The May 28 issue of the Advocate, Baton Rouge’s daily newspaper, has this story about the defeat of HB 776, which would have eliminated the congressional primary for small qualified parties and left them with no means to nominate. The story focuses its attention on fears that the bill was really a “trojan horse” bill that would later be amended to eliminate partisan primaries for Congress and return Louisiana to a “top-two” system for congressional elections.
The story, and these fears, seem to have no foundation in fact. Secretary of State Jay Dardenne has been a supporter of partisan primaries for congressional elections. He would have no motive to initiative a bill that would be a vehicle for ending Louisiana’s partisan primaries for Congress. Furthermore, he pledged to the legislative committee that if HB 776 did get amended to abolish partisan primaries, he and the bill’s sponsor would then withdraw the bill. The basis for the suspicions appears to be the fact that Secretary Dardenne is thought to be planning to run for U.S. Senate in 2010 against Republican incumbent David Vitter, and some people believe Dardenne would have a better chance in a “top-two” primary than in the existing system. Thanks to The Hankster for the link.
And in the heart land:
SUSPICIOUS KANSAS CITY SIGNATURE SHORT FALL
[No thanks to alternative political groups]
Opinion, Jokes and Stories from KC
Saturday, May 30, 2009
KMBC REPORTS FUNKY RECALL FAILS!!! AND The Saturday Night Playlist!!!
Mahoney is saying that the Recall failed by 100-200 signatures.
By city rules, the recall petition needed the signatures of 16,950 registered Kansas City voters to force a recall of the mayor. Sources say recall organizers needed between 100 to 200 more valid signatures.
As of 9:18 in the A.M. this story has been out for hours and there’s not a peep from The Star because staying relevant isn’t important to what they’re doing. Still, what I’m hearing is . . . If it’s this close . . . Then expect a legal challenge.
Remember another recent petition movement that came up a bit short . . . It was close enough to take a second look in order to “clean” more valid signatures and picked up a few hundred in the process.
I like Mahoney, I think if he now that he got this scoop over everybody than he should grow his mustache back in triumph . . .
However, I also remember that he made national news when he got the VP pick wrong.
But I’m perfectly willing to believe the Funky Recall folks came up a 50 signatures short and if the last 7 Funky supporters are willing to believe that story as well then that means the margin is INCREDIBLY CLOSE and Kansas City is going to spend the next 2 weeks in the middle of legal wrangling. As Former Star reporter DeAnn Smith said last night on W-I-R . . . We’re looking at “Hanging Chads in Kansas City” which sounds kind of sexy and also means that the former print newsie is letting her hair down . . . Nice.
UPDATE:
WORD IS THE FUNKHOUSER RECALL IS 129 SIGNATURES SHORT WITH 3800 REJECTED!!!
Developing . . .
eLinks:
Funkhouser recall effort falls short
KC Star Scooped on Mayoral Recall
“And here’s just a few songs dedicated to today’s drama:
To wit, I think we all know this thing isn’t over by a long shot. Less than 1% is insanely close to being kicked out of office. The Star reports that the margin is so tiny that, of course, Funkhouser Recall folks will get a recount. We’ll see . . .
In any event and as always, thank you for reading this week. Have a safe and fun weekend.”