DID JINDAL WIN A MANDATE FOR HIS REFORMS FROM THE VOTERS?

I realize that, due to voter turnout, many naysayers, particularly Democrats, argue that Louisiana Governor-elect, Bobby Jindal, did not receive a mandate from the voters. Despite what they say, however, Jindal did receive a mandate from those that bothered to cast their votes, and those are the only votes that count. But all is not guaranteed 'smooth sailing' for his proposed reforms. (See: "Study supports mandate for Jindal platform").

"On Oct. 20, Louisiana had 2,826,047 registered voters. Of these voters, 53 percent were registered Democrats, 22 percent were registered Republicans, and 25 percent were associated with other parties. The demographic breakdown of the voter rolls shows that white voters comprised 66 percent of the electorate while African Americans made up 30 percent and other races made up 4 percent, according to the GCR report." id. These figures prove that Jindal won a mandate from the voters, because there is no way he could have won without crossover votes from Democrats and Independents.

However, insofar as Jindal's planned reforms, it was noted that "for instance, most of the legislators on whom Jindal must rely to approve his plans attracted more votes in their districts than he, leaving them less beholden to the governor-elect. Also, the analysis reveals that the expected shift of Louisiana from a Democratic state to a Republican one failed to materialize, despite the advances made by the GOP." id. But with the Blueprint Louisiana pledges by most of the Legislators, and the promise of Blueprint to hold them to them, together with the popular tide demanding reforms, especially in ethics, I believe that there will be "Hell to pay" if the Legislature does not adopt meaningful reforms.

It is also possibly a good thing that the state GOP didn't win an outright majority of the Legislature, as David Vitter's dirty tricks LCRM wished, because a multiple party system keeps in check the excesses of both major political parties.