Monroe Dispatch - No Struggle, No Progress

Election results from the October 12, 2019 election show that only 41% of eligible voters in Ouachita Parish voted. If you drill down further, you will see that 46% of eligible white voters and 33% of eligible black voters voted. A 46% turnout is not acceptable. Further, a 33% turnout is embarrassing. The 15th Amendment of the Constitution protects the rights of Americans to vote. But you know the stories. African Americans suffered intimidation, harassment, and physical violence (remember the march from Selma to Montgomery). These were barriers designed to deny African Americans the right to register to vote and to deny African Americans the right to vote. Then the Voting Rights Act of 1965 passed to overcome legal barriers at the state and local levels that prevented African Americans from voting. African Americans have a history of being denied the right to vote. Yet in 2019 only 33% of eligible black voters in Ouachita Parish voted in the October 12, 2019 election. What is wrong? What is keeping you from the polls? I ask that you make a commitment to yourself that you will make yourself proud by voting in the November 16, 2019 election. Given what your forefathers endured, I think they too will be proud. Charles Scott – Chairman Need another reason to vote (Nov.16)this Saturday? Republican candidate Eddie Rispone and incumbent Gov. John Bel Edwards are reportedly headed to a tight finish as to who will lead Louisiana for the next four years. They have pulled two of the national Republican big guns, President Donald Trump and VP Mike Pence, as both men have visited the state trying to give Rispone that extra push across the finish line. The fate of the state is at hand as voters will decide to stay the course that John Bel Edwards is on, or whether voters decide that it is time to go in another direction. President Trump is traveling through the state staking whatever political capital he has left before facing what many are seeing is a certain date to an impeachment hearing. As mentioned earlier, state Republicans have pulled out some big names such as Sen. John Kennedy, who will forever be known as calling Nancy Pelosi who is the current Speaker of the House "dumb" for trying to impeach the president. However, it seemed kind of odd, and maybe somewhat puzzling that the man that Edwards succeeded as governor, Bobby Jindal, never appeared with Rispone or Congressman Ralph Abraham as both men ran to unseat Edwards. Normally, an aspiring candidate in the same party would covet the endorsement of an individual of the office in which that individual served. No one in Republican circles even mentioned Jindal, nor did President Trump. One would think that someone of Trump's stature as president would be quick to endorse former governor Jindal, if they thought that he did an outstanding job. The question becomes, why didn't they? The answer may be that they are hoping that if Rispone win, he will go back to the same policies of Jindal that got the state in the mess that Edwards inherited when he took office. Jindal left Edwards with a deficit, even when Jindal inherited a surplus from former governor, Kathleen Blanco. Republicans never brought that up during the primary. If Edwards loses, Rispone will inherit a surplus. Notice a pattern here? The gains that Edwards achieved with the help of Republicans who recognized the plight of the state finances put people over party. Give them credit. Nevertheless, President Trump has changed the minds of many Republicans, as he seeks to "make America great again". Yet, the U.S. can't be great again unless it is in the states first, as they are what make this nation the nation that it is. Four years ago, the voters of Louisiana decided that change was needed, the voters in Kentucky just recently did the same, as they ousted their Republican governor. Real change for the better has happened in Louisiana. It can continue, but it is up to the voters. When the election is over, where will the heavyweights from Washington be? Voters know where John Bel Edwards has been. Vote! It is that important. Voteless People Are Hopeless People Go, Vote!