LOUISIANA LULUS
It isn’t just Mary Landrieu who is having
difficulties with base voters. Suzanne
Terrell, who was recruited by the Republican Senatorial
Campaign Committee to challenge the Democrat, isn’t faring much
better. In fact, with three weeks to go before election run-off
day, she may be in worse shape. Rep. John Cooksey
who came in third behind Landrieu and Terrell in the November 5
voting, endorsed his Republican colleague but has declined to help
her campaign in any other way. GOP State Rep. Tony
Perkins, who came in fourth, has been playing games with a
promised endorsement, dangling it one moment, then pulling it back,
then dangling it again.
Meanwhile, Republican Gov. Mike Foster, who had
toyed with stepping in and running for the Senate seat himself, has
also withheld his endorsement of Terrell. The two met earlier this
week, but Foster said he also intends to meet with Landrieu.
Foster, not surprisingly given the state he runs, wants to cut a
deal with the Bush administration for his endorsement. His
Louisiana educational accountability program is being held up by
the U.S. Department of Education because it conflicts with the
federally mandated Leave No Child Behind Program. To receive
funding, Foster’s pet project needs a rubberstamp from Washington.
Will it be forthcoming?
Terrell was in Washington yesterday meeting with RSCC staffers
and political staff in the White House. “We have to help her get
this stuff straightened out, because she can win this thing if we
can present a united front,” says a White House political aide.
An RSCC staffer adds, “If we can get Foster back on board and
Cooksey working with us where he runs strongest, we have a shot.
Landrieu’s problems are a lot bigger than Terrell’s. We fix
Terrell’s and the voters who move to our side of the ballot because
of Cooksey and Foster become just one more problem for
Landrieu.”
NEW MONKEY BUSINESS
Supporters of former Sen. Gary Hart say that while
he’d never rule out another run for the presidency, there are other
options that he’s considering. “He’s in better shape than Mondale
and Lautenberg,” says a Washington-based backer. “The stars seem to
be aligning for him to make another run for his old Senate
seat.”
That seat is currently filled by Republican Ben
Nighthorse Campbell, who is up for re-election in 2004.
There have been rumors that Campbell was considering retirement,
but with Republicans now controlling the Senate, that possibility
seems less likely. And based on the voting trends in Colorado, it
isn’t clear that Hart would have the support he had in the early
1980s when the state was less conservative.
The Prowler thinks Hart should stick with this presidential
aspirations, put former Massachusetts Gov. Mike
Dukakis on the ticket and hit the campaign trail. No
reason why professional golf should be the only major American
pastime with a senior circuit.
