I haven't heard Rush mention it either.
A lot of us were excited that the Southern Republican Leadership Conference was held in New Orleans this weekend. We knew that the attendees would have a good time, that the media would be in full force, and since the French Quarter Festival was being held the same weekend, there would be an abundance of great food and great music for all to enjoy.
A problem that NOLA has had since Katrina is that even though most of the best restaurants are back, and the musicians pretty much never left, tourists are leery of coming. Vacationers for some reason didn’t want to visit a place where crime and poverty was out of control, where the government was non-existent, and where even a modicum of public services was a dream not likely to be realized. For those of us in the area, we advised friends who visited that a good strategy was to stay as close to the Quarter at night as possible. If you had to go someplace else (like to Commanders Palace, perhaps the greatest restaurant in the area) take a taxi there and back.
So how did New Orleans celebrate all of these high powered political elites coming to visit? Eighteen people were shot during the weekend. This wouldn’t be so bad, except that 8 of them were felled in a shootout on Canal Street, right where the tourists are likely to congregate. This continues the nice streak of 26 murders in March, while Newark is making news for going homicide-free.
But wait, we weren’t done yet. The Louisiana Republican Party decided to hold a fundraiser at Brennan’s in the Quarter. As she left the party, Bobby Jindal’s chief campaign fundraiser and her boyfriend were accosted and severely injured. So, outside the most famous restaurant in the most secure part of the city, the police were unable to protect anyone.