Sanders and the LAGOP top the list

Some people just love to whine about everything when nothing seems to be going their way. I must admit that I do some whining myself every now and then. But there are a couple of instances where whining has been taken to a whole new level.

First, there is Bernie Sanders, who is running for president as a Democrat, even though on his U.S. Senate Web site he brags about being the longest-serving Independent in Congress after serving 16 years in the House and is in his second term in the Senate. What is he whining about? Bernie is upset that some primary states have closed primaries, which means that only registered Democrats can vote in the Democratic presidential primary.

Hey, Bernie. Here’s a wake-up call. It is a “Democratic primary.” He and his supporters are doing some major whining after he was trounced by Hillary Clinton, who got 58 percent of the vote, in the recent New York primary. “That has got to change in future elections,” he screamed to his disappointed supporters. Good luck with that, Bernie. Of the next five states to hold primaries, four have closed primaries -- Pennsylvania, Maryland, Connecticut and Delaware. Rhode Island does allow Independents to vote for any candidate in its primary. Louisiana, by the way, has closed presidential primaries.

An interesting tidbit in all of this is that Independent voters consistently vote in a much lower percentage than do Democrats and Republicans. Those millennials and young voters, who seem infatuated with Sanders, always have the lowest voting percentage of any age group.”

His campaign machine pointed out that 3.2 million registered Independents and 33 percent of millennial voters were not allowed to vote in the Democratic primary in New York. Bernie told his supporters, “Today, 3 million people in the state of New York who are Independents have lost their right to vote in the Democratic and Republican primary. That’s wrong.” I don’t know about you, but I see nothing wrong with the Democratic and Republican parties having their loyal members choose who should be their presidential candidate.

This is not to denigrate those voters who choose to be Independents and not a member of either the Democratic or Republican Party. That is their right, but they also must realize they cannot be a part of the decision-making for either party. To be sure, both parties will try to woo Independent voters when the general election rolls around this November. And they will likely be a major factor in the outcome of the election. At that time. they will be able to vote for any candidate they choose.

An interesting tidbit in all of this is that Independent voters consistently vote in a much lower percentage than do Democrats and Republicans. Those millennials and young voters, who seem infatuated with Sanders, always have the lowest voting percentage of any age group.

Second, let’s take a look at the whining taking place among the Louisiana Republican Party. Its spin machine has been running at high speed as they deny any fault with the state’s current financial situation. In fact, the spin machine is being used so much, it may burn out a bearing.

Its whining struck a nerve with Steve Sabludowsky, a New Orleans attorney and the publisher of Bayoubuzz.com, as well as the Baton Rouge Advocate and New Orleans Times-Picayune. In responding to the Republican Party’s spin machine, they noted that the Republican Party controls the Louisiana House and Senate and have for four of the last eight years.

Sabludowsky added, “Most importantly, they controlled the Legislature during a period in which Gov. Bobby Jindal destroyed the state’s budget by tyrannically ripping off the state for his own pleasure.”

It’s not surprising that Jason Dore, the executive director of the Louisiana Republican Party, filled the tank with gasoline and cranked up the GOP spin machine. “It is all on John Bel Edwards,” he said, putting all the blame on the Democratic governor for the fiscal crisis, tax increases and budget cuts. He want on to say, “When the press starts attacking you, you know you are doing the right thing. The press believes that you should accept these tax increases. We don’t work for the media elite.”

But as the “media elite” pointed out, the Republican members of the House and Senate had 25 days in the recent Special Session to find cuts and not raise taxes. Members of both parties supported cuts and, because those were not enough to balance the budget, voted for more taxes on Louisiana residents. It is unfortunate, of course, that taxes had to be increased, but that is the hand that has been dealt to Edwards and current members of the Legislature, thanks to Jindal. He inherited a $1 billion surplus from Democratic Gov. Kathleen Blanco and after eight years left the state with a $3 billion budget hole.

The LAGOP spin machine is running out of gas. It’s time to stop blaming Edwards and the media for the state’s fiscal mess. Residents of the Bayou State are smarter than the GOP party leaders think. They know how we got into this fiscal mess, giving Jindal only a 27 percent job approval rating as he left office. It’s time for the party to be honest, exit its state of denial and help the governor and Legislature find ways to control spending and raise revenues. Taking that approach would be the best way to serve all the residents of our Great State.

Lou Gehrig Burnett, an award-winning journalist, has been involved with politics for 44 years and was a congressional aide in Washington, D.C., for 27 years. He also served as executive assistant to former Shreveport Mayor Bo Williams. Burnett is the publisher of the weekly “FaxNet Update” and can be reached at 861-0552 or louburnett@comcast.net.