Also: Juggling three scandals not an easy White House task

I have been involved in politics for nearly ve decades now, but the longer I am involved, the more befuddled I become. For starters, I have always considered my political philosophy to be moderateto-conservative, not really embracing any political party’s philosophy. Common sense and what is right has always been my modus operandi when voting or taking a position on an issue.

But, for the life of me, I cannot understand what has happened to the Republican Party from the national to the state level. It has become the “Party of No” when it comes to anything that is proposed by the administration of President Barack Obama. I won’t go into the reasons why. You should be able to make your own determinations.

At the state level, Republican Gov.

Bobby Jindal has called his national party the “stupid party.” I can’t disagree with his assessment, but what is really ironical is that he is at the forefront of doing stupid things. Case in point: the expansion of Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, which Republicans relish in calling Obamacare.

He, unlike many other governors, including Republicans, has refused to participate. What is really sad is that the Louisiana Legislature had an opportunity to do what was right for 400,000 Louisiana citizens, who cannot afford health insurance. Not surprisingly, they didn’t. Did I mention that the Legislature is now controlled by Republicans? A House bill by state Rep. Patricia Smith, D-Baton Rouge, would have required the state Department of Health and Hospitals to accept federal dollars under the Affordable Care Act to pay for coverage in a private insurance-based model.

Arkansas recently adopted an identical plan. But in the Louisiana House, the bill was defeated 37-59 after the state Senate punted on the issue.

If Smith’s bill had been implemented, the federal government would have picked up 100 percent of the tab for Medicaid recipients for the rst three years and then 90 percent of the costs thereafter.

Never mind that the legislation would move those 400,000 citizens into an insurance program while injecting billions of dollars into the state economy. But doggone it, that is a Democratic proposal, so apparently nearly all House Republicans felt obliged to vote against it.

Just look at the roll call vote.

Voting against the measure were area Republican state Reps. Richie Burford, Henry Burns, Thomas Carmody, Jim Morris, Alan Seabaugh and Jeff Thompson. Voting for it were Democratic state Reps. Roy Burrell, Kenny Cox, Gene Reynolds and Patrick Williams. Barbara Norton was absent. How easy it is to forget about those less fortunate. What’s that old saying? “There but for the grace of God go I.” Rep. Smith’s words fell on deaf ears of a majority of the House when she said, “I would hope that you would feel compassion for the people in your district who do not have insurance.” But I guess these Republican state representatives feel that their rich contributors in their districts must come rst and will make sure they stay in of ce. And, by God, they do not want to see support for anything that has the name “Obama” on it.

Dealing With Success There is a saying that some people just can’t deal with success. Add the Democratic Party to that list. The party had everything going its way. It got its president re-elected when history said it was impossible for that to happen. National polls showed voters favoring Democrats in the mid-term elections in 2014 with the possibility of Democrats taking back control of the U.S. House, thereby giving it a majority in both houses of Congress.

So what happens? Consequently, the Democratic Party and President Barack Obama are juggling three scandals at once.

One involves the IRS targeting conservative political groups during the

2012 election cycle. It is reported that the White House chief-of-staff knew about it but did not tell the president. If that is the case, he should be red, as should all of the of cials at the IRS who had a hand in this ridiculous and unnecessary practice. I can guarantee you that if I had done something like that when I was a chief-of-staff, my boss would have sent me packing.

Another involves the U.S. Justice Department secretly obtaining two months of phone records from the Associated Press, including the home and cell phones of its reporters. It did not give AP advance notice of the seizure. Who in the Justice Department was stupid enough to initiate that? President Obama has always received favorable press – except from Fox News.

And last, but not least, is the ongoing push from Republicans on the Obama administration’s handling of last September’s attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya. The GOP is beating a dead horse, but it is hoping that by keeping it in the news, it will tarnish former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who is a possible Democratic candidate for president in 2016.

The bottom line is the Democrats have only themselves to blame – and the buck stops at the president’s desk in the Oval Of ce.

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 [email protected].