[StBernard] Mud flies in governor's race

[Westley Annis]

Mud flies in governor's race

By MICHELLE MILLHOLLON
Advocate Capitol News Bureau
Published: Sep 30, 2007 - Page: 7B 

Louisiana's Democratic and the Republican parties are playing fast and loose
with the facts in the final weeks before the Oct. 20 primary election in the
governor's race.

A few weeks ago, the Democratic Party aired an ad about U.S. Rep. Bobby
Jindal's religious beliefs. The party told viewers in heavily Protestant
north Louisiana that Jindal, R-Kenner, does not respect their religion.

The ad pointed to articles that Jindal wrote as a young man trying to
understand his new faith. Raised a Hindu, Jindal converted to Catholicism as
a teenager.

The commercial claimed Jindal once characterized non-Catholics as being
burdened with "utterly depraved minds." Jindal made the statement about the
"utterly depraved" but he was quoting Protestant reformer John Calvin. His
point was that Christians have divided themselves because they interpret
Scripture in different ways. Followers should look to their church, Jindal
wrote, rather than individual Christians for the ultimate guidance in
understanding God's word.

Jindal actually mischaracterized Calvin's teachings. Calvin wrote that
Christians who make a show of their holiness are "utterly depraved" if they
think God is indebted to them. He was drawing a distinction between
hypocrites and those who think they are depraved because of their sinful
lives.

Regardless, the Democratic Party also is guilty of mischaracterization for
distorting Jindal's religious beliefs.

Now the Republican Party of Louisiana is joining the smear parade. The party
last week mailed a glossy flier to Baton Rouge voters that contends state
Sen. Walter Boasso "wants to send Louisiana drivers down a dead end road to
higher insurance premiums."

Boasso, D-Arabi, is running against Jindal for governor.

The front of the mailer depicts Boasso in a red convertible headed down a
dead end road under dark skies. His license plate spells out "KACHNG." The
flier is referring to Boasso's vote on a bill to raise the minimum amount of
auto insurance. Gov. Kathleen Blanco vetoed the legislation, saying it would
make insurance unaffordable for more motorists. The flier calls the bill
"Walter Boasso's expensive plan &hellip. to force car and truck drivers to
increase their insurance coverage."

However, the bill's author actually was one of the Republican Party's own,
state Sen. Mike Michot, a Republican from Lafayette. Michot also is a top
contributor to Jindal's campaign.

In another misdirection, the Republican Party recently trotted out Gene
Franques of LaPlace to accuse Boasso of stonewalling in a lawsuit over a
traffic accident that left Franques disabled.

One of Boasso's employees at Boasso America and a car in which Franques was
a passenger collided in 1999. Seven years later, the lawsuit remains active.

James Quinn, executive director of the Republican Party of Louisiana, said
Franques lost his job and his family life because of the accident.

"Boasso America refused to settle," Quinn said.

Yet again, there is a problem. According to Franques' own attorney, the suit
is caught up in a legal hornet's nest mostly because of the bankruptcy of
Boasso America's insurer. The court has to sort out the question of who
becomes responsible when the insurer goes kaput. Unless Boasso is able to
wave a magic wand and make a private insurance company solvent again, there
is little he can do about the situation.

More than four decades ago, the Lyndon B. Johnson campaign aired a
commercial that has become the poster child of political manipulation. The
commercial, which aired only once, showed a little girl happily plucking
petals off a daisy until a nuclear explosion intrudes. The implication was
that Johnson's opponent would be trigger happy with the nation's nuclear
capability.

In the governor's race, the state's political parties are giving the voters
a tit-for-tat show of distortion and dishonesty.

It is a throwback to the age of the "daisy" commercial, when the world lived
in fear of nuclear war. The parties are trying to capitalize on voters'
faith and personal finances.

It is manipulation that would make LBJ proud.

Michelle Millhollon covers the governor for the Capitol news bureau.