Louisiana Voice

When I see headlines like THIS, I can’t help but think of a former friend who could best be described as penny-wise but pound-foolish. He loved to ridicule women who said they “saved” a certain amount of money when they purchased some item of clothing that was say, marked down 50 percent.

“They say they saved $50 by buying a dress for $50 that was originally priced at $100,” he was fond of point out, “when in reality, they were spending $50 foolishly.”

That was his math formula as applied to women, whom he apparently preferred to see dressed in rags. But as for his own purposes, he thought nothing of paying $4,000 for a wristwatch or $375 for a pair of sunglasses.

Once, he showed me his watch while proudly telling me the brand and the price. I showed him my watch and said, “Timex. $17.95. It keeps the same time as yours but when mine quits, I just buy another one. What do you do when your $4,000 watch quits?”

In his most condescending manner, he said, “I buy another one.”

Such is the mindset of most Republicans I know. It’s a philosophy of “I got mine; you don’t deserve yours.”

There’s a sad but undeniable parallel between my former friend and Senate Republicans who voted in lock-step to confirm Trump’s nominees right down the line. It’s almost as though they were programmed to be completely subservient to their master. Why, it’s almost as though they have no original ideas of their own.

Our own two senators are classic examples of this sycophantic behavior. Both, for example, voted to confirm Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as Secretary of Health and Human Services (along with every single one of Trump’s other nominees). Here’s their vote on Kennedy:

That’s not political propaganda; it’s from https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/119-2025/s52, which tracks the vote of every single member of Congress on every single issue.

A few days ago, I had the opportunity to ask Cassidy what it would take for him to finally rebuke Kennedy. Cassidy, the milquetoast that he has shown himself to be, simply walked away without answering.

But at least he did show his face at a speaking event that day. That’s more than John Neely Kennedy has done. All his public utterances are made within the safe confines of the Senate chamber where he recently lamented the presence of radioactivity in shrimp.

That’s correct. He is apparently gravely concerned about the health threats to Louisianans who consume nuclear shrimp than he is about the potential to those who eschew vaccinations. Somehow, I see smallpox, measles, whooping cough and polio as being a far greater threat to our well-being than consuming a few contaminated shrimp.

But does Sen. Kennedy speak a single word of buyer’s remorse? No, of course not. That would mean that (gasp) he might’ve been wrong in blindly complying with our FBI Informant-in-Chief’s wishes.