INDReporter

WaPo: La. redistricting an ugly affair

by Walter Pierce

Much of the acrimony in the Legislature centers around competing plans for north Louisiana, which at this point, in spite of stagnant to negative growth over the last decade, will apparently maintain two districts. In the latest iteration of The Fix, The Washington Post's political analysis column by Chris Cillizza, Louisiana's congressional redistricting squabbles are laid out from a national perspective. Cillizza notes that despite Republican control of the Legislature, a redistricting plan forwarded by Democratic Sen. Lydia Jackson has actually has the support of U.S. Rep. Charles Boustany, R-Lafayette, because he sees it as more favorable to his political fortunes in southwest Louisiana. In fact, according to Cillizza, Boustany helped sink a redistricting plan supported by Gov. Bobby Jindal for the same reason.

Much of the acrimony in the Legislature centers around competing plans for north Louisiana, which at this point, in spite of stagnant to negative growth over the last decade, will apparently maintain two districts. The question is whether those districts run east-west or north-south.

According to The Advocate, Jindal on Wednesday threatened to veto a Senate-backed bill for redistricting north Louisiana - a bill the House later shot down.

Read more in The Post and The Advocate.