. ‘The choice in this election is between proven leadership that has demonstrated change against a young unproven political appointee.’” (Chris Frink, “Blanco Cites Her Difficulty Facing Jindal-Foster 'Ticket',” The Advocate, 10/28/03)

“Blanco has targeted Jindal's record, portraying the GOP candidate in the Nov. 15 runoff as a career bureaucrat who worried only about the budget numbers instead of the people behind them. ‘We're talking about people, not statistics.’” (“Blanco Trying To Edge Into Jindal's Health-Care Territory,” Associated Press, 10/19/03)

“Blanco’s health-care promises are topped with the proposed summit of health-care professionals from the public and private sectors but also include specifics such as expanding health coverage to 100,000 uninsured children and Medicaid eligibility to citizens near, not just below, the poverty level. Decisions need to be made by someone ‘who understands we are talking about people, not statistics,’ Blanco said. …Blanco's more specific health-care plan appears to be a shift in her strategy from a week earlier, when she said the health-care summit is a good idea because ‘no one of us has all the answers.’ Blanco also launched a health-care message on television that seeks to define the health-care differences between Jindal and her. ‘Where he sees statistics, I see people,’ Blanco says in her television ad. ‘Where he sees problems, I see opportunities.’” (John Hill, “Gubernatorial Candidates Battling On Health-Care Turf,” Capitol Watch Website, 10/30/03)

“Blanco takes a shot at Jindal on health care” (Times-Picayune headline, 10/16/03)

“After spending the weeks before the primary defending herself against attack ads, Democrat Kathleen Blanco launched one of her own for the gubernatorial runoff…”, (AP, 10/16/03)

Blanco attacks and distorts Jindal’s record at an endorsement press conference with Ieyoub. (The Advocate, 10/15/03)

“Democratic Lt. Gov. Kathleen Blanco leveled some of her sharpest attacks to date in the governor's race Monday.” (Times Picayune, October 21, 2003)

“Blanco’s campaign released a negative spot on African-American radio…” (BayouBuzz.com, 10/17/03)

“Blanco is now playing the race card as so many candidates do.” (BayouBuzz.com, 10/17/03)

“Kathleen Blanco extolled the virtues of running a positive campaign just as soon as it became clear that she would squeak into the gubernatorial runoff with Bobby Jindal. In her next breath, she began slinging mud at him.” (Prof. Jeff Sadow, PoliticsLA.com, columnist posted October 20,2003)

First she began to claim how Jindal’s performance as the head of the state’s Department of Health and Human Services hurt poor people. Then it was the insinuation that Jindal was beholden to special interests because she couldn’t raise as much money as he. Worst, she began to play the race card concerning Jindal’s minority ethnic background (ads proclaiming “she is one of us …”). (Prof. Jeff Sadow PoliticsLA.com columnist posted October 20, 2003)

‘Saying you're not negative while going negative doesn't equal a positive for Blanco’, (Prof. Jeff Sadow, PoliticsLA.com, columnist posted October 20,2003)

“Democratic Lt. Gov. Kathleen Blanco leveled some of her sharpest attacks to date in the governor's race Monday, suggesting that her opponent, Republican Bobby Jindal, is responsible for the state's poor marks on many health indicators. …The comments came after Blanco and Jindal met for the second of their five scheduled public debates before the Nov. 15 runoff, and they provided fresh evidence that the race between two candidates with a professed dislike for negative campaigning is taking on a feistier tone.” (Jan Moller, “Blanco Blames Jindal For Health Care Woes,” Times-Picayune, 10/21/03)

Bobby and the governor,’ Blanco said.” (Robert Travis Scott, “Blanco Avoids No-Tax Pledge,” Times-Picayune, 10/28/03)

“Democrat Kathleen Blanco continued her offensive against her Republican opponent Monday, portraying Bobby Jindal as a careerist bureaucrat insufficiently attuned to the health care and education needs of the average Louisianian. Ever since the Oct. 4 primary Blanco has been on the attack against the man who led the field. Relatively low-key and sometimes stumbling before the primary, the lieutenant governor has taken a sharply critical tone against Jindal ever since. In public appearances that have grown in polish, Blanco has sought to portray the 32-year-old Jindal as too young, cold and calculating to be trusted. Monday, she continued in that vein, devoting virtually all of her time at the Baton Rouge Press Club to a sometimes harsh attack on the Republican. She summed up Jindal's resume as a ‘string of political appointments, mainly for positions he was not qualified for.’ And she mocked the young former state and federal health care official's youth, saying ‘the ship of state doesn't come equipped with training wheels.’ While Blanco was attacking him for heartlessness in Baton Rouge, Jindal sought to project warmth in an appearance at Charity Hospital in New Orleans. …And in one of the sharpest sallies of an hour-long foray against Jindal, Blanco accused him of bowing to pressure from Gov. Mike Foster for the reappointment of the current Louisiana National Guard commander, Maj. Gen. Bennett Landreneau, saying Foster had threatened to withhold support unless his protege committed to it. …On health care, she continued to depict her opponent as a heartless functionary prone to cut budgets without regard for the consequences. ‘I personally don't think life and death decisions should be made by bureaucrats,’ she said. She would attend to the state's health care difficulties with ‘compassion and sensitivity,’ she said. Blanco insisted on her support for funding programs to educate the youngest children. ‘Funding for pre-K is critical,’ she said. Jindal, she maintained, hasn't said how he would pay for such a program. But Blanco also is short on details of how she would fund early childhood education.” (Adam Nossiter, “Blanco Continues Sharp Attack On Jindal,” Associated Press, 10/27/03)

“The expectations for the answer to the question will go up the more Blanco dodges the question. Laying claim to co-authoring a bill now would be almost as damaging as continuing to not answer the question. Blanco didn't answer. She blew through her allotted three-minute response time with a little tirade about negative campaigning. In all fairness, both she and Jindal have engaged in enough of that already, and it's only going to get worse.” (Dan Turner, Op-Ed, “Blanco's Camp Still Has Questions To Answer, Research,” Gannett News Service, 10/30/03)

as someone else said...blanco cried people died

So true.

She cries on cue, peaking, as a little child would, to be sure her Dem cronies are rushing over to comfort HER, while her constituents suffer. Like Marie Antoinette or Evita, oh, poor Kathleen needs comforting, she's been through so much and that evil Mr. Bush didn't rescue her. And now he won't roll over and take the blame. Nanny-state debacle at it's worst, and deadliest. And her leftie friends are keeping up the charade.

Well Gee, Ms Blanco...Your state is suffering
the worst natural disaster in history...your
major city, flooded and recovering from gang violence..
massive agencies from within and out of your state
evacuating a large portion of your population,
Your tax base decimated, until repairs can be made...

...gee...now what would be the best use of your time
this morning???....I I see! It's time to make a campaign commercial!

She wanted to play with the big boys but once she realized she screwed up royally...her and nagin both....she resorted to the girly act of crying. Yeah, they want to have the big jobs but when she realized the job was more than fancy dinners, openings, limos, etc....she couldn't cut the mustard. So, she resorted to crying and boo hooing so she could get sympathy from those around her. Plain and simple. Pres Bush recognizes this and is treating her appropriately!

So, she resorted to crying and boo hooing so she could get sympathy from those around her.

And they rush to her aid, grandstanding shamelessly, to 'feel her pain', ignoring the plight of her constituents, people she swore to represent. Like the left's mutual admiration fests, so too are their pity parties. Heaven forbid she take action of any kind, that's for the nanny state.

She wanted to play with the big boys but once she realized she screwed up royally...her and nagin both....she resorted to the girly act of crying.

So true. And she and Nagin are wimpy to the core. Nagin is a true Dem metrosexual type, all sensitive, or so he pretends. If he were sensitive, he would have sought help for his folks. The girlie, leftie, wait-for-others-to-do-it-for-you mentality is showing through, for both of them.

I heard of a Red Lobster Manager going door to door looking for his employees, to make sure they're alright (he's found 10) and get them and their families help and in contact with the company and it's disaster plan. Nagin and Blanco could really take a lesson. It's infuriating. Real women like Libby Dole or Karen Hughes or Condi Rice don't publicly break down and cry while the folks they are leading wallow in a situation made worse by their inaction. And there are plenty of real men who do the same, act decisively. And, you're right, some women (dems?) just aren't cut out for it. But why wouldn't she want, even expect!, the limos and parties and fancy dinners? Look at the example set for them by X42i and Sen Clinton. IT's not what they can do for their people, it's what the job can do for them. She just had the misfortune to have a natural disaster befall her state, luckily they're running to support her.

Pres Bush recognizes this and is treating her appropriately!

Amen. He's showing great restraint, she deserves a reprimand, if such a thing were possible. Imagine such gross negligence at any of our workplaces? LOL, we'd be escorted from the building.

Don't really feel like defending her but I guess it's kind of unfair for to attack her for making an attack ad during this crisis when the article is actually about an ad in 2003.

This is relevant because it highlights her past statements against her (lack therefore) actions today.

The contrast and hypocrisy is so blindly clear that even Stevie Wonder can see it.

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