You know I used to think that independent thinking and the Republican Party were in alignment. That is, until a number of incidents I personally experienced with the Louisiana Republican Party that strongly suggest otherwise.
The party I’ve ascribed to most of my adult life really doesn’t want you to become an independent thinker. The Louisiana Republican Party wants you to fall in line.
Well, I’ve never really been a party line person. I don’t want other people telling me how I’m supposed to look at things… telling me how I’m supposed to vote…all the while trying to manipulate me into believing that they know better than I do. Truth be told, I know a lot of these people…and they’re idiots! I don’t know how else to say it. And the fact of the matter is that historically, I’ve done a lot more research. I’ve looked into the backgrounds of some of the candidates that have been put forth, and they just don’t represent the best interest of the party. So I decided to break with the party and support somebody else. I thought that’s what we wanted folks to do in America, to take the right to vote seriously.
Well, how wrong I was.
I’ve been labeled as a “defrocked Republican” a number of times. And the powers that be tried to sanction me and impugn my integrity.
But, I had to pat myself on the back, because my decision to break with the party was the right decision. When you think about the things that have happened since then, you wonder how that candidate the Louisiana Republican Party put forth…Eddie Rispone… would’ve handled all the tragedy Louisiana’s faced with Mother Nature punishing us in so many different ways. What do you think he would’ve been like at the helm? I can tell you…having worked in the field and on the front lines for a long, long time…it would’ve been a disaster. But I need not wallow in in the past. Let’s look at what’s going on now.
The Chairman of the Republican Party, Louis Gurvich, wrote an article, and I can’t even believe he put this to paper.
“Unity is our only path to victory,” Gurvich writes. “The theme of today’s article is UNITY. Unity has been defined as the state of being undivided or unbroken, which is most assuredly not the face which Republicans presented to the electorate in the 2015 and 2019 gubernatorial elections. This article is submitted in the hope that conservatives may avoid the mistakes of the two previous gubernatorial elections. Since Democrat John Bel Edwards took office in 2016, every other southern state has prospered, even as Louisiana‘s industrial base has eroded and our population has declined. IT IS TIME FOR A CHANGE!”
You know, it’s interesting…Louis Gurvich doesn’t tell you that Republicans control the house and the Senate of the Louisiana legislature.
And that the vast majority of the elected statewide officials are, in fact, Republicans.
He continues, “You may painfully recall the absolute bitterness engendered by the three-way Republican-on-Republican war in 2015.”
Yes, because your anointed candidate was an idiot!
Gurvich continues…“Yes, I mean “war,” because there is simply no other word to describe what happened.) After the primary, major Republican candidates openly or covertly endorsed John Bel, with predictable results.”
Yes, they did, because you tried to manipulate the system.
You put forth candidates and convinced them to believe that they were the #1 choice and they weren’t. They were flawed. Look at yourself in the mirror!
Gurvich continues…“And if 2019 was less overtly bitter, but Republican-on-Republican attacks still resulted in another defeat.”
And rightly so. How many times do you have to be reminded of this by Republicans?
Gurvich, “We cannot keep doing the same thing over and over again and expect a different result. That is Einstein’s definition of insanity.”
You’re right! You, Louis Gurvich, are the one who’s trying to do the same thing over and over again!
Gurvich, “…yet we already have three Republican candidates in the governor’s race.”
Why is that not a good thing? As Republicans, this is where we have a chance to do our due diligence, to see what each candidate has to say, to let them reveal themselves, to put their plans forward. And you get to make a free and independent decision. Mr. Gurvich wants to make sure that doesn’t happen.
Gurvich continues...“We do not demand absolute adherence to the party platform on pain of cancellation, but we do share common goals and interests. If we are to achieve these goals, we must stop making the same mistakes. That is to say, we must be unified going into this race!”
Really?!? How do you propose to do that?
Louis Gurvich goes on to say, “Conscious of this fact, the LAGOP acted to achieve unity in early November of last year, when a clear majority of its governing body, the Republican State Central Committee (RSCC), voted to endorse Attorney General Jeff Landry.”
Isn’t this nice. Conscious of this fact, a few elected folks in the governing body (I don’t know when they became spokespersons of Republican Party) decided to shut down the election and qualifying for the governor’s race by endorsing a candidate long before the field had formed.
Interesting. That’s how Gurvich goes about achieving unity. That’s how Putin does it. That’s a dictator’s method, and that’s how Louis Gurvich wants to do it here in Louisiana. I don’t know about you, but I’m not going to participate in this charade.
I’m not going to allow them to continue by mandate of a few so-called leaders and a number of consultants (who work in the political arena for mostly Republicans) to control (on behalf of their clients) how you…independent voters…Republicans…vote. He says the Republican State Central Committee voted to endorse the Attorney General. I’ve talk to a number of members from the RSCC. They told me they were NEVER convened to actually conduct a vote.
Now the interesting thing here is the chairman has full discretion about how to handle this, and he can do it on a whim. There have been voice votes, there have been secret ballots. And in this case, it seems they solicited affidavits from the members of the RSCC. They also chose who they wanted to solicit. I am aware of state Central Committee members who would’ve actually voted for Jeff Landry and they were never solicited. So, once they reached their number of 50% plus one, they decided they had enough…that the organization had spoken///and that they would move on. This is how the Louisiana GOP defines “unity.”
And Gurvich goes on just to remind you that, “you may not know, the RSCC is a two-hundred-and-thirty-member body of Republican activists elected in a Republican only election. The members are elected from around the state. They are ordinary folks just like you and me - only about 10% of them have also been elected to a local, state, or federal public office.”
That all sounds fine and dandy. Why don’t you reveal the results of this election that you allegedly held? Your last meeting scheduled in October was canceled. You did not have a meeting in November, as you are trying to make people believe. Why don’t you disclose fully and completely with transparency how you conducted and called this election? If so, please provide same. That’s item #2 that we’d like to see as Republicans who desire to be unified.
Louis Gurvich goes on to say, “So where are we at this early stage of the race? Jeff Landry has declared, as have two other candidates, each polling at about 1%. But the word on the street is that Congressman Garret Graves,” (Oh my god, could there be a third?) “of Louisiana’s 6th Congressional District will declare for the race this week.”
Look out! Another independent minded Republican might get in the race? How terrible! What will that do to the Republican party of Louisiana?
Gurvich, “I will frankly admit that I like Garret Graves.”
Yeah, well who gives a S#%T who you like, or don’t!?!
Louis Gurvich goes on, “He is just plain likable and he is an effective voice for conservatives in Congress. What’s more, I think he will go far in the House, following in the footsteps of Steve Scalise and Mike Johnson.”
Boy, it’s nice that Mr. Gurvich has planned Mr. Graves life…his future…for him.
Gurvich…“He almost certainly has a future in senior leadership. That’s why I believe he would be making a terrible mistake by leaving Congress for the governor’s mansion.”
Why is that, Mr. Gurvich? Why is it? Because in your estimation, Jeff Landry is a better candidate than Garrett Graves? Who are you?
Gurvich continues, “Garret was just re-elected to Congress! All the hard work and treasure that was expended on his re-election would be wasted, and the hopes of the folks who just re-elected him would be betrayed.”
Really?!?
“When a candidate runs for an office,” Gurvich goes on, “there is an unspoken but sacred compact between him and his supporters that he will perform the duties of that office to the best of his ability. The fact is usually so obvious that it is rarely remarked upon, but now would be a good time to remind Garret of the importance of standing by his congressional oath of office.”
How about you standing by YOUR fiduciary obligation to ALL Republicans, whether they be right-wing Republicans, moderate Republicans or otherwise? Why do you get to pick and choose?
Louis Gurvich, “But now would be a good time to remind Garrett of the importance of standing by his congressional oath of office.”
That’s really laughable. How about you standing by all Republicans, because they come in different shapes, sizes and opinions.
Gurvich goes on to say, “Republicans only have a four-seat margin in this Congress. There will be many important votes in the House, virtually all of which are likely to be very close. Whether Garret ultimately won or lost the governor’s race, he would be forced to miss many of these crucial votes in Congress while he was campaigning in Louisiana. We cannot afford to lose a single vote in this Congress!”
So, let me get this straight, Mr. Gurvitch. You’ve already decided that if you are a member of Congress, then you should not run for governor ever…because what you just outlined is going to be the case for a long period to come. And you always miss votes if you’re running for a local office.
So I guess what you’re saying is the talent that we develop in the halls of Congress, that’s where they belong in perpetuity? There are no other opportunities to give back to their community? They cannot make the decision that involving themselves in local politics is in the best interest of the State of Louisiana, contrary to a lot of our history?
Louis Gurvich goes on to say, “If Garret were to win the governor’s race, he would have to resign from Congress. Do we really want him want to risk this critical seat? What if John Bel Edwards were to run to replace him? Remember, one doesn’t have to live in a Congressional district to run for the seat, and John Bel will be looking for a new job at just that time.”
How far of a stretch are you willing to go to try and make your point? Are you a comedian?
Gurvich, “The Democrats would instantly commit tens of millions of dollars to John Bel’s election. A few years in the House would place him in an excellent position to run for U. S. Senator in 2026, when Bill Cassidy must run for re-election or leave the Senate.”
Why don’t you try this strategy? Get your **it together! Stop engaging in conjecture, and stop trying to use fear to motivate your constituents.
Gruvich continues, “If Garret does enter the governor’s race, he will start well behind Jeff Landry in popularity. Jeff has been a successful and popular statewide elected official for seven years, while Garret is only well known in the 6th Congressional District.”
Hmmm. You talk about calling out others that are taking on Republican candidates? You’re doing that as the chairman of the party. You are attacking this guy who hasn’t even announced for governor. You’re trying to preempt Republican members from even considering Garrett Graves.
Louis Gurvich, “Garret would be forced to relentlessly attack Jeff to have any chance of beating him, but wouldn’t that be a repeat of the the same mistakes we made in 2015 and 2019? Why change all that for the sake of one congressman’s ego?
His ego? What is motivating Jeff Landry to run for governor and leave the Attorney General position? No well-intended conservative elected official or voter should be willing to risk the opportunity of a lifetime to change the political landscape of Louisiana just because he or she might favor one Republican candidate or another? When did you become king? After all, that would be the definition of insanity. No, the definition of insanity is keeping you as the chairman of the Republican Party! He goes on to quote Lincoln and Franklin, totally misplaced. The mantra of Louis Gurvich as the Chairman of the Louisiana Republican Party is …the less you know, the better off you are.
A number of leaders in the Republican Party have responded to this. In fact, Richard Lipsey in Baton Rouge says, “In this pitiful diatribe Louis Gurvich actually states that if Garret Graves becomes Louisiana’s Governor, his congressional seat could fall to a Democrat. The seat which Garret won with over 80% is solid Republican. Drawing on comments from some of my friends, I would hope that Mr. Gurvich is only lying, because I hope he is not that unintelligent.”
Well hope springs eternal.
Lipsey goes on to say, “Republicans don't trust this LAGOP leadership to anoint their candidate. After all, this is the same leadership group responsible for a recent letter to 99 national Republican leaders stating that the ‘My Pillow Guy’ should be the national head of the Republican Party.”
Should I say anything more?
Richard Lipsey, “This is the same group responsible for losing the last two races for governor. We can't trust them to conduct vetting and research a candidate to make sure Republicans in Louisiana are not stuck with another losing Vitter or Rispone race disaster, another Herschel Walker or George Santos fiasco.”
I could not agree more, Richard Lipsey. Well said. Enough said.
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