[StBernard] Georges on Jindal's Negative Ads, Hypocrisy, Gaming Contributions

[Westley Annis]

October 17, 2007

Dear Fellow Louisianans,

As we near the primary election I am both heartened by the momentum of
support our positive campaign is gaining and saddened that one of my
opponents has decided to make this race negative.

Last week, Bobby Jindal unveiled attack ads, making blatantly false
statements about my record, and revealing himself to be a hypocrite a word I
never thought I'd have to apply to him. In the TV commercial Bobby is using
to attack me, he says that I made the bulk of my wealth in gambling.  That
is not true. I have worked very hard to build my family grocery business
from 60 employees to 600, and have expanded my business holdings to
tugboats, concrete and real estate
<http://click.icptrack.com/icp/relay.php?r=5309012&msgid=78390&act=Z7JX&c=16
7165&admin=0&destination=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.georgesforgovernor.com%2Fmodules.p
hp%3Fname%3DContent%26pa%3Dshowpage%26pid%3D311> . For several years I owned
a company that distributed video poker machines, but according to my own tax
returns and as reported in The Baton Rouge Advocate last weekend, this
business accounted for less than 9 percent of my income! 

In the meantime, just a brief glance at Bobby's campaign finance reports
show he has accepted tens of thousands of dollars from video poker interests

and from lobbyists who represent casinos. The Advocate also reported last
week that Bobby took $50,000 in one day from executives of a Colorado
company trying to put a toxic landfill in our state! 


Only today, the Advocate reported that Bobby may not appear at Thursday
night's debate, which will be televised statewide, because he is needed in
Washington to vote on an important issue. My question to Bobby is, why start
now? His attendance record in Congress has been horrible and he has missed
key votes on a number of important issues -- in fact, in Congress he is
ranked 7th overall in missed votes and 432 out of 435 in effectiveness. 

There are only two statewide televised debates planned, and now Bobby is
trying to duck the last one. In business, if an applicant doesn't show up
for the interview, the applicant doesn't get a job. In public service, no
elected official should run and hide from his or her constituents or
opponents. If necessary, I'll fly to Washington to debate Bobby. The
citizens deserve to hear from their candidates. Besides, I'm anxious to ask
him in person why he is lying about me.

While listening to these lies told about me around the state, my campaign
has continued to grow stronger. In the last few weeks we've picked up a
number of important endorsements from clergy, educators, law enforcement and
legislative leaders from around the state, which are listed below. On
Monday, the New Orleans Tribune, a 141-year-old newspaper, gave me their
endorsement, too. I've barely been able to keep up with the travel demands
to meet the officials and community leaders who are stepping up and
embracing our message of change and our message that we need a truly
independent governor without obligations to big-money interests or political
party bosses. It is astonishing the amount of support we're receiving as we
surge in this final week.

The primary campaign is almost over and I am increasingly confident of a
place in the runoff. I'm looking forward to comparing our records mine in
public service, church leadership, education, volunteerism, and business,
and his "career" in government service. (I'm still wondering how he has
managed to become a multimillionaire while never holding the same job for
more than three years and working for only one year outside of the public
sphere.) To restore national confidence in Louisiana, we must do everything
possible to rid our state of the "pay to play" mentality that has haunted us
for so long. As Governor, I will stand up for the truth just as I have done
this week.

If you have any questions about any ads that are running this week, please
go to my website, www.georgesforgovernor.com  or email me at
askjohn at georgesforgovernor.com. As I say in one of my latest ads, a real
leader doesn't hide, and I will not hide from answering the toughest
questions. Please remember to tune into the debate tonight on Fox News 8
from 6 - 7pm in New Orleans or online at Fox8live.com  and tomorrow night a
t 6pm on WWL New Orleans, WAFB BatonRouge, KSLA Shreveport, KLFY Lafayette,
KNOE, Monroe, and KPLC Lake Charles.

Let's elect an independent leader who can unite this state. Vote for me,
John Georges No. 7, on October 20.

Thank you,


John D. Georges