If you have any questions or need any information, please feel free to contact me at LaVeraD@dnc.org.

In light of Hurricane Gustav and the ongoing situation along the Gulf Coast, the DNC announced that it has canceled the tomorrow morning's news conference at the DNC's More of the Same Media Center in St. Paul. We continue to keep our friends and families in the area in our thoughts and prayers.

Damien

Damien LaVera
Deputy Communications Director
Democratic National Committee
LaVeraD@dnc.org

It's been three years since hurricanes Katrina and Rita and the failure of the federal levee system devastated New Orleans, the region, and parts of the Gulf coast.

The Bush White House, the Republican leadership, and FEMA showed up not just late, but unprepared.

America deserves a FEMA that works. A FEMA that understands the best ways to leverage the private sector and non-profits. A FEMA that will rebuild our communities with respect, dignity, and determination.

America deserves a president who is willing to cut through the red tape and serve the people, not the bureaucracy. A president who will stand with mayors and governors, not against them, to get the job done.

That is the hope of the people of America, and that is the promise of Barack Obama.

Thank you.

John McCain is campaigning aboard an oil rig, Genesis, jointly owned by Exxon Mobil and Chevron in the Gulf of Mexico. It is laughable that McCain would campaign on the Genesis to push his phony "drill here, drill now" nonsense because it took Genesis ten years to produce any oil at all.

Not exactly the imagery the McCain campaign wants to create.

Throw this one on the heap of McCain gimmicks -- like the gas tax holiday -- that will not provide any real relief for Americans.

John McCain will say and do anything to win this election, including selling out to Big Oil on gimmicks that won't provide any real relief to Americans, but boost their profit margins.

Chris Whittington, Chairman of the Louisiana Democratic Party:

"Here in Louisiana, he started off touting ethics reform as his gold standard, but he gutted the system with a "clear and convincing" standard as opposed to the former preponderance of the evidence. This resulted in mass resignations on the ethics board and makes it nearly impossible to prove ethics violations. He shields his activities from the taxpayers: the group the Citizen Access Project at the University of Florida ranks Louisiana dead last when it comes to access to the governor's office."

Mike Gehrke, DNC Research Director:

"We do think that Gov. Jindal would be an interesting pick for John McCain because in him you've got someone who served in the Bush administration, voted with him in lockstep when he was in Congress, and has toed the line as a governor too. So if John McCain picks him he's hit the trifecta of someone who would be most like George Bush and Dick Cheney."

"We can go down the list on issue after issue--whether it's jobs, disaster recovery, law enforcement funding, health care. He's taken his lead from the Republicans and voted right down the line with George Bush and Dick Cheney."

The bus tour also builds on the success of the DNC's 50-state strategy and Senator Obama's commitment to running a 50 state campaign, and the belief that if Democrats show up and ask for people's votes, we can win everywhere. Throughout the tour Governor Dean will engage local leaders and grassroots activists in the effort to register new voters and talk about Barack Obama's strong message of change.

Starting Thursday, you can register to vote, find more information on how to register others to vote and follow the bus tour state-by-state at registerforchange.com.

"After eight years of George Bush and with John McCain promising more of the same on everything from the economy to Iraq to Social Security to health care, America is ready to join Barack Obama and Democrats to Register for Change," said Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean. "People are really struggling. They want different leadership, not more of the same failed Bush policies that John McCain will continue. So we'll be going neighborhood by neighborhood, door by door to bring more people into the process to elect Barack Obama and Democrats up-and-down the ticket to bring change that all Americans can believe in."

The Register for Change tour kick-offs of Thursday, July 17, in George W. Bush's backyard in Crawford, Texas - a clear reminder of John McCain's promise of a third Bush term on everything from the economy to Iraq to health care. The tour then heads to Austin, Texas for a Register for Change rally at noon before Dean speaks to the Netroots Nation Convention that night.

From Texas, the tour heads to New Orleans - a city that experienced the failings of Republican leadership in Washington firsthand - and then to Shreveport and Baton Rouge, Louisiana and Hattiesburg and Jackson, Mississippi. The second swing, July 25-26, will make stops in North Carolina and Georgia - two untraditional battleground states where voter registration efforts will help lead Barack Obama to victory in November. The tour will hit states in every part of the country, culminating in a swing through the Midwest on its way to the Democratic Convention in Denver.

Not exactly "Ich bin ein Berliner" star power...

(Hat tip: James L., Swing State Project; photo from Kennedy for Whatever)

Stateline columnist Louis Jacobsen writes:

Some Democrats hold out hope that Obama could actually win one of the six Southern states that he won so convincingly during the primary season — Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina — all of which have voted strongly Republican in recent presidential elections .

But while it’s an outside possibility in North Carolina, most analysts believe Obama’s likelihood of picking off any of the other five Southern states is a long shot.

More plausible, though, is a November scenario in which the voters Obama draws to the polls also pull the lever for Democrats up and down the ticket — in statewide posts, congressional seats, state legislative seats and even county positions.

Democrats in the region have been salivating over this possibility for months. Consider Waring Howe, a Democratic National Committeeman from South Carolina and, until recently, chairman of the Charleston County Democratic Party. When Howe first realized that Obama might become the party’s nominee, “I used that as a candidate recruiting tool. But I actually didn’t have to use it much, because a lot of the prospective candidates already felt that way anyway.”

Senator McCain's talk on sugar is a sign that McCain just doesn't understand the economic situation in the state. After seven years of a president who has ignored the Gulf Coast, Louisianans don't want four more years of inaction with John McCain.

McCain Ripped Into Sugar Subsidies During His First Economic Speech Of The 2008 Campaign. During McCain's "first major economic speech since announcing his run for the presidency," "McCain ticked off the most egregious violations of pork-barrel spending as he ripped the Democrats' attempt to lard the emergency war-spending bill still deadlocked in Congress. 'They took the lid off the pork barrel and said to wavering members 'help yourself, there's plenty more where that came from.' They gave $7 million to research water quality on pig farms in Missouri, $24 million to sugar-beet farmers, $74 million for peanut storage, $95 million to dairy producers and nearly $400 million for highway projects, two years after we passed a $244 billion highway bill,' he said." [Washington Times, 4/17/07]

McCain Wanted To End Sugar Subsidies. Asked, "The federal government spent a record $ 22.7 billion last year in direct payments to farmers. Is Washington spending too much money on farm subsidies?," McCain responded, "'Yes. The 1996 Farm Act was intended to decouple farmers from bureaucratic crop controls and implement groundbreaking, cost-effective reform. Instead, the bill catered to special interests and did little to reform the system. . . I believe we need fiscally responsible reform of our farm policies to provide assistance to farmers who truly need it and promote efficient, free-market policies. We must end inequitable special-interest subsidies, such as sugar, peanut and ethanol industries, that cost American taxpayers billions of dollars every year, and help farmers manage risk as cost-effectively as possible." [Dayton Daily News (Ohio), 3/7/00]

McCain Attempted To "Kill All Funding" For The Federal Sugar Support Program. The Advocate reported, "Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz, asked the Senate to kill all funding for the [federal sugar support] program. The Senate tabled McCain's amendment, by a vote of 62-35, which in effect kills it. McCain said the government program is a subsidy for rich corporate farmers and drives up the price of sugar for U.S. consumers." The Palm Beach reported that McCain's amendment "would have ended federal subsidies for sugar farmers in Florida and 15 other states" and that Florida sugar growers argued "that preserving the program is essential to keeping sugar farmers from failing." [The Advocate (Baton Rouge, Louisiana), 7/21/00; Palm Beach Post, 7/21/00]

McCain Assaulted Sugar, Attempting To "Uproot" Government Support For Sugar Farmers. "Senators from sugar-producing states, including Louisiana, on Wednesday beat back another in a series of efforts to uproot the government system of price supports for sugar farmers. The assault this time came in the form of an amendment to the Agricultural Appropriations bill by Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., who called for a one-year suspension of the federal government's sugar program. His amendment was defeated 66-33, a margin only slightly more lopsided than a similar vote in the Senate two years ago….The program offers annual, low-interest loans to sugar farmers and sets strict import quotas. McCain and other opponents claim the program amounts to a generous subsidy for a small group of politically connected 'sugar barons' in South Florida and artificially keeps prices high." [Times Picayune, 8/5/99]

After casting himself as a "Maverick" in 2000, the new John McCain is walking in lockstep with President Bush, pandering to the right wing of the Republican Party, and embracing the ideology he once denounced. On the campaign trail McCain has callously abandoned many of his previously held positions, even contradicted himself, in a blatant attempt to remake himself into a candidate Republicans can accept in 2008. So just who is the real John McCain? The Democratic National Committee will present a daily fact aimed at exposing the man behind the myth.

State parties will publish their delegate selection rules and clearly explain how to participate in the summer of 2007.

Louisiana Democratic Party
701 Government Street
Baton Rouge, LA 70822
225-336-4155
225-336-0046 (fax)

District-Level Delegates: 37
At-Large Delegates: 12
Pledged Party Leader & Elected Official (PLEO) Delegates: 7
Unpledged Delegates: 12
TOTAL Number of Delegates: 68

Alternates: 9

TOTAL DELEGATION SIZE: 77

System type: Primary

State convention page: Available
State plan: Plan Available (PDF)
State filing form: Not available online. Please contact the state party to receive a copy.

** This information is prepared by the DNC's Office of Party Affairs and Delegate Selection and may be subject to change. For more information, please call 202-863-8000.

“I join many in thanking Governor Kathleen Blanco for her leadership and commitment to the people of Louisiana. Governor Blanco’s decision to focus on rebuilding Louisiana and not on politics is commendable. The rebuilding of the Gulf Coast remains a priority for all Democrats both locally and nationally.

“The Democratic National Committee remains committed to working with the Louisiana Democratic Party which has been successful at getting out the Democratic message and organizing throughout the state. Democrats will not take any vote or voter for granted and we will continue to work hard over the next coming months to ensure that we have a strong Democrat in the Governor’s mansion.”

"It's bad enough that Vice President Cheney and the Bush Administration are failing the people of the Gulf Coast who are trying to return and rebuild," said Democratic National Committee Press Secretary Stacie Paxton, "but more than a year later, it is clear that the Bush White House is more concerned with politics and PR campaigns than with governing and getting the job done. Once again the Republican Party is placing partisanship above country. Democrats want a new direction for America, one that puts our families and their security first and that helps the Gulf Coast get back on its feet once and for all."

Louisiana Democratic Party Chairman Chris Whittington agreed and said he is tired of Bush, Cheney and the entire GOP using both Katrina and Rita as a backdrop for their political agenda while the people of Louisiana continue to struggle.

"We have had enough of the GOP parading through our destroyed neighborhoods and desolated coastline playing the same party line," Whittington said. "We cannot and will not allow the Bush Administration attempt to save face with the American people at the expense of Louisiana hurricane victims who are far from recovered. We need to steer this country in a new direction and we need to do it now!"

Americans Know That Bush Has Not Done "What It Takes." Over seven days in mid-June, Kaiser sponsored a telephone survey of 1,217 adults across the nation focusing on people's attitudes toward the Katrina recovery. 70 percent of the adults surveyed across the nation said people affected by Hurricane Katrina still had not gotten the help they need. African Americans were even more skeptical; 84 percent of African Americans surveyed said those affected by Katrina had not gotten the help they need. [Times-Picayune (New Orleans), 8/9/06; Financial Times (London, England), 8/9/06; Washington Post, 8/21/06]

While Much Of New Orleans Was Still Flooded, Bush Delivered A Speech In New Orleans' Jackson Square Promising To "Do What It Takes." On September 15th, Bush, in Jackson Square, said, "And tonight I also offer this pledge of the American people: Throughout the area hit by the hurricane, we will do what it takes, we will stay as long as it takes, to help citizens rebuild their communities and their lives. And all who question the future of the Crescent City need to know there is no way to imagine America without New Orleans, and this great city will rise again." [http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/09/20050915-8.html, accessed 8/10/06]

Bush Pledged That Housing Needs Would Be Met. Bush said, "And we'll provide mobile homes, and supply them with basic services, as close to construction areas as possible, so the rebuilding process can go forward as quickly as possible." [http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/09/20050915-8.html, accessed 8/10/06]

But, FEMA's Trailer Program Was A Disaster. Hurricane victims and relief workers were frustrated by the FEMA's housing program. Adam Bronstone, a relief worker assigned to coordinate post-Katrina volunteer efforts for the Jewish community, said both FEMA and the Red Cross "have done a ridiculously bad job," noting that the Federal Emergency Management Administration has delivered only 16 percent of the trailers promised to New Orleans residents whose houses were wiped out by Katrina. [Jewish Telegraphic Agency, 1/10/06]

Republicans' Bad Environmental Policy Allowed 217 Square Miles to Disappear. Hurricanes Katrina and Rita ripped away 217 square miles of Louisiana's fragile coastline, with each turning huge swaths of land to water overnight, accelerating a process that already posed grave threats to coastal communities, according to a new U.S. Geological Survey study.[Times Picayune, 10/11/06]

Participants in the program must periodically weigh in with FEMA to keep their certification active. Those who fail to do so will no longer receive the rental assistance as of Oct. 31. Beyond that, the program will reach the 18-month point at the end of February, when thousands of families could find themselves in the lurch if they face rental expenses while they are continuing to pay for their damaged homes in the New Orleans area.