Black GOP State Senator predicts low Black turnout for Landrieu

17th November 2014   ·   0 Comments

By Christopher Tidmore
Contributing Writer

One of the surprise moments at the “Unity Rally” at Baton Rouge’s Huey’s Bar occurred when master of ceremonies (and former Congressman) Jeff Landry announced that he was “breaking with the script” and inviting State Senator Elbert Guillory onto the stage to say a few words.

The African-American legislator had become something of a national sensation in the conservative blogosphere upon switching from the Democrat to Republican Party. His Internet ad for Cassidy highlighting how the street upon which he had grown up in Opelousas had declined in the 18 years since Mary Landrieu entered the U.S. Senate went viral across the nation.

Guillory received the longest standing ovation of any attendee, even Rand Paul or candidate Cassidy, from the GOP crowd. In an interview with The Louisiana Weekly following the rally, Guillory acknowledged that the African-American community still has serious problems with the Republican Party, including a sitting legislator like himself who switched parties. However, he contended that anger in the Black community against Mary Landrieu would motivate many minority voters to stay home on December 6. At the same time, he believed that many Tea Party Caucasian voters would opt to vote, ensuring the incumbent Democrat’s defeat.

“Cassidy is going to win. The Tea Party Republicans are going to come out in droves to support Cassidy. A lot of the Black vote will not come out this time for two reasons. One, the Black community has begun to understand that 20 years of Landrieu ‘queenship’ has not helped the Black community at all. Our schools are worse than they were when she took over the first time, when she first was sworn in…Our poverty level is higher than it was then. Our employment level is far lower than it was then. And our safety, the burdens in our community, all of those indicators of the plight of the Black Community, is much worse. So, a lot of Black voters, understanding that, will not come out and vote at all. And, some of them will vote for Cassidy.”

Guillory acknowledged that the latter would be a very small number. “We have not gotten yet to the point yet where there will be a large African-American turnout for the Republicans. But, there will be a large stay at home on that day because a lot of people are deserting Mary’s ship—because her ship is not sailing in our direction.”

Of course, many argued these points in 2002, when Landrieu triumphed over Suzie Terrell in circumstances that were similar to those of this election year. Guillory argued that 2014 is fundamentally different. “Life in the Black Community is much worse than it was in 2002. Twelve years ago, we were better off than we are today. Twelve years ago, our employment level was higher, our poverty was lower. Things have gotten much worse in the ‘hood.”

“Black Communities are suffering very badly, and are beginning to really understand that these folks who come every six years or every four years with a beer and a chicken sandwich, and then we don’t see or hear from them until another four years, another election cycle, another four or six years, is not good for us. And, we’re beginning to wake up. When this community wakes up, you will see massive change. ”

“The second thing is that what is happening to Mary is what is happening to the Democratic Party across the nation. America has gotten tired of the politics of the Demo­cratic Party.” Particularly, he began to explain that the Black community had begun to grow frustrated with Illegal Immi­gration and rising unemployment and costs to schools and social programs. “Keep in mind that the immigrants don’t come to live in Mary’s neighborhoods. They live in our neighborhoods. Our schools bear the brunt. The costs: $10 million , this year, $10 million out of our already underfunded minority schools. We have to bear the costs of that $10 million additional costs from our own budgets. Our hospitals. Our clinics.”

“Immigration is going to be a major factor, and it’s going to help open the eyes of Black folks when we put all of our eggs in one basket. And, that basket is controlled by people who don’t care about us.”

“We can’t put all of our eggs in one basket. We’re in the hip pocket of the Democratic Party. They don’t owe us anything. They don’t give us anything, like on immigration for example.”

However, Landrieu Campaign Manager Ryan Berni strongly disagreed, believing that the campaign’s GOTV efforts, and the calendar itself, lends credence to the argument that the Landrieu campaign will be able to motivate minority voters to come out for the incumbent Senator’s re-election bid.

“Here are the three key dynamics that will determine our victory,” Berni argued. “We already identified over 250,000 key voters who consistently vote Democratic in presidential elections but have not typically voted in midterm elections. We put an aggressive field operation on the street, speaking to voters house-by-house, to drive out our base, and it worked in the jungle primary.”

“For the runoff, we believe confidently that we can build on last Tuesday’s base turnout. There are at least a dozen parishes where Mary has won before and can win again. We know who and where those voters are, and we are going to remind them of Mary’s bipartisan record of fighting and delivering for our state.”

“With the move to a Saturday election and two Saturdays of early voting, we will get to take advantage of having three Saturdays in a row to get our voters to the polls.”

“Lastly, this race is now about Louisiana. The Republicans al­ready control the House and the Senate. This race is about who is best to represent Louisiana for the next six years. Who will stand up and fight for us? Who has a record of delivering? That answer is clear — Mary Landrieu delivers for Louisiana 100 percent of the time.”

This article originally published in the November 17, 2014 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.