Mary Landrieu: Blog of New Orleans, Gambit

Former La. Rep. Jeff Landry forms SuperPAC

Kevin Allman — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 12:18:00 -0500

Former Rep. Jeff Landry, the one-term congressman who was defeated by Rep. Charles Boustany in the race for the redrawn 3rd Congressional District, has now formed a SuperPAC, according to a story in Politico.

Restore Our Republic, which Politico calls a "hard-core PAC for hard-right Republicans," aims to raise money to support fiscal and social conservatives in races for the U.S. House of Representatives, though it hasn't announced formal support of any candidates yet.…

And then there were four: Sen. Landrieu among Senate Democrats opposing same-sex marriage

Alex Woodward — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 16:55:00 -0500

Last month, U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu addressed her position on same sex marriage as the U.S Supreme Court began hearing oral arguments on the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act. U.S. Senate Democrats had only a handful of marriage equality opponents — Landrieu among them.…

Poll: Congress less popular than cockroaches, traffic jams, Nickelback

Kevin Allman — Tue, 08 Jan 2013 11:49:55 -0600

While we're used to goofball "polls" from men's magazines and PR firms on topics like "America's Drunkest City" or "City With America's Biggest Penises" (New Orleans is No. 1, by the way), it's not often that a legit firm like Public Policy Polling compares Congress' popularity to things like colonoscopies and Nickelback. But a survey of 830 American voters held a few days ago found that the Senate and the House of Representatives are less popular than either of those things:

When asked if they have a higher opinion of either Congress or a series of unpleasant or disliked things, voters said they had a higher opinion of root canals (32 for Congress and 56 for the dental procedure), NFL replacement refs (29-56), head lice (19-67), the rock band Nickelback (32-39), colonoscopies (31-58), Washington DC political pundits (34-37), carnies (31-39), traffic jams (34-56), cockroaches (43-45), Donald Trump (42-44), France (37-46), Genghis Khan (37-41), used-car salesmen (32-57), and Brussels sprouts (23-69) than Congress.…
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The Daily Beast congratulates Mitch Landrieu on school reform

Stephanie Grace — Tue, 18 Dec 2012 08:48:00 -0600

There’s no question that Mayor Mitch Landrieu has crafted an image as a creative, modern-thinking chief executive. And this week, The Daily Beast/Newsweek recognized him as such when it featured Landrieu as one of the “Most Innovative Mayors in the U.S.”

There’s just one catch: The innovation that earned him the prized spot on the roster, the dramatic transformation of the city’s public schools, wasn’t exactly his.

“Under Mayor Mitch Landrieu, the Crescent City has aggressively embraced education reform,” the piece says.…

Y@ Speak: A 'more robust' edition

Lauren LaBorde — Tue, 29 May 2012 12:14:00 -0500

This holiday-delayed Y@ Speak starts off with delightful tweets about sperm cake, a sex clown and a cat named "Money Chicken," but takes a dark turn with reactions to that news from last week.

Excuse me while I get personal for a second.…

Sens. David Vitter and Mary Landrieu honored by Humane Society

Kevin Allman — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 10:29:34 -0600

It seems Louisiana's senators can agree on one thing besides oil and gas: animal welfare. The Humane Society of the United States has named Sen. David Vitter as one of its two 2011 "Humane Legislators of the Year" for his work on animal-related legislation:

Sen. David Vitter, R-La., was named the Humane Senator of the Year for his leadership on securing needed funding to strengthen USDA enforcement of key animal welfare laws, as well as on bills to require licensing and inspections of puppy mills selling directly to the public via the Internet or other means (the PUPS Act, S. 707) and to prohibit interstate and foreign commerce in nonhuman primates for the pet trade (the Captive Primate Safety Act, S. 1324).…
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Poll: Majority of Catholics believe employer health plans should cover contraception

Charles Maldonado — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 10:53:46 -0600

Catholic Bishops, including New Orleans Archbishop Gregory Aymond, say a federal ruling that will require religious-affiliated employers — hospitals and colleges but not places of worship — to provide employee insurance that includes contraception is “an unprecedented attack on our religious liberty, which is a founding principle of our nation.” (Interestingly, here in New Orleans, the Catholic Loyola University now offers contraceptive coverage in its employee health insurance plan, according to the benefits handbook posted on its human resources web page.)

Their parishioners, however, feel differently, at least according to survey results released today by the Public Religion Research Institute. 55 percent of total respondents — and 58 percent of Catholic respondents — told PRRI they believed that employers should provide contraception coverage.…

David Vitter and Steve Scalise withdraw their cosponsorship and support of SOPA/PIPA

Kevin Allman — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 22:10:22 -0600

Statements:

Sen. David Vitter:

I won’t be supporting the Protect IP Act (PIPA or SOPA as it's called in the House of Representatives) because, though I've been pushing hard on both internet freedom and national security concerns, they still haven't been fully addressed. It's a real mistake to press forward with a flawed bill now.…
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SOPA/PIPA makes for strange bedfellows in Louisiana

Kevin Allman — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 13:32:00 -0600

By now you're certainly aware of the day of protest over SOPA and PIPA, the House and Senate bills that aim to squelch Internet piracy by, well, squelching the Internet. When you've got both The Hayride and Michael Moore objecting to the bills — for the same reasons — well, Congresspeople, to quote Bill Engvall, here's your sign.…

Mary Landrieu gets with the Twitter

Kevin Allman — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 16:40:57 -0600

Sen. Mary Landrieu has lagged far behind her GOP counterpart, Sen. David Vitter, in one respect: Landrieu hasn't been down with the Twitter tubes. (Though lately the Vittertwitter has been mostly football-centric, with controversial tweets like "Let's geaux Tigers!" and "Who dat!")

Back in July 2009, I dropped a note to Landrieu's Washington office, asking if she'd ever be joining Twitter, and got this response:

Kevin — The Senator is indeed on Facebook, Flickr and YouTube.…
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"Save Our Shipyard" demands jobs and future at Avondale Shipyard

Alex Woodward — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 13:41:15 -0500

Avondale Shipyard, Northrop Grumman's sprawling West Bank shipbuilding facility, is set to close in 2013. Rolling layoffs will impact thousands of workers.…

BP dollars closer to Coast, while oil regulators are "Gestapo"

Alex Woodward — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 12:26:45 -0500

In July, a bipartisan group of Gulf Coast senators introduced the RESTORE Act, which, they promised, would ensure 80 percent of the fines BP incurs from Clean Water Act violations for the Gulf oil disaster would be divvied among states on the Gulf Coast — rather than the feds.

The act passed the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, chaired by Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., and now makes its way to the Senate floor.…

This morning's Katrina memorial in the Lower Ninth Ward: Photos

Charles Maldonado — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 14:47:10 -0500

Neighborhood residents and local, state, and national dignitaries (including Mayor Mitch Landrieu, Senator and keynote speaker Mary Landrieu and District E councilman Jon Johnson, who represents the neighborhood and organized the event) gathered this morning at the Hurricane Katrina Memorial on North Claiborne Avenue between Tennessee and Reynes in the Lower Ninth Ward, to honor the memory of the storm—and the lives lost and altered in its path—that devastated the neighborhood, resulting in a nearly 80 percent population loss between the 2000 and 2010 Census counts.

The event began with a performance by the Martin Luther King Jr. Charter High School band:

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Gulf senators: Send BP dollars to the coast

Alex Woodward — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 17:54:22 -0500

A bipartisan group in the Senate today called for Clean Water Act fines for last year's oil disaster be distributed among Gulf Coast states. The RESTORE Act, they proposed, would set up a Gulf Coast Restoration Trust Fund, backed by 80 percent of the penalties paid by BP and other responsible parties in the oil disaster.…

Sen. Mary Landrieu and Mayor Mitch Landrieu reax to the State of the Union

Kevin Allman — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 20:15:00 -0600

Though the leaked draft of President Barack Obama's State of the Union address made no mention of the Gulf oil disaster (which Obama himself had called "the worst environmental disaster America has ever faced" last June), neither Sen. Mary Landrieu and New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu were impolite enough to point out that rather glaring omission.

Sen. Landrieu's statement began with a complaint about the foot-dragging on Gulf drilling, while Mayor Landrieu focused on education and social issues.…

Let them eat ... king cake?

Kevin Allman — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 16:11:00 -0600

Today, as the freshman class of the U.S. House of Representatives was being sworn in, outgoing Speaker Nancy Pelosi welcomed her successor, incoming Speaker John Boehner, in a handing-over-the-gavel ceremony. In Louisiana Sen. Mary Landrieu’s office, a different sort of ceremony was taking place, as Landrieu welcomed new Rep. Cedric Richmond to Washington, D.C. with a king cake.…

Senator Mary Landrieu, U.S. Rep. Charlie Melancon, Gulf Coast Officials Launch "Ready 4 Takeoff Coalition"

Matt Davis — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 22:46:27 -0500

Sen. Mary Landrieu joined U.S. Rep. Charlie Melancon and other Gulf Coast leaders at the downtown Marriott hotel this afternoon to launch the "Ready 4 Takeoff Coalition," a broad-based lobbying and public relations effort to attract federal compensation and defense spending to the region in the wake of the oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.

The senator was ushered off to her next appointment without taking questions.…

Mayor Landrieu Eats Seafood, Tours Gulf Coast With U.S. Conference of Mayors

Matt Davis — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 20:34:41 -0500

Mayor Mitch Landrieu was joined by mayors from 21 cities around the country this morning, taking a tour of the Gulf Coast in the wake of the oil catastrophe. The mayors toured the emergency operations center at Laffite, and viewed oil damage in the marshes there.…

This guy wants to take over Louisiana, kindly offers Bobby Jindal a job under the new regime

Lauren LaBorde — Fri, 28 May 2010 23:20:59 -0500

My inbox is constantly filled with the desperate pleas of Nigerian princes and Chinese widows that miss my spam folder, where so many fake bank statements and male enhancement offers go to die. I routinely delete these messages, and the message I received from a Robert Philippe Webb de Orleans with the subject line "URGENT" nearly received the same fate.…

Louisiana politicians send emails in the moments after health care reform passes

Kevin Allman — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 03:54:46 -0500

Minutes after the health care bill passed 219-212 in the House of Representatives, several Louisiana politicos pressed SEND and sent out their statements. Below the jump, some comments from Sen. Mary Landrieu, Rep. Charlie Melancon (who voted nay) and state Rep. Cedric Richmond, who's running for Rep. Anh "Joseph" Cao's Congressional seat in November, and couldn't resist slapping Cao for his nay vote.…

O'Keefe: No Wire Tap

David Winkler-Schmit — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 16:57:29 -0600

James O'Keefe, who was charged along with three others with entering federal property under false pretenses with the intent of committing a felony, has issued a statement saying "no one tried to wiretap or bug Senator Landrieu’s office. Nor did we try to cut or shut down her phone lines.…

Mitch Is Running After All

Clancy DuBos — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 00:52:55 -0600

Several sources have confirmed that Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu will announce tomorrow (Tuesday) that he is running for mayor after all. Why the back-and-forth Hamlet routine — again?…

Landrieu/Vitter Amendment Rejected

David Winkler-Schmit — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 22:11:34 -0500

In a conference committee meeting held today to resolve differences in the House and Senate versions of the 2010 Energy and Water Development Appropriations bills, the committee declined to include the Landrieu/Vitter “Pump to the River” amendment as part of the legislation. The amendment, co-sponsored by Senators Mary Landrieu and David Vitter, provided funding for the Corps of Engineers to conduct a peer-reviewed, feasibility and cost analysis study on the proposed plans for permanent pump stations at New Orleans three outfall canals.…

Thursday afternoon news dump

Kevin Allman — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 18:21:14 -0500

• The Smoking Gun has now obtained the police report of Stormy Daniels' arrest, complete with mugshot:

In a setback to her nascent U.S. Senate campaign, porn star Stormy Daniels (real name: Stephanie Clifford) was arrested Saturday afternoon for domestic violence after she allegedly battered her husband because she was "upset because the way the laundry had been done."

• OMG U GUYZ MARY LNDRU IS COSPNSRING A BILL 2 MAKE IT ILLEGAL TO TXT WHILE DRIVING ...

• As Gov. Bobby Jindal hits the fundraising trail again (hello, Destin, Fla.!), The Old River Road updates its "Where's Bobby?" map ...

• That ginormous beehive in the French Quarter? Score bees 1, beekeepers and reporters 0 ...

• 2009 Krewe of Orpheus rider Joan Rivers has a new cable show, How'd You Get So Rich?, and some of the first episodes will feature Blaine Kern, Ronnie Lamarque, and the guy who invented Boudreaux's Butt Paste. She was plugging the show at the annual Television Critics' summer press tour when she dropped this nugget:

Meanwhile, Joan Rivers hopes Leno bombs at 10.…
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The Manchewin' Candidate

Kevin Allman — Wed, 06 May 2009 18:59:29 -0500

Serio-comic: Porn queen Stormy Daniels and restaurateur Mike Serio caucus behind the register at Serio's Deli.

Lunch at Serio's Deli in the CBD is usually a workaday affair -- guys with ties thrown over their shoulders, scarfing one of Mike Serio's excellent po-boys or muffulettas. Today's lunchseekers got something a little extra with their olive salad and red gravy: an appearance by Stormy Daniels, the Baton Rouge native and adult-video star who's stirred up a lot of fuss by threatening to take on Sen. David Vitter in the 2010 Louisiana Senate race.…