Opinion: Tonal differences between DNC, RNC

Posted on by Jack Colwell

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — For many decades, a difference in tone of flag-waving patriotism was evident in the back-to-back national political conventions. Each party, then as now, stressed policies deemed best for America.

Democrats pointed more to problems — unemployment, health care, war in Vietnam. Republicans talked more, as Ronald Reagan did, about America as “a shining city upon a hill.” 

Patriotic music played for balloon drops at each convention. Republicans were just a bit louder in their cheers for the land of the free. Democrats cheered as well, but with just a bit more restraint as they fretted over restraints on freedom.

There still are different tones at the national conventions. More pronounced than ever. But it’s the reverse of what it was. 

The Democratic National Convention speech by Steve Kerr, coach of the USA Basketball Men’s Olympic Team and the head coach of the Golden State Warriors, exemplified the difference in tone.

 “USA! USA! USA!” delegates chanted again and again, loudly and proudly, hailing America’s dramatic wins in men’s and women’s basketball and other Olympic competitions.

Kerr praised American stars on his team in Paris for “putting aside rivalries to represent our country.” He looked to a future when all Americans would be on the same team — united, not divided. He also smiled and joked while delivering his message.

At the Republican National Convention, a glowering Donald Trump portrayed America as having become “a banana republic.”

Trump describes America not as “a shining city upon a hill” but as a nation in decline, “going down the drain.”

Kerr noted he had appeared before in front of a big crowd at Chicago’s United Center. He played there with the Chicago Bulls on championship teams. He said young people wondering about that could google the name “Michael Jordan.” 

He spoke “coach to coach” to Tim Walz, the Democratic vice presidential nominee, who was in attendance. He joked that Walz, as a high school football coach, once put “way too much reliance on the blitz in 1999 against Mankato East.”

Well, he said that’s the type of second guessing that he and other coaches face.

Walz laughed. He also likes to joke and laugh.

That’s a part of the difference in tone. Do you laugh if the theme is that the country is beset with problems, going down the drain?

Trump doesn’t laugh. He denounces the laugh of Kamala Harris.

The difference is also evident in the running mates. JD Vance, the Republican vice presidential nominee, joins in glowering, warning that “childless cat ladies” lead Democrats with the intent to make America miserable.

Which approach will work? We’ll see. Historically, the “shining city” approach has worked, and so, at other times, has the warning of a nation in trouble. It depends on the times and the messengers.

A sports figure might not seem to be a very effective messenger. 

Kerr, however, long has been a thoughtful speaker on national issues, with his concern for matters beyond the basketball court going back to when he was 18. That’s when his father was assassinated in Lebanon in 1984 by militants while serving as president of the American University of Beirut.

He has spoken out passionately for gun control after school shootings.

Kerr told delegates that he believes leaders should display dignity, tell the truth, be able to laugh at themselves and care for the people they lead.

 “When you think about it this way, this is no contest,” Kerr said. He endorses Harris and Walz.

Closing with humor, not vitriol, Kerr said that after presidential results are tallied, “We can, in the words of the great Steph Curry, we can tell Donald Trump, ‘Night, night.’”

As Curry did, after hitting shots to doom France in the gold medal game, Kerr put hands to the side of his head to signal sleep time, next time, for Trump.

Jack Colwell has covered Indiana politics for over five decades for the South Bend Tribune. Email him at [email protected].

Opinion: Elections are more than politicians stumping for office

Posted on by Lee Hamilton

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — We’re almost to Labor Day and what is traditionally considered the heart of election season. It’s the moment, according to political lore, when most Americans start paying attention to electoral contests. That may or may not be true, but here’s one thing I think we can count on: This is when politicians seeking office are most eager to understand the mood and concerns of the electorate.

There’s a widely held belief that campaigning is a one-way street: Candidates for office tell us what they think, and voters either reward or punish them. It’s easy to see why so many people see campaigns that way. Candidates give stump speeches, flood the airwaves and online media with advertising, sometimes hold debates during which they try to sway undecided voters and in general are a ubiquitous presence in the run-up to voting. They fight for the media’s attention.

So, campaign coverage often makes it seem as though voters are an afterthought or, at best, a backdrop — unless something unusual happens as a politician is out campaigning. But let me assure you, however the media portrays voters, they are anything but an afterthought to a politician stumping for office.

I’m not just talking about polling here. Yes, an aggregate picture of what’s on voters’ minds does matter to candidates and their advisers. But so does what they hear from voters as they’re out on the hustings — in the VFW or union halls, at community suppers, in diners, at county fairs. Good politicians want to know what’s on their potential constituents’ minds. It helps them calibrate their own thinking, develop campaign strategies and, in an ideal world, become better representatives.

And there’s no question that people have a lot on their minds. Crime, immigration, the border, the economy, education, climate change, abortion, overseas conflicts — most voters possess a broad array of concerns. The best politicians understand that public sentiment is usually nuanced and that to strike a posture that all is rosy or that all is lost rarely fits with voters’ beliefs and experiences. The world is more complicated than that, and so are voters’ agendas.

To be sure, there will always be voters who care about a single issue more than any other. This year, as in the past, abortion and abortion rights appear to be big motivators for some people — especially because several states will have measures on the ballot focused on the issue. Similarly, I’ve no doubt that, after several years of increasingly damaging extreme weather, climate change will be top of mind for others.

There will be other important concerns. For some voters, it will be personal safety; for others, a sense that the borders are secure. For still others, it’ll be education. I think we can expect voters to pay attention broadly to whether inflation is, in fact, coming down and to any signs of an economic slowdown. And while foreign policy often takes a back seat to domestic concerns, I suspect voters will be looking closely at what this year’s presidential and congressional candidates say about the U.S. role in a world riven by conflict.

It’s true that sometimes, voters care less about public policy than they do about intangibles. I’m convinced, for instance, that likability matters a great deal when voters step into the polling booths, and though it might not override everything else, I’d argue that candidates who are positive, constructive, forward-looking and make us feel hopeful will always have a leg up over their opponents. Similarly, I’m convinced that Americans on the whole prefer candidates who display a basic sense of decency, who show compassion for others who are struggling and who show they understand the concerns of ordinary people.

Yet wherever your focus lies, this is the time when politicians at every level are listening. Even candidates who might not agree with you are still paying attention — as long as your interactions with them remain civil. So if you have a chance to hear candidates for Congress or your state legislature, give them a chance to hear what’s on your mind, too.

Lee Hamilton was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives for 34 years.

Opinion: Hoosier female mayors have advice for Harris

Posted on by Brian A. Howey

CHICAGO — Until last November, Indiana was home to just one Black female mayor, Gary’s Karen Freeman-Wilson, who served two terms before she was defeated in 2019.

Last November, the so-called glass ceiling began cracking and falling away in earnest across Indiana. Democratic Vanderburgh County Councilwoman Stephanie Terry won the open seat in Evansville, the state’s third-largest city, while Democratic Councilwoman Angie Nelson Deuitch defeated Republican Michigan City Mayor Duane Parry with 60% of the vote the same day. In Lawrence, Councilwoman Deb Whitfield won the Democratic primary and then beat Republican Deputy Mayor David Hofmann. 

Last April, following the death of Fort Wayne Mayor Tom Henry, Councilwoman Sharon Tucker won the Democratic caucus to become the first non-white woman to serve in Indiana’s second-largest city. 

These four mayors have, thus, opened a new era in Hoosier politics.

Vice President Kamala Harris will take the Democratic National Convention stage tonight to accept the presidential nomination. She will become only the second woman to win a major party nomination in American history. The first, Hillary Clinton, told the DNC on Monday: “Together, we’ve put a lot of cracks in the highest, hardest glass ceiling and tonight so close to breaking through once and for all.”

I asked Mayors Tucker and Nelson Deuitch this question at Indiana delegation breakfasts this week: If you were to have a conversation with Vice President Harris about what you’ve just been through and what is in front of her, what would you tell her?

“I would tell VP Harris the same thing she told me a month ago,” Mayor Tucker responded. “She grabbed my hands, imploring me to surround myself with people who believe in her and who want to make sure her vision and mission for these great United States is carried out.”

Mayor Nelson Deuitch added, “I’ve done the work already. I have the experience. I did two different terms on the council, but more than that, I was an engineer; I have a masters in public affairs, but people still questioned.”

Why is that? 

“I went into engineering school when there were no women engineers,” the Michigan City mayor said. “It takes time. Companies change; governments change. I just think it’s slower in government.”

Nelson Deuitch was president of the Michigan City Council when she ran in 2023. She operates I&D Squared, a consulting firm focusing on inclusion and diversity. Her leadership certifications, management experience and all-around tenacity allow her to reach, understand and meet people where they are without judgment.

Tucker’s community engagement has also been extensive. She’s a member of the Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Advancing Voices of Women and the NAACP. Tucker has also volunteered on the board of directors for the Allen County Public Library, Alliance Health Clinic and the Summit City Entrepreneur and Enterprise District. Before she was elected to the Fort Wayne Council, voters had sent her to the Allen County Council.

At March’s Democratic caucus, Tucker’s fiery speech won the room. 

“I’m the only candidate who stands before you who has all those boxes checked on her résumé,” Tucker said. “You see, as 6th District representative, I have had the pleasure of sitting at the table with developers and investors and telling them how great our city is and encouraging them to make investments. I fully understand government.”

The expectation is that tonight Harris will be in an energetic mode while offering a sharp contrast to Republican nominee Donald J. Trump. 

After she won the caucus on the second ballot, defeating Indiana House Minority Leader Phil GiaQuinta, a jubilant Tucker said, “Today you had the opportunity to make history by electing the first 5-foot-3 mayor. To be in a place where they’re fed, loved and cared for, that’s my vision for our community.”

She added, “As your mayor, I will create a new council where we can focus on mental health, because one of the things I know for sure is that individuals who are unhoused, many of them suffer from mental conditions. Instead of incarcerating them, let’s give them the care that they need.”

Mayor Tucker had this advice for Vice President Harris: “Enjoy the journey as she travels on. Being the first carries a lot of weight, but it also matters in all of the success of her activity and the things that she does day to day throughout the process.” 

I asked Tucker another question: What has it been like to break that glass ceiling in Fort Wayne, where you are not only the first female but also the first person of color to become mayor?

“It’s been both exciting and stressful,” Tucker replied. “I know there are a lot of people who are looking at me to see how I will respond and react to multiple things, where most of the time when there’s a man in charge, people can automatically assume the response. Coming from a female — an African American female — people are wondering what the responses will be until they get a chance to get used to me and how I serve. 

“And so Vice President Kamala Harris as president will have the same people looking at her to see what her responses and reactions will be,” Tucker continued. “But at the end of the day, she is a leader like I am, so I really believe she will lead us with grace and dignity.”

Mayor Nelson Deuitch added, “I’ve run departments, I’ve managed multiple units across multiple states, and yet it’s still one of those things where you have to prove yourself, even though I’ve already proved it. 

“All I can say is, as I watch the race, like last night when people lie or people try to discredit, you have to step up and support and tell the truth,” she continued. “You’ve got to make sure your team is ready to deal with those things, because as a Black woman in a nontraditional role there’s always a question.”

Has the Michigan City Council and her constituency been open to her leadership?

“Yes,” Mayor Nelson Deuitch responded. “Our council is one of the most diverse councils with all age groups. They understand I have an open door. I make sure they understand their roles and responsibilities and how to communicate.”

Mayor Terry told Evansville residents at her first State of the City address last winter: “One hundred days ago, we launched a new era in Evansville. We broke two glass ceilings, swearing in the first Black mayor and the first female mayor in the city’s 212-year history. The energy, the enthusiasm, the hope that I felt that day have carried us through these first 100 days as we’ve finished assembling our team and gone right to work moving Evansville forward.”

She added, “I knew I was going to be held to a higher standard, and I knew you were going to be watching. And I told you I was ready. I told you I was going to make sure Evansville is a city that works for everyone, and I knew you were going to hold me accountable for that. I knew I was going to hold myself accountable, too.”

Brian A. Howey is senior writer and columnist for Howey Politics Indiana/State Affairs. Find Howey on Facebook and X @hwypol.

Come and knock on our door: GOP lawmakers get visits from Cothren investigator

Posted on by Andy Sher

In recent days, some Southeast Tennessee GOP lawmakers have been startled to find a private investigator knocking on their doors. Hired by the legal team of Cade Cothren, a former state House chief of staff, the investigator asked about their use in the past of taxpayer-funded correspondence and campaign services provided by then-Rep. Robin Smith.

Smith, a former state Republican Party chair, resigned from her House seat in 2022 after pleading guilty to a federal public corruption charge involving a kickback scheme that allegedly included Cothren and former state House Speaker Glen Casada, R-Franklin. 

Prosecutors say the trio used a political consulting firm, Phoenix Solutions, to illegally funnel money to themselves through both campaign and taxpayer-funded work, while keeping their involvement secret.

One lawmaker speaking on condition his name not be used, said the investigator came to his Southeast Tennessee home unannounced.

 “The whole idea was to catch whomever she could catch and say something they could use at trial. That’s my opinion,” the lawmaker said. “She said I’m working with so-and-so attorney and they represent Cade Cothren. I said, yeah, I know who he is.” 

The lawmaker said the investigator asked if he ever had any interaction with Cothren to which he said he replied, “not really, just in passing.”

Questioning then “turned and she started asking me just all kinds of questions about Robin Smith,” he said. “And I’m like, hmm, they’re trying to build a case and just pin this whole thing on Robin Smith because she’s turned state’s evidence. I said, well, I used her as a vendor one time, but I’ve used several vendors in my time.”

He said he was asked who paid the bill for work done for him. 

“I said what do you mean who paid the bill? She said when you did business, what kind of business, I said she did some printing and mailing for me. I said it’s a very common practice. She said who sent it, where did the invoice go. I said it came to me.

“She said: ‘Oh it didn’t go to your caucus? I said: ‘Why would it go to the caucus? It’s my campaign.”

Another lawmaker related a similar interaction with the investigator in which there were questions about not only the House but the Senate. He said it came off as a “search-and-destroy” effort.

“They want to show that this is a normal process and other people are just as guilty and they’re picking on [Cothren], that’s my guess,” he said. “That’s the way the questions were.”

Casada resigned from the speakership in 2019 following a racist and sexist text messaging scandal with Cothren and amid member discord over heavy-handed leadership tactics.

The trial is scheduled for Nov. 6. 

Previous investigator fired

A private investigator working for Cothren was fired last year for sending what a prosecutor called “threatening” emails to potential witnesses. Cothren’s attorney, Cynthia Sherwood, said in a court hearing in May 2023 that when the emails came to her attention, she fired the investigator within five minutes.

Sherwood described the investigator’s emails as more “unprofessional” than threatening, likening them to the style of an investigative journalist. While Sherwood stressed she didn’t stand behind the tone of the missives, she said the investigator was trying to raise “legitimate questions” about Casada’s successor — current House Speaker Cameron Sexton — including about alleged marital infidelity and whether Cothren had been “instrumental” in his rise to power.

Sherwood said the questions about Sexton are relevant because one of the government’s central theories is that Cothren engaged in the scheme to hide his involvement in Phoenix Solutions because House members wouldn’t want to do business with him due to his “behavior” when he was chief of staff. 

Cellphone fight

Smith is engaged in a legal fight with Casada and Cothren over cellphone data prosecutors inadvertently handed over as part of the discovery process. After investigators seized the mobile phone, they failed to apply filtering software to remove privileged correspondence between the former lawmaker and her attorneys before handing the information over to the defense team. 

When the mistake was discovered, prosecutors told Casada and Cothren attorneys to return the materials, but they refused. Smith argues in court filings that she never waived her attorney-client privilege. U.S. District Judge Eli Richardson has yet to rule on the matter. 

Judges: Gerrymander case failed to prove racial motivations decided Tennessee maps

Posted on by Erik Schelzig

A panel of three federal judges dismissed a gerrymandering lawsuit filed by the Tennessee State Conference of the NAACP and others on the basis that they failed to “plausibly plead that race predominated in the redistricting.”

“The complainant alleges facts that are consistent with a racial gerrymander,” the ruling said. “But the facts are also consistent with a political gerrymander.”

The judicial panel consisted of Eric Murphy of 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Benita Pearson of the Northern District of Ohio and Eli Richardson of the Middle District of Tennessee. Oral arguments over the motions to dismiss the case were held in Columbus, Ohio, in May. 

The complaint alleged that racial factors had predominated in Republican state lawmakers’ moves to redraw congressional districts in and around Nashville and a state Senate seat in Shelby County.

Under the old maps, the 5th Congressional District in Nashville had a Black and Hispanic voting age population of about 30%. When the General Assembly in 2022 split the city into three districts, the minority ratio dropped to 20% in the new 5h District, while it grew from 9% to 15% in the 6th District and from 14% to 22% in the 7th District.

The plaintiffs made a similar argument about state Senate District 31 in Shelby County, where the white voting age population increased from 58% to 70%. The district is currently represented by Republican Sen. Brent Taylor.

The plaintiffs noted that the “candidates of choice” for minority voters subsequently lost their campaigns in each of the newly drawn districts. 

Given Supreme Court rulings that have identified a “strong correlation” between race and politics, the opinion said, “a district that appeared to be drawn on racial lines instead might have been drawn to further a political objective.”

“The complaint must do more than plausibly allege that Tennessee’s legislators knew that their

Republican-friendly map would harm voters who preferred Democratic candidates — including the higher percentage of minority voters who preferred those candidates,” the ruling said.

The state was represented by four lawyers in Attorney General Jonathan Skremetti’s office and outside attorney Adam Mortara.

The ruling didn’t leave the state unscathed. The judges found the government had cited outside sources like recorded legislative hearings, news articles and a census official’s memo in its motion to dismiss, arguing the court could take “judicial notice” of them. 

“We are not so sure,” the judges said. “But rather than enter the debate, we will simply disregard the materials.”

Srkmetti’s office also criticized the challengers for failing to submit an alternative map that might have shown how political goals could have been achieved with less of a racial impact. The judges said the plaintiffs did not have to come up with an alternative plan.

The panel also rejected the state’s arguments that the plaintiffs waited too long to file their case — a frequent tactic by Skermetti’s office in defending state laws. The judges noted the challengers had disavowed any plan to seek relief before this year’s election, meaning there would be no undue burden on state officials.

The court dismissed Gov. Bill Lee as a defendant, noting that the law gives his office no “enforcement authority” to carry out elections under the redistricting plan. That power rests with the state election coordinator in the office of the secretary of state, who is appointed by the General Assembly. 

“The Challengers conflate the governor’s (non-mandatory) act of signing legislation into law with the governor’s duty (such as it is) to generally see to the enforcement of the law once passed,” the ruling said.

The dismissal was without prejudice, with the ruling saying it could be refiled if complainants can “plausibly disentangle race from politics.” The judges gave the plaintiffs 30 days to file an amended complaint.

They Said It (08.22.24)

Posted on by David Jacobs

“I believe this is the only part of the state that hasn’t been drawn into my district over the past three years. Better watch out, Clay [Higgins].” —Congresswoman Julia Letlow on southwest Louisiana at the annual LegisGator event in Lake Charles

“Garret [Graves] didn’t really have a plane to catch. He just thought it was risky to sit next to the insurance commissioner.” —Insurance Commissioner Tim Temple at LegisGator

“We never get tired of winning.” —Attorney General Liz Murrill regarding an injunction on the Biden administration’s LNG export pause, at LegisGator

“My grandfather taught me ‘if you didn’t grow it, catch it, or kill it, then you didn’t eat it.” —Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality Secretary Aurelia Skipwith Giacometto in a taxpayer-funded speech to the National Rifle Association, reported by the Illuminator

“Because we’ve had definitive answers previously, and they were all definitively wrong.” —Department of Transportation and Development Secretary Joe Donahue on his insistence that officials not give a completion date for the long-delayed Comite River Diversion Canal, in The Advocate

“I have served 29 years as a judge. I’ve earned it.” —James Genovese, on accepting a stipend for judges right as he was leaving the Louisiana Supreme Court to become the new president of Northwestern State University, in the Illuminator

Our History: The Acadian expulsion

Posted on by David Jacobs

The first wave of the expulsion that eventually brought the Acadians to Louisiana began in August of 1755. 

The Acadians at that point had lived in Nova Scotia (in present-day Canada) since the founding of Port-Royal, one of the first French settlements in North America, in 1605. Among the “first families” of Acadia were Doucet, Bourgeois, Boudrot (Boudreaux), Terriault (Thériot), Richard, LeBlanc, Thibodeaux, Comeau(x), Cormier, Hébert, Brault (Breaux), Granger, and Girouard. 

They were largely ignored by France and initially by England after control of their land shifted to the latter after 1713. But as tensions rose between the two powers,  the British authorities pressed the Acadians to swear, if not allegiance, at least neutrality in any conflict. 

After Fort Beauséjour fell to the British in June 1755, British Governor Charles Lawrence noted some 270 Acadian militia among the fort’s inhabitants. Lawrence pressed the Acadians to take an unqualified oath of allegiance to Britain. When they refused, he imprisoned them and gave the order for deportation.

“It was a New Englander, Charles Morris, who devised the plan to surround the Acadian churches on a Sunday morning, capture as many men as possible, breach the dykes and burn the houses and crops,” according to this account. “When the men refused to go, the soldiers threatened their families with bayonets. They went reluctantly, praying, singing and crying.”

About half the Acadian population died during the expulsion, according to some estimates. After years of wandering, about 2,600 to 3,000 Acadians sailed to Louisiana between 1764 and 1785. 

Bernardo de Galvez, the Spanish Governor of Louisiana, wanted the Acadians as a counter-influence to the nearby British. Many were attracted to the area by the familiarity of the language and remained to develop the culture now known as “Cajun.” 

However, their dialect was different from that of French who were already there, and the destitute Acadians found themselves on the bottom rung of white society. The widespread poverty that followed the Civil War eroded some of those distinctions. 

The Cajuns remained largely un-Americanized, according to historian Shane Bernard, until U.S. involvement in World War II. 

“The war experience coupled with educational and housing programs offered to returning veterans opened up a vast new world of opportunities…to leave the farm, go to college, get a good job, earn a decent wage, build a nice house,” Bernard says. “This caused a gradual migration away from small, exclusively French-speaking communities into a more modern, mainstream world.”

Editor’s note: Information for this piece came from The Canadian Encyclopedia and LSU Health’s Department of Genetics. 

News You Can Use (08.22.24)

Posted on by David Jacobs

—Campaigns & Elections: Why the congressional battleground map needs to expand

—Campaigns & Elections: Consultants speak out about mental health challenges

—Governing: The making of a straight-ticket society

—Governing: A simple way state and local governments can save more lives

—OpenSecrets: Outside spending in 2024 federal election tops $1 billion 

—The Advocate: Baton Rouge appellate judge set to become Louisiana Supreme Court justice in Black district

—Illuminator: Benched Baton Rouge judge accepted $14,000 stipend just before investigation

—The Advocate: Treasurer rejects bank for common ESG policy

—Red River Radio: Louisiana public school enrollment drops to lowest level in 16 years

—The Advocate: Louisiana will pay this company up to $11M to run its new private-school tuition program

—The Advocate: Gov. Jeff Landry promises Bossier City audience to keep up pace of reforms

—Lafourche Gazette: Kristine Russell Elected President of Louisiana District Attorney’s Association 

—Shreveport Times: Louisiana leaders believe Super Bowl can be Louisiana’s Olympic moment in 2025

—WWL: Independent expert to be hired in New Orleans archdiocese’s long, expensive bankruptcy case

—Illuminator: Who is Kaitlyn Joshua, the Louisiana woman who spoke at the Democratic National Convention?

—The Advocate: Did Jimmie Davis’ horse, Sunshine, climb up and down the Capitol stairs?

Field Notes (08.22.24)

Posted on by David Jacobs

— ON TO SCOTUS? The Louisiana Supreme Court seemingly ended the race for its new majority-minority seat almost before it began, ruling that First Circuit Court of Appeal judge John Michael Guidry is the only eligible candidate. Judge Marcus Hunter and Louisiana Housing Corporation Chief of Staff Leslie Chambers were both kicked off the ballot for failing to file their income taxes in time, as state law requires. Chambers, at least, is weighing an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. Hunter’s campaign did not respond to an email seeking comment. 

— WHAT ABOUT THE BALLOT? Secretary of State Nancy Landry has consistently said that Friday is her office’s deadline to get an item onto the November ballot, a timeline that could be complicated by further appeals by Chambers and/or Hunter. Joel Watson with Landry’s office declined to comment on that subject, citing the potential for ongoing litigation. 

— LMTA RECOGNIZES ‘ROAD WARRIORS’: The Louisiana Motor Transport Association presented its Road Warrior Awards to Rep. Michael Melerine and Sen. Alan Seabaugh on Monday in Shreveport. Renee Amar, the LMTA’s executive director, said the lawmakers “worked tirelessly this year to help level the playing field for truckers in the legal arena.”

— COASTAL CONFERENCE RETURNS TO NOLA: The State of the Coast conference will be held at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans from May 20 to 22, 2025. The conference is meant “to provide an interdisciplinary forum to exchange timely and relevant information on the dynamic conditions of Louisiana’s coastal communities, environment and economy and to apply that information to existing and future coastal restoration and protection efforts, policies and decision-making.” Presenters, sponsors and exhibitors interested in participating can apply on the conference’s website.

LaPolitics Q&A: Rep. Kyle Green

Posted on by David Jacobs

LaPolitics: Conventions used to pick the candidates, but that’s not the case anymore. Why is the national convention still important? 

Rep. Kyle Green, a delegate to this week’s Democratic National Convention: National conventions are essential because they allow the parties to showcase their nominee for the presidency and that nominee’s vision for America over the next four years.

Did you have any qualms about changing the top of the Democratic ticket after the primaries? Why or why not?

I do not. When President Joe Biden decided not to accept the nomination, the party conducted an open and transparent nominating process, allowing anyone to compete for the open nomination. At the close of that nominating period, Vice President Kamala Harris was the overwhelming choice of the elected delegates to the convention. Thus, she is our Democratic Party nominee for the presidency of the United States of America.

What are you personally looking forward to the most about the convention?

I am most looking forward to the Democratic Party and our ticket offering a stark contrast to what the GOP and their ticket have been offering to the American people over the last couple of weeks: one that is hopeful, optimistic, inclusive, supportive of a women’s reproductive rights, and will provide policies that will grow and strengthen the middle class—the backbone of our economy.

While Harris/Walz almost certainly will not win Louisiana, do you think the ticket will benefit Democrats down the ballot? If so, how so? 

Absolutely! With essentially a three-vote majority in this Congress and Democrats poised to pick up at least two seats in the next Congress due to redistricting successes in Louisiana and Alabama, I believe if all things stay the same, control of the House of Representatives will flip to the Democratic Party. This surge of support was mainly due to the increased enthusiasm exhibited by voters when Vice President Harris assumed the top ticket position. However, control of the Senate may be a little more precarious because the Senate Democrats are in more of a defensive position, but in the Montana, Ohio, and Nevada senate contests, whichever party can turn out their voters will likely be successful on Election Day. 

Can Louisiana Democrats capitalize on the recent burst of excitement to begin rebuilding the party? How so? 

It will take time, but I believe we can. Out of 144 seats, only one seat is left in the Louisiana Legislature that could flip to the majority party. So, there is only room for the Democratic Party to grow. That being said, now that the GOP has a supermajority in both chambers and control of the Executive Branch, they now have a responsibility to govern. As a result of this new responsibility, they will own all of their successes, but also any failures. And if the Democratic Party can put forth credible, electable candidates, offering kitchen-table policy solutions, I believe we can also be competitive on Election Day.  

Editor’s note: This Q&A was conducted before the convention and has been lightly edited for style.

Your search query contained invalid characters or was empty. Please try again with a valid query.