THE HIGHS AND LOWS OF BILLY CANNON-THE TOAST OF LSU!

Monday, February 16^th, 2026

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

 

THE HIGHS AND LOWS OF BILLY CANNON

THE TOAST OF LSU

 

You just cannot keep Billy Cannon  out of the news.  LSU’s all-time football hero was pardoned by President Trump last week.  And this brought back memories of the guy who put LSU football on the national map.

There are certain things you don’t forget. Where you were on 9/11, or when President John Kennedy was shot.  Down here in the Bayou State, add to those special dates Halloween night 67 years ago when Billy Cannon made football history with his 87 yard run to beat Ole Miss and keep the Tigers undefeated. His story is the rise and fall, than the rise again by LSU’s all time sports hero. And guess what? I played a minor role in what became Billy’s personal nightmare and fall from grace.

Even those who are not Tiger fans have to admit it was one heck of a run. Cannon either sidestepped or pushed away tackler after tackler as he weaved his way towards the end zone. I wish I had a dollar for every time the magical run has been replayed on television. You can imagine the crowd’s reaction on most Saturday football nights in Tiger Stadium as one more time the fans in the stadium and the millions on national television once again see Ole’ Billy tear through the Rebel opposition. (You can watch the run on the web at www.jimbrownla.com).

 

This feat by Cannon allowed the Tigers to beat Ole’ Miss 7 to 3, and made him a legend for life. Paul Revere had his famous ride and Billy Cannon had his remarkable run. And ever since, as Halloween draws near, the airwaves are filled with replay after replay of “the run.” Some folks in Louisiana would sooner lock up the kids and throw out the candy than miss seeing Billy strut his stuff on All Hollow’s Eve.

Cannon went on to play professional football with the Houston Oilers and the Oakland Raiders.  Then he went to dental school and built a successful dental practice in Baton Rouge. Because of his popularity, Cannon’s practice flourished to an estimated $300,000 a year, quite a sum in the 1960s.

OK, so how was yours truly involved? It was 1983, and I was in my first term as Louisiana Secretary of State. I was at my office one afternoon when my secretary said there were two Treasury agents to see me, and they demanded immediate attention. (I can speak from personal experience that one should never, ever talk to a federal agent.) They pulled out a hundred dollar bill saying it was a fake, and that it had shown up in the Secretary of State’s bank account.

I had my staff go over all the various billing and deposit records, and we were able to determine that a local attorney used the hundred-dollar bill to pay for a corporate filing. We later learned that in was the first Cannon made counterfeit bill to be discovered in the Baton Rouge area. Others quickly appeared, and a major money printing operation was broken open a few months later. The seventh-largest counterfeiting ring in American history was no more.

For years thereafter when I made speeches around the state, I relished in telling those in attendance how I knew the bill was counterfeit. “You know down at the bottom of the 100 dollar bill where it says “˜In God We Trust?’ Well on the Cannon 100 dollar bill, it said “Go to Hell Ole Miss.’ “ Being a Tulane graduate, I also humorously shared that “You go to Tulane to earn money. But if you want to make money, you go to LSU.”

 

Cannon quickly confessed and helped prosecutors crack the case wide-open. At the sentencing, Cannon told federal Judge Frank J. Polozola: “ what I did was wrong, terribly wrong. I have done everything within my power to correct my mistakes.”

The Judge, known by many lawyers who had appeared before him as, “the Ayatollah Polozola,” then gave Cannon a sentence, significantly more than the others in the ring that Cannon had testified against, of five years in prison and a $10,000 fine. Cannon sold his practice to another orthodontist and surrendered his dentistry license.

To thousands of LSU fans, Cannon’s confession pierced the very heart of their allegiance and adulation of LSU’s greatest sports hero. Like the little boy who pleaded with Shoeless Joe Jackson of the Chicago White Sox on the courthouse steps in the famous “Black Sox” baseball scandal of 1919, all many LSU fans could think of was, “Say it ain’t so, Billy.”

Why Cannon turned counterfeiter is, in the words of Smiley Anders, local newspaper columnist and Cannon’s high school classmate, “One of the great unsolved mysteries in Louisiana.” It was probably because of major financial problems. Cannon had invested in real estate, a shopping center, an office building and other ventures He also gambled heavily on sports and bought racehorses. By 1983, Cannon was involved in nearly 40 financial lawsuits with lending institutions, real-estate agents, utilities and private citizens. Luck, Billy discovered, favors nobody, not even football heroes.

As part of Cannon’s redemption, he took on the job of dentist up at Angola State Penitentiary, an hour’s drive north of Baton Rouge. The guards and inmates, alike, love him up there. Do fans still hold a grudging disappointment with Cannon? Well, when he was introduced a few years ago at Tiger Stadium just after being admitted to the College Football Hall of Fame, the cheering went on and on. Repeated efforts by the stadium announcer to quiet the fans down fell on deaf ears. Neither the President nor the Pope would have gotten such an avid ovation. Billy was back, and all had been forgiven.

Billy Cannon, like few others, has experienced the dramatic highs and lows of being a major sports hero in Louisiana.  F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote that in life, there are no second acts. And Thomas Wolfe wrote that you can’t go home again. Billy Cannon proved them both wrong.

*****

“People associate me with football regardless of where I go except when their tooth hurts. They don’t care whether I played football or not. They just want the toothache to stop.”

Billy Cannon

 Peace and Justice

Jim Brown

Jim Brown’s syndicated column appears each week in numerous newspapers throughout the nation and on websites worldwide.  You can read all his past columns and see continuing updates at http://www.jimbrownla.com.

 

 

BUT WHAT ABOUT THE TABASCO SAUCE?

Monday, February 9^th, 2026

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

 

 

BUT WHAT ABOUT THE TABASCO SAUCE?

 

A recent trip to the east coast to visit a grandson gave me a chance to partake and enjoy Maine seafood, particularly the bountiful supply of lobster.  Now coming from the Bayou State with the best seafood in the nation, my standards are high. And with all due respect to the fine folks in Maine, I was disappointed.

My first food stop was for a lobster roll at one of the seafood joints that are on every corner. Now a lobster roll is simply a hotdog bun filled with lobster meat with a little mayonnaise on top.  Sure, the lobster meat was tasty, but the roll needed spicing up a bit.  So like any other hungry Louisianan would do, I asked for some Tabasco sauce.  “Don’t have any,” I was told.  I received the same response at several other seafood stops.

The lesson here is that our Yankee friends don’t know how to spice up their seafood.  It is often rather bland. Seafood and hot sauce go hand in hand down here where I live.  And Tabasco is the gold standard when it comes to condiments. I was in northern Thailand a few years ago eating lunch at an outdoor cafe with dirt floors along the Cambodian border, and when my rice dish was served, included was the Tabasco sauce.  But I couldn’t find it in Maine.

I first learned about Tabasco sauce in a rather unpleasant way back in 1972.  I was a newly elected state senator and one of my first proposed new laws was to create a Louisiana cancer registry. The Bayou State has what has been called “cancer alley” along the Mississippi River south of Baton Rouge.  My proposal was to direct the Department of Hospitals to put in place a monitoring system to try and determine what was causing such high incidences of cancer.

When I spoke before the Senate to lobby for my suggested legislation, I told my colleagues: “We really do not know what is causing such a high rate of cancer.  Maybe it’s in the air along the river, perhaps it’s in the water, or maybe it’s something we eat.  For all I know, it could be the Tabasco sauce.” As the President would say, my mistake was HUGE.

Remember now, I was a redneck legislator from Ferriday, and back then we did not spice up our food that much.  Not having used Tabasco sauce, I honestly thought the name was generic, like mustard or ketchup.  I had no idea Tabasco was a popular brand name.

Later that night, I was asleep in my apartment at the Pentagon Barracks when the phone rang.  It was a state trooper stationed at the governor’s mansion, and he told me a Mr. Walter Mcllhenny was desperately trying to get in touch with me.  I immediately called him and it would be an understatement to say he was upset.  I explained that I genuinely thought the brand was generic and I profusely apologized. 

I told him I would stand up in the Senate the next day, explain my regrets and try to clarify my mistake. “Oh no,” he admonished.  “That could only make things worse.  Let’s just let it be.”  So  I learned a good lesson, and have become a Tabasco aficionado ever sinse.  I often carry a small Tabasco sauce bottle as I travel, particularly in “bland, food seasoning free zones” like Maine and the West Coast.

Louisiana has to be considered the spice capitol of the nation.  Whether we cook with the holy trinity of spices (onions, bell pepper and celery) or blend in garlic, bay leaves thyme and stewed tomatoes, it’s the herbs, spices and other special flavors that make the Bayou State unique when it comes to succulent cooking.  But of all the ingredients, it’s the hot sauce that really brings out the taste.  And despite my faux pas many years ago, this redneck has become a convert.   Hey, pass me the Tabasco sauce.

Peace and Justice

Jim Brown

Jim Brown’s syndicated column appears each week in numerous newspapers throughout the nation and on websites worldwide.  You can read all his past columns and see continuing updates at http://www.jimbrownla.com. 

 

WHY AREN’T WE THE GREATEST GENERATION?

 

Monday, February 2^nd, 2026

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

 

WHY AREN’T WE THE GREATEST GENERATION?

 

Twenty-six years ago, Tom Brokaw wrote a book about what he called “the greatest generation.” Now, there is a new best seller out calling America today “the dumbest generation.” And since Louisiana is at the bottom of the barrel on most comparative national lists, you can imagine how folks in the Bayou State are viewed. But with all the tools of modern technology where we live in a digital culture with 24/7 information overload, and opportunities for intellectual development at an all-time high, why aren’t we making a run at being “˜the greatest generation?” What conditions existed 86 years ago that set those who fought World War II apart?

 

These questions were the focus of discussions recently in New Orleans at the opening of some new spectacular attractions, all part of the National World War II Museum. The world premiere took place for an immersive, 4-D cinematic journey through this war, produced and narrated by actor Tom Hanks. It’s a breathtaking experience and worth a special trip to New Orleans just to view the film.

 

Battle fields come alive with the viewer as a participant. The movie screen wraps around the theatre so one is immersed in the action. When planes fly over, your seat shakes. When it snows as the Germans invade Russia, cotton snowflakes fall on you from the ceiling. New Orleans historian Dr. Stephen Ambrose, the best-known chronicler of World War II who initially conceived of the museum, would have been proud.

 

Tom Brokaw was in New Orleans for the grand opening and talked about his definition of “the greatest generation “in his bestselling book. “They came of age during the Great Depression and the Second World War and went on to build modern America – men and women whose everyday lives of duty, honor, achievement and courage gave us the world we have today.”

 

Look, there is no doubt that these men and women of the 1940s were resourceful, hardworking and deeply committed to giving extraordinary service to their country. But do we still these same values today? Or does today’s generation value lifestyle over success, who give trophies for showing up at soccer games, and who have been rewarded for little while being told they are “special” way too often?

 

In his book, The Dumbest Generation, Mark Bauerlein has little hope for young people today. The American Spectator summarizes Bauerlein’s view of our young people as “Ignorant of politics and government, art and music, prose and poetry, The Dumbest Generation is content to turn up their iPods and tune out the realities of the adult world. It is brash, pampered, dumb and content to stay that way.”

 

Bauerlein’s theories are being echoed by numerous talk radio shows nationwide. Young people are incorrigible and it’s their way or the highway. They aren’t that well educated, they don’t vote, and they show little respect for values honed by hard work and sacrifice by previous hard-working generations. The rest of us are old, redundant, can’t be trusted, and should be retired.

 

But where is the leadership that was charged with instilling these traditional values? Where is the call for sacrifice, volunteerism and “pitching in” for the higher good? Sacrifice has become quaint in our modern times. Self-sacrifice is so out-of-tune that we’ve turned President Kennedy’s famous line upside down. A politician today saying those famous words could well get ridiculed: “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.”

 

In these times, many Americans consider altruistic self-sacrifice to be something only for suckers and losers. A typical example is that even our “public servants” often leave office much richer than when they took office, or at least go on to a much higher paying job related to government in the private sector. Kennedy’s words to many have been rewritten: “Ask not what you can do for yourselves or your country, but what your country can do for you.” Who can forget President Bush’s admonition after 9/11 that the best way to support our country was to “relax and go shopping.”

 

In a state like Louisiana that has so far to go just to land in the median of so many national lists, one would think that a major volunteer effort would be both productive and necessary. Yet the state seems to almost go out if its way to build barriers to efforts by many citizens to pitch in. A retired chemist from a Louisiana chemical plant who wants to volunteer to teach chemistry in public schools must spend a year getting a teaching certificate, at his or her own expense. In my own personal experience, I have taught history at both Tulane and LSU, and served for 8 years as Secretary of State that oversees the state’s historical collections. Yet, I’m not qualified to teach eight grade history in Louisiana public schools.

 

U.S, Senator John Kennedy proposed that every public official in the state spend a little time teaching in local classrooms – a good idea to inspire many young people. When he proposed it to a newly created Commission to Streamline Government in Louisiana, his suggestion was summarily dismissed as unworkable and not practical.

 

Public officials in Louisiana, from the governor on down, are missing a great opportunity by not calling for more volunteer public service. Teaching in classrooms, giving time to help in hospitals and daycare centers, volunteering so much time each week at the local food bank, a homeless shelter, Red Cross, animal shelters, teaching adult literacy, the list goes on and on.

 

And do you fly the flag? No, not the LSU or Saints flag, or a flag for each season of the year – The American flag. Do you have one up? I fly mine 7 days a week. Do you? Maybe all this sounds corny, but these listed efforts build the fiber of what makes up a “great generation.” With due respect and admiration to my friend Tom Brokaw, I don’t believe any one generation can take credit for being “the greatest.” Things happen. History is recorded. History gets interpreted. Subsequent generations reinterpret it.

 

Louisiana and the nation are looking for leaders who will lead in calling for a major volunteer effort from citizens of all ages. Government cannot do it alone. There are many who want to contribute and volunteer. They just need to be told how, where and when. And that’s where real leadership comes in. Inspiring and instilling a sense of commitment to public service.

 

At dedication ceremonies in New Orleans some years back, one special guest was a highly decorated
World War Two veteran named Corporal Carl Grassman. He lives with his wife in Detroit and he works as a Wal-Mart greeter. When told he would be honored at the museum and his travel expenses would be paid, he declined saying his fellow employees needed him too much and he would feel terrible if he left them for this one day to be so commemorated. When the Wal-Mart brass heard this story, they flew Carl and his wife to New Orleans in the Wal-Mart private jet.

 

There are millions of men and women like Corporal Grossman who do their job each day and want to do even more to help their community, their state and their country. They are just waiting for leaders to give them direction and set out a game plan of progress so that they too can lay claim to be one of the “greatest generations.”

 

Peace and Justice.

Jim Brown

Jim Brown’s syndicated column appears each week in numerous newspapers throughout the nation and on websites worldwide. You can read all his past columns and see continuing updates at http://www.jimbrownusa.com.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

THE FIRST GUY TO CALL HIM MR. PRESIDENT!

Monday, January 26^th, 2026

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

THE FIRST GUY TO CALL HIM MR. PRESIDENT

They buried former President Gerald Ford twenty years ago this month I had met the former President on three different occasions. And I really believe I was the first person to call him “Mr. President.”

My first encounter with this accidental chief executive-to-be was on July 31, 1972. Louisiana Senator Allen Ellender had unexpectedly died in the middle of his race for re-election. The Senator had made it a point for years to come by my law office in Ferriday and pay a visit on his annual tour of the state. I therefore felt it appropriate to make the three-hour drive down to Houma in the center of deep south Louisiana and attend the Senator’s funeral.

When I arrived at St. Francis de Sales Catholic Church an hour before the funeral, over a thousand people were packed into the street in front of the entrance. Metal barriers have been set up to keep the crowd at bay, and the church was surrounded by state troopers, local police officers and numerous Secret Service agents. It became obvious why there was so much security. President and Mrs. Nixon led a long list of dignitaries that included Vice President Spiro Agnew, 36 US senators, a number of state officials, and the minority leader of the U.S. House of Representatives, Congressman Gerald Ford.

I had no official invitation, and was just one of the crowd standing on the outside of the barriers. I was a new state senator then, and I hollered out a greeting to a colleague, state Senator Claude Duvall, who was inside the barrier. It was a stroke of luck, because Claude was in charge of the seating arrangements. He graciously opened up the barrier, and led me into the cathedral. About 30 minutes passed, when the official delegation that had just arrived from Washington was escorted into the church sanctuary.

Claude could not have put me in a better spot. The President was one row up and just to my left. The Vice President was directly in front of me. Senator Ted Kennedy and other members of the Senate surrounded me, and right behind me was the Minority Leader, Gerald Ford. I had dated a girl in years past from the Congressman’s hometown, Grand Rapids Michigan, and we shared some pleasantries about mutual friends from there for a brief moment following the service. So went encounter number one.

My second meeting with the President-to-be was at the Louisiana governor’s mansion in May of 1974. Ford was Vice President, then, and had come to Baton Rouge to address the Louisiana Legislature. Following his speech, then Governor Edwin Edwards invited him to the governor’s mansion for a reception. The Governor and the Vice President had served in the U.S. House together, and it was obvious from their banter at the reception that they were close friends. In fact, Edwards, a democrat, supported Ford in his race for re-election against Jimmy Carter in 1976.

Ford shared the story that when they both were in Congress and he asked about Edwards’ future plans, the Governor-to-be said he planned on returning to Baton Rouge and running for the state’s top post. Ford shared with us his response that he was going to hang around Congress, because “you never know what just might happen.”

My third encounter? The Fairmont Hotel in New Orleans on August 5th, 1974. Vice President Ford was making a speech in the hotel’s grand ballroom. I was not at the speech, but did happen to be in the hotel lobby heading towards the main entrance. A rush of people came towards me hurriedly escorting the Vice President past where I was standing. The Secret Service agents were not just escorting the Vice President, but rather they were aggressively leading and almost pushing him out the door towards his waiting limousine. I knew something important was happening.

The Watergate rumors had been spreading for months, and President Nixon was on the verge of being impeached. It struck me that it was not just possible but probable that Nixon had made the decision to resign, and Ford was heading back to Washington to become the 38th president of the United States.

I was maybe 15 feet away from Ford as he passed me going down the stairway. On impulse, I hollered out: “Good luck and Godspeed to you, Mr. President.” He glanced my way, nodded, and gave me a serious look. Then he entered his limousine and sped away.

As I found out later, his speech was interrupted by a phone call from Chief of Staff General Alexander Haig, who informed Ford that the President would step down the next day, and Ford would ascend to the presidency.

The nation took to the new President, giving him an approval rating above 71%. It was obvious the country wanted to put the Watergate scandal and President Nixon’s resignation behind. As Ford himself said, he had made a commitment to put an end to “our long national nightmare.” Yet when he later pardoned Nixon, Ford reopened the very wounds he was trying hard to close.

Was the pardon a mistake? For Ford, politically, yes. Perhaps a pardon would have made more sense after Nixon had given testimony, and much more about Watergate became known. We are supposed to be a country that is strong enough to endure almost anything but burying the truth. Often those in charge of our justice system seem oblivious to letting the whole story come out. I can speak from personal experience about evidence that was hidden by prosecutors. If there is any justification for the pardon, it should have been given at a much later date.

I never met Ford while he served as President or any time thereafter. There were three brief encounters. Any number of people had similar remembrances and anecdotes. But I will always believe that on the spur of the moment, and on a hunch, I was the first person to call Gerald Ford “Mr. President.”

Peace and Justice.

Jim Brown

Jim Brown’s syndicated column appears each week in numerous newspapers throughout the nation and on websites worldwide. You can read all his past columns and see continuing updates at http://www.jimbrownusa.com.

 

 

TOO MUCH POLITICAL CORRECTNESS IN LOUISIANA!

Monday, January 19th, 2026

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

TOO MUCH POLITICAL CORRECTNESS IN LOUISIANA!

I don’t know about you, but I sure am confused about all this current debate over gender equity, gay rights, and transgenders. I keep reading in the newspaper about LGBT. I had to look up the lettering to even know what the abbreviation means. Being “politically correct” has become an obsession with much of the country as well as right here at home in Louisiana.

Now personally, I don’t have a dog in this hunt. Carry on your personal lifestyle as long as you don’t interfere with my way of life or my personal freedoms. Live and let live. But too often today, one lifestyle interferes with that of another. If a baker is in business to make a living, why turn down anyone who wants a cake baked for his or her wedding? On the other hand, if it’s a gay wedding and the baker refuses to bake a wedding cake, why would the gay couple want to do business with someone they consider bigoted?

And this whole transgender bathroom thing? How did transgenders go to the bathroom for the past 100 years? I never really check out someone using the stall next to me. And why all the need for separate men and women’s bathrooms in the first place? Many restaurants in New Orleans have one bathroom for either sex to use. Have you gone to a sporting event and seen a long line for women and none for men? Architects ought to be more creative in designing safe and clean restrooms that can be more efficiently shared by everyone.

I wrote in my column recently about the hypocrisy of hate crimes. Why should any criminal be given a greater sentence because he or she committed crimes based on race, sexuality, sexual identity, or physical ability? If a child is tortured and murdered, is that to be considered less of a crime than if an Asian or a handicapped person is killed? Political correctness should not be a factor.

In Natchitoches Parish this past Christmas, a school principal was suspended for allowing a student-led prayer to take place. There was no sponsorship by the school. The students were just allowed to pray. But this wasn’t politically correct in this day and age. Kids can pray under their breath but not out loud? Nonsense!

I wanted to order the wonderful Disney film “Song of the South” recently to watch with my grandchildren. Remember all those enticing songs like “Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah” and “That’s What Uncle Remus Said?” Uncle Remus was an American Aesop, full of delightful stories (“Don’t throw me into the briar patch”). But the film has been out of circulation since 2000 because some critics say it glorifies slavery, even though the story takes place years after the Civil War. But not to offend anyone, so our kids miss out on a delightful tale of magical fables.

And for goodness sake, don’t attempt to bless anyone if they sneeze or for any other purpose. Up in New Hampshire, an election worker was recently fired for telling voters as they left the voting booth “God bless you.” It was supposedly a form of electioneering. I guess election officials were afraid a voter might have so disconcerted over the candidates running that they might go back into the voting booth and vote for the Good Lord instead.

A person can be sensitive to how others might feel without worrying that their every utterance may cause someone to take offense. Some of us feel it necessary to be more politically correct than do others. But a vibrant and strong country is only as courageous and agile as the sum of its parts.

I’m willing to go just so far to appease the P.C. crowd. Look, I’m a redneck, not someone who is rustically inclined. And we are always going to have hurricanes down here in Louisiana, not himmicanes. Sometimes, things are said where you take personal offense. But we can also go overboard by assuming a “victim mentality.”

You can be polite, but in doing so, you don’t have to shy away from telling it like it is. I try to do just that in offering you my perspective in my column each week.

Peace and Justice

Jim Brown

Jim Brown’s syndicated column appears each week in numerous newspapers throughout the nation and on websites worldwide. You can read all his past columns and see continuing updates at http://www.jimbrownusa.com.

 

THE DEMISE OF ENTERTAINING POLITICS IN LOUISIANA!

Monday, January 12^th, 2026

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

THE DEMISE OF ENTERTAINING POLITICS IN LOUISIANA!

I have a sad announcement to make. Politics is just no fun anymore in Louisiana. Let’s hope with new LSU Coach Lane Kiffin we have something to enjoy. But not politics.

Reams of books have been written about the colorful characters that ran the Bayou state throughout its history. And the average citizen got involved, attended rallies and actively supported their candidate of choice. Few states could match the intensity and enthusiasm that was a part of Louisiana campaigning. The state’s two favorite pastimes were LSU football and Politics.

The two Longs who served as governor wanted to stay involved right up to the time of their deaths. Huey Long was shot and died September 10, 1935, eleven days after his 42nd birthday. His last words were, “God, don’t let me die. I have so much to do.” Younger brother Earl Long was famously quoted as saying: “Oh Lord, when I die, let me be buried in Louisiana, so I can stay active in politics.”

Retail politics used to be a basic part of any campaign. No statewide candidate would fail to attend the Rice Festival in Crowley, the Watermelon Festival in Farmerville or the Strawberry Festival in Hammond. There were thousands of hands to shake and voters galore who loved to be part of the campaign season. I experienced the buzz and thrill of campaigning during my 28 years in public life. Politics was just a lot of fun.

Most of my colleagues who served during my tenure going back to the 1970s ran for public office to serve and try to improve the quality of life for the voters they represented. There was little thought of financial gain. When I was first elected to the Louisiana State Senate back in the 1970s, I was paid $600 a month, with no office, staff or any other financial help. I represented a large part of Northeast Louisiana. My phone bill in my district averaged $900 a month. A campaign contribution of $100 was a big deal.

Today a political campaign is all about who can raise the most money. TV drives the debate. Political rallies are few, and you would be hard pressed to see a candidate for statewide office throwing candy and riding in a local parade. If a candidate is leading in the polls, he or she often chooses not to even show up for debates. So the public loses interest, voter participation is down, and voter distrust is on the rise.

Political parties in Louisiana are becoming more and more obsolete. It has become obvious that any allegiance to a particular party is over. Democrats make up 43% of registered voters, but a significant number rarely vote their party affiliation. The fastest growing numbers of registered voters are independents that list themselves with no party affiliation.

An interesting side note is that the last time a president was elected in the country who was neither a Republican nor a Democrat was Louisiana native Zachary Taylor, who won on the wig ticket back in 1848.

One of the problems in Louisiana and across the country is that extremists in both parties are dominating the political agenda. Or as veteran Republican consultant Mac Stipanovich puts it, “Somehow you’ve got to destroy the myth that you don’t win if you’re not crazy enough.”

And working across the aisles with a legislator from the opposing party is a thing of the past in a number of states including Louisiana. A few years back, legislators would fight hard for their political beliefs during the day, but then spend time socializing and working towards some type of compromise when the working day was done. No longer. Today, if a lawmaker from the opposing party disagrees or has a contrary opinion, then he or she is dead wrong and often is considered a political enemy.

There’s a U.S. Senator’s race in Louisiana on the horizon that, so far, few seem to care about. The campaigns are just, well dull. Don’t you miss the rhetoric and musings of Huey, Earl, Jimmy Davis, and even ole’ EWE? Sad to say, the thrill is gone. Let’s hope we can at least cheer on Coach Kiffin and a winning Fighting Tigers team next fall.

Peace and Justice

Jim Brown

Jim Brown’s syndicated column appears each week in numerous newspapers throughout the nation and on websites worldwide. You can read all his past columns and see continuing updates at http://www.jimbrownusa.com.

 

 

IN LOUISIANA THEY’RE ASKING — WHO’S IN CHARGE?

Monday, January 5^th, 2026

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

IN LOUISIANA THEY’RE ASKING — WHO’S IN CHARGE?

Our Louisiana governor, Jeff Landry, has been appointed by President Donald Trump to be an “ambassador to Greenland.” So the question is — who’s in charge when the Louisiana Governor is out of state?

Past governors have said: “the Governor remains the Governor wherever he is.” Apparently, the mindset is that the governor is always available by phone or email, so he never really is “away.” Not so, says the Louisiana Constitution, where clear language states: “When the governor is temporarily absent from the state, the lieutenant governor shall act as governor.”

The most recent constitutional convention, which was held in 1973, was called by the Louisiana legislature to update and rewrite the state’s founding document. I was a co-author of the legislation creating the convention, and I also served as an elected delegate for the one year undertaking to draft a new constitution. With little controversy, the convention overwhelmingly adopted the provisions that put the lieutenant governor in charge when the governor is out of state. The intentions of the delegates were quite clear.

In 1973 there were no cell phones, but landlines, of course, were abundant. However, Louisiana had experienced numerous blackout problems during hurricanes. Phone lines went dead during the storms and the delegates to the constitutional convention wanted provisions that, under emergency conditions, someone on the state level would be physically in charge. They had the savvy and the foresight to see that regardless of communication breakdowns, Louisiana would be best served by an onsite governor during an emergency.

Granted, communication systems have become much more sophisticated today, but the importance of the provisions still applies. No better example can be found than the Katrina experience. Cell phone and Internet service failed, and local television and radio stations were off the air. An absentee governor would not have been able to communicate to first responders, the state police or the National Guard. No matter how electronically “tuned in” an out of state governor might be, the delegates felt that a major emergency needs “hands on” leadership. And they were right.

Was another statewide official ever called on the issue of an executive order from the Governor’s office? Yes., I filled the role as Governor to deal with an anticipated emergency. I was elected Secretary of State in 1979, and the office is second in line to the Governorship behind the Lieutenant Governor. On several occasions, both then serving Governor Dave Treen and Lieutenant Governor Bobby Freeman were out of the state and I got the call.

The first time was in the fall of 1980. I had been in office for a little less than a year, and I was attending a national convention of Secretaries of State in Atlantic City. My wife was along, and we had tickets for one of the final concerts of Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin. This was a big deal back then, and an event my wife and I did not want to miss.

Late in the afternoon before the concert, the phone rang. The Governor’s executive counsel, Sonny Mouton was on the phone along with then Commissioner of Administration Bubba Henry. They quickly told me that both the governor and the lieutenant governor were out of the country, and they needed me to get back to Louisiana immediately to call a much-needed special session of the legislature. “I’d be glad to,” I told them, “first thing in the morning.”

No, they told me — the call had to be signed by midnight. What a dilemma. Either Frank, Dean and me hangin’ out (well, sort of), or back to Louisiana on a late flight. I reluctantly opted to skip the concert, and fly back to New Orleans. A State Police helicopter met me on the Delta runway, and I signed the needed document minutes before the midnight deadline.

Should the law be changed to have the governor in charge at all times? There are pros and cons, particularly in a state that is as disaster prone as Louisiana. Right now, a succession in command is the law. So when Governor Landry travels to Greenland, he needs to know that there is someone back home looking over his shoulder. Whether he likes it or not.

Peace and Justice

Jim Brown

Jim Brown’s syndicated column appears each week in numerous newspapers throughout the nation and on websites worldwide. You can read all his past columns and see continuing updates at http://www.jimbrownusa.com.