Maybe he should have joined another conservative felon, coke dealer and former South Carolina Treasurer Tom Ravenel, on his new BRAVO reality show, Southern Charm but, fresh out of prison, like Ravenel, ex-Governor Edwin Edwards-- who had his own reality show, The Governor's Wife, already anyway-- announced he's running for the open House seat that Bill Cassidy is giving up to run for the Senate seat Mary Landrieu holds. Now, I don't think Edwards can run until 15 years passes from the end of his sentence (at which time he'll be even older than Ralph Hall is now). Bush and Obama each refused to pardon Edwards for his corruption convictions.None-the-less, earlier today, the media was all abuzz that the 4 term governor, had decided to run for Cassidy's seat (LA-06), a deep red, bizarrely gerrymandered district that zigs and zags from Thibodaux, around Baton Rouge, to Denham Springs and beyond. The PVI, second worst in the state, is R+21. Obama got less than a third of the vote in 2012 and the Democrats didn't bother fielding a candidate.Edwards is 86 and a little cracked and probably just speaking out of his ass but he said he wants to set up a Super PAC (which is illegal for candidates) and then run. "I'm the only hope the Democrats have here." Voters who wouldn't support him because of his criminal background, he added, "wouldn't have voted for me anyway." Sharp as a tack!
Edwards is the longest-serving governor in the state's history. He was elected four times. Judging by total votes, he is the most popular Democrat in modern Louisiana history.He is also a free-wheeling, fun-loving, self-described "corner-cutting" politician who seems to relish his controversies. In one of his trials, the sequestered jury was accused of stealing towels from the hotel they were in. Edwards concluded that he was truly judged by a jury of his peers.Edwards has always been a champion of civil rights in Louisiana and was immensely popular in the state's black community.In the interview, he said that he's seen private polls showing he would easily qualify for a run-off between the race's two top finishers.Edwards said his 40 years of experience qualifies him for Congress. "They need people there who know how to get things done."
The 86 year old Edwards has a 35 year old wife and she says, tactfully, that the Bloomberg report is wrong and that "He only said he was considering running... He had definitely said he had not decided." If he does run there are almost a dozen Members in their 80s and several others who are quite senile. As for being a felon, everyone knows criminals like Darrell Issa, Michael "Mikey Suits" Grimm, Steve Israel and Joe Crowley, to name three random crooks, are no less guilty than Edwards… it's just that they haven't had their days in court yet. And if Louisiana voters could embrace David Vitter...
