It's Not Easy Being A Liberal In Louisiana

I wasn't always a liberal. Back in my early days, I was raised as right-wing conservative. I was taught that liberals rejoiced in abortions and that gay people wanted to recruit young people like me into their supposedly hedonistic and sinful lifestyle.

Life threw me a number of curveballs as an adult, and through a number of circumstances, I found myself living in extremely conservative Louisiana. After reversing a series of unfortunate choices and student debt, I became political again, especially in the wake of the Tea Party takeover of Congress in 2010.



It's been five years now since I moved to Louisiana, and I've moved ever further to the left in that time. Here, I am surrounded by people who despite being incredibly bigoted towards Hispanics and other non-whites, have a poor grasp of the English language.

Not only is their incorrect use of prepositions and possessives enough to give any English major fits, their understanding of the political process is staggering. This is the state that elected Bobby Jindal twice, and has finally elected a conservative Democrat to take his place rather than David Vitter who was crippled by his own past, along with his attacks on fellow Republican candidates.

In my time here, my newfound interest in politics has presented me the opportunities to make connections with people who love the state of Louisiana and want to reverse the failed conservative policies of politicians like Bobby Jindal and David Vitter. These outstanding individuals include Bob Mann from LSU, Lamar White Jr from Cenlamar.com, and Sean Illing who now writes for Salon.

Turning Louisiana back to the center will not be an easy job. I have no illusions that there aren't massive corporate and political interests that will want to keep the state solidly conservative, and in the hands of the fossil fuel industry.

For better or worse, this is where I belong now. And I will do whatever I have to do to turn my adopted state around.

Bobby Jindal Exits The Presidential Race, To Screw Over David Vitter

It's been a fun run mocking Bobby Jindal. As a resident of Louisiana since 2010, I've watched his mismanagement the state up close and personal, and it's no surprise that his failed brand of conservatism just wasn't going to attract big money donors like the Koch Brothers.

The clown show that is the Republican primary campaign will go on, but it will go on without Bobby Jindal, who suspended his bid for the White House today.

Honestly, I thought he would hold out until at least New Hampshire, but I was wrong. I'm also very disappointed because I had a lot of fun running the Bobby Jinderp Facebook page with some friends - now who are we going to mock?

Bobby Jindal's exit from the race was inevitable, but as my friend Lamar White, Jr pointed out, it came just days before the election in which his fellow Republican David Vitter faces off with John Bel Edwards in the governor's election here in Louisiana.

It's no secret in Louisiana political circles that David Vitter and Bobby Jindal despise each other. Even though both are Republicans, Jindal has refused to endorse Vitter in his campaign to replace Jindal who is term-limited as governor.

Jindal is extremely unpopular here in Louisiana, and his legacy of Republican failure hangs over David Vitter who will have to clean up his mess if elected. The problem for Vitter is that he has been abandoned by other members of the GOP, and even Republican lieutenant governor has endorsed Democrat John Bel Edwards instead.

Bobby Jindal's exit from the race overshadows Vitter's campaign in the media, and it perfectly illustrates the failure of Republican politics in a state as red as Louisiana. Jindal could have held off on his relentless pandering to GOP voters until after Saturday's election, but he has done it now for no other reason to sink Vitter's ship - and Democrats should thank Jindal for this parting gift.