Posted on 07/15/2013 4:20:01 AM PDT by Kaslin
Amid the dense fog and hot air blowing around the Republican Party, a new voice of clarity has emerged.
It’s the voice of Louisiana State Senator Elbert Guillory, who announced several weeks ago his departure from the Democratic Party, which he calls “the party of disappointment,” to become a Republican.
I wrote about Guillory a few weeks ago after I met him at the @Large conference in Baton Rouge, where he announced his change of party.
Subsequently, Guillory explained why he, a black Democrat, would become a Republican in a video that went viral, and he continues to deliver his compelling message with such power and clarity that I cannot see how he can be ignored as a leader who should rise to national prominence.
This could have practical implications for the Louisiana Senate race in 2014, where Republicans are still in search for a candidate to run against incumbent Democratic Senator Mary Landrieu.
Why not Guillory?
Recently Guillory tweeted out “It’s no longer the American dream, it’s the American nightmare of relying on a monthly government check.”
Speaking to Republicans in Arkansas, he appealed to the Republican Party to stop “cowering behind closed doors.”
“It’s time to shout our values and ideals from the mountaintops,” he says. “Prayer, family, free markets, limited government, lower taxes.”
I don’t think it is possible to be any clearer about what this country needs to turn around.
America is not growing. New jobs are being created at a painfully slow rate, and although the unemployment rate has dropped, the overall percentage of the population employed has barely budged from where it dropped to in the early days of the recession.
Stanford University economist Edward Lazaer laid out the dismal picture in a recent Wall Street Journal column.
In 2006, 63.4 percent of the working age population was employed. By 2011, this was down to 58.2 percent, and today it’s still at 58.6 percent.
Usually, when the unemployment rate drops, Lazear explains, there is a corresponding increase in the percentage of the population employed. But not this time.
Now more and more able bodied men and women are dropping out of the work force. Today 37 percent of the unemployed are long term -- more than 26 weeks. At the peak of the last major recession in the early 1980’s, Lazear notes, this never exceeded 27 percent.
Why? The government plantation has grown even more generous (while we run trillion deficits to pay for it) to encourage not working.
Disability roles have increased 13 percent and food stamp recipients have increased 39 percent since 2009. And, of course, unemployment insurance was increased to 99 weeks.
Meanwhile, while we take more and more of our own resources to subsidize people to not work, the growing government stranglehold over businesses -- such as the Obamacare mandate (just delayed by one year by Obama administration) to force businesses of 50 or more employees to provide government defined healthcare -- makes growing businesses and hiring new full-time workers harder and harder.
What is wrong with America is not a mystery. It’s the Democratic Party. People who don’t want to be free. People who don’t want to take the personal responsibility for their lives that freedom requires. A political class drunk with the power and money they get running the government plantation.
As always, blacks, with unemployment twice the national average, are hurt the most as the strangled economy doesn’t grow.
More and more blacks are realizing they need freedom, not the plantation.
And without freedom, America will not grow.
It’s why black conservatives like Elbert Guillory see it all so clearly.
It’s why America needs him. Louisianans should get behind him and run him against Mary Landrieu.
When I watched his video, this was one of my first thoughts.
However, the field already has about 3 Republican candidates, it would be hard for Elbert to defeat Bill Cassidy in my honest opinion, and I don’t think he wants to run for it (not saying it could never happen in the future).
If he did run, and had the right money behind him, I am sure he would trounce Landreaiu, but I don’t see it happening in 2014.
I think Cassidy would beat her. If this was 2012, he’d likely lose, but in a Midterm, I’d put my money on him beating her pretty comfortably.
The real problem with Cassidy is his record. I mean, its not the record of Capito in West Virginia, but its nothing to write home about either. I’m not fully sold on him to be honest. ‘Might end up getting a Mike Enzi / Roger Wicker type.
The objective is get rid of Katrina Mary, Obamacare Mary, Mary-the blonde from the chocolate city. Period!
Could Guillory do it? MAYBE?
Have I heard word one from anybody else, on the radio? No. Even The Food Network has turned to crap, so I don’t watch much, except tivo’ed movies.
Guillory should probably run for Lt Governor in 2015, which is an open seat. We really need Jeff Landry to run for Senator.
1. Landrieu has won her three previous Senate races with 52% of the vote each time.
2. Louisiana has the highest percentage of black voters of any state in the union.
They overwhelmingly vote Democrat, especially when Obama was atop the ticket.
Unlike other red state at-risk Democrats, Landrieu has not run away from Obama, indeed, she has openly embraced him and his policies..stressed her support, her vote for Obamacare. She believes that if she gets 95% of the black vote, plus the remaining elements of the Democrat coalition of the pro-choice, environmental, teachers, unions, she can eke out another win. And she has name recognition.
She will have NO trouble raising funds...and the DSC will give her all the support and $$ she asks for.
The question then becomes is has LA become more conservative..have more whites defected from the Democrat party..to beat her..or, does her victory formula let her pull out another win?
If the latter, then maybe running Guillory IS the way to take her out. He'll hold the GOP vote, and if he can peel off 10-15% of the black vote..he wins..
Besides, I'm not sure if any of the GOP congressional delegation will give up a safe seat to take her on..
LA is 32.4% black, which is 5% below the black percentage in MS. In an 2014 election year in which the only races are the U.S. Senate race and six U.S. House races (five in safely Republican districts and one in a safely Democrat, black-majority district), I doubt that blacks will constitute more than 30% of the electorate. If Landrieu gets 95% of the black vote, she would need over 32% of the white vote in order to get 50%; Obama got maybe 15% of the white vote in LA in 2012. So it’s an uphill battle for Landrieu.
Congressman Cassidy is running for the Senate; if Guillory or Landry jump in then it will likely result in a December runoff (which is how Landrieu beat Terrell in 2002). So I hope that Guillory runs for Lt. Gov., and that either Kandry or Cassidy forgo the Senate race.
I’m with you lets beat the slag in the ‘primary’ rather than give her a second chance. That requires only 1 major GOP candidate.
There is a minor GOP candidate named Rob Maness also in the race with Cassidy.
Of course, Guillory could run for both the Senate and Lt Governor, since the latter office isn’t up until 2015. The problem with his candidacy for the Senate, however, is that we ran a party switcher in 2008, John Kennedy, and he came up short (and he was already a statewide officeholder).
Another as-of-yet-undeclared candidate for Senator could be Gov. Jindal. If he runs, that would likely clear the field. Lt Gov Dardenne would move up to Governor a year early and Dardenne could appoint Guillory to his office.
Senator Guillory started out as a Republican, became a Democrat, than recently rejoined the Republicans again. I’m glad to have him aboard, but maybe he’s not ready for a Federal campaign.
He never ran as a Republican. He became a Democrat in order to win in a district that wouldn’t vote Republican.
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