BATON ROUGE – In a pitiful display of small-mindedness and naked partisan politics, state Treasurer John Kennedy and U.S. Rep. Charles Boustany lashed out at long-standing state policies designed to help the poorest and most vulnerable of our fellow Louisianians. Despite having served in office the entire 19 years the current regulations and waivers have been in place— including all eight years of Bobby Jindal’s disastrous term— Kennedy has waited until now to voice his objections, seeking to score cheap political points at the expense of the poor.
Rep. Boustany, who was likewise silent and passive on this issue in the years it was the policy of a Republican administration, has finally found the courage now to attack the least among us. In his desperate bid to gain traction for his fledgling campaign to succeed Sen. David Vitter, the formerly moderate physician is replicating the same failed, cynical tactics: attacking President Obama and abandoning compassion for those who are most in need. A perennial candidate and a perpetual also-ran, Boustany’s remarks were an inept attempt to pander to a base that has never liked him.
“The race to be the next David Vitter is already bringing out the worst in his would-be successors,” said Sen. Karen Carter Peterson, chairwoman of the Louisiana Democratic Party. “While our new Democratic governor spent his first week in office expanding access to healthcare and working with the President to bring our federal tax dollars back to Louisiana, the GOP candidates wasted their time attacking the poor and the voiceless. The voters have made it clear what kind of leadership our state needs, and it’s equally clear that Boustany and Kennedy aren’t up the job.”
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