The Louisiana Primary was held Saturday and it was Rick Santorum who walked away with a victory, as he easily won over front-runner Mitt Romney. Ron Paul trailed as usual but don’t count him down and out yet. Many other facts and statistics emerged from the primary, along with results of exit polls, not to mention a wealth of prediction and perspectives. It seems like they have Louisiana all summed up and wrapped in a tidy, neat little package, ready to be presented to Rick Santorum in the real election.
But hold on, this is Louisiana we are talking about, a state that is notorious for its colorful political history. This is Louisiana, where the “Kingfish” Huey P. Long reigned in the 1920’s and 1930’s. This is Louisiana, where the governor’s election in the 90’s came down to two candidates, Edwin Edwards and David Duke. Edwards had a reputation of corruption and charm, while David Duke was a notoriously vile, white supremacist. That election spawned one of the greatest campaign slogans ever, “Vote for the crook, it’s important”. And indeed the alleged crook did win the election, and was later rightfully convicted of his crimes
With a past like that, can you truly predict the final outcome for the ultimate winner of the state in the real race, so many months away? Can you really be that smug and sure? The results were just the voices and choices of those who took the time out of their day to support their candidate. What about the people in Louisiana who only come out on the real Election Day, or those who take a wait and see attitude and haven’t decided yet?
So, while I have read the predictions and the pronouncements that say Santorum will take Louisiana, and that Louisiana voters are strongly committed to their candidate, forgive me for not believing that Louisiana’s choice is already a done deal.
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