The Last Days of Democratic Politics In Louisiana Are Here
But Mary Landrieu and Edwin Edwards are raging against the dying of the light.
NEW ROADS, La.—Every day brings at least three campaign stops, outside, under the cool December sky. Every stop is the same, with Senator Mary Landrieu surrounded by parish-level or district-level Louisiana politicians, who tell stories about the money that poured into their towns after the senator redirected the spigots.
In New Roads, a mostly black city north and west of Baton Rouge, the richest tale comes from Gene Allen. He’s the mayor of Ferriday, a poorer, blacker town up the road, and he remembers a time when “we got our water carried in by buffalo.” He stands on a podium, in the shadow of a Christmas tree, explaining just how his senator saved the town. He doesn’t mention that its population has declined steadily.