Cajun Conservatism
Photo source: Wikipedia
Per Sen. John Kennedy, R-Louisiana, “right now Speaker Pelosi is running the show, and she makes no distinction between legal and illegal immigration. And if you disagree with her, then you’re a racist. I think that’s a very unreasonable position that the majority of the American people don’t support because they’re too smart to support it.
Photo source: Twitter
“The costs, human and monetary, are too high to not pass the bill. Hugely long sentences for non-violent offenders ruin lives and families and drain taxpayer dollars. Senators should wholeheartedly support the FIRST STEP Act so it becomes law before the end of 2018.
This is the “first step” in bringing reform to a broken, expensive system. The reform will increase public safety by using proven methods to reduce recidivism, effectively driving down the prevalence and cost of crime for generations to come.”
Read more: ATR Urges Senate to Reject Cotton/Kennedy Amendments to First Step Act
While most of the nation is breathing a sigh of relief that the federal elections are over, for now, Louisiana politicos woke up on November 7th with one reality: the race for Governor starts now. That's right folks, we are officially in the 2019 electoral cycle. Sure, pieces of this puzzle started coming together months ago, but now plans and preparations, for what will no doubt be a highly contested governor's race, will be sent into over drive.
The race for Louisiana's top job will quickly take shape over the next few weeks. Governor Edwards will officially announce his intent to seek re-election, Baton Rouge businessman Eddie Rispone will officially kick off his campaign, and Senator John Kennedy will make a final decision before the end of the month.
With his approval rating currently sitting in the area of 40%, JBE will stop at nothing to avoid a repeat of Governor Blanco's "one and done" experience. He will pull out all the stops to ignite his base and reaffirm his position with the trial lawyers that helped secure the 4th floor of the state capitol for him in 2015. He will continue to cozy up to his union cronies, push for teacher pay raises, and sacrifice the abundance of Louisiana's natural resources by way of destroying our economy to satisfy the leftist, liberal activist, like General Honore's GreenARMY, that have swept the state during his first term.
We have already seen evidence of this detrimental partnership when the administration caved to environmentalists demands when they forced the Governor’s hand to nix the plans of Explosive Services International (ESI) to keep the burn chamber at Camp Minden functioning. And then again when he put a stop to plans to bring another burn chamber to the Slaughter area. This project, which had major, bi-partisan support from local officials, would have provided high quality jobs to a rural area.
One has to wonder how many companies, with high quality, blue collar jobs, are going to pack their bags? We have already seen companies refusing to reinvest in Louisiana because of the legal climate that the Edwards Administration has fostered. Between the legacy lawsuits that run rampant, the lack of corporate tax incentives, and the eroding quality of life in Louisiana, is it really any surprise that the Pelican state suffers from an out-migration issue?
If all this sounds a little doom and gloom, it’s probably because it is. Don’t let that 40% approval rating make you comfortable. The trial lawyer money is flowing, the environmental activists are activated and ramping into full gear for 2019 and this show is just getting started. Conservatives need to unite behind one candidate and beat John Bel. A rerun of the 2015 Republican primary will only help assure the Governors re-elect.
Chris Gary - Cajun Conservatism
Photo source: The Advocate
“The confirmation process is over. It’s over! I mean, we are violating senate protocol to do this, and precedent. But we were unanimous in thinking that we ought to,” Kennedy said.
The vote was scheduled for Thursday, but Ford’s accusations — that Kavanaugh drunkenly pinned her down and molested her during a high-school party more than three decades ago — delayed the timeline. Kennedy said he’s prepared to move forward with a scheduled public hearing Monday about Ford’s accusations, although she’s now instead requested the FBI look into her claims before she testifies publicly.
Read more: Kennedy comments on Kavanaugh allegation
Photo source: Daily Wire
Sen. John Kennedy called the confirmation hearings for Judge Brett Kavanaugh “an intergalactic freak show” and said he was embarrassed for Congress by the accusations of sexual misconduct leveled at the Supreme Court nominee.
“So far, it’s pretty much been an intergalactic freak show,” Kennedy, R-La., told Chris Wallace on “Fox News Sunday.” “Most Americans are looking at this – most mainstream Americans – and they’re thinking that Congress has hit rock bottom and started to dig.”
Read more: Kavanaugh confirmation process has been an ‘intergalactic freak show’, Sen. Kennedy says
Photo source: KPEL
"I just don't think (Edwards) can run the government, and if he can't he needs to step down and let Nungesser take a shot," Kennedy said during an interview this week on KPEL NewsTalk radio in Acadiana.
Kim Jong Un did not come to the table out of the goodness of his heart. He came to the table because he understands that for the first time in a long time, America means what it says and that a military option is on the table. I would like to thank President Donald J. Trump today, on behalf of all Americans who believe in peace, for the successful start to what I hope is a successful relationship with North Korea.
Photo source: The Advocate
We’ve got to be smarter about this. We can’t let prisoners go simply to cut down on the cost of bologna sandwiches. Public safety needs to come first.
Photo source: YouTube
AG Landry and the Judicial Crisis Network have put out a video supporting Louisiana's Kyle Duncan, the President's pick for an open seat on the United States Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Source: John Schroder for Treasurer
The latest public official to come out to endorse John Schroder in the race to become the next Treasurer for the State of Louisiana is Attorney General Jeff Landry. The endorsement video is below.
Photo source: Wikipedia
BY SEN. JOHN KENNEDY (R-LA.)
It doesn’t take an expert to see that something is stalling the American economy.
2016 was the 11th straight year that America failed to achieve 3 percent annual growth, which was our average nearly every year since 1960. I’ve heard numerous pundits act like returning to 3 percent growth is something special. No, it’s just “average.” The American people deserve better than just average growth.
But even average growth is optimistic if we keep hamstringing our job creators. Our 40 percent corporate tax rate and broken tax code are chasing our ideas, our jobs, and our investors into the open, waiting arms of foreign countries. We are keeping wages and productivity low. We are crippling our small businesses.
Changes have to be made to unshackle our small businesses, but in the process, we can’t forget about the primary vehicle for economic growth: the middle-class.
I’ve said it before: What we have right now in America is too many undeserving people at the top getting bailouts and too many undeserving people at the bottom getting handouts. And you know who’s been stuck with the bill? Middle-class families. And they can’t afford it any more. Their kids’ tuition has gone up, their health insurance has gone up, but you know what hasn’t gone up? Their take home pay.
That’s why I’m speaking up for the middle class. Someone has to speak up for ordinary people when it comes to tax reform.
Middle-class families drive our economic engine. They buy the goods and services that our businesses are selling. They work hard to be able to spend and save and invest. They are our entrepreneurs and our innovators. And now, as they are trying to balance their checkbooks, nearly one-third of their income is automatically withheld and sent off to Washington.
Right now, if you’re a middle-class family in Alexandria, La., with a combined household income of $59,000 and two kids, and you claim all your exemptions and take the standard deduction, you’re still going to be sending the federal government $3,500. Now, that’s not even counting contributions to state and local taxes, or payments to Social Security and Medicare. By the time the bills are paid and there’s gas in the car, very little is left for the kids’ college funds.
I have a plan for how tax reform can target the middle class and bring those families some badly needed relief.
Nearly three-quarters of Americans opt to take the standard deduction when filing their taxes. It’s simple, it’s fair, and it requires less documentation than itemizing. All Congress needs to do is to double the standard deduction across the board in order to inject more than $600 billion back into the economy over 10 years, according to a 2014 CRS report. That’s an immediate shot in the arm for the American economy. That family of four in Alexandria will have their tax bill reduced to $1,700, freeing up almost $2,000 of hard-earned income.
That’s $2,000 new dollars back into my state’s economy. As the cost of earning more is reduced, people will want to work harder. That means more productivity and even more growth. It’s Economics 101: You give people more to spend and they’ll spend it, and grow the economy in the process.
We need to liberate the middle class and their power to spend and save. In short, we need to renew the belief in the American dream.
A tax reform policy that provides relief to the middle class, such as doubling the standard deduction, will reawaken the incentive to work, save, and invest. Our economic fate is tied to the health of our middle class and our small businesses. It’s high time that we offer middle-class Americans a tax code that believes in them.
Kennedy is the junior senator from Louisiana.
Source: The Hill
Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana has introduced a bipartisan bill to address the federal program related to flooding.
Per an email release late Friday afternoon, “The Sustainable, Affordable, Fair, and Efficient (SAFE) National Flood Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2017, will lower the amount the federal government can raise your premium. My bill will reauthorize the National Flood Insurance Program while making common sense reforms to maintain its solvency.
Photo source: YouTube
(Lafayette, LA) – Dr. Charles Boustany endorsed Treasurer John Kennedy in Louisiana’s open Senate race.
Boustany said: “Republicans who care about the future of our country need a Republican in the Senate who will work with Donald Trump to roll back the failed liberal policies of President Obama. I endorse John Kennedy and urge all my supporters to cast their vote for him.”
Photo source: The Advocate
John Kennedy is going into a runoff with Foster Campbell to replace outgoing Sen. David Vitter with an almost assured win coming in December. In this piece, Republicans gained nearly 60% of the total vote in the primaries as opposed to 36% for a Democrat.
If you are having buyers remorse for voting for "Honor Code" Edwards in the gubernatorial election last year, then hopefully you've learned your lesson and won't make the same mistake again in voting for Campbell.
Read more: Republicans Flood the Zone in Louisiana Senate Runoff
Photo source: YouTube
The latest from Boustany's campaign takes aim at John Kennedy and his history of candidacies in various political races within the state of Louisiana.
Photo source: YouTube
Congressman Charles Boustany, running for the seat being vacated in the US Senate by David Vitter, is in a heated contest with, among others, State Treasurer John Kennedy. It seems that Boustany has set his sights on Kennedy with the latest piece being put out by the campaign, along with an accompanying video, highlighting what Boustany calls a "truth telling parody".
Below accompanied the video in an email released today:
The ad says: “He’s a career politician. He’s run for office ten different times.1 Backed a $1.1 billion tax increase.2
“John Kennedy led costly short-term budget gimmicks that cost taxpayers $200 million.3 Wasted taxpayer money renting office space from one of his campaign contributors.4
“Budget gimmicks. While the state’s credit rating is downgraded.5 John Kennedy: finally, someone is calling him out.”
1Career politician John Kennedy ran for office ten different times from 1991-2016.
1991 – Attorney General (D), lost
1995 – Attorney General (D), withdrew
1999 – Treasurer (D), won
2003 – Treasurer (D), won
2004 – Senate (D), lost
2007 – Treasurer (R), won
2008 – Senate (R), lost
2011 – Treasurer (R), won
2015 – Treasurer (R), won
2016 – Senate (R)
2John Kennedy backed a $1.1 billion tax increase on Louisiana oil & gas earlier this year as a way to make up the state’s budget shortfall. On WWL-Radio New Orleans, Kennedy claimed: “The total amount of waste and inefficiencies that the legislative auditor in these 36 reports identified just last year, in 2015, is $1.745 billion.” When challenged on his numbers, Treasurer Kennedy provided a report on government waste to Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards identifying $1.7 billion in ‘waste’ – including $1.148 billion in uncollected revenue from the state’s temporary tax exemption on hydraulic fracturing from 2010-2014.
3A performance review of the Louisiana Bond Commission in February found that short-term budget gimmicks employed by Kennedy as Chairman of the Bond Commission dating back to the 2010-2011 budget year helped plug short-term budget gaps, but incurred long-term costs to the state of as much as $231 million.
4A report by The Advocate found that the Treasurer’s Office has leased office space since 2011 at One City Plaza in Baton Rouge at a cost of $369,597 per year to taxpayers. The Treasurer repeatedly ignored attempts from the Office of Facility Planning and Control to move to state-owned office space that would have saved the state $293,868 per year. Kennedy has received $21,600 in campaign contributions from the owner of the facility.
5Louisiana’s credit rating was downgraded by Moody’s in February 2016. According to the AP: “Treasurer John Kennedy said Moody’s decision surprised him."
Photo source: The Advocate
On Wednesday, Charles Boustany refuted a story being circulated that he was someone involved with a prostitute that ended up murdered. Per this piece, Boustany went on to state "it is all total lies – and everyone, even John Kennedy, knows it."
Read more: Congressman Charles Boustany blames John Kennedy for spreading prostitute-involved claims
Treasury Secretary John Kennedy offered his advice to solve the budget crisis during a televised speech last night. His approach is dramatically different from the taxation approach Governor John Bel Edwards has planned.
State Treasurer Kohn Kennedy released this via his Facebook page this morning:
Photo source: Facebook
I will be a candidate for the United States Senate in 2016.
The reason is pretty simple: I want my country back. I'm scared we are losing it.
My Dad and Mom were conservative people. Dad was a small businessman. He owned a little lumberyard. Mom was a retired schoolteacher. They taught me conservative values: God, country, family, discipline, hard work, and education. They taught me to always do the best I can. I worry that America is losing those values.
Here's what I see: too many undeserving people at the top getting bailouts and too many undeserving people at the bottom getting handouts. And we in the middle get the bill. So will our kids. It's not right.
The sad truth is that our children's generation is at risk of becoming the first in America to be worse off than their parents', because it's harder than ever to get ahead and easier than ever to do nothing.
I want more for my country and my state.
I want a country that respects taxpayer dollars. I'm sick of the waste, and I'm sick of the debt.
I want an America and a Louisiana where every person can get a decent job. You can't be for jobs if you are against business. To create jobs, our businesses need low taxes, sensible regulations, good infrastructure and a skilled workforce.
I want an America and a Louisiana in which no parents have to send their child to a failing school.
I want an America and a Louisiana where parents can take their sick child to a family doctor instead of to an emergency room because they have decent, affordable insurance of their own choosing from the private sector.
I want a country that is strong and therefore free, that values peace but is not afraid to fight back. America is the most powerful country in the history of the world. We need to start acting like it.
I want an America and a Louisiana that understand that free market capitalism has done more to lift people out of poverty than all the government programs put together. Welfare was meant to be a bridge, not a parking lot.
I want a country and a state that protect life – whether that life is 82 years old or 82 seconds.
Most Louisianians know me and what I stand for. As State Treasurer, I've balanced 16 department budgets, earned taxpayers $3.4 billion by investing their money wisely, returned $315 million in lost money to citizens, refused to join the state retirement system, fought against corruption and cronyism, and stood up to politicians more powerful than I am in both parties.
I try not to be rude, but I speak my mind. Some politicians call me a troublemaker, a misfit, a rebel, a square peg in a round hole, because I'm not part of the club. I think I make the right people mad. My job is to protect taxpayers, not seek the approval of my political peers.
I hope voters will give me a chance to do the same thing in the United States Senate. I believe our country and our state can be better than our present, and our past.
May God bless us and keep us, and make his face shine upon us, Louisiana and the United States of America.”
