Since the Oct. 14 primary election, various reporters and pundits in the major media have commented upon the low voter turnout and lack of enthusiasm among Democrat voters.
They seem to be insinuating that the election was in some sense flawed, or at least that it was not indicative of the true feelings of the electorate. The reality is that the various campaigns spent tens of millions of dollars touting candidates’ qualifications and positions on the issues. No one who wasn’t marooned on a desert island for the last year had any excuse for not voting in this election, but so many voters, particularly those on the left, nevertheless chose not to vote.
Some pundits have faulted the Louisiana Democratic Party, and although its reign as the state’s largest party will soon be coming to an end, it still had human resources aplenty and a proven donor base. Democrat activists and donors could have weighed into the race had they so chosen.
Others have faulted the principal Democrat candidate, Shawn Wilson, but if he could not compare with Jeff Landry’s charisma and heartfelt messaging, he had a pleasant, thoughtful demeanor. His fundamental problem was that he could not dare elaborate on the Democrat message, that is, four more years like the last eight.
The point to be made is that the media’s narrative is incomplete and grossly unfair to Republicans. All of the foregoing excuses for this Democrat debacle are, of course, nonsense, but for some reason reporters and pundits have for the most part been reluctant to take their election analysis to the logical next step, and we shall shortly see why.
So why did so many Democrat voters fail to cast a ballot in the primary election? The media has certainly been willing to discuss the symptoms of the illness, that is, the lack of enthusiasm, apathy, etc., on the part of the left-leaning electorate. But what caused the fundamental illness itself? For this answer, one does not have to look far, because the administrations of Joe Biden and John Bel Edwards are such obvious culprits.
Biden and the Democrat Party are responsible for the mess at the national level. No nation could run up multi-trillion dollar deficits year after year in order to fund progressive schemes already proven to be wasteful and counterproductive. It was entirely predictable that all that money chasing a limited supply of goods (especially in the COVID era of artificially reduced supply) would cause prices to surge grotesquely.
It was entirely predictable that halting federal oil and gas leases, shutting down pipeline construction and holding up drilling applications for years just to placate climate change fanatics would drive up the cost of gasoline. It was entirely predictable that faulting society for criminal conduct and releasing criminals en masse would cause a crime surge costing the lives of thousands and ruining the quality of life for millions.
And John Bel Edwards made the national disaster so much worse by parroting the Biden administration on almost every issue. Under Edwards, the cost of governing our state doubled. Billions were spent on our schools, roads and other infrastructure, yet there was little improvement. Our surplus funds were largely exhausted without any thought being given to the fact that lean times would arrive by 2025.
Republican attempts at school reform were defeated or vetoed. COVID lockdowns unnecessarily deprived our children of schooling, while little attempt was made to make up the knowledge deficit later. Worst of all, people left our state in droves even as our businesses and industries moved out or shut down, because Louisiana had become a place without hope for the future.
A lack of hope for the future — that was the real problem that the people of Louisiana decisively addressed in this election, and they opted for a better future, Republicans by voting for a change, and very many Democrats by not voting for more of the same. This is not a difficult concept to understand: If your net worth and income were sufficient to qualify you as middle income or higher, then Democrat anti-growth policies, cultural assaults and monstrous deficit spending caused you some degree of inconvenience. If your net worth and income were on the lower end of the socio-economic scale, then Democrat policies had brought you and your loved ones to the point of an existential crisis.
Let’s briefly look at the effect that Democrat policies had on less fortunate socio-economic groups in Louisiana: Their dollars were worth about 17% less than they were on the day Biden took office, and because they had fewer dollars to begin with, they were hurting far more severely. While their raises were eaten up by inflation, eggs, cereals, milk, vegetables and fruits became far more expensive. A decent cut of meat was out of the question. Gasoline cost 50% more than it did when Biden took office, although many folks could no longer afford a car note anyway.
Housing in every form became more expensive, and insurance was unaffordable or unavailable. These folks had been regularly victimized by criminals several times a year, yet crime became even worse. Their kids were in failed or underperforming schools, and solely because of the actions of Edwards, they had no affordable alternative.
And these people were supposed to turn out in support of the Democrat ballot? Are you kidding me? This is the explanation for the low voter turnout in Democrat precincts on Oct. 14. No wonder left-leaning reporters and pundits were so reluctant to face the obvious conclusion, that for years Democrat policies had been hurting Louisianans in every socio-economic group! This problem for Democrats is not going away. In fact, it will manifest itself at the national level next year.
On Jan. 8, 2024, we will have a new administration with a new direction for Louisiana. Godspeed to our new Governor-elect, Jeff Landry.
