Swing State Project

Primary Results for CD-7

Charles Boustany (R) 105,752  39%   
Willie L. Mount (D) 69,069  25%   
Don Cravins (D) 67,386  25%   
Other 31,702  12%

As you can see, the main Democratic challengers themselves garnered 50% of the vote. This along with the fact that this is a currently held Democratic seat bodes well, on paper, for the blue team in this run-off.

Race Background & Currently in the News

This race is heating up and becoming increasingly bitter and ugly as we wind down to Election Day.  Early voting has finished in the Bayou State and the votes will be cast on December 4th.

From The Advertiser of Lafayette Louisiana.

In the 7th District runoff, Lafayette Republican Dr. Charles Boustany Jr. faces state Sen. Willie Mount,

D-Lake Charles, in a race to fill the seat being vacated by U.S. Rep. Chris John, D-Crowley.

The race has become increasingly bitter in recent weeks as the two candidates battle it out in television ads over their respective records and experience.

Boustany, a retired surgeon, and Mount, a former Lake Charles mayor, are both scheduled to attend a Rotary Club luncheon and forum Tuesday in Opelousas. It is expected to be the only time they meet before the election. 

As the article points out, the two are gunning for the seat held by Chris John, who failed in his bid to become the next Louisiana Senator in a seat vacated by John Breaux and won by Republican David Vitter.

From the Associated Press

Lafayette Republican Charles Boustany Jr. faces accusations that he's overplaying his credentials as a physician. Lake Charles Democrat Willie Mount must rebuff allegations that her anti-abortion stance isn't tough enough.

Mount, a state senator, has an ad that says Boustany is deceptive in depicting himself as a surgeon. The ad says Boustany also receives "hundreds of thousands of dollars a year in lavish disability payments."
Boustany, a former heart surgeon, has run ads showing him in doctor's scrubs but said he's never hidden the fact he no longer practices. He has said he shut down his practice about a year ago, when he realized arthritis would prevent him to continue the work.

Boustany has said that he paid into an expensive disability insurance policy for years. He's said he has gotten enough money between the insurance payments and savings to get through the past year, but he will need to keep working.

Boustany said his disability insurance money is the result of good planning, and that he originally got it after hearing about other surgeons forced to retire because of physical disability.

Boustany has also gone on the attack, going after Mount's stated position as a pro-life candidate. A Boustany ad claims Mount "failed to protect life" in a 2001 state Senate vote, saying she "voted against tougher state regulations for clinics prescribing the morning-after abortion pill."

Finally, an endorsement of Mount by outgoing Senator John Breaux might be the key to unifying a Democratic Party fractured by a contentious and bitter Primary that resulted in State Senator Cravins (Mount's Democratic opponent in the Primary) threatening to file a Federal Lawsuit against the Democratic Party.

Continued (same article)

Mount, who is white, has some patching up to do within the party among Cravins supporters, who believe their candidate was wronged by the party. Cravins was upset by the pro-Mount "unity ballot" _ it had pictures of black families and Martin Luther King Jr. _ which was sent to black voters and was partly paid for by the state party. 

Willie Mount on the Issues

As I said in my first installment some of us might have to remember that many Louisiana Democrats are a different breed than those of us who frequent the blogs.  It is, as DemFromCT noted on my original post that Mount will vote for Nancy Pelosi as speaker.  While "holding your nose" review Boustany's positions on the issues as well, and come to the determination of who you would rather have elected in the Louisiana 7th.

On the Economy (Emphasis not mine)

will work to:
    Balance the federal budget!
*    Introduce legislation to reduce tax breaks, incentives and subsidies given to U.S. companies, which outsource jobs to foreign countries. These tax breaks, incentives and subsidies should be awarded to those U.S. companies that choose to expand a work force right here in the United States. 
*    Support lower and middle-class tax cuts.
*    Work to permanently eliminate the marriage penalty.
*    Work to permanently eliminate the inheritance tax.
*    Generate investment and create jobs by providing tax incentives to small businesses.
*    Work to revise tax laws to eliminate advantages for U.S. companies to invest in foreign countries and keep their profits there rather than doing business at home.

Choice

I am and have always been Pro-Life.

As a member of Congress, I will support legislation that allows States more freedom in regulating abortions than the Supreme Court has permitted. I believe that life begins at conception and that it should be protected just as any other human life.

Furthermore, I strongly support promoting programs aimed at offering adoption as an alternative to abortion. With so many families willing to provide a home to newborn children, I believe we should do everything possible in providing for the adoption alternative.

Foreign Policy

I favor a very strong national defense, so that we never deal with threats from a position of weakness, but rather from overwhelming strength.

I believe that when our troops are committed to battle abroad, we must stand by them, and give them all the support they need. But I believe just as firmly that we must never lightly put these brave men and women in harms way. 

I favor policies that would encourage more exploration both off shore and in Louisiana to reduce our dependence on foreign oil. I also favor developing new alternative forms of energy.

We must continue to be vigilant in our quest to end the threat posed by threats of nuclear proliferation.

    Iraq must be made stable and secure in order that be transformed into a democracy. 
*    Support efforts to engage the international community to secure and rebuild Iraq.
*    Train Iraqis in order to protect their new democracy.
*    Support our troops to get the job done and bring them home

Education

Education is the cornerstone of a successful society! In support of my commitment to make education a top priority, I vow to utilize my experience as a past Vice-Chair of the State Senate Education Committee to:

    Fight for the funding needed to effectively utilize the No Child Left Behind Act, a plan designed to improve student achievement and hold schools and states more accountable for student progress.
*    Work to fill our classrooms with qualified teachers, providing incentives to attract and maintain them.
*    Support Pre-K and after-school programs that strengthen students' educational and societal skills.
*    Seek to make higher education more accessible and affordable by expanding the Hope and Lifetime Learning Tax Credit as well as increase the amount allocated for Pell Grants.

*Charles Boustany on the Issues

Like I said, before you pass judgment, take a look at Boustany on the issues.  They can be found in full on the site linked above, on the right hand side.

His positions on Job Creation & the Economy are not very detailed at all.  You can find them HERE He does a lot of talking about what is wrong with the Louisiana economy, but offers VERY LITTLE by way of a plan to solve the problems. It is almost embarrassing to see a serious Congressional Candidate have so little to say about the important issues of the day, with the exception of pontificating about what is wrong - and offering senseless anecdotes about what people across the country think about the Louisiana economy.

Want to Give Small Businesses and Families Ownership of Their Future... Tax Breaks for Their Budgets.

-I am the only candidate to sign the No-Tax Pledge.  But, I go one step further than just saying I will not raise taxes.  I believe that cutting taxes, providing tax incentives and credits is the hallmark of a forward thinking fiscal policy.  Small businesses need the commitment so they can transfer prosperity to their employees and families deserve tax breaks so they can invest in health care, tuition, and retirement plans.  Hard working people deserve a break... hard working people deserve to have their money working for them when they are resting. 

 

It begins by developing a Comprehensive Economic Strategic Plan for the 7th District.

-We have thought unilaterally for too long.  By focusing on what one parish produces, we have simplified our economy instead of creating a web of products and services that can multiply in value.  We are shortchanging ourselves.

-I will meet with the business community and local elected officials on a regular basis to discuss how we can take advantage of our resources. I will also maintain an open door policy, both in the district and in Washington, to let new ideas flow freely.

Health Care

True Market Competition Favors Families/Patients First

Families should be given tax breaks or subsidies on purchase of their health care.  This will allow them to control their policy.  But, to make it work, HMO's must do a better job of providing information, choice, and control to the consumer.  In addition, our tax system must create health savings accounts.  Restructuring tax policies will provide more money for patients and less worries so that a medical crisis does not also turn into a financial crisis.

• Tax Breaks and Subsidies
  
• Information, Choice, and Control
  
• Health Savings Accounts
  

The Uninsured Cannot Be Stranded
Beyond changing our tax policies to help the uninsured get insured, we must

• Foster Community Health Care Clinics
  
• Provide services for working families that can't afford health savings accounts,
  
• Expand federally qualified health care centers. 
  

Across the country there are 43 million uninsured... we have the resources to get them either insured or provide them with health care options that will cut the rising costs of health care for all.

Frivolous Lawsuits are Driving Costs Up, Doctors Out

• Mediator to sift bad claims out
  
• Malpractice Insurance Premiums are driving medical workers out of the profession

And finally - Values  Notice the emboldened framing of the stem cell argument Boustany makes.  This is something to think about combating in the future.

Know this, when I am elected,  I will:
o Defend the Ban on Partial Birth Abortion
o Support the Laci and Connor Peterson Act
o And oppose Federal Funding for Abortions
We cannot diminish the value of the unborn human life without diminishing the value of all human life.
I will also oppose Embryonic Stem Cell, "clone and kill," Research.  Adult stem cells and other forms of research offer better results without destroying life.
And I will never support any form of euthanasia.  Only God can decide when life ends.  It is not a decision that should be put in the hands of any man or woman.
Life is not a choice and what constitutes a marriage shouldn't be either.  I have been married to my wife Bridget for 25 years.  I believe that marriage should be between one man and one woman. 

• Supporting Abstinence education
  
• Supporting Faith based initiatives
  
• Supporting Tax credits for families that provide care for elderly parents
  
• Repealing the marriage penalty tax
  
• And Repealing the death tax.

The Fundrace

All information gathered from Open Secrets

Boustany has gathered $1,017,645 thus far.  Here is an deeper look at where that money is coming from:

27% from PACS - which isn't that bad until you see how impressive Mount is.

Health $224,250 (Boustany is a former doctor who has closed his practice and currently collects large sums of disability)

Lawyers & Lobbyists $30,599

Ideology/Single-Issue $163,000

Mount has raised $684,360 total.  99% of that money comes from individual contributions.  Only 1% from Political Action Committees. Here are the leaders:

Construction $82,050

Finance/Insur/RealEst $71,000

Lawyers & Lobbyists $106,723

Conclusion

So, that's the run down.  I hope more of you read this one than the last.  Thanks to Newsie for including me in their diaries you probably missed list for the week. 

Once again, if you are interested in heading the Bayou on a DCCC sponsored trip to help out either of the candidates featured, you can find information on that HERE

If you are interested in contributing the Mount Campaign, you can do so HERE

Thanks for listening.  Hopefully we can go two-for-two on Election Day, slimming the Republican leadership in the House.  Hell, if every vote counts in a national election of 120 million votes - certainly every vote counts in the House.

Tim