Tough One To Write
This is a tough column for me to write. My deadline in Nov. 3, and the publication date is Nov. 9. The election is Nov. 8, so by the time you read this, it will be over. We will know who is president as well as the outcome of a U.S. Senate race and U.S. House races, where there will likely be a runoff. Here I am stuck in the middle.
First of all, I hope you voted. There will be no reason to complain if you did not. As a columnist, I get a lot of people complaining about one thing or another. My first question to them is, “Did you vote?” If the answer is no, I usually cut them off and ask, “So why are you complaining?” Then comes the retort, “Well, what difference would my one vote have made?” There is the old saying that “every vote counts.” In the elections mentioned above, that could well be the case. The presidential race as I write this is tightening, and polls show that it is a dead heat between Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump. Either one could win. The all-important electoral vote count has narrowed with Clinton with a slight lead. Several key battleground states are rated as toss-ups. So turnout and the “my voting doesn’t make a difference” attitude could turn the table.
Clinton appeared to be heading for a comfortable win until FBI Director James Comey dropped the bombshell of more e-mails being investigated. That brought cries of “foul” from the Clinton camp so close to the election. Her numbers dipped, and it changed the dynamics of the race. Can Clinton survive another round of scrutiny? We know the answer by now. But, in reality, Comey was caught between a rock and a hard place. Not revealing the investigation and something coming out later would have provided fodder to Trump’s claim that the election is rigged.
It’s funny how politics play out. Comey went from a Trump villain to a Trump hero. He went from a Clinton hero to a Clinton villain. The media supporting Clinton decried Comey’s revelation and urged not to let the election be decided by the FBI. Trump, meanwhile, jumped on the news with both feet. It was the end to what has been the ugliest of campaigns for the presidency of the United States.
And when it’s over, will it really be over? The bitter fallout from this election will linger for a long time to come. Should Clinton win and the Republicans hold on to control of the House and Senate, we will continue to see gridlock and Republicans trying to impeach the president. Should Trump win, will he seek revenge on those Republicans who did not support him? The whole Republican Party will be in his crosshairs. The country could have a constitutional crisis on its hands.
Closer to home, I am very interested to see how the race for the U.S. Senate seat turns out. Of course, there will be a runoff. But who will finish as the top two? From a slate of 24 candidates, five have emerged as the front-runners. And pre-election polls revealed that any two of the five could come out on top and make the runoff. This, too, has gotten ugly with TV ads being run by Super PACS blasting away at some of the candidates.
And there was the fight between the two Democrats in the running. Attorney Caroline Fayard of New Orleans tried to link Public Service Commissioner Foster Campbell to David Duke. Her ad doing so was deemed the ugliest ad of the campaign by the news media. Now there is a stretch if there ever was one. There is as much difference between Duke and Campbell as night and day. Their philosophies could not be farther apart. But it shows the desperate measures some candidates will go to in the heat of the battle to win.
The big question is whether the race will turn out to be a Republican vs. Democrat scenario in the runoff. Then things will really get interesting. Well, no less interesting if it is two Republicans are in the runoff. But the Republicans in the race pretty much have the same philosophy, so it will likely become more personal.
I am also anxious to see how the 4th District Congressional race shakes out. Five viable candidates are vying to get into the runoff. Here, again, will the lone Democrat, Marshall Jones, slide in? If that is the case, the battle for the other runoff spot will be between four Republicans – Dr. Trey Baucum, Oliver Jenkins, Elbert Guillory and Rick John. Can’t wait to see the results on this one.
This is all speculation, of course, as I write this. But you will have all the answers by the time Forum comes out on Nov. 9. Such is the plight of a columnist who has a deadline before election day. There will be no predictions from this corner. I am as befuddled as any of you when it comes to predicting the outcome of these races. I’ll have more insight into them in my next column.
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.
