Mary Landrieu, why just now?
Why is it that many politicians like Mary Landrieu find the courage to state a truth when their backs are against the wall? Many times by then it is too late.
Chuck Todd asked Senator Mary Landrieu, (D-LA) why President Obama was having such a hard time in Louisiana. In that interview Mary Landrieu, the Democratic Senator from Louisiana fighting for her political life, said the following.
“There are many number of reasons,” said Mary Landrieu. “One of the main reasons is because his energy policy are really different than ours. And we are a pro production state. He put the moratorium on offshore drilling. … And our state was furious about that. He could have shut down the BP operations but he didn’t shut down the whole Gulf. When you shut down the whole Gulf of Mexico it puts a lot of people here at risk and out of business. That’s number one. And number two to be very very honest with you. In the South it has not always been the friendliest place for African Americans. It’s been a difficult time for the President to present himself in a very positive light as a leader. It has not always been a good place for women to be able to present ourselves. It is more of a Conservative place. So we had to work a little bit harder on that. But the people trust me I believe.”
Mary Landrieu has known those realities all her life. She has lived it. She should have said these things long ago and grown her real voter base instead of pandering to an appeased base that gave her victories at the expense of those who have felt no reason to engage.
Unfortunately even as the Senator calls out the entrenched Southern prejudice, she gives and out for the intrinsic hate of the President by giving some an out. How can the President’s energy policy be anathema to her state when hydrocarbon production is set to reach an all time high in the US this year.
That not withstanding, better late than never.