July 27, 2010
11:28 AM CDT
For some time now, THE DEAD PELICAN has noted the unusual level of interest in the Louisiana Lt. governor's race. There are FIVE candidates currently running for the position! And everyone knows that if Jindal were to quit, the Lt. Governor would take over.
There is a growing belief that those in the Lt. Governo's race are NOT running for that position alone: some expect to eventually be the next governor if they win.Some of the speculation is fueled by Secretary of State Jay Dardenne's interest in the position. Some find it curious that he is running. Going from Secretary of State to Lt. Governor is not a step up for Mr. Dardenne- at least not in terms of job responsibility. But if Jindal were to resign, the Lt. governor would take his place. And that WOULD BE a step up for Dardenne if he were Lt. Governor when Bobby leaves.
Statewide conservative radio show host Moon Griffon noted today on his show that "If Jindal doesn't leave, it will be a shocker to me." He believes that Jindal will leave because his numbers are up and he is viewed positively- which may not last when Jindal is forced to deal with the state's looming budget shortfalls. Griffon has a history of accurate predictions: he predicted that former Gov. Kathleen Blanco would not run for re-election over a year before she announced that she would not.
Respected veteran columnist Sam Hanna of the Ouachita Citizenhas had some suspicions as well. In a July 2009 column, Hanna recalled a conversation with top Jindal staffer Timmy Teepell. Hannah wrote that Teepell "was forthcoming when he said not long ago that Jindal was content to serve as governor and had no intentions of seeking the Republican nomination for president in three years. "Since Teepell is a friend, let's hope he doesn't mind a friend telling him that he would make a terrible poker player," Hannah concluded. A recent article in the Baton Rouge Advocate noted the recent high turnover in the Jindal administration. The article cited the departure of Commissioner of Administration Angèle Davis and State Department of Health and Hospitals Secretary Alan Levine as part of "a continuing turnover of Cabinet secretaries and staff." In the same article, Pearson Cross, head of the political science department at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette compared the high turnover in the Jindal admin to "rats from a sinking ship." The state is facing huge financial problems with multibillion-dollar budget shortfalls, which means that Jindal will either have to cut spending or raise taxes, a decision that would threaten his currently high approval ratings. Which is why some say the time for Jindal to get out is now- or so some think.Developing...
by Chad E. Rogers
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