Publisher's Note: Polical Parties

by Lori Murphy

In Louisiana, party games are as old as politics. Lately, the games haven’t been very much fun. In fact, the past two years have blatantly shown that the reality of Louisiana politics is anything but funny. We have all had to “explain” our politics to friends and family across the country. We all have the “yes, but…” speech down pat.
This can change. It must change. It will change. Those were Bobby Jindal’s words at a recent campaign whistle-stop in Mandeville. I can’t agree more.

Forbes polled business leaders across the country about what it would take for them to invest in Louisiana. Their unanimous response: Stop the corruption.

It’s not enough to get rid of the obvious corruption—we have to take a zero-tolerance stand against the very idea of corruption. Now is the time to challenge our leadership and ourselves to demand the changes needed for our bright future.

The northshore area is blessed in so many ways. Our local leadership showed such poise during the post-K days we could almost feel smug. Then, the first indictment of the hurricane aftermath was for one of our own. The truth is that in politics you have to stay at the party. You have to subject the elected to the same scrutiny and hold them to the same standards as the candidates. You have to stay tuned in to make sure good candidates don’t make bad politicians.

Regardless of your choices, I hope you will dive into the process. Make your expectations known to the candidates looking for your vote. Are they interested in doing the job? Politics isn’t just a party—and our elected officials shouldn’t be the ones at the door handing out the favors.

We need to be proud to be from Louisiana. There’s one sure way to start. Get out there and make a difference. Vote!