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Wednesday, February 22, 2012

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Politics & People

Pam Bennett checks to see if an LSU bracelet fits her daughter Kristen Bennett at the Tiger Nation booth in the Prien Lake Mall. (PANKAJ KHADKA / AMERICAN PRESS)

High sales taxes hurting state

BY JIM BEAM / AMERICAN PRESS

One sure way to get spirited feedback from

talk show hosts and conservative Internet bloggers in Louisiana is to

talk about

the Stelly income tax plan. Just the mention of the plan that in

2002 eliminated state sales taxes on food and utilities in

exchange for higher state income taxes stirs th ...

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Governor left nothing to chance

BY JIM BEAM / AMERICAN PRESS

Gov. Bobby Jindal’s proposed $25.5 billion state budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1 appears to be Take 2 of Act 1,

Scene 1. The governor didn’t fare well in many respects when the current budget was forged last spring. Now, he is coming

back with a repeat performance as a dire ...

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Bolstered by election margin, Jindal takes aggressive approach

BY JIM BEAM / AMERICAN PRESS

Gov. Bobby Jindal appears to be putting together a powerful political administration, the likes of which Louisiana hasn’t seen since the days of the infamous Gov. Huey P. Long. By the time Jindal is finished forging his masterpiece, even former Gov. Edwin W. Edwards may be envious.

No governo ...

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Jindal should be wary of Alario

BY JIM BEAM / AMERICAN PRESS

Ask anyone outside the New Orleans

area if they know state Sen. John Alario, and the odds are you will get a

blank stare. Not so with members of the Louisiana Legislature where the

newly minted Republican from Westwego now becomes a major center of

attention.

Alario desperately wants to become

...

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Endorsements can help some undecided voters

BY JIM BEAM / AMERICAN PRESS

Endorsements don’t have a lot of influence in political campaigns when voters have already decided on their candidates. However, citizens who are looking for some inside information to help them pick a favorite often find them helpful.

Buddy Roemer was a virtual unknown when he ran for govern ...

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Where are we six days out?

BY JIM BEAM / AMERICAN PRESS

The statewide election is less than a week away, so it’s time to take a look at political campaigns that are unique in Louisiana history. Republican Party dominance stands out above everything else in a state where a generation ago voters had to be registered Democrats in order to ...

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New poll has Dardenne in lead

BY JIM BEAM / AMERICAN PRESS

Louisiana voters have finally had an opportunity to see a legitimate poll on the two most hotly contested statewide election campaigns. The survey commissioned by WWL-TV in New Orleans finds Lt. Gov. Jay Dardenne with a fairly comfortable lead in his toe-to-toe, smash-mouth campaign aga ...

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Statewide campaigns obscure real issues

BY JIM BEAM / AMERICAN PRESS

You can’t help but be amused by the bogus issues that have been injected into the statewide political campaigns for lieutenant governor and secretary of state. Most have little or nothing whatsoever to do with the two offices.

Lt. Gov. Jay Dardenne is being challeng ...