Steve Scalise on my mind……

Its no secret that Slabbed’s arrival on the local media scene included copious stops in Bucktown covering the Aaron Broussard political corruption scandal. Naturally my email inbox started going into somewhat of overdrive yesterday afternoon after the disclosure on Cen Lamar that Scalise had spoken to David Duke’s white supremacist group back in 2002. Cen Lamar is a hard left democratic resource run by Lamar White Jr, locally known as unabashed left wing partisan but who is also a blogging superstar because of his high quality online work. Since then Lamar’s story was picked up by the WaPo and all hell has broken loose.

Before I get to a sampling of the sentiment I’d like to remind people that Slabbed is the only blog close enough to the Bucktown political establishment to nab pictures of Senator David Vitter’s legs thus what people are telling me is literally coming from inside the family so to speak and unlike the portrayal of Buckown’s populace in the national media as being a bunch of racist hicks it is both rich and highly nuanced.

First off a disclosure, I like Steve Scalise and Slabbed is favorably disposed to the man editorially and I’m not ashamed to admit it as he embodies most everything I expect from a Congressman in that I think he has profoundly committed to looking out for the people that elected him. It is the same calculus that attracted me to Gene Taylor and in fact it was an insurance forum in 2010 here on the Coast that drove home how committed Scalise was to his own people.  To set things up he came to an insurance forum sponsored by a Democrat and actually shared panel space with insurance company executives, a bunch that after Hurricane Katrina had been compared to child molesters.

For me it was a defining moment because Scalise could have taken the opportunity that so many Republicans had before him in genuflecting before big business and begin shining the shoes of the Insurance execs in order to collect the campaign cash given out by the industry. Instead he blasted them for what they had done after the Hurricane to the people down here.

The man would literally will go anywhere to advance his policy goals, even if that meant working across the aisle in 2010 when the Anti Democrat – Anti Nancy Pelosi shill here down south was at its zenith. Since then I’m not ashamed to say that Slabbed has enjoyed access to Representative Scalise’s staff because the man is willing to hear from his people, even those that live in another state who’s own Congressman is a fluffer.  I simply can’t say anything bad but that does not mean I didn’t get a earful yesterday as this communication illustrates:

Suck it, you bug-eyed f&#k!!!

I’ve known this political creature for nearly my entire life. Never had any close friends. Always wanted to be a career politician. You will ascend no higher, Steve.

And of course there is the ongoing excoriation on Twitter. At this point there is nothing anyone could write to cause the ruckus to die down and that is not the point of this post because I have sourcing into local political take downs going back to Larry Flynt’s take down of Bob Livingston and in each and every case it was an inside job which means it was planted by a member of GOP.  The back stabbing potential is ripe and this is where the intrigue lies.  Livingston’s demise was inexorably intertwined with old school Jefferson Parish politics.  When Trent Lott had his Strom Thurmond gaffe it was people in his own party that used it to take him out (and advance in the Senate pecking order). Its just that Darwinian at times.

Steve Scalise’s political support at home is unwavering to this point.  Whether he survives in the majority whip position is an open question.  Slabbed will be keeping an eye peeled to see what develops.