There are a variety of takes on the gubernatorial loss in “red” state Louisiana to an allegedly conservative Democrat. We did not follow it closely and readers can glean what you may from the links we provide. I will offer only impressions from reading the same stuff. Some of it is contradictory but in politics the contradictions have to be weighed as well.
The whole thing looks to have been a mess
The Republican candidate David Vitter should have had the grace not to run. His prostitution scandal was big (admitted) which is also alleged to have involved him offering to pay for an abortion (there being many holes to that story). He asked for the grace of forgiveness but should have exercised the grace of humility. The conservative establishment stayed with him, I guess, sort of, but not enough of the conservative base as he was hounded by the story in attack ads.
It is insufficient to say a pox on Vitter. If the issue is Republican opportunities undivorced from the party’s conservative base, the least conservative candidate should have dropped out to better insure unity and the least vote splitting in the runoff election with the Democrat John Bel Edwards.
Vitter’s staying in with the scandal surrounding him pretty much allowed a Democrat to simply say they were pro-life to peel away sufficient numbers to win from the large pro-life percentile of the electorate (party and non-party).
There were budget and other economic issues and internecine undercurrents.
Everybody was said to run against Obama (or distance them self in the case of the Democrat) so in that situation that is insufficient for a Republican to win. The anti-Obama candidate who says it has to have a solid core of trust (lesson for the Republican presidential primary)
Most conservative observers do not think that Louisiana is now a Blue state. Democrats are the party of corruption and people there have not forgot. Republican turn-out in the run-off was off indicating problems with the candidates.
As our illustrious senior editor has long observed, there are no scandals for the Democrat base, they will continue to vote for their guy. Indeed thay can wear the scandal almost as a badge of honor.
More reading:
Times-Picayune (pre-election eve commentary)
Times – Picayune (early analysis of key turn-out markers)
