Democrat Mary Landrieu might have stood a better chance of victory had she run on touchstone liberal Democratic issues.
That was the argument of a Louisiana political science professor whom Time magazine turned to for comment in its post-mortem of the senior Louisiana senator's landslide loss on Saturday to Republican Rep. Bill Cassidy.
On Saturday night, Senator Mary Landrieu (D-La.) lost her bid for reelection to Congressman Bill Cassidy (R-La.) by nearly 12 points and some liberals decided to blame her defeat on white racists who hate President Obama. Appearing on MSNBC’s The Rundown with Jose Diaz-Balart on Monday morning, Aisha Moodie-Mills of the Center for American Progress insisted that “the reality, and every single poll shows this, is that Democrats have completely lost the south because white people are running away from Barack Obama and this African-American man who is occupying the White House.”
While all three major broadcast networks covered the failed vote in the U.S. Senate to approve the Keystone XL Pipeline on Tuesday night, ABC and NBC neglected to mention that political motivations were behind the vote to aid the reelection efforts of vulnerable Democratic Senator Mary Landrieu of Louisiana that will take place on December 6.
After previously being held up in the Senate for years, the vote was finally allowed early Tuesday night and fell one vote short of the 60 votes needed for passage as only 14 Democratic Senators joined with all 45 Republicans to approve the measure.
Curtis Houck at NewsBusters noted late Thursday that on that evening’s NBC Nightly News, incumbent Louisiana Democratic Senator Mary Landrieu told NBC's Chuck Todd that President Barack Obama is unpopular in the South because the region “has not always been the friendliest place for African-Americans” and thus “[i]t’s been a difficult time for the President to present himself in a very positive light as a leader." Landrieu also said that "It’s not always been a good place for women to present ourselves. It’s more of a conservative place."
Houck described the race-based portion of Landrieu's lament as a "gaffe." The Senator apparently disagrees, as she doubled down on both aspects of her "woe is me" remarks in a statement today. Politico's James Hohmann waited an incredible 11 paragraphs to get into her embarrassing double-down:
On Thursday’s NBC Nightly News, Louisiana Democratic Senator Mary Landrieu told NBC News political director and Meet the Press moderator Chuck Todd that President Barack Obama is unpopular in the South because the region “has not always been the friendliest place for African-Americans” and thus “[i]t’s been a difficult time for the President to present himself in a very positive light as a leader.”
Prior to Landrieu’s remarks, Todd emphasized that the one thing he learned while on a bus tour meeting voters was “that the most omnipresent person on the campaign trail is somebody you don't see on the campaign trail” in President Barack Obama.
Despite a plethora of Democratic candidates this year who have embarrassed their party – from Wendy Davis attacking her opponent’s disability to Kentucky Democratic Senate candidate Alison Grimes refusing to say if she voted for the President to Nikki Haley’s Democratic male opponent calling her a whore – the Big Three (ABC, CBS, NBC) networks have been almost silent in airing these stories on their evening and morning shows.
Jonathan Capehart of the Washington Post believes that the possible key to Senator Mary Landrieu's re-election is knowing how to "Wobble." Yes, knowledge of a Louisiana dance step takes priority over a voting record or policy positions.
The hosts on NBC's Today spent over a minute of air time on Monday applauding Louisiana Democratic Senator Mary Landrieu for helping a fan tailgating at an LSU football game do a keg stand. Co-host Matt Lauer touted how Landrieu "may do just about anything to get your vote" given that she was "in the middle of a really tough reelection campaign."
Substitute co-host Hoda Kotb concluded: "I think that wins her votes, personally....I do guarantee you, in Louisiana, that definitely helps. I mean that helps in the vote department. For sure, right?" [Listen to the audio]
The indictment case against Republican Governor Rick Perry, that even liberals have described as “weak,” is just the latest GOP controversy that the networks have jumped on to taint Republicans in this midterm election year. In the 2014 campaign season, the Big Three (ABC, CBS, NBC) networks have filled their programs with one GOP scandal after another. Congressman Trey Radel’s drug possession, the “kissing congressman” Vance McAllister’s affair, Oregon GOP Senate candidate Monica Wehby’s alleged stalking of an ex-boyfriend and of course Governor Chris Christie’s Bridgegate were all controversies these networks made sure their viewers heard about.
But curiously, there have been other political scandals the networks have chosen to either bury or outright ignore. It just so happens the politicians in trouble, in those cases, are Democrats.
There are few things that might please liberal journalists more than finding that elusive voter that proves a dearly held theory: anti-Obama voters really hate black people. It’s all about his race, not his policies.
NPR hit that jackpot on Tuesday’s Morning Edition in a seven-minute story on Sen. Mary Landrieu (D) seeking re-election in Louisiana. In seven minutes, NPR’s Ailsa Chang never even whispered the name of Landrieu’s expected Republican opponent, Rep. Bill Cassidy (or his challenger, state Sen. Paul Hollis). The latest poll found Cassidy in the lead. But Chang found a racist sitting under an oak tree in Galliano, Louisiana, in Cajun territory:
Is it really shocking for commercials to use actors? According to ABC News, yes. A headline for the ABCNews.com article trumpeted, "Koch Brothers Ad Attacking [Democratic Senator] Mary Landrieu Uses Paid Actors." Rather than investigate the continued failings of ObamaCare, writer Jordyn Phelps hyped the fact that the commercials sponsored by the Koch brothers feature stand-ins, writing, "But the people in the emotion-evoking ad are not Louisianans at all; they are paid actors."
Phelps continued, "The ad shows a number of people, who appear to be Louisianans, opening their mail to find a letter stating that their health care policy has been cancelled because of the Affordable Care Act." The commercial features scenes of children running to a mailbox. It seems fairly obvious that such images were filmed and weren't caught accidentally.
It's always interesting when people in the “mainstream” press catch up to something conservatives and Republicans have known for a long time.
That was the case when Chris Frates, an investigative correspondent at the Cable News Network, reported on Friday that "Senate Democrats voted unanimously three years ago to support the ObamaCare rule that is largely responsible for some of the health insurance cancellation letters that are going out.”