On Thursday, the Center for Individual Freedom (CFIF) released a poll of Louisiana conducted by a collaborative effort of pollsters Bernie Pinsonat and Greg Rigamer, voters have strong feelings about the government and the Internet, in light of the Net Neutrality and the now almost-ubiquitous use of that service in Louisiana and in America.

Tomorrow, Governor John Bel Edwards is expected to call for a Louisiana legislative special session which would begin roughly seven days later, if things go as being reported.  Edwards had urged  the Republicans to come up with a plan to fix the roughly one billion dollar hole for the year starting July 1, 2018, or no session would be called.

They haven’t. Nonetheless, Edwards is left with little other choice. If they were to wait until after the regular session is complete, in the beginning of June, there would not be sufficient time for parents to plan for tuition, for schools to plan schedules and for hospitals to plan their respective budget which starts weeks later. 

The Louisiana capitol is ready to start its Louisiana Legislature tax chicken dance.  On one side of the floor are Governor, John Bel Edwards and democrats. On another side are fiscal conservatives.  And, in the middle are a group of lawmakers who believe the state is reaching a moment of urgency.

The question is—who’s going to take the first step and blink as the music is quickly getting ready to start?

Winter is still here. The Louisiana days are getting a little longer. The threat of another special session to plug a massive hole in the budget is getting closer. 

The mantra of fiscal cliff still fills the air as it has now winter after winter, year after year.

As of now, what is the shape of the Louisiana political waterfront?

This was the gist of  a series of questions I asked political analyst and pollster Bernie Pinsonat during a Facebook and Twitter live video conference we held on Wednesday. 

Last night, the world watched President Donald Trump give his first State of the Union speech. Politically, it resonated throughout America.  What about in Louisiana?  More broadly, what can politicians and legislators learn from the Trump phenomena as they approach the upcoming elections and the legislative session?

 A recent poll by Southern Media and Opinion Research shows that Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards enjoys a 65% approval rating among voters. Edwards, the only statewide elected Democrat, has seen a surge in his poll numbers since the last legislative session. 

Unfortunately for Edwards, there is a legislative session slated to begin in the spring. According to pollster Bernie Pinsonat, the Governor’s “job ratings are apparently affected by legislative sessions with talk of taxes and budget deficits.” 

Today, Southern Media and Opinion Research released its fall poll which surveyed the Louisiana population on a variety of issues.

Importantly, for specific local politicians, John Bel Edwards is very popular, although a Democrat in a Republican state. His favorable are a very respectable 63%.  He is also the most popular statewide elected official followed by US Senator John Kennedy and Bill Cassidy, who is below fifty percent.

Who will be the last white Democratic legislator in Louisiana?

The past decade and now in the age of Trump-dominance, is it possible that the Louisiana might not have any more white legislators?

We're roughly two years away from either re-electing John Bel Edwards for Louisiana Governor or selecting his successor. Louisiana, being that dark blood-rich red state comprising a majority of Democrats under Republican dominance, will have a choice.  Does it follow the rest of the Deep South and elect only Republicans for major statewide office or, does it buck the trend once again, and back the Democrat incumbent?