Looks LIke Louisiana is McCain Country

Ahh If only we had the cash. Money Money Money!!! I do think it was a critical mistake for the Huckabee campaign not to devote some of their resources and time to Louisiana. The process now here of how we Republicans run things drives me up the wall. The Ron Paul people almost pulled a coup here because the spent time organizing and recognized how they could exploit it flaws.

The story is this. Unless someone get 50 percent plus 1 these delgates can go to anyone they want. In this case they will go to McCain. If someone gets 50 percent plus one a substantial amount fo Louisiana delegates will be pledged to that person at least through the first two ballots of the Convention.

I do recommend that all Huckabee supporters get out and vote though in the upcoming Louisiana primary. There is still hope. First the news stories and then I will end with my two cents.

Are Things Falling Into Place for McCain in Louisiana?
We interrupt the debate blogging to give you an update on the Louisiana caucus...I'm told this by a source in Louisiana who is a veteran hand in that state's politics, and has been reliable in the past. I have not verified this account, however...
Over 80 percent of the pro-life, pro-family slate delegates to the state convention have now committed to McCain. That's over 60 percent of the delegates to the state convention and a majority in 5 of the 7 congressional districts, plus the 3 RNC members. That means that 41 of the 47 delegates in Louisiana are now McCain's (unless another candidate magically receives over 50 percent in the Feb 9 primary). The other six will probably be his as well — they just aren't yet.

and

Louisiana Supports McCain
Majority of Louisiana Republican Delegates And All Three RNC Members Support Sen. John McCain for President
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE MORE INFORMATIONJanuary 31, 2008 Jay Connaughton (985) 264-3703
(Baton Rouge, LA) – The Pro-Life & Pro-Family slate of delegates, which won a majority of the delegates to the Louisiana Republican Convention, is now supporting John McCain for President. And in an unprecedented show of unity, all three of Louisiana’s RNC members have also indicated their support of Senator McCain.
Roger Villere, Chairman of the Republican Party of Louisiana, said “It’s been a long and spirited campaign for the nomination. I’m proud of all of our candidates but it’s clear that now is the time to unify the party and focus our resources on winning the general election.”
According to Ross Little Jr., Louisiana’s Republican National Committeeman, “Senator John McCain will provide pro-life Republicans with a strong chance of defeating the liberal Democrat presidential nominee in November.”
About the Louisiana Republican Delegation-
Fifteen delegates were elected from each of Louisiana’s seven congressional districts. Each 15member delegation will elect 3 delegates to the National Convention and all 105 delegates will together select 23 at-large delegates.
21 Delegates from Congressional Districts23 At-Large Delegates3 RNC members47 Total Delegates
The Pro-Life & Pro-Family Coalition elected 80% of the total state delegates to the Louisiana Republican Convention, to be held on February 16, 2008. Over 2/3 of the Pro-Life & Pro-Family state delegates, who were initially uncommitted, now support Senator McCain, including a majority of the Pro-Life & Pro-Family delegates in 4 of the 7 Congressional Districts. Combined with the other supporters of Senator McCain, over 60% of the total state delegates in Louisiana now support Senator McCain, including a majority of the state delegates in 5 of the 7 Congressional Districts.

A few things here. Again a mistake for Huckabee not to engage this little web we have down here. However to have done so would have taken a good bit of time and resources.

Second this is a big coup for McCain. I keep hearing from the talk radio show people that conservatives have a problem with McCain. However the Louisiana Republican party is very conservative.

Lastly. I keep telling the Huckabee people to quit emailing Tony Perkins. It is a waste of their time. Tony Perkins is of course the big Christian Conservative politico in DC. However before that he was a major player in Louisiana Republican politics. In fact he has his hand in it still. Looking at the delegate list it is apparent that the Perkins faction are indeed a big part of the the McCain faction. Something whose importance will go missed by the National media because it is all so inside baseball.

This was a early clue that the some major Evangelical and Christian leaders have given their seal of approval to McCain and have been in his camp for some time. THere will always be some dispute how many of these folks were Fred Thompson people. They did offer the avenue to starve off the ROn Paul folks. However after researching this for a while it appears most of these delegates were McCain's all along.