Louisiana Voice

As much as they will deny it, the devastating flood in central Texas is going to become a major political issue for Democrats as the mid-term congressional elections draw nearer.

Of course, the Republicans are clearly on the defensive in light of Trump’s cuts to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the National Weather Service (NWS).

Of course, Trump’s kewpie doll press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, and other Republicans are loudly proclaiming that the flood should not become a political football. In a perfect world, of course, they’re correct.

But this is light years from being a perfect world and the Democrats, if they have and sense at all, will be frantically searching for a WILLIE STARK to become the face of the party.

Willie Stark, most readers know, is the central character in Robert Penn Warren’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel ALL THE KING’S MEN, based not-so-loosely on the career of legendary Huey Long.

In the book, Willie Stark is a minor politician with no real chance of breaking into the good ol’ boys’ political circle. But he complains loudly about a low bid to construct a school building. When a staircase in the school later collapses as a result of corruption, killing several children, he is suddenly catapulted into political relevance and goes on to build a powerful political machine of his own.

Macabre as that may sound (and it admittedly is tasteless and disgusting), the Democrats now have a viable political issue in the wake of the Texas flooding and the cuts to NOAA and NWS.

Tied to all that is the ominous and portentous fact that we are now well into another hurricane season.

How important are NOAA and NWS to residents along the Gulf Coast – as well as states along the Atlantic seaboard – for giving ample warning of the strength and projection of hurricanes so that people in the path of a storm might prepare adequately or even evacuate?

The answer in a single word is: VERY.

Without proper forecasts and warnings, cities and inhabitants could find themselves in the path of a killer hurricane with little advance notice. To underscore that potential threat, we have to look no further than June 27, 1957 when HURRICANE AUDREY slammed into the Louisiana coast, literally destroying Cameron Parish and claiming 400 lives.

That was because there was no system in existence at the time to give warnings of where and when Audrey might strike. Thus, no one was adequately prepared.

Going back half-a-century from Audrey, we have the UNNAMED HURRICANETE that pounded Galveston, Texas, on September 8, 1900. Obviously, at that time, there was zero warning and the 140 mph winds produced a 15.7-foot storm surge which resulted in the unfathomable deaths of 6,000 to 12,000 people and destroyed 3600 buildings.

So, realistically, the tragic flooding in Texas could be a prelude to more devastating weather events, including hurricanes of which residents of South Louisiana could all become targets.

Unless Democrats are as clueless as the servile, slavish Republicans, they must now be casting about for the next Willie Stark.

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Here in these 50 United States, we live in a representative democracy and in a representative democracy, the people choose representatives to serve in legislative bodies (like Congress, Parliament or state legislatures/assemblies). These representatives then make decisions, enact laws and govern on behalf of the people they represent.

That being the case, why doesn’t Congress react to the wishes of their constituents instead of some reality show carnival barker?

These representatives, theoretically, at least, are expected to be held accountable to these same constituents and to act in their best interests.

Check any high school civics book (if indeed, civics is still taught in high school) and you’ll see it in black and white. So, why aren’t our senators and representatives held accountable?

There are supposed to be mechanisms for citizens to provide feedback and to actually engage with their elected representatives. These include letters and emails and supposedly town hall meetings. But only two members of the Louisiana delegation (Reps. Troy Carter and Cleo Fields) have actually held town hall meetings. Sens. John Kennedy and Bill Cassidy and Reps. Clay Higgins, Steve Scalise, Mike Johnson and Julia Letlow have not held one between them. In fact, Trump lap dog, House Speaker Mike Johnson, expressly instructed his fellow Republicans in the House to not hold such town hall meetings. So much for representative democracy.

And those of you who have written and emailed your representatives and/or senators, did you get a response and did that response come anywhere close to addressing the concerns you wrote about? More likely you just got a canned response generated by a computer. (And they were critical of Joe Biden’s autopen…)

Five separate polls over the past few days show an overwhelming opposition to Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill. In fact, the poll that reflected the largest support (a whopping 38 percent) was by… (wait for it) Fox News, not exactly the most precise barometer going. But wait! That same Fox News poll also showed the second-largest percentage opposed at 59 percent.

Here are the results of all five polls:

• THE WASHINGTON POST found more Americans oppose the legislation than support it, 42% to 23%
• The nonpartisan PEW RESEARCH CENTER found 49% oppose it, 29% favor it.
• FOX NEWS showed 59% opposition and 38% support.
• QUINNIPIAC says 57% are against and 27% are in favor

• A KFF POLL found 64% of the public has an unfavorable opinion of the plan, with just 35% who view it favorably

Folks, those numbers aren’t even close. That’s an average of only 30.4% in favor of the bill. That’s even lower than Trump’s approval rating. it’s nowhere near the 2 or 3 percent margin of error. It’s indisputable that the vast majority of Americans view Trump’s BBB in a HIGHLY UNFAVORABLE.

So, the question must be asked: Where is our representative democracy in Congress?

Where is the concept of representative democracy in Louisiana’s congressional delegation?

And remember, Johnson and Kennedy consider themselves to be constitutional scholars.

What has happened to our inability to think for ourselves in Louisiana that has left us with a pack of cowards like Johnson, Scalise, Higgins, Letlow, Kennedy and Cassidy?

Are Mike Johnson and his fellow Republican Louisiana congressional colleagues so remorseless that the loss of Medicaid benefits to a quarter million Louisiana citizens is of no concern to them? Is this Bible-totin’, scripture-quotin’ hypocrite so callous that he doesn’t give a damn about the fate of malnourished babies who will suffer just so he can please billionaire Trump by pushing this bill through?

Do Johnson and the others not see that Louisiana will be tied with Virginia for the HIGHEST PERCENTAGE CUT (21 percent) in Medicaid benefits when this bill becomes law?

Do they care?

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