Why should U.S. Sen. David Vitter have all the fun? He shouldn\u2019t, according to the architects of the new Blue Pelican Super PAC that\u2019s being built up to support the re-election of senior Sen. Mary Landrieu.<\/p>\n
But unlike the Fund for Louisiana\u2019s Future, which is the Super PAC backing Vitter\u2019s gubernatorial bid, Blue Pelican won\u2019t be making a push to have the state lift its $100,000 cap on donations to match federal giving guidelines.<\/p>\n
The FLF is registered on both the state and federal level.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can\u2019t say what the focus will be in the distant future, but we\u2019re only going to be a federal Super PAC,\u201d said Steve Verzwyvelt of Baton Rouge\u2019s Southern Strategic Relations, Blue Pelican\u2019s general consultant in Louisiana. \u201cWe haven\u2019t made a buy yet. We\u2019ll be doing that in the coming weeks and months.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ben Chao, a Democratic strategist with the D.C.-based Joe Trippi and Associates, is in charge of the playbook, which is being finalized. \u201cWe\u2019re going to make the case for voters in Louisiana that it\u2019s a good thing to keep Mary around and help them learn a little more about (GOP challenger Congressman Bill) Cassidy that might make them take a second look.\u201d<\/p>\n
So far, the Blue Pelican PAC has secured \u201cseveral hundred thousand in pledges nationally.\u201d But Chao said the group\u2019s first deposit \u201ccould be significantly more.\u201d<\/p>\n
As for the Super PAC backing Vitter\u2019s run for governor, Chao said it could soon have direct competition.\u00a0\u201cI think some of the people behind Blue Pelican could create a PAC for the governor\u2019s race, too,\u201d he said, adding it would not be a Super PAC.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Cassidy has received his fair share of outside help from groups like Americans for Prosperity, a political advocacy group controlled by billionaire industrialists David and Charles Koch.<\/p>\n
And while Landrieu will certainly get a boost from Blue Pelican, politicos expect even more serious money to continue rolling in on her behalf from the Senate Majority PAC, which has already shelled out more than $3.8 million this election cycle, targeting five candidates around the country, including Cassidy.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Interpreting Vitter\u2019s\u00a0\u2018Last Political Job\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n One line from U.S. Sen. David Vitter\u2019s announcement for governor in January stood out more than others: \u201cThis will be my last political job, elected or appointed, period.\u201d<\/p>\n It jumped off the page and screen because some viewed it as a thinly veiled swipe at Gov. Bobby Jindal, who has gradually inserted himself on the national political stage and is undoubtedly running for president.<\/p>\n Vitter has been using the pledge on the campaign trail, most recently in Thibodaux.<\/p>\n So does his proclamation extend to running for re-election to his Senate seat in 2016, should he fail in his drive for the mansion?<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not really focused on that right now,\u201d Vitter told LaPolitics when asked whether the 2015 contest will be his last. \u201cI\u2019m only focused on this race for governor.\u201d<\/p>\n If he\u2019s elected, one of his first official acts would be to appoint his Senate replacement, which has spurred speculation about how that would factor in his campaign. It won\u2019t, pledged Vitter.<\/p>\n \u201cThere will be absolutely no understanding, arrangement or deal tying any appointment to the campaign in any way,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Political Pressure Could\u00a0Boost Pensions<\/strong><\/p>\n House Retirement Chairman Kevin Pearson, R-Slidell, said he knew something was up when he started noticing correspondence from retiree associations with not-so-subtle tag lines.<\/p>\n \u201cSomewhere on the envelope or letterhead it reads, \u2018Remember, retirees vote,\u2019\u201d he said laughing.<\/p>\n The second sign came from Louisiana\u2019s \u201cexperience accounts,\u201d which hold extra earnings for the four statewide retirement systems. They\u2019re flush with cash.<\/p>\n Put it all together and you have a political environment ripe for increasing pension checks \u2014 especially since it has been five years since retired state workers and teachers have seen a boost.<\/p>\n \u201cHow could (lawmakers) vote no?\u201d Pearson asked. \u201cThey\u2019ll only tick off people.\u201d<\/p>\n Dozens of bills have been filed for the upcoming session to address benefit increases, some permanent and others supplemental.<\/p>\n With sights set on the experience accounts, retirement system boards are getting behind bills that are being filed for cost of living adjustments. How much is the big question, with estimations topping out at around 2 percent.<\/p>\n While there\u2019s a formula for determining that number, there are also variables, such as the possibility lawmakers will make a grab for all the money in experience accounts, not just the earning overages.<\/p>\n Pearson said he\u2019s concerned about a permanent increase, but is willing to work with all parties. Most lawmakers probably won\u2019t remember the early 2000s, he added, when experience accounts held a negative balance of $1 billion, which was wiped off the books and mixed into unfunded accrued liability, transforming it into a debt.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Abortion Poll \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n After surviving attempts by lawmakers to defund it last year, Planned Parenthood is circulating the results of a November poll that suggest voters\u2019 attitudes about reproductive health and pregnancy in Louisiana don\u2019t fit neatly along a pro-life to pro-choice continuum.<\/p>\n Conducted by Hamilton Campaigns with 600 likely voters, with over-samples from Baton Rouge and New Orleans, the poll found Republicans are still the leading preference for legislative seats, with 46 percent compared to 41 percent for Democrats and 12 percent undecided.<\/p>\n Drilling down to the key issue, the poll points to slightly more than half of Louisiana voters, or 54 percent, preferring a legislative candidate who focuses on creating jobs, increasing access to health care and protecting the middle class.<\/p>\n One-in-three, or 33 percent, want a candidate who focuses first on protecting traditional values and upholding a \u201cpro-life, pro-family agenda.\u201d<\/p>\n As for ending all government funds for Planned Parenthood, 37 percent were in favor, 56 were opposed and 7 percent had no opinion.<\/p>\n While cross-tabs were requested by LaPolitics but not provided, a poll memo stated that voters in the north Louisiana, New Orleans and Baton Rouge media markets were strongly opposed to defunding, while voters in the south were divided.<\/p>\n When voters were asked to describe themselves, 56 percent identified as pro-life, 26 percent pro-choice and 16 percent as \u201cin between.\u201d However, a majority of voters did not believe Roe versus Wade should be overturned; 33 percent were for overturn, compared to 59 percent for leaving the law in place.<\/p>\n Contacted for comment, Gene Mills, president of Louisiana Family Forum, said Planned Parenthood hired a company \u201cwhose client list is a veritable \u2018who\u2019s who\u2019 of pro-abortion organizations to spin their pitiful national reputation into a positive.\u201d<\/p>\n He said Planned Parenthood is expanding in Louisiana, specifically in New Orleans, and hopes to \u201caccelerate abortion opportunities this year.\u201d He said his organization is working with a larger coalition called NOLA Needs Peace.<\/p>\n \u201cLouisiana residents have consistently demonstrated their strong commitment to life in the only poll that counts \u2014 the voting booth,\u201d Mills said.<\/p>\n The issue isn\u2019t weakening in the Legislature.<\/p>\n State Rep. Frank Hoffman, R-West Monroe, said that he plans on filing legislation this year to \u201cmaintain Louisiana\u2019s ranking as the most pro-life state in the nation.\u201d It\u2019s expected that the issue of Planned Parenthood\u2019s funding will play a part in those debates.<\/p>\n In related news, the state Dept. of Health and Hospitals announced it would back off its controversial emergency rules that would have overhauled Louisiana\u2019s regulations on abortion clinics. The rules would have given DHH the authority to immediately shutter clinics with no opportunity for appeals regardless of the type of infraction.<\/p>\n Clinics argued the requirements being proposed were heavy-handed.<\/p>\n State officials say they were worried about potential lawsuits, but that they would eventually circle back around to the issue.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Is Senate Race Opening Up?<\/strong><\/p>\n National rankings and a new poll suggest Congressman Bill Cassidy, R-Baton Rouge, may be closing in on incumbent U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu ahead of the fall election.<\/p>\n For starters, Larry J. Sabato\u2019s Crystal Ball, a website affiliated with the University of Virginia\u2019s Center for Politics, has once again adjusted Louisiana\u2019s U.S. Senate race. It started as a \u201cToss Up\u201d; was changed to \u201cLikely Democratic\u201d in October; and is now officially back to \u201cToss Up.\u201d<\/p>\n While the crystal ball gazers admitted that \u201cwe\u2019re not going to underestimate (Landrieu), who has won three tough races and who benefits from a sterling political name,\u201d they see a runoff with Cassidy as highly likely.<\/p>\n The report noted Cassidy has some problems on his right flank, stating, \u201ca Louisiana midterm runoff would be different and, admittedly, hard to predict.\u201d<\/p>\n Further evidence that the race has tightened can be found in an independent poll that\u2019s showing Cassidy ahead of Landrieu, 44 percent to 40 percent. Rasmussen Reports, which leans conservative, surveyed 500 likely Louisiana voters. The margin of sampling error is +\/- 4.5 percentage points.<\/p>\n Those called were asked, \u201cIn thinking about the 2014 election for U.S. Senate, suppose you had a choice between Republican Bill Cassidy and Democrat Mary Landrieu. If the election were held today, would you vote for Republican Bill Cassidy or Democrat Mary Landrieu?\u201d<\/p>\n Also included in the poll was state Rep. Paul Hollis, R-Covington, who matched Landrieu\u2019s 42 percent in a two-person hypothetical race even though 40 percent of those polled had no idea who he was.<\/p>\n Landrieu\u2019s overall favorable impression with respondents was 49 percent, compared to 47 percent unfavorable; Cassidy\u2019s spread was 37-31 percent; and Hollis\u2019 31-20 percent.<\/p>\n The main difference between Cassidy and Hollis, of course, is that the congressman has been campaigning for more than a year while the state rep has been on the stump for only a couple of weeks.<\/p>\n While recent polls have shown Landrieu with a higher negative than positive job approval rating, this is the first poll to show her trailing in a trial heat in this campaign.<\/p>\n The poll result likely shows the effects of the heavy schedule of negative ads that have been run against her by Americans for Prosperity. In response, the Senate Majority PAC has stepped up its negative ads against Cassidy.<\/p>\n It\u2019s also a sign that this race may be more about Landrieu\u2019s vulnerability than the strength of her Republican opponents.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n For more Louisiana political news, visit www.LaPolitics.com or follow Maginnis and Alford on Twitter @LaPoliticsNow.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Why should U.S. Sen. David Vitter have all the fun? He shouldn\u2019t, according to the architects of the new Blue Pelican Super PAC that\u2019s being built up to support the re-election of senior Sen. Mary Landrieu. But unlike the Fund for Louisiana\u2019s Future, which is the Super PAC backing Vitter\u2019s gubernatorial bid, Blue Pelican won\u2019t [&hellip<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":277,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[289,286,287,63,62,285,288,32,260],"yoast_head":"\n