LA-Sen: Vitter burnishing his conservative credentials

You've got to hand it to David Vitter - when you're positioning yourself to the right of Jim DeMint, you've really brought conservative nuttery to a new level.

Today, the Louisiana Senator was the only member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Republican or Democratic, to vote against the nomination of his colleague Sen. Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State.

Sen. David Vitter , R-La., was the only member to vote against the nomination, and he did so by proxy. In a statement released before the vote, Vitter said, “Sen. Clinton is certainly a smart, capable colleague, and I take no pleasure in voting against her confirmation."

Of course you don't, Dave.

"But I must do so for one compelling reason. I believe President Clinton’s business and foundation dealings are a multi-million dollar minefield of conflicts of interest. And this could produce explosions at any minute, particularly concerning the Middle East where we least need them.”

Sen. Jim DeMint , R-S.C., supported Clinton’s nomination, but expressed continuing concerns about a possible conflict interest regarding the Clinton Foundation.

So why was Vitter the lone holdout? With Diaper Dave's reputation sullied from his now-publicized affection for prostitutes, the senator appears to be stretching as far to the right as he can, so as to avoid a serious challenge in the Republican primary for his 2010 election.

Apparently, Vitter feels his greatest potential challenge in 2010 comes not from the Democratic party, but his fellow Republicans.

The consultant said the first stage of Vitter’s political resurrection was to lay low and quietly travel the state, and the second stage is attempting to “inoculate himself as someone who is not going to be out-conservatived.”

“He is making all of the necessary moves and doing what he has to do to put himself in the best possible position to avoid a primary opponent from the right,” the consultant said.

Pearson Cross, a political science professor at the University of Louisiana-Lafayette, said Vitter’s early actions betray his 2010 campaign strategy.

“You can see how it’s working out,” Cross said. “ ‘Here I am, the lonely, virtuous crusader on behalf of gun owners and pro-life people. Here I am waging a heroic struggle against the liberal Obama administration in the Senate. And you should keep me here to do that.’ ”

Vitter's strategy, however, may prove to be too clever by half. He will undoubtedly face a credible Democratic opponent in the 2010 general election - Shaw Group CEO Jim Bernhard is reportedly considering the race, and other candidates have been mentioned, such as Rep. Charlie Melancon and former Reps. Don Cazayoux and Chris John.

As he stretches farther and farther to the right to avoid a primary challenge, Vitter may run the risk of losing the center.