On Nov. 5, brownsox reported that
Louisiana's Second and Fourth District will have their general election in December. Democrat William Jefferson will win in LA-02 easily.
Returning Jefferson to the House would be the same as re-electing Duke Cunningham. The only difference is the party. According to the Times-Picayune, early voting begins today in this election and it must be determined is Change has really come to this country.
There is only one candidate in the LA-02 Congressional Race who is truly progressive and it is not, this time, the Democrat. Jefferson is under indictment for 16 counts of corruption and the best defense that he can raise is that his own staff should not be allowed to testify against him.
What an embarrassment it will be for the Democratic Party to re-elect Jefferson and then have to replace him in a special election when he gets convicted, as he most assuredly will.
This is what Speaker Nancy Pelosi had to say last year when Jefferson was first indicted.
"The charges in the indictment against Congressman Jefferson are extremely serious. While Mr. Jefferson, just as any other citizen, must be considered innocent until proven guilty, if these charges are proven true, they constitute an egregious and unacceptable abuse of public trust and power.
"As we have demonstrated in implementing tough ethics reforms and passing tough lobbying reforms already this year, Democrats are committed to upholding a high ethical standard and eliminating corruption and unethical behavior from the Congress."
The progressive alternative is to select Malik Rahim for this seat. While Jefferson was lining his freezer with cash, Rahim was rebuilding the 9th Ward. While Jefferson was making deals with Nigerian internet companies that came with a price tag, Rahim was running Common Ground Collective to aid those in need.
The question I pose is whether the readers of DailyKos hate the Green Party so much that they are willing to re-elect a crook, someone whose ouster they would be screaming for had Jefferson been a Republican.
Just remember, this is William Jefferson, NOT William Jefferson Clinton.