By MARSHA SHULER
Advocate Capitol News Bureau
Published: Mar 26, 2007

Gov. Kathleen Blanco’s exit from the governor’s race won’t dampen rising partisan politics in the Louisiana Legislature, members of the Baton Rouge legislative delegation say.

Democratic lawmakers blame their Republican colleagues.

Republicans contend it’s not so much partisanship as a difference in philosophy, particularly on state spending, that’s fueling the rift. They say that’s not going to change because of Blanco’s decision not to seek re-election.

On Tuesday, Blanco said removing herself from the governor’s race would lessen state and federal partisan politics that she said has hurt her legislative program and the state’s hurricane recovery.

“I believe that she believes that. I don’t believe it,” said House Speaker pro tem Yvonne Dorsey, a Democrat.

Soon after Blanco made the announcement, Dorsey said, Republican opponents were saying they don’t like the $29.2 billion state budget she proposed.

The budget would be the largest in state history, and the GOP contends it makes future financial commitments the next governor could be hard-pressed to meet.

“The Republicans are going to fight as hard as they can. They want to maintain control of all the funding of the state if a Republican governor is elected,” Dorsey said. “That’s the whole object of the game.”

Republicans dispute they are playing partisan politics.

“It has to do with where you stand on a philosophical issue,” state Rep. Carl Crane said.

“We have a different philosophy about increasing government,” state Rep. Hunter Greene said.

During the December special session, people got a “preview of what’s going to happen” in the 2007 Legislature, which opens April 30, said Rep. Donald Ray Kennard, a Republican.

The December session dissolved in chaos over a program similar to the one Blanco is advancing now, Kennard said.

He noted that Republican and Democratic legislative caucuses have been meeting to plot strategy.

“It could become heated. … I don’t know how we can keep the lid on it,” Kennard said.

Blanco is pushing pay raises for teachers, state employees and others, more money for education from early childhood to universities, and more funding for roads. Lawmakers would have to raise a state spending limit to finance the entire plan.

At the same time, Republicans are pushing for tax cuts.

Democratic state Sen. Cleo Fields said Republicans are talking out of both sides of their mouths.

“You cannot give tax breaks to the tune of $300 million on one hand and on the other hand say we can’t spend money,” Fields said. “We have to be fiscally responsible on both fronts.”

Sen. Bill Cassidy, a Republican, said tax cuts could actually boost the state’s economy.

“Personal spending is more important than government spending as far as long-term benefits,” Cassidy said. “We are losing talented people to other states partly because of income taxes.”

Some lawmakers said the issues the state faces should be bringing legislators together, not splintering them along party lines.

“I don’t think it helps the state to go totally partisan on either side,” said state Rep. Bodi White, a Republican.

Sen. Rob Marionneaux, a Democrat, said: “Unfortunately, it seems as though partisan politics is now come into Louisiana. Within the last three or four years, it seems that partisan politics has really taken hold in Louisiana, and that’s regrettable.”

Marionneaux and state Sen. Sharon Broome, a Democrat, said they think Louisiana residents will be turned off by the partisan bickering in a state where legislators have traditionally worked across party lines.

“I would like to think that the partisan politics would take a backseat to some of the pressing issues we need to deal with,” Broome said. “We should focus on those policy issues that really need to be addressed just like the governor has done in her executive budget.

“There will be a lot of time for partisan politics in the upcoming election,” she said.

State Rep. Michael Jackson, a Democrat, said he hopes Blanco’s exit would allow legislators to get the revenues in place for such things as teacher pay raises and early childhood development “without it being a partisan kind of debate.”

Jackson said he thinks Republican lawmakers are going to “toe the line on their platform issues.”

“But I don’t think they are going to be able to hold the majority of the legislators in check on those issues because we don’t have the same political environment,” Jackson said. “The reality is this is an election year. You have people really worried about showing their worth in this process.”

Republican state Rep. William Daniel agreed. “Election year politics is going to have more to do with this session than anything else.”

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