On Thursday (Feb. 25), we posted a story that contained several news developments. Those included the approval of the one-cent sales tax, Moody’s downgrade of the state’s credit and the announcement of Public Service Commissioner Foster Campbell’s entry into the race for the U.S. Senate seat now held by retiring Sen. David Vitter.
Also mentioned in passing was the call we received from someone conducting a so-called “independent poll” about the upcoming Senate race.
We bracketed the term “independent poll” with quotation marks because it took only a few questions from the “pollster” to realize the questions were quite obviously written on behalf of—and possibly even by—U.S. Rep. John Fleming, the good doctor/UPS store/Subway sandwich shop/payday loan entrepreneur from Minden.
Unfortunately, that is the way virtually all polls commissioned by candidates are conducted: loaded questions intended to steer the respondent’s answers in a certain direction so as to enable the candidate to release the “results” that put him or her in a favorable light.
With Fleming, however, it is more than a little difficult to put him in a favorable light. He is just that repulsive and his candidacy for Senate could well be a blessing in disguise. Should he lose—and at the moment, State Treasurer John Kennedy would appear to be the clear favorite—then the state will be rid of what one blogger called “today’s most hateful Republican stooge.”
http://downwithtyranny.blogspot.com/2009/09/todays-most-hateful-republican-stooge.html
Should Kennedy or any of the other half-dozen or so candidates win, then Fleming can go back to selling foot-longs.
It’s bad enough that Fleming pulled down more than $5 million in 2008 the year he was first elected, but he did so while refusing to contribute to the health care of most of his 500 employees. The precious few who did qualify were forced to pay a $3,300 deductible.
A couple of years ago, Fleming was critical of LouisianaVoice for what he perceived as our position of favoring “redistribution of wealth.” We responded that the only “redistribution of wealth we were able to document was the upward flow of wealth to Wall Street, pharmaceutical companies and big oil and gas. It was at that point that Fleming did what he does best: he blocked us from further correspondence on Facebook. So much for public discourse and accountability to the electorate (yes, we are aware we don’t vote in his district, but he habitually does the same thing to his constituents).
We also wrote about his payday loan company. Payday loan companies, which, by the way, our wonderful legislature has refused to rein in, feed on low-income, unsophisticated citizens by charging impossibly high interest rates that only perpetuate the problem of recurring, increasingly high debt for those struggling to survive. (That same legislature has exacerbated the problem by repeatedly refusing to increase the minimum wage in Louisiana.)
It was at that point that his mouthpiece, aka public relations flak, contacted us, asking if we would print a retraction to the story about his payday loan company, which the mouthpiece claimed was a corporation set up solely for Fleming’s employees (that’s nice, pay low salaries and then take the money back via high interest loans).
Our response was that we would be happy to print a retraction if (a) he could prove the story was untrue and (b) he would reveal to us how many medical malpractice lawsuits had been filed against Fleming’s medical practice.
We never heard from him again.
But back to that poll:
The questions were couched in such a way as to make every other candidate (except for Campbell who at the time, had not announced as a candidate) look like some type of evil predator bent on devouring the livers of the electorate. For instance, were aware that John Kennedy was a Democrat who supported John Kerry for President (in 2004) but later switched to Republican?
Wow! That’s a real killer.
How do you feel about John Fleming, who despite humble beginnings, brought himself up by his bootstraps to become a successful businessman who founded several businesses and who was a successful physician?
Short answer: “He’s an idiot.”
And “even though there has never been a Supreme Court Justice appointed in an election year…..”
Whoa. Hold it right there, lady. That’s a lie.
Nonplussed, she soldiered on: “President Obama intends to fill the vacancy…”
Not true. There have been six Supreme Court justices confirmed during a presidential election year since 1900—two by Nixon, one each by Herbert Hoover, Franklin Roosevelt, Gerald Ford and Ronald Reagan. http://www.vox.com/2016/2/15/10998836/supreme-court-nomination-election-year
Okay, Lewis Powell and William Rehnquist were actually confirmed in December of 1971—a couple of weeks shy of the actual calendar election year, but well within the 12 months leading up to the election. Same for the confirmation of Ford’s nominee John Paul Stevens (December 1975). But Anthony Kennedy, Reagan’s nominee, was confirmed in February of 1988.
Going back a tad further, Franklin Roosevelt nominated Frank Murphy who was confirmed in January of 1940 and Herbert Hoover nominated Benjamin Cardozo who was confirmed in February of 1932.
Let me ask you a question, Ms. Pollster: How do you feel about Fleming’s apparent willingness to tell an outright whopper just for the purpose of obtaining a favorable (to him) answer to a poll question?
For that matter, how do you feel about Fleming’s consistently voting against working families even though he represents a district where the median income is only about $35,000 per year?
- He opposed a bill whereby small businesses with 25 employees or fewer with wages of less than $40,000 would qualify for tax credits of up to 50 percent of the costs of providing health insurance. (Of course, he favored tax credits for the wealthy and for big corporations).
- He opposed help for seniors with drug costs in the Part D donut hole that would have cut the costs of brand name drugs by 50 percent and which would have eventually eliminated the donut hole altogether.
- One of his first votes in Congress was to oppose SCHIP, the proposal to provide medical insurance to 11 million needy children. (Fortunately, that bill passed by a huge margin of 290-135.
So there. Take your little poll and stick it in the same place where Fleming’s head resides.
Louisiana Voice 
“It was at that point that his mouthpiece, aka public relations flak, contacted us, asking if we would print a retraction to the story about his payday loan company, which the mouthpiece claimed was a corporation set up solely for Fleming’s employees (that’s nice, pay low salaries and then take the money back via high interest loans).”
Does this remind anyone but me of the plantation store????? Or in a later era the “company” store??? He probably insists people call him massa.
Du chicot – like you my first thought was the company store. There is no end to the rapaciousness of some people – with that mindset I’m not sure I’d want him for a physician. Will someone please explain why people vote for economic rapists – again and again?
I live in Fleming’s district and everything you write about him is true and more. There are many more voters in the median income bracket in our district He coasts to re-election without a viable opposition candidate. I can understand the wealthy contributing to his campaign and voting for him, but I am totally dismayed at the huge number of poor people that simply are not voting. With a weak candidate and voter ignorance, we give the Flemings of our world a blank check. Can’t really blame him for just being and doing what he is once elected. Should our state Democratic Party address this grassroots voter registration and education problem? I am not sure why good Dem candidates are refusing to run.
Hunycat
With all due respect I have to take issue with “Can’t really blame him for just being and doing what he is once elected. ” Is that not exactly what we should be doing, loudly, at every opportunity, at every venue as often as we can. By all means we should all be taking umbrage, we should be mad as hell and we should never miss an opportunity to call them out on this type of behaviour. It is our right AND our duty as citizens.
Sorry – i did not mean to “go off” on you but we need to act.
I have to visit Fleming’s corner of the world once or twice a month. I can’t begin to tell you the extent to which he is preaching to the choir that is his constituency. And talk about hating Obama, his white middle class supporters have seriously got that going on. So, I would say that is what Hunycat is talking about. We may attack him, but doing so only makes his supporters dig in more, and I’m willing to bet they include his employees making those loan payments to him..
du chicot: I did not mean that we should not act. I was just trying to point out that he wins with good majority votes. So, naturally, he is empowered to do what he does. Where are the votes that will kick the bum out? This is all I want to point out. Believe me, I am vocal. I have even asked my wealthy coffee club person why her family goes to and gives to his fund raisers. She gets really angry at me for asking and just says…well…Frustrating!
My congressman, Mark Meadows and my former congressman John Fleming are in a neck-in-neck race for worst U.S. Representative. Mind you this is in a legislative body where competition for that title is very keen. Unfortunately the incumbent Senator in North Carolina is seeking re-election so we will not see Meadows bail for that job.
Don’t forget” Rep Fleming is a “good Christian” whose Christian credentials include homophobia, thinly veiled racist/sexist statements, opposition to the ACA, reproductive rights and denial of basics to the downtrodden. In his part of LA, he is indeed representing his constituents. Who is waiting to replace him? None other than Rep Johnson, the father of the Louisiana “Freedom of Religion” Act. So, as they say in Spanish, “Going from Guatemala to Guatepeor”. Voters, get off your derriere and become educated; vote your interests and not your ideology.
YouTube has plenty of U.S. Congressmen John Calvin Fleming’s little speeches, a look and a listen will show, just how warped and creepy he is….he has a nice ‘war chest”, and will run against everything Obama, Godless Democrats, Obama, big government, Obama, he appeals to the racist/ sexist/ homophobe. He is definitely beatable, and could have been last time, with a more appealing candidate, but I am hoping that this time we can get it done.
What can you say about this clip? Poor thing he can’t live on $400k after expenses. i wonder if that (at the time) $6 million included his House salary?
No, it did not include his congressional salary.
If it takes $200K to feed his family for a year, they’re not eating Subway.
I first heard of Fleming at Ft. Polk in his first bid for Congress. He posted signs around Ft. Polk, I am against Obama. He does have a pretty lady at his Leesville office, who is quite efficient and gets out his hate/anti-government message with good charm. I grew up in Holly Ridge and loved our “company store” or commissary, no hate involved with the Franklins, and we had public health. Read Gary Younge in the Nation, feb 29 edition, Fleming is the SEWAGE who surfaced all the way to Congress. ron thompson
Having lived in Minden where he is his “big fish in a small pond” condescending disgusting self before he was even in politics, I can say he has only gotten worse! He was sucked up to here by the white upper class because he is rich. He is smug, stupid and creates facts to suit his needs. His loan business has been taking advantage of the poor and desperate for years! The needs of average people are not even in his ability to comprehend! We are just not something he is aware of!
Very interesting. I did not realize all of this. I just knew that I thoroughly dislike Fleming from his voting record. Hopefully, he will end up not being in any political office for our state.
for sure–we do not want Fleming as our U.S.Senator. He was asked to meet a highway group anywhere in North Louisiana. He refused. Only way to meet with him was to travel to D.C. at great expense.
No way as Senator…..