This Man Speaks From the Heart About The State Democrat Anti -Catholic TV Ads That are running in Louisiana

One final post on these Anti Catholic Ads that running against Bobby Jindal for the night.

I am upset about these ads for various reasons. The religion aspect is a big one. However people must understand how this is from the North Louisiana viewpoint.

It gets tiresome of hearing about the "Protestant Evangelical" north in these articles. The implications is that North Louisiana people are closed minded. Note you never see articles about the "Catholic Southern" portion of state in those terms. It is pretty hurtful. People up here view themselves as a part of this state. There are a lot of jokes about North Louisiana rednecks and how we are really part of Texas etc etc. We laugh but after about hearing it 20 years it stops being funny.

When Bobby Jindal lost or "underperformed" in North Louisiana we saw largely south Louisiana politicos starting saying that it was because of Bobby's race. That we were racist and that was why Bobby lost. Well I don't think the rest of the state realizes how hurtful those accusations are.

Four years ago we had a so called Republican Governor named Mike Foster. In the eight years he was Governor he visited the major Louisiana city of Shreveport only 4 times. 4 TIMES!!! That was just for a couple of hours too. That is negligence as well as being insulting.

On the other hand , Lt Gov Blanco seemed liked she lived up here as well as other parts of North Louisiana for 8 years . She was always at events. She was always encouraging us. She was there. She was the only Statewide official that seemed to care about us in years. Big Surprise -She Won up here. North Louisiana people rewarded people that seemed to give a damn about us. Shocking.

There was no racism. She took time to know us and said we were important. Guess what!! that gets you votes. I am a loyal Republican and I voted for Jindal nearly 4 years ago. But I tell you this. Even as a die hard Republican I felt I was betraying Blanco and her efforts up here. I felt bad after I pulled that lever. I knew Bobby was the best choice. But I felt I was not rewarding a politician that went out of her way up for us.

A couple of months before Hurricane Katrina , I went to see my cousin graduate from Louisiana Tech. Governor Blanco was the speaker. She got two standing ovations. She did not get two standing ovations because she beat that darn Indian Jindal. She got it because we knew her and she took time over 8 years to know us. We appreciated it. Again this was before Katrina of course when her management skilsl were shown not to be that great.

So that is why I am spending some time on this. The fact that Louisiana democrat politicians think this will work is insulting to me on several levels. They are not only insulting Catholics, but my Protestant neighbors and finally all of us. In the end it shows that many of them have never got to understand the people they govern. I got a private email today that indicated some pretty big elected democrats up here are also offended. That is pretty sad. That is why North Louisiana Democrats need to take the lead here. They don't need to be afraid of upsetting people in Baton Rouge or New Orleans or D.C. Those people are making us look like something we are not

There is a fun site called Jindal is Good. If you need a life go there. He got serious today though. Check out the whole site. It is quite a gas. But listen to his words today.

"LA DEMS - STOP THESE ADS, YOU'RE EMBARRASSING US."

by Josh Harvey, Webmaster of "Jindal is Good!"

Confession time.

I am a Democrat -- and usually proud of it.My great grandfather voted for Frankin Roosevelt. My grandmother for John Kennedy. My father for Jimmy Carter (but only the first time).

Despite my party affiliation, I support Bobby Jindal for governor because he is far and away the best choice for the job. I was born, raised and educated Catholic. The God of us all will have to decide if I have been a very good one. I grew up in North Louisiana where Catholics are a distinct minority. My Protestant friends treated my religious heritage with great respect. I appreciated that respect and think I learned from it.

As a result, I believe appeals to religious prejudice are in very bad form. And, yes, it is true, we enjoy bending the truth a little at jindalisgood.com in an attempt to amuse ourselves. Britney Spears is really not running for governor. Those were not really childhood lithographs of John Breaux. But when we make up things around here, our concoctions have no ability to deceive. They are always fanciful and obviously so.

With all that off my chest, I just wanted, as a Democrat, to voice my dismayed objection to the TV spot the Democratic Party is running which attacks Bobby Jindal as some sort of religious bigot. The ad says Jindal has published an article which, among other items, calls Protestants "scandalous." Simply not true. I read the six page article that was written by a 23 year-old Jindal in "The New Oxford Review." The Congressman wrote the "divisions" in Christianity are scandalous, not Protestants themselves. I have yet to meet a Catholic or Protestant who does not lament a divided and fractured Christian faith.

The writings the TV ad excoriate collectively describe a thoughtful and respectful young man's unique journey from his childhood religion of Hinduism to Catholicism. In fact, the lead offending article cited by the TV spot finds the Congressman specifically applauding ecumenical discussions and implores the Catholic Church to incorporate "the many Spirit-led movements found outside her walls." These are hardly the words of a religious bigot.

So when I watched the TV spot, I was embarrassed and saddened for the Democratic Party -- My Party. The TV spot was plain deception with the clear intention of stimulating prejudice. It was anti-Catholic cleverly framed in a call for religious tolerance. If Foster Campbell and Walter Boasso are real Democrats, they will call for the immediate cessation of the TV spot and demand that the heads of those responsible for this inexcusable transgression roll.

I would start with Chris Whittington, the Chairman of the Louisiana Democratic Party. Besides being responsible for this treacherous ad, Chris Whittington sounds like a complete douche every time he's on the Jim Engster Show. As a Louisiana Democrat, I know that we can do better. Perhaps it's time to put an end to the Louisiana Democratic Party as we know it, and start all over. It's not like we could do any worse.

Proud to be a real Democrat,Josh Harvey