What Harm Chairman Landrieu Does To Louisiana And America

by Paul L. Hurd

2/26/2014-- 12:56 AM

With the Senate election in Louisiana heating up, and incumbent Senator Mary Landrieu falling behind, the Senator’s Democratic handlers are grasping at rationales to save Louisiana’s big spending Democrat from destruction by her voting record. Senator Landrieu’s unrepentant support of Obamacare and the destruction of the American healthcare system is clearly weighing the Senator’s poll numbers and political hopes down like the sinking “Titanic” that Obamacare is. But, let not the facts slow the Landrieu spin machine. If the Senator’s voting record is the problem, then lets talk “Energy Policy” and the need to retain Senator Landrieu as the Chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resource Committee.

The Landrieu machine’s new snake oil is the assertion that Senator Landrieu is too valuable to Louisiana and the Oil and Gas Industry as the Chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resource Committee to let her get beat and have the Energy Committee controlled by pro-energy independent Republicans. This is the new political Hadicol being sold to the masses in Louisiana.

Landrieu’s “Chairmanship Elixir” is being peddled to distract our conservative, independent and energy driven Louisiana workforce into believing that Senator Landrieu’s Chairmanship means more energy production and jobs in Louisiana. Like all good medicinal or political snake oil, the new “Chairmanship Hadicol” Elixir will leave its users with a six year hangover and an economic headache that may never go away. Let’s look at the facts and the voting record of Landrieu and her Democratic members relative to American energy production. Let’s see what harm Chariman Landrieu does to Louisiana.

Let’s look at voting record of Senator Landrieu and the members of the Senate Energy Committee, grouped by Democrats in control now, compared to the Republican members who would gain control of energy policy with the defeat of Senator Landrieu. One way to compare voting records is to use scorecards of business and the radical conservationists to see who supports energy growth and who does not. The League of Conservation Voters is a typical, extreme environmental advocacy group that takes every stand possible to prevent America from producing clean, abundant and American energy. Its Action Plans includes “Speaking out against the XL Keystone Pipeline,” “Protecting Us from Toxic Coal Ash” and “Support for Climate Change Action.” Their position is unrepentant destruction of the hydro-carbon based energy industry in America, and that means the destruction of Louisiana’s economy.

In contract, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is a middle of the road, pro-business lobbying group that recognizes the need for clean and affordable production of energy in America to support our own economic growth and avoid shipping energy dollars to China and the Middle East to fund our global adversaries. And for Louisiana, royalty checks spend just fine in Louisiana.

Each of these groups provide a scorecard for the votes taken by our federal Congressmen and Senators. What these scorecards show is clear and remarkable. The average rating by the League of Conservation for 2013 for the twelve Democratic members of the Energy Committee is an astounding 91%, while the ten Republican members average a Conservation Voter rating of only 16%. In contrast, the Chamber of Commerce provides an average rating of the Democratic members of the Committee of 50%, while the Republican members of the Committee score an average of 91%. In short, these ratings by business and environmental groups show that continued Democratic control of the Senate Energy Committee promises Louisiana and America continuing government suppression of independent energy production in Louisiana and in America.

What these ratings make clear is that the best thing America and Louisiana could do to immediately improve our energy industry, energy independence and increased economic prosperity is to defeat Senator Mary Landrieu and allow the Republican members of the Energy Committee to move into leadership and control of America’s and Louisiana’s energy expansion. The voting record of Senator Landrieu and the national ratings don’t lie. We must all remember that Senator Landrieu cast the deciding vote in favor of Obamacare, and if re-elected, Senator Landrieu can cast the deciding vote to sink the new American Energy Renaissance.