A couple of things caught my attention this past week, neither of which should be a sign of encouragement for Louisianans.
First, during Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s testimony before the House Judiciary Committee, Louisiana 8th District Rep. Mike Johnson, a Shreveport Republican, had the unbelievable gall to tell Mueller that Donald Trump had “cooperated fully” with Mueller’s investigation.
That’s simply a damned lie and Johnson and all the other invertebrate Republican enablers in Congress are as well—and they know it.
How can threatening—and attempting—to fire Mueller be considered cooperation?
How can President Bone Spurs’ refusal to provide his income tax returns be considered cooperation?
How can President Bone Spurs’ refusal to appear in person before Mueller for questioning be considered cooperation?
How can President Bone Spurs’ incessant tweeting about the so-called “witch hunt” be considered cooperation?
How can President Bone Spurs’ constantly insulting Mueller be considered cooperation?
How can the repeated lapses of memory from President Bone Spurs (who, by the way, has repeatedly claimed he had one of the “best memories in history”) in his written responses to Mueller’s questions be considered cooperation?
Mike Johnson, there simply is no nice way to say it: You are a liar and an embarrassment.
Mike Johnson, you may wish to read what a friend sent me that was written by Paul Thornton of the Los Angeles Times (a conservative, Republican-leaning newspaper, by the way):
At almost any other time in American history, a decorated Marine with a highly distinguished legal and law enforcement career vouching for his 400-page report detailing a president’s impeachment-worthy conduct would be greeted with (at least) deference or (at best) bipartisan gratitude.
But Robert S. Mueller III had the misfortune of explaining his life’s most important investigation to a bunch of Republicans eager to engage in character assassination on behalf of the most amoral president in U.S. history, and in front of a media that valued “optics” just as much as the details of Mueller’s report.
The other attention-getter was the TV ad campaign launched by businessman Eddie Rispone in his bid to unseat John Bel Edwards for governor.
The best thing that be said about Rispone’s CURRENT AD is that he is just John Neely Kennedy 2.0—without the weed killer. Both are classic suck-ups running off someone else’s popularity with nothing of substance to offer. Some might call them political whores, but I would never be so crass. They’re just your typical political opportunists, folks, plain and simple.
Other than pointing out that he placed a Trump sticker on his truck, Rispone does nothing in the ad to address Louisiana’s problems or to offer solutions. Two words: sound bites.
Rispone even has a YOU TUBE AD (it may also have run on TV, but I haven’t seen it there yet) in which he proclaims, “It’s time to drain the swamp.”
Sound familiar?
Any questions as to how well President Bone Spurs has kept his promise to “drain the swamp”?
To give you an athletic analogy, in gymnastics, judges score contestants on, among other things, creativity and originality, degree of difficulty and execution.
Rispone’s pathetic ad falls flat on each of those categories. It’s nothing more than a dog whistle, to those poor souls who think President Bone Spurs actually has their best interests at heart and that he is really working on their behalf.
If Rispone is so devoted and loyal to President Bone Spurs, then that must necessarily mean that:
- He condones adulterous behavior, even encourages it;
- He is a racist;
- He believes, like President Bone Spurs, that one does not need real solutions if he has enough money to purchase his office.
- He supports a draft dodger who now hides behind the American flag;
- He supports embracing shady characters like Jeffrey Epstein until they become a liability and then he “barely knows them”;
- He believes the end justifies the means—regardless of who gets hurt in the process;
- He believes that if President Bone Spurs can spout the rhetoric that resonates with his cult, then everything else he does should be ignored, even applauded.
- He supports ridiculing physically-handicapped reporters;
- He supports placing children in cages;
- He supports tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans and corporations;
- He supports Vladimir Putin, Kim Jung Un and Bashar al-Assad;
- He would employ (but fail to pay) undocumented workers;
- He would borrow (but fail to repay) hundreds of millions of dollars and would choose instead to stiff creditors by declaring bankruptcy—six times;
- He supports increasing the national deficit by more than $1 trillion after promising to eliminate same;
- He condones—encourages, even—serial lying;
- He supports the idea of blaming others for everything bad and taking credit for all things good—like President Bone Spurs’ latest claim that the poor air conditioning in the White House is somehow the fault of his predecessor (really, he actually said that).
Rispone’s failure to publicly repudiate these suppositions should be considered affirmation.
Finally, there is THIS, and I think most of us can still remember the eight-year disaster that were the Jindal years.
So, if you liked Jindal, you’ll love Rispone.
If that doesn’t convince you that Rispone is about as phony as any political opportunist could possible be, then I have a mountaintop resort in Pierre Part to sell you.
Louisiana Voice 
Please cancel my subscription.
Thank you.
Dr. John S Barrett
Guess I was a little too truthful for some readers’ comfort, but that’s something you have to do on your end.
Subscription? Seriously? ROTFL
At one time you were considered a prolific writer…so what happened? Did your infection with TDS ( Trump Derangement Syndrome ) so alter your perspective that you no longer relate but simply spew? Some months ago you signed off of the internet, but then ( after realizing you needed a TDS outlet and a venue to push your book ) you returned to this left leaning diatribe. Now you have lost any semelence of balance or reason. Do us all a favor and crawl back into your hole.
Or, in the alternative, you could quit reading it. In the meantime, I fully intend to continue to exercise my First Amendment rights. Or is that too un-American for you?
Oh, and thanks for the unsolicited (and spontaneous) plug for the book—but I thought prolific writer meant that I wrote a lot.
Looks like you hit a nerve with a few people. I applaud you.
Sent from my iPhone
A more honest and truthful recitation of trump;’s foibles has yet to be written. And to think, your list of trump’s failings is far from all inclusive. Thank you for this list and reminder of just how correct we thinking citizens are who despise trump and all that he stands for as well as those that applaud him. They are truly deplorable cult fanatics blinded by their stupidity and ignorance. I’m glad they are leaving your site. I want nothing to do with their drivel when reading and becoming better informed for having read Louisiana Voice.
I saw that Rispone ad and agree with all you said. He’ll ride Trump’s racist views for a couple thousand votes. Keep up the good work.
Mr. Rispone apparently has money to burn. Since he seems to have no platform of his own, it makes sense to simply run as a Trump supporter. After all, only 2* members of our Congressional delegation are not in lock step with President Trump and the polls say his favorability rating in Louisiana far exceeds his overall rating so Rispone’s is the safest way to run.
However, I still cannot figure out what he is thinking. He can’t seriously believe he has a snowball’s chance in hell of winning. Is he running against Ralph Abraham or John Bel Edwards? What does the state Republican Party have to say about him and the fact they have 2 candidates in a 3 person race? We know he is rich and a friend of the similarly wealthy and low-key political operative, Lane Grigsby. I’m sure there is biographical info out there on him, but few seem to care, including me.
So, I ask my fellow readers of this blog a simple question: Why is he running?
*In addition to Cedric Richmond, Garrett Graves represents my interests in Washington, specifically on flooding, coastal issues, and climate change. I do not live in his district, but wish I did. The lead story in yesterday’s digital New Yorker magazine was about him and he clearly demonstrated the handle he has on things and how he manages to be effective across ideological lines.
I don’t understand something. From the viewpoint of Trump supporters is this just information just not true or does it upset them to be faced with the truth or do they know it to be true but are totally okay with it because they get something out of his presidency? I agonize over this daily with each new dumbass tweet and would love an answer.
I have also struggled with the alternate realities in which people who do and do not support President Trump exist. For a long time, I figured his supporters fell into 2 categories: 1. The elites (including our own 2 U. S. Senators) who derive power and/or financial profit from being in his camp and from the things he is doing to change our country, and 2. People who only believe what he or the media who promote him say and who believe he will right what they see as the wrongs in this country that have held them back..
I have now decided there may be one answer that encompasses both of these categories:
People who support President Trump do so because they are just like him.
I’m beginning to think that Trump is like the circus in Something Wicked This Way Comes.. It gave everyone what they wanted in return for their soul. Good people have allowed this total lack of decency to persist for some reason…Maybe abortion or a fake tax cut or less Spanish speaking people. It’s totally breaking my spirit.
Good point and it is no more outlandish to imagine that Invasion of the Body Snatchers has become a reality for some 45% of our population.
In response to your excellent Re.Mike Johnson post in this article, I live in his “churchified” district and since his only claim to fame is a quest for “civility,” his performance for Trump was the one of the most uncivil displays from the Republican wrecking crew (not statesmen-henchmen). If he can’t walk the walk, don’t talk the talk doesn’t apply to his supporters. Just go slay the Democrats by any uncivil means!
Yes, apparently “bearing false witness” dropped off his list of sins. As the Republican “closer” on his committee, he chose to not just misrepresent the Mueller report findings, but to actually lie about them.
I agree, and the only answer I can come up with, is they are just like him….with his nasty rhetoric he has given legitimate voice to the underlying fears and phobias that people have kept hidden…I watched Mike Johnson, et al, last week as they snarked and barked at a man who has more honor, integrity, and valor in his thumb nail, than the entire body of cretins who were doing the grilling…..we are in trouble….
You are correct in this rant, but you are still letting Mr Bone Spurs set the agenda and direct the discourse. These people that support him think that more money, for them, will protect them and solve all their problems. Meanwhile back in the swamp the water is rising and it won’t matter how much money they have in the end. Not to mention that they will have to rely on a lot of those people that they show such distain for. Who did the work of rebuilding New Orleans? A lot o immigrant labor was employed. Who runs the farms? etc. We are locked in spiritual war once again between the forces of good and evil. Bone Spurs appeals to the darkest side of the American psyche and feeds their fear of the other. Jesus came to free our souls and bring us all into the light. He was fearless.
Thank you for an important breath of fresh air. As I watched the commercial I had the feeling one gets when someone just vomited next to you and the whiff just got to your face. That feeling was so bad that until you accurately expressed just a few of the valid reasons for revulsion, I had pushed the experience out of my consciousness. With your explanation the vivid experience recalled, is accurately described. Thank you for that and another breath of fresh air.