Sound Off Louisiana

Immediately after U. S. Senator John Kennedy announced that he would not run against incumbent Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards, we scrambled to create a a website touting U. S. Congressman Ralph Abraham as a clear preferred choice over Gov. Edwards.

Almost immediately, we began to hear pleas that we were “too soon” to make such a declaration, that we’d be stunned at the third major candidate, Eddie Rispone, a Baton Rouge businessman.  Sound Off Louisiana founder Robert Burns had already heard Rispone give a great presentation before a large crowd in Lake Charles at a Hayride function, and he was admittedly impressed.

After hearing from so many people whom we respect, we finally relented and converted the preceding website to a “Choice is Clear” of “a Republican” over Edwards without specifically touting Abraham.  We kept waiting (and waiting, and waiting) for Rispone to begin running ads that would gradually introduce himself to Louisiana citizens and, over time, explain his humble upbringings, his scrap and determination to form a business and grow it into the highly successful company it is today.

Those humble ads never materialized and, instead, after an incredibly lengthy period, what we got as the debut ad blitz for Rispone was a horrendously-bad commercial which made him appear like a buffoon incapable of doing anything but trumpeting his resounding support of U. S. President Donald Trump.  Within the ad, he discussed national topics which had little-to-no relevance to Louisiana State government and, being blunt, seemed like an insult to most Louisiana citizens’ intelligence.

Nevertheless, we continued to stay officially neutral as we were assured future ads would be far better than the debut disaster.  The ads did improve; furthermore, we didn’t hesitate to promote Rispone’s public statements on issues we deem as high priorities such as occupational licensing reform.

We then watched in stunned disbelief as Rispone began the negative attack ads against U. S. Congressman Ralph Abraham and, in the process, literally defying the guidance provided by more people than we could possibly itemize for this feature.  We personally believe the initial attack ad came as a result of Rispone dropping in polls (from 19 to 16); furthermore, we attribute that drop to a pretty effective attack ad by the Edwards-supporting Gumbo PAC commonly known as “phony Rispone.”  That ad alone was good enough to whop three points off Rispone’s tally in our opinion.

Still, we held out hope that the negative attack ads against Abraham would quickly cease and there would be a resumption of Rispone’s positive business-oriented message and, further, that attack ads on Edwards, rather than Abraham, would become the norm for Rispone.  We were dead wrong!  The negative attack ads against Abraham have been nothing short of relentless, and we ask that our subscribers take just one minute of their time to view a collection of quick clips of, first, Edwards attacking Abraham entailing legacy oil and gas litigation, only to be followed by Rispone pouring gas on the fire!  This one-minute video segment is from today’s Baton Rouge Press Club forum on the race for Governor of Louisiana.  Here’s the one-minute segment of video clips:

Edwards first slams Abraham, followed by reinforcement on the same issue by Rispone, who then slams Abraham on other occasions.

We were patient beyond what we feel we should have been regarding Rispone’s relentless attacks.  When major Rispone supporters like State Rep. Alan Seabaugh do a 180 and go from full-on support for Rispone to full-on support for Abraham as a direct result of Rispone’s ads, that speaks volumes!  When conservative talk show host Moon Griffon, who had remained neutral throughout the race, then endorses Abraham and devotes 23 minutes to lambasting Rispone’s tactic, that ought to tell the Rispone camp something, but we can only assume that…….well, on second thought, we’re not even going to publish speculation on why Rispone felt this level of desperation became necessary.

What we will say is that we’ve now spoken to quite a few Abraham supporters who have indicated there is “no way” they can rally behind Rispone after these nuclear attacks.  As a result, we now believe that there are only two electable candidates on the ballot:  Gov. John Bel Edwards and U. S. Congressman Ralph Abraham.

Maybe Rispone may have been a great Governor, but he is, in our opinion, unelectable at this point.  If we’re asked if we would still support Rispone if he’s in the runoff with Edwards, our answer is “yes,” but we know there aren’t enough Republicans also willing to do so (they’ve told us they’ll leave that ballot item unchecked for that race), so we have restored the Choice is Clear Louisiana to be a side-by-side comparison of Gov. Edwards with challenger U. S. Congressman Ralph Abraham.

To be blunt, given this turn of events, we’re sorry we ever changed the website’s layout in the first place, and, if we had any clue this is the path the race would eventually take, we certainly would not have.

We just hope now that the Abraham camp (or a PAC) can use the material on the site, and we note the incredible irony that it was the media in Thursday’s debate which deployed entry # 11, Johnny Anderson!  Is that not unbelievable?  The MEDIA had to use it against Edwards, and we certainly agree with  Hayride publisher Scott McKay that Abraham (now that Rispone is simply unelectable in our eyes) needs to make sure Edwards’ disastrous performance entailing the question needs to become the “mother of all 30-second attack ads.”

We now appeal to our subscribers and fellow Republicans who don’t want another four years of John Bel Edwards to rally around the gentleman we now believe is our only hope to avoid that scenario:  U. S. Congressman Ralph Abraham.

CLICK HERE to see the forum in its entirety.

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EDITOR’S NOTE:  YouTube resolved its html embedded code issues, so we are republishing our feature of earlier today with the MUCH-preferred embedded video format. 

On August 5, 2019, Sound Off Louisiana published this feature indicating that Dr. Oscar “Omar” Dantzler, D-Hammond, intended to file paperwork to run against Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards.  We also stated that, aside from a Hayride feature, there had been zilch in the way of media coverage of Dantzler’s candidacy.

At the conclusion of the article, we invited Dr. Dantzler to contact us if he would like to conduct an interview.  On Sunday, September 15, 2019, Dr. Dantzler contacted us and indicated a desire for just such an interview.  Let’s cover what all he had to say:

Dantzler provides two-minute introduction of himself to viewers.

Dantzler flatly says his reason for entering the race is rampant “corruption” within the Edwards family.

Dantzler provides specificity regarding Edwards family corruption in citing his 2015 run for Sheriff against Gov. Edwards’ brother, Daniel, and the $10,000 cash Dantzler alleges Edwards offered him to drop out of the race.

Dantzler reinforces allegations of Edwards family corruption in providing his thoughts on the recent Federal felony conviction of former DEA agent (and Tangipahoa Deputy Sheriff) Chad Scott.

Dantzler provides another assertion of Edwards family corruption entailing former DARE instructor and Tangipahoa Sheriff Deputy Bud Cason.  CLICK HERE for more background on that matter.

Dantzler lambasts the Democratic Party and its endorsement process as, “a big joke out there.”

Dantzler cites “racism” as the motivation for his contention that efforts are underway to quash his candidacy’s existence.

Dantzler provides specifics of ways the media are quashing his candidacy entailing a recent Morgan City Parade.  Specifically, he states that he paid the same $700 fee to participate, but that, when his crew passed by, the news media, “took the cameras and shoved the cameras toward the ground.  They refused to take my photo…and showed very racial against me.”  He then expressed his extreme frustration that Advocate reporter Tyler Bridges declined to even mention in this article about the parade that Dantzler’s campaign was among those participating.

Dantzler stresses a need for voters to visit his social media pages (Facebook and his website) as a result of his contention that the mainstream media are attempting to quash his campaign’s existence.

Dantzler has harsh words for other candidates, including “the incumbent” whom he assert are attempting to quash the existence of his campaign.

Dantzler voices his frustration that his name is not being included on polls in order to gauge his support for assessing debate eligibility.  He further indicates that he plans to attend Thursday’s debate at LSU and demand that he be included.  Sound Off Louisiana plans to be there as well and videotape his appeals and any response he obtains.

Dantzler flatly refers to Gov. Edwards’ $1,000/year teacher pay raise as, “a slap in the face.”

Dantzler states that Gov. Edwards went too far with the “heartbeat bill” and states that he would have provided exceptions for rape and the life of the mother.

Dantzler provides his platform on criminal justice reform.

Dantzler elaborates upon his plans to give first responders a pay raise.

Dantzler states his stand on taxes to include making grocery purchases totally exempt from sales taxes.

Dantzler provides his thoughts on Louisiana’s minimum wage.

Dantzler states his position on economic development with an emphasis on his contention that citizens should be encouraged to open small businesses.

Dantzler states his platform on senior citizens and veterans.

Dantzler states his emphatic stand that any elected official in Louisiana should be subject to term limits.  Dantzler’s opinion is that such limits would help prevent sheriff dynasties from developing in Louisiana where corruption goes unprosecuted for decades.  Those are the same sentiments expressed by former FBI New Orleans Bureau Chief Jeffrey Sallet when, in describing Louisiana as an absolute hotbed of political corruption, he stated his belief that it is the long tenures of these Louisiana sheriffs and DAs that have fostered Louisiana’s corrupt environment.  In the video, we referenced a recent publication by a fellow blogger, Tom Aswell, entailing the corruption of Louisiana sheriffs.  Our subscribers can feel free to click here if they may be interested in purchaing the book by Aswell as we have and read it.

Dantzler wraps up his interview with Sound Off Louisiana.

As our subscribers can tell, Dr. Dantzler doesn’t mince his words when it comes to his take on “Edwards family corruption,” his assertions that the mainstream media are attempting to quash the fact that he’s even in the race, and that Gov. Edwards and other unnamed candidates are actively trying to block him from debate participation.  We welcome our subscribers to view Dantzler’s interview in its entirety with Sound Off Louisiana by clicking here, and we look forward to a follow-up post regarding how organizers of Thursday’s debate plan to handle his attendance and his demands that he be permitted to participate!

We conclude this feature with Dr. Dantzler’s flyer which he graciously provided to us for the interview:

EDITOR’S NOTE:  We normally provide embedded YouTube videos; however, that function on YouTube appears to be unavailable for the foreseeable future, so we are opting to use hyperlinks to YouTube videos until the issue is resolved.

On August 5, 2019, Sound Off Louisiana published this feature indicating that Dr. Oscar “Omar” Dantzler, D-Hammond, intended to file paperwork to run against Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards.  We also stated that, aside from a Hayride feature, there had been zilch in the way of media coverage of Dantzler’s candidacy.

At the conclusion of the article, we invited Dr. Dantzler to contact us if he would like to conduct an interview.  On Sunday, September 15, 2019, Dr. Dantzler contacted us and indicated a desire for just such an interview.  Let’s cover what all he had to say.

First, we provided a opportunity for Dr. Dantzler to give a two-minute introduction of himself to our viewers.  After that introduction, we asked him what was his primary motivation for entering the race, and he did not mince his words in staring the primary motivating factor is the rampant “corruption” of Gov. Edwards’ family.

In backing up Dantzler’s assertion of Edwards-family corruption, he spoke candidly about his run against Edwards’ brother, Daniel, for Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff in 2015 and his assertion that Edwards offered him $10,000 to drop out of the race.

Dantzler further illustrated Edwards-family corruption by providing his thoughts on the recent Federal felony conviction of former DEA agent (and Tangipahoa Deputy Sheriff) Chad Scott.  Dantzler also volunteered that he felt things essentially didn’t smell right entailing former DARE instructor and Tangipahoa Deputy Bud Cason (note:  click here for background on that matter).

Dantzler also sharply criticized the Democratic Party in referring to the party itself and its selection process for making endorsements as “a big joke out there.”

Dantzler emphatically cited “racism” in stating his case that there is a concerted effort to quash his candidacy.  He provided a very specific example entailing a recent Morgan City Parade in which he states he paid the same $700 fee to participate, but that, when his crew passed by, the news media, “took the cameras and shoved the cameras toward the ground.  They refused to take my photo…and showed very racial against me.”  He then expressed his extreme frustration that Advocate reporter Tyler Bridges declined to even mention in this article about the parade that his campaign was among those participating.

Dantzler stressed the need to visit his social media pages because the media is attempting to quash his candidacy.  He subsequently had much harsher words for candidates, to include “the incumbent” who are bound and determined, in his assessment, to quash his campaign as if it doesn’t exist.  He also indicated that, given that he has not even been provided as an option on recent polls for respondents to choose, he fully intends to attend LSU’s debate of Thursday (9/19/19) and demand that he be permitted to participate.  It’s our intent, as we expressed on the preceding video, to be there and videotape Dr. Dantzler’s attempts to be included in the debate and any response he receives.

The interview then proceeded to some on Dr. Dantzler’s platform initiatives.  He began by bluntly stating that Gov. Edwards’ $1,000/year teacher pay raise is a, “slap in the face!”  Dantzler also criticized Gov. Edwards for going too far on the “heartbeat bill” and stated his belief that exceptions ought to be in place in instances of rape or where the life of the mother is at stake.

Next, Dantzler provided his platform for criminal justice reform, and he followed that with his proposal to provide first responders with a pay raise.  Regarding taxes, he was emphatic that a sales tax exemption be in place for all grocery purchases.  He then gave his sentiments on Louisiana’s minimum wage, and that was soon followed by his economic development proposals where he focused heavily on promoting opportunities for Louisiana citizens to open small businesses.

Finally, Dantzler expressed his strong belief that term limits should apply to ALL elected officials in Louisiana.  In stressing the fact term limits, in Dr. Dantzler’s view, would help prevent Sheriff dynasties from developing in Louisiana where corruption goes unprosecuted for decades, he actually expressed the same sentiments as former FBI New Orleans Bureau Chief Jeffrey Sallet when, in describing Louisiana as an absolute hotbed of political corruption, stated his belief that it is the long tenures of these Louisiana sheriffs and DAs that has fostered Louisiana’s corrupt environment.

In the video, we referenced a recent publication by a fellow blogger, Tom Aswell, entailing the corruption of Louisiana sheriffs.  Our subscribers can feel free to click here if they may have interest in purchasing the book as we have.

We concluded the interview with final wrap-up and appeal by Dr. Dantzler for voters to support his candidacy.

As our subscribers can tell, Dr. Dantzler doesn’t mince his words when it comes to his take on “Edwards family corruption,” his assertions that the mainstream media is attempting to quash the fact that he’s even in the race, and that Gov. Edwards and other unnamed candidates are actively trying to block him from debate participation.  We welcome our subscribers to view Dantzler’s interview in its entirety with Sound Off Louisiana by clicking here, and we look forward to a follow-up regarding how organizers of Thursday’s debate plan to handle his attendance and demands that he be permitted to participate!

We conclude this feature with Dr. Dantzler’s flyer which he graciously provided to us for the interview: