Flashback: April Debate Between All Four Candidates

This debate is about two months old, but it is valuable in laying out where the Senate candidates stand, and given Congressman John's recent effort to challenge Vitter on tax breaks, it is very informative on where he stands. Here is the bulk of the article.

While [Congressman Chris] John stressed his willingness to challenge leaders of both parties, the other three candidates reflected the partisan fissures that have left the American electorate deeply divided heading into the Nov. 2 election.

Kennedy took the most populist approach by sharply criticizing the Bush administration's record on job creation and challenged Vitter's support of the president's tax cuts.

"I don't think millionaires are the backbone of the American economy," Kennedy said. "I think the backbone of the American economy are middle-class people."

Asked how he would craft a national energy bill, Kennedy emphasized the development of alternative energy sources and conservation while blasting the administration for not paying enough attention to Louisiana's coastal erosion.

"If California or Florida were being taken advantage of this way, they wouldn't put up with it," Kennedy said.

Vitter cited recent reports on economic growth and job creation as proof that the administration's tax cuts are working as intended. "Because of the great proposals that President Bush put into law . . . we have come out of the last recession," Vitter said.

But the economic turnaround will stall unless Congress votes to make the tax cuts permanent instead of allowing them to expire in the coming years, Vitter said. "Unless we take further action to extend them or make them permanent, the result will be a tax increase right when we're coming out of a recession."

Vitter's remark drew criticism from John, who said Congress should be required to pay for any tax-cut proposals by trimming an equal amount of spending from the budget.

John, who supported the president's 10-year, $1.35 trillion tax cut in 2001, said the federal budget deficit has since become too large to justify the tax cuts. He said he would allow them to expire.

"The way you stop a hole from getting bigger is to stop digging," John said.

But John said he could support certain targeted tax cuts and described himself as the candidate who can bridge partisan divides in Washington.

"The people of Louisiana do not want to wage political warfare, partisan battles," John said.

Vitter criticized Senate Democrats for blocking an energy bill crafted by Rep. Billy Tauzin, R-Chackbay, that would have given Louisiana $1.1 billion over 10 years to fight coastal erosion. The bill, which would have cost $31 billion overall, drew fire from conservatives and liberals on Capitol Hill as being too expensive and loaded with giveaways to special interests.

"Quite frankly, there's some pork in that bill," Vitter said. Still, he said, its benefit to Louisiana would have outweighed its cost.

Morrell, considered by many to be a long shot because he got a late start and has raised little money so far, said he's running in large part because open Senate seats are rare in Louisiana.

"It's really quite simple: It's an opportunity. This doesn't come often in this state," Morrell said.

Morrell said Congress should never have authorized the invasion of Iraq, and he questioned the administration's original justification for going to war to remove weapons of mass destruction that have yet to be found.

"A little over 600 Americans have died -- for what? A bunch of lies," Morrell said. "In the beginning I had respect for this president, but after finding out what he really stands for, I am ashamed."

Morrell's statement is what is expected from the more liberal members of the Democratic Party. John's comments about ending partisan rancor are all well and good, but he fails to mention that it is the Democratic leadership that is blocking President Bush's judicial nominees and will do anything to defeat making the President's tax relief permament. Speaking of which, John has said he would allow the tax cuts to expire, bringing him more in line with Senator Kerry's tax increasing policies.

Louisianans have been fooled by this "talk moderate at home and vote liberal in D.C." act before. Will it happen again? Not if this blog has anything to say about it.

The full story can be found here.

Sunday Headlines from The Times Picayune

Some headlines from The Times Picayune that relate to the senate race. Many of these are recaps of stories I posted on the blog earlier this week.

Roemer candidacy still up in the air

Former Gov. Buddy Roemer continues to flirt with getting into the U.S. Senate race, but he said he has no firm deadline for making up his mind. He said he may wait until the Aug. 6 qualifying deadline to announce a decision. "I've got business issues that I'm obligated to advance on or finish. That comes first," said Roemer, president of the Baton Rouge Business Bank. "When that finishes, I'll make a decision on what I will do." A Roemer candidacy could shake up an already unpredictable Senate contest. Republicans have coalesced behind U.S. Rep. David Vitter, R-Metairie, but Roemer, a Democrat-turned-Republican, would bring instant name recognition to the race and likely draw some moderate voters from both parties. Democrats in the race are U.S. Rep. Chris John, state Treasurer John Kennedy and state Rep. Arthur Morrell.

Giuliani, Barbour help Republicans

Former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani will be in New Orleans to help raise money for Rep. David Vitter's U.S. Senate campaign, and Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour will headline a fund-raiser for 1st District congressional candidate Bobby Jindal in the coming weeks. Giuliani will be the featured attraction at a $1,000-per-ticket luncheon at the Audubon Tea Room on July 13. Barbour, a former lobbyist and chairman of the Republican National Committee, will attend a cocktail party for Jindal on June 30 at the New Orleans home of Sunil Agrawal. Jindal is encouraging donors to join "Bobby's Club" by giving the maximum donation of $6,000. Members get a photograph with the two politicians and can take part in a half-hour round-table discussion.

John, Vitter exchange fire

The inevitable sniping between the two Louisiana congressmen running for the Senate is well under way. Democratic Rep. Chris John's campaign accused Republican Rep. David Vitter last week of "turning his back on troops fighting the war on terror" by "rejecting an opportunity" to give tax breaks to businesses that supplement the pay of employees called up with their National Guard and Reserve units. Vitter said John "should stop lying about my record." He said there were no votes this week on granting tax credits to businesses that employ Guard and Reserve troops because all amendments had been ruled out of order by the House Rules Committee. Vitter's staff said the vote John is talking about was procedural, didn't specify any particular legislative proposal and would have only conceivably permitted a vote on the Guard and Reserve issue. "My support for guardsmen and reservists, indeed all of our troops, is firm and clear," Vitter said. John said in a prepared statement that Congress should take advantage of any opportunity to help the troops. "The least we could do is provide tax benefits to those companies (that supplement the pay of their Guard and Reserve workers) and allow our troops to focus on winning the war, not worrying about their jobs," John said.

Conservative contributions

Rep. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., who lost a primary battle against incumbent Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., in April, said he is working to help elect other conservatives to the Senate. He said he and six fellow House Republicans will lead the effort to raise money for conservative GOP Senate candidates and that one of the recipients will be House colleague David Vitter, who is running for the Louisiana Senate seat being vacated by Democrat John Breaux. Each of the conservatives chosen "is in a tough but very winnable race, and we believe that each one will help the Senate to advance the commonsense conservative causes that we and the vast majority of Republicans believe in," Toomey said.


Source: Nola.com

Chris John takes jab at Vitter, Vitter responds

Congressman John, one of three Democrats vying to replace retiring Senator John Breaux, is taking after Vitter on a supposed vote in the House of Representatives. Here's part of his statement, from bayoubuzz.com.

“In a vote today in the U.S. House of Representatives, Vitter rejected an opportunity to grant tax credits to businesses which employ and continue to pay the brave Guard and Reservists while they are forward deployed Congressman Chris John (D-Crowley) supported the measure, saying, “These men and women have literally given up their jobs and left their families for months on end. Unfortunately, they have left their employers trying to find ways to keep their jobs open for their return from war. The least we could do is provide tax benefits to those companies and allow our troops to focus on winning the war, not worrying about their jobs. “I am so proud of the men and women from who are defending freedom and tracking down terrorists, we need to focus on them first and leave the partisan politics aside,” added Congressman John“.

Vitter, however, had this to say on John's comments:

U.S. Rep David Vitter today said that “Chris John should stop lying about my record,” calling John’s lies “a sad disservice to Louisiana citizens.”

On Thursday John sent out a deceptive press release claiming that Vitter helped block an amendment granting tax credits to businesses that employ Guard and Reserve troops. In fact, there was no House floor vote on the amendment at all. All amendments to the underlying jobs bill were rejected by the House Rules Committee to speed consideration of the bill. Neither Vitter nor John serve on the Rules Committee, so neither voted on any amendments.

“My support for guardsmen and reservists - indeed all of our troops - is firm and clear. In fact, I´ve authored legislation to provide tax credits to all our reservists and their employers,” Vitter said.

Vitter is the author of HR 1504, the Reserve Component Tax Assistance Act, which would grant reservists a tax deduction and their employers a tax credit. The congressman first introduced this legislation in 2002.

When Vitter was first elected to Congress he formed a BRAC commission to help Louisiana prepare for BRAC, and he’s helped appropriate millions of dollars for the state’s military bases.

“Lies like this are both an insult to and an attack on Louisiana citizens,” Vitter said of John’s assault. “We deserve better.”

A simple check of the congressional record will prove Vitter is correct. H R 4520, the American Jobs Creation Act, was debated on the floor of the House with no amendments. Vitter could not have played a part in killing any such amendment. This link will show the votes in the House for that week.

John Statement.
Vitter Response.

Roemer to run?

Columnist Robert Novak has a small piece on the possibility of former Governor Buddy Roemer entering the race to replace Senator Breaux.


LOUISIANA MANEUVERS

National Republican strategists are apprehensive in awaiting former Gov. Buddy Roemer's decision whether to run for the Senate from Louisiana this year, which could threaten GOP hopes of electing the state's first Republican senator since Reconstruction.

A candidacy by Republican Roemer in the state's Nov. 2 non-party election could derail chances of the party's designated candidate, Rep. David Vitter. Another Republican in the race could mean that neither qualifies for the Dec. 4 runoff.

Rep. Chris John is the handpicked successor of retiring Democratic Sen. John Breaux, but State Treasurer John Kennedy leads all Democrats in the polls.

House conservatives focus on like minded for Senate (Vitter included)

Here's another article that details the efforts of House conservatives to get more of their own elected to the Senate. Of the various senate candidates, Vitter is included in the pack!

Dismayed at what they see as a lack of strong conservative principles on the other side of the Capitol, a group of House lawmakers is laying plans to elect more conservative Republicans to the Senate.

More than 20 House conservatives met recently at the Hunan Dynasty on Capitol Hill to discuss how to put some conservative backbone into the Senate, among other political and legislative priorities. Many of them believe that Republican centrists in the Senate are as much to blame as Democrats for their policy frustrations.

(snip)

House conservatives want to focus their financial support initially on Senate races in four states: Colorado, where former House conservative Bob Schaffer is squaring off against beer scion Pete Coors in a Republican primary; South Carolina, where Rep. Jim DeMint (R), a Republican Study Committee member, is facing former Gov. David Beasley (R); Oklahoma, where former Rep. Tom Coburn (R), a one-time leading House conservative who clashed often with his leadership, is running against two Republicans; and Louisiana, where Rep. David Vitter is the only Republican in an open primary.

Full story here.

Group formed by Rep. Pat Toomey (R-PA) gives money to Vitter

Even though Congressman Pat Toomey lost his primary battle against incumbent Arlen Specter, he is not giving up on getting other conservatives elected to the Senate. Read how our own David Vitter benefits from Congressman Toomey's efforts. (This piece was also posted on Toomey Blog. Check it out!)

He may have narrowly lost his own Republican primary battle, but in the war to elect conservatives to the Senate, Pennsylvania Rep. Pat Toomey is still working toward victory.

Toomey, defeated by a mere 12,603 votes in his April quest to unseat four-term moderate Sen. Arlen Specter, raised $93,500 over the last month for conservative candidates competing in Senate primaries this year. It marks the start of what Toomey and a half-dozen of his House colleagues described Thursday as a forward march of funding to tilt the political face of the closely divided Senate to the right.

"We know these men," Toomey said. "We know that each one of them will make a great United States senator. Each one is in a tough but very winnable race, and we believe that each one will help the Senate to advance the commonsense conservative causes that we and the vast majority of Republicans believe in."

The money was informally pooled by House conservatives who contributed $1,000 from their own campaigns or $5,000 from their political action committees. It will go to Rep. Jim DeMint, who is facing former Gov. David Beasley in Tuesday's GOP runoff in South Carolina; former Rep. Tom Coburn, who is running against two other Republicans in Oklahoma on July 27; and former Rep. Bob Schaffer, who faces wealthy beer magnate Peter Coors in Colorado's Aug. l0 primary.

The group, so new it has yet to be named, is also giving money to Rep. David Vitter, the only Republican running against two Democrats in Louisiana's open primary on Nov. 2.

Read the whole piece here.

NRO rates Louisiana "toss up"

John Miller of National Review Online gives his readout on the Senate races as they stand now. Here's where Miller rates our state:

LOUISIANA: As three Democrats battle each other between now and the November 2 primary, Republican congressman David Vitter gets to raise money and prepare for one of the typically barnstorming runoffs unique to Louisiana. The bad news for him is that Democrats have won high-profile runoffs twice in the last two years, in races for governor and the Senate. One recent poll suggests that the Republican now campaigning for Vitter's House seat, failed gubernatorial candidate Bobby Jindal, would give the GOP a better shot at victory — but Jindal says he won't change his current plans. TOSS UP

Link to full story: Here.

Kerry could be trouble for Dem hopefuls (Source="Washington Times")

Washington Times Reporter Bill Sammon has come up with a piece on how Democratic hopefuls might find trouble attaching themselves to Kerry's liberalism. Congressman Vitter gets prominent mention in this article, and I've excerpted all the parts that mention him.

Earlier this month, for example, Rep. David Vitter, a Republican who is seeking to replace retiring Democratic Sen. John B. Breaux of Louisiana, challenged his three Democratic rivals to endorse Mr. Kerry's support for higher taxes and opposition to a constitutional amendment banning homosexual "marriage."
In a conference call with Louisiana reporters that was set up by the Bush campaign, Mr. Vitter also demanded that his rivals take a stand on recent remarks by billionaire Democratic financier George Soros, who last week compared the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse to the September 11 terrorist attacks.
"I think that's an outrageous statement," Mr. Vitter said. "We need to hear what John Kerry thinks about that statement, what the U.S. Senate candidates in Louisiana from the Democratic Party think about that statement."
Such demands have particular resonance in the South, where Democrats tend to be more conservative than in other parts of the country, said Bush campaign spokesman Reed Dickens.
"It's not just a Louisiana story," he said. "We're going to broaden it out to maybe about four other states in the South and maybe the Midwest.
"We're going to start to try to highlight the fact that Senate candidates are going out of their way not to endorse Kerry and not to say a word about him," he added. "Or if they do endorse him, they keep their distance."

(snip)

On issues ranging from the war on terror to welfare reform, Mr. Vitter said Democrats are vulnerable.
"In most cases," he said, "my Democratic opponents in the Senate race have voted like John Kerry. They just are trying to avoid admitting it."
In February, the nonpartisan National Journal magazine ranked Mr. Kerry as the "most liberal" member of the U.S. Senate. In January, during a speech at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire, the Massachusetts Democrat suggested he did not need to win Southern states to become president.
"Everybody always makes the mistake of looking South," he said. "Al Gore proved he could have been president of the United States without winning one Southern state, including his own."
Mr. Vitter told Louisiana reporters on the conference call: "I'd like to know what my opponents in the Senate race think of that, think of their Democratic Party essentially writing off the South."

Vitter hits the nail on the head. If so called "moderates" like Chris John are going to tout Kerry as a better leader than Bush, then stand by what their man believes in. Otherwise, it's all just spin.

This story was featured today on Rush's program, and Vitter got a mention by the great one himself! For the full story by Sammon, go here: Kerry's liberalism a weapon for Bush

Jim Brown: MORRELL A BIG FACTOR IN U.S. SENATE RACE (Source="politicsla.com")

An interesting piece from Jim Brown concerning Arthur Morrell, one of three Democrats seeking to replace Senator Breaux.

State Rep. Arthur Morrell was initially considered by most political observers as just another name trying to get a little attention in the fall U.S. Senate race. John Breaux’s open Louisiana spot was shaping up as a three man race. Last week, the possibility of a David Duke candidacy caused concern in the camp of Congressman David Vitter (R). This week, Morrell has the two leading Democrats looking over their shoulder.

Democrats around the state gathered last Saturday at the Sheraton Hotel in downtown Baton Rouge to elect delegates to the Democratic National Convention taking place in Boston next month. A host of candidates were on hand to “meet and greet” members of the Democratic Central Committee. Charmaine Caccioppi and Charlie Melancon were both there from beginning to end working the crowd continually in quest for Third Congressional District votes.

Both Treasurer John Kennedy and Congressman Chris John did well with the crowd in talking up traditional democratic issues. But it was Morrell who brought the debate back to what’s best for Louisiana. “We’re spending 20 million dollars right now in Iraq for wetlands restoration, but doing very little here at home. New roads are going up all over Iraq, yet Louisiana’s roads are falling apart. This makes no sense,” Morrell told the crowd.

His rhetoric obviously made sense to those in attendance. As we were visiting after his speech, a number of delegates came over to tell him how impressed they were with his comments. His message is one of the state being shortchanged for years.

He will be the only candidate with military experience (Army Special Forces during Viet Nam) and he’s been in the legislature since 1983. The bottom line for Morrell will be money -- getting his message across. But he seems committed to the race, and should garner a large African-American vote. He may not make the runoff, but he could be an important factor in shaping the debate from a referendum on national issues to focusing on what should have been done, and needs to be done, here in Louisiana.

Hotshot Washington P.R. guys telling candidates what to say from a national perspective is not what this state needs to hear. Morrell will be providing a real service, win or lose, by keeping the debate localized. He’s definitely a factor in this race, and how both Kennedy and John handle the issues Morrell has captured so far, and their respective relationships with Morrell himself, could well determine who gets a runoff spot come November.

Latest Verne Kennedy Poll. (Source="Politicsla.com")

Politicsla.com came through with more numbers. I'll include the ones for the first congressional district as well, the seat that Congressman Vitter is vacating to run for the Senate. Here are the results:


A poll was conducted for business clients by Dr. Verne Kennedy of Marketing Research Insight May 19-26 with a margin of error at 4%.

Six hundred likely voters across the state were surveyed for the election to fill the U.S. Senate seat vacated by John Breaux (D). The follwing are results from that poll.

Congressman David Vitter (R) 35%
State Treasurer John Kennedy (D) 22%
Congressman Chris John (D) 18%
State Rep. Arthur Morrell (D) 5%
Uncertain 20%

Three hundred likely voters in the 1st Congressional District were surveyed for the election to fill David Vitter's (R) seat. The following are results from that poll.

Bobby Jindal (R) 68%
State Rep. Steve Scalise (R) 6%
State Senator Tom Schedler (R) 5%
Undecided 21%

Latest Verne Kennedy Poll. (Source="Politicsla.com")

This info comes courtesy of Politicsla.com.

Poll Results for La. Senate Race
The poll surveyed 600 Louisiana voters, toward the end of May, with a plus or minus 4% margin of error. Verne Kennedy of Marketing Research Institute, conducted the poll for businessmen throughout the state. With Vitter at 35% he leads the race ahead of, State Treasurer John Kennedy at 22%, U.S. Rep. Chris John (Crowley-D) with 18%, State Rep. Arthur Morrell (New Orleans-D) 5%, and 20% still undecided.
-- PoliticsLA.com, Editor

First Post

Welcome to the grand opening of the Vitter Blog! I got the idea for this page from Toomeyblog.com. I thought it would be helpful to have a chronicle of Louisiana's conservative candidate for the Senate. Over the course of the campaign, I'll be posting all the info I can find on here. I'll also try to tweak my blog to make it better. Thanks for stopping by, and I hope you will find Vitter Blog to be informative. I'll begin the blogging proper tomorrow.

Vitter's Stands on the Issues

Taxes:

One part of Vitter's [economic] plan is to grow a national economy "that will sustain and accelerate job growth." An important part of that plan is to "make President Bush's tax cuts permanent, including marriage penalty relief and the expanded child tax credit. These changes will directly help the 447,000 married couples and 383,000 families with children in Louisiana." He also opposes increasing tax rates that will affect small business. To let the 2003 tax cuts expire, said Vitter, is to increase taxes. Vitter also proposes the permanent repeal of federal inheritance or death tax, which he claims took over $100 million from family businesses and farms in 2001.
The Weekly's inside political track....By Christopher Tidmore and Mario Gintella, 06-28-04

The Economy:

An important part of economic stimulation is bringing jobs into Louisiana. Vitter's plan for job creation includes helping the universities develop centers of excellence which can gain self-sustaining research grants, expand Louisiana's shipbuilding industry, expand federal technology centers, bring a Homeland Security Regional Headquarters to the state, as well as protection of the sugar and seafood industries from foreign trade.
The Weekly's inside political track....By Christopher Tidmore and Mario Gintella, 06-28-04

Government Spending:

Vitter believes spending issues must be tackled. He supports a plan for "zero-percent discretionary spending growth" except in the area of national security. He also wants "real spending caps and offsetting requirements for new spending."
The Weekly's inside political track....By Christopher Tidmore and Mario Gintella, 06-28-04

The War on Terror:

"To win the war on terror we can't just play defense," Vitter said. "We need to both defend the homeland and go on the offense -- hunting terrorists down abroad before they come to our own shores. This is a very big issue and a clear choice in this election between those like President George Bush and myself who feel we must go on offense, that this is a military challenge, versus John Kerry and my opponents in the Senate race who have a different view, which is that the war on terror is primarily a law enforcement defensive operation. I completely disagree with that premise."The Shreveport Times, U.S. Senate hopeful pitches "Fight for Our Future" plan by Don Walker, 6-07-04

Homeland Security:

“I introduced port security legislation and got key provisions of my legislation passed into law two years ago....I’ve led the fight to bring a Homeland Security Regional Headquarters to Louisiana...I’ve fought for tough immigration enforcement...I passed an amendment to require all bags to be screened before they are placed on the airplane...”
Vitter Comments on John’s Homeland Security Record, 07-14-04

Health Care:

Vitter promises to fight a "government-run, single-payer health care system like that proposed by Bill and Hillary Clinton in 1994. A government takeover of this major segment of our economy spells disaster." In addition, Vitter promises to enhance patient choice, and control and honor doctor patient confidentiality, and keep government and insurance out of the health care decisions for a patient. He also wants to "provide a secure safety net for the uninsured, preferably through good subsidized health coverage including preventative care rather than last-ditch emergency room treatment."
The Weekly's inside political track....By Christopher Tidmore and Mario Gintella, 06-28-04

Tort Reform:

Removing the high cost of frivolous lawsuits from the back of doctors and reducing paper work and the regulatory burden on health care providers will also drive down health costs, Vitter said. "Frivolous lawsuits are driving up health care costs and robbing some areas of access to the medical specialists they need," said Vitter at a recent appearance with Senate Majority Leader, Dr. Bill Frist. "I'll be a crucial vote in the U.S. Senate to end this lawsuit abuse."
The Weekly's inside political track....By Christopher Tidmore and Mario Gintella, 06-28-04

Corruption:

"I'm convinced [corruption] is a major impediment to economic development and job growth."…[Vitter’s] plan for dealing with it include funding more anti-corruption hotlines all across the state, like the one sponsored by the Metropolitan Crime Commission in Southeast Louisiana, which Vitter helped secure $400,000 funding over three years. Vitter also wants to see the U.S. Attorney General assign more agents for anti-corruption activities and more federal investigations whenever there is any evidence of corruption in Louisiana.
The Weekly's inside political track....By Christopher Tidmore and Mario Gintella, 06-28-04

Conservatism:

Vitter has a conservative voting record. According to Project Vote Smart, in 2003, Vitter voted with the Republican party 99% of the time and the President 96%. In 2002, he voted with the party 99% and President Bush 85%. The American Conservative Union gave Vitter an 88% for 2003 and 93% lifetime average in voting for positions they agree. This was the highest of any in the Louisiana delegation.
The Weekly's inside political track....By Christopher Tidmore and Mario Gintella, 06-28-04


Marriage:

"We need a U.S. Senator who will stand up for Louisiana values, not Massachusetts’s values. I am the only Senate Candidate to coauthor the Federal Marriage Amendment; the only one fighting for its passage. I am the only candidate proposing changes to the senate rules to stop liberal obstructionists from preventing an up or down vote on issues like this, judges, energy..."
Vitter Statement on Protecting the Sanctity of Marriage, 07-14-04