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81 versus 62 is the Measure of Jeff Landry vs. Charles Boustany, Jr.

By: Erick Erickson (Diary)  |  October 18th, 2012 at 04:30 AM  | 

RESIZE: AAA

The Heritage Action for America (HAFA) scorecard, until the day I get around to doing one, is pretty much the gold standard for conservatism in Congress. The average House Republican has a score of 66%.

In Louisiana, thanks to redistricting, Congressmen Charles Boustany and Jeff Landry have been put in a district together. Louisiana has a jungle primary where everyone piles in together on November 6th and, if no one gets to 50%, the top two vote getters go into a runoff. The territory favors Charles Boustany, but conservatives would be nuts if they did not rally to Jeff Landry.

Jeff Landry has a HAFA score of 81%, well above the average for House Republicans. Boustany? He is at 62%. It’s not like this district is going Democrat. We should be able to have the most conservative person in the district. If Mitt Romney does get elected, we’re going to want to make sure we have as many conservatives in Congress not just to help pull him right and support him from the right, but to oppose him if he doesn’t go right.

That’s a simple reality conservatives must be mindful of. Jeff Landry is more conservative than Charles Boustany. Jeff Landry votes with conservatives more often than Charles Boustany. Jeff Landry is the guy conservatives should rally behind.

In the past two years, House Republican leaders have promised a lot and delivered far less. There have been few conservatives willing to fight to the bitter end to ensure the strongest support for limited government is maintained. Jeff Landry, more often than not, was with us. Boustany rarely was.

This race should be a no brainer for conservatives. Jeff Landry should be the guy we rally behind in Louisiana’s 3rd Congressional District. Give what you can and support him as much as you can. There is a clear difference between Boustany and Landry. We need Jeff Landry.

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COMMENTS

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  • http://www.erickerickson.org Erick Erickson

    Their Heritage Action score card speaks for itself. Landry has been a conservative fighter helping the people across America, including his constituents. Boustany has repeatedly opposed efforts to trim government spending and reduce the size of the federal government. Talk is cheap — their Club For Growth and Heritage Action records show where they stand when it comes to reducing the size and scope of Washington.

  • edintexas

    Apparently the Boustany campaign has been heard from.

  • stevemaley

    I respectfully disagree with Mr. Erickson.

    These scorecards may be useful at first blush, but evaluating candidates for office should never be boiled down to a one-dimensional metric.

    I am a voter in LA-3. The district was always represented by Democrats until Mr. Boustany was elected in 2004. Historically, there was a powerful union vote from the Lake Charles end of the district that kept Dems in power until then.

    I have met with both candidates on several occasions. I supported Mr. Landry here at RS in his successful bid to unseat the Dem incumbent in his old district, which has since been lost to redistricting. It is a shame that the red-on-red advertising has turned so nasty.

    There is no question that Mr. Boustany is the moderate, mainstream Republican. Mr. Landry has staked out the Tea Party, firebrand label. So be it.

    The issue rrusso refers to above should trouble Mr. Landry’s supporters. A year ago, Mr. Landry disavowed language that he inserted in a Coast Guard re-authorization bill that would benefit the owners of offshore marine supply vessels at the expense of oil and gas operators. Yet that language is still in the bill and as far as I know Mr. Landry supports it.

    It may not seem like a big deal to national Republicans and the conservative community, but it is 180 degrees contrary to what I understand conservative principles to be.

  • citizenkh

    The problem is that this is all quite true. What Landry had inserted into the USCG Reauth Bill in Section 608 will do two things.

    1. Line the pockets of his largest supporters in 2010 who delivered the Houma/Bayou Lafourche to him since they have great sway and largest employers in the area. Line those pockets with$100′s of million annually.

    2. Add an additional cost of an estimated $1.2 Million expense annually to each already producing oil production platform.

    All of this for old technology of standby workboats which are not allowed to have any other function. These were no longer needed by around 1970 with newer technology. When maintenance works is done (it comes under construction activities) such as chipping paint and touching up. quite routine, operators will have to have a standby workboat with present rates of up to $20,000 per day set to sky rocket with this new requirement.

    Boustany can stop this in the conference committee, Landry would fit to keep the House version intact,

    Now this will force offshore producing fields to close earlier due economics. It will keep independents out of the game as well.

    Jeff Landry is just a grandstander, Huey P. Long populist, whatever he thinks the ignorant want to hear. And apparently many Redstaters want to be ignorant.

    Erickson is supposed to have oil/gas background due his upbringing. Either he has absolutely no understanding or is not being honest. Actually, I believe the former.

  • citizenkh

    They have no idea of local issues and Landry’s expensive impact against oil/gas already being produced (not drilling) offshore. I don’t think that you know or understand much about that industry.

  • citizenkh

    Also, Landry has refused to support the RAMP Act. If you understand the allowing of this industry self tax to be fully used and the critical need for it especially for the offshore service industry. Those “deepwater” ports for serving offshore aren’t. Workboats scrape bottom constantly loaded to 12 foot drafts and as for barges to launch jackets and transport platform, they often need and extra 10,000 HP tug to help push through the mud to get offshore.

    Will Landry support sugar prices supports? You betcha as he’d get thrown out of office from the eastern side of the new district lines.

  • cajunrunner

    You’re right, Russo. This race is more than just the national scorecard. This race also has local political implications for our region and state government. Jeff Landry has helped campaign for and endorsed conservative-reform candidates for state legislature. Last Fall, Charles Boustany ignored such good Republicans who were running to try and help reform Baton Rouge politics. In fact, he has aligned himself with quite a few long-time, Long-Edwards type Democrat politicos who run the kind of political machines that Louisiana needs to get rid of. That type of alliance helps his re-election bids to Congress, but harms Louisiana.

  • citizenkh

    One of the reasons I stopped coming to Redstate regularly is the herd mentality. If one disagrees with one of the moderators/main authors, regardless of overwhelming facts, those ignorant of certain data just want to pile on.

    Have fun in the herd.

  • commonsenseobserver

    You just said that he disavowed the language, whether he supports the bill as a whole or not.

    But, of course, voters ought to take all relevant information into consideration.

  • cajunrunner

    And regarding this USCG Reauth Bill debate, the purpose of the bill is to protect the real assets in the local oil & gas industry, our people. Those guys out there on the platforms, working those long shifts, deserve some re-assurance that they will be protected if something happens.

  • citizenkh

    Is your last name Chouest? BTW, Landry either outright lied or told a half truth in the subcommittee hearing where the bill was amended.

  • cajunrunner

    No, but is your last name Hack? Have you even read the actions log for that bill. Landry proposed the amendment, then is was withdrawn by unanimous consent.

    11/15/2011 1:40pm:H.AMDT.865
    Amendment (A010) offered by Mr. Landry. (consideration: CR H7605; text: CR H7605)

    An amendment numbered 13 printed in House Report 112-267 to clarify
    Coast Guard guidance regarding the ability of U.S. flagged offshore
    supply vessels to carry unlimited amounts of Grade D and Grade E cargo
    (combustible liquid) when said vessel is operating outside of U.S.
    waters, provided the vessel meets the safety requirements of the
    International Maritime Organization.
    11/15/2011 1:40pm:H.AMDT.865
    By unanimous consent, the Landry amendment was withdrawn.

    http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/D?d112:1:./temp/~bdIySB:@@@S|/home/LegislativeData.php|

    Did he insert the language at another point and time? He must be pretty powerful to be able to amend a bill on the House floor with no Congressional record, or amend it while on its way from House to Senate. Man, who knew a freshman Congressman could perform those duties?

  • citizenkh

    Actually, he has not. All it would have taken was a letter to the leadership and he has never issued one.

  • citizenkh

    Fact is that almost all GOP office holders would have supported Boustany but for one reason, Chouest, Bollinger, et al are huge contributors to LAGOP and the GOP office holders’ campaign coffers.

  • commonsenseobserver

    I’m confused here. Stevemaley says he has, and you say he hasn’t. Whom should I believe?

  • citizenkh

    Different section “Hack” Section 608 was not withdrawn

  • cajunrunner

    Ok, then when did he get the language in? Was Landry on the committee that wrote the bill? If not, then it seems there would be a log showing him amending it on the House floor.

    Where’s Boustany’s amendment to withdraw the language? Why did Boustany vote NO on the motion to re-commit? Did Boustany shout YEA or NAY on the overall bill with the language still intact?

    Doesn’t seem to me Boustany did much to fight back. I guess he just allowed the language to stay so he could make a campaign issue out of it, rather than having the debate and fight there on the House floor.

  • cajunrunner

    And to make this clear, even if I disagree with Landry on this one issue, that is one issue. There are many more where I disagree with Boustany, especially his support of many within the old Long-Edwards Democrat clan here in Louisiana.

    To be quite honest, Washington D.C. is way too far gone at this point to be fixed, but there has been a turn of tide here in Louisiana. Landry supported conservative reformers for state office last Fall. Boustany ignored them and even helped go against some.

  • citizenkh

    http://loga.la/proposed-legislation-terrible-for-oil-gas-industry/ The Senate did not include this in their version.

    LOGA represents the independent operators mostly at the state legislative level.

    What Maley refers to is that Landry claimed to some is that he is using this only as a placeholder. The reality is that by far Landry’s campaign financial support has come from his cronies would benefit hugely by Sect 608 being reinserted in the conference version.

  • citizenkh

    He amended it in the subcommittee meeting. There is video in C-Span. Boustany could not fight back. He was not in the committee.

  • citizenkh

    Your Long-Edwards claim are nothing more than campaign slogan language and without specifics your “state candidates” claim is as well.