Last time we looked at how the Saints stacked up at quarterback and running back. Today we’ll take a look at the offseason plans at wide receiver and tight end. The format will be a little different than last time, as with the end of the season, teams can now sign players to reserve/future contracts in order to secure their services for 2018, as long as they remain under the 90-man roster limit for the 2018 season. I’ll make mention of those players as well. (Free agents can’t be signed to standard contracts until March 11, the first day of the new league year.)
(Contract figures and salary-cap numbers are mostly courtesy of spotrac.com, with the occasional information from overthecap.com. Ages are as of the first day of the 2018 season.)
Photo from neworleanssaints.comWIDE RECEIVERS2017 Players and Cap Information
Player
Age
2017 Cap Hit
2018 Cap Hit
Signed Through
Ted Ginn
33
$3,000,000
$4,500,000
2019
Michael Thomas
25
$1,163,403
$1,396,083
2019
Willie Snead
25
$506,470
N/A
Free Agent (RFA)
Brandon Coleman
26
$615,000
N/A
Free Agent (RFA)
Tommylee Lewis
25
$541,666
$631,668
2018 (RFA)
Austin Carr
24
$465,000
$555,000
2019 (RFA)
Travin Dural
24
$465,000
$480,000
2018 (ERFA)
Dan Arnold
23
$465,000
$555,000
2019 (RFA)
New Signings for 2018
Player
Age
2018 Cap Hit
Signed Through
Josh Huff
26
$705,000
2018 (RFA)
Paul Turner
25
$555,000
2018 (RFA)
Wide receiver is an interesting group for the Saints, because they have decisions to make on two significant but not irreplaceable contributors.
The starters will almost certainly remain the same. Ted Ginn had one of the best seasons of his career in 2017, and I see no reason the Saints won’t bring him back. Michael Thomas is still on a rookie contract, and while the Saints will obviously extend him, they can (and probably will) wait another offseason to do so.
Willie Snead is an interesting question; he’s performed well in the past, cracking 1,000 yards in 2016, but saw his role dramatically decline this season. He’s a restricted free agent, so the Saints have the right to match any contract offer he receives and keep him. If teams want to pay for his 2017 performance, the Saints should be able to match easily. If a team pays him in hopes of getting his 2016 performance, he may be too expensive for the Saints to want to matc. (And in a year where the Saints don’t need to make too many changes to the roster, it might be better to let a player like Snead walk and try to get a compensatory pick for him in 2019.)
Brandon Coleman is also a restricted free agent. He’s been adequate in his role, and I could see the Saints bringing him back on a cheap deal. However, his best season was 2015, when he had 30 catches for 454 yards; that kind of production is fairly easy to replace.
The Saints claimed Austin Carr from the Patriots at the 53-man roster deadline, which mandated keeping him on the 53-man roster all season. It’s not clear how much of a future they see Carr as having, but Carr is a good route runner with sure hands and was highly productive his final year at Northwestern, dominating the share of targets, yards, and touchdowns in their passing game. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Saints see Carr as their next Snead, and choose to bring him into a bigger role in 2018 (he was mostly inactive in 2017) while moving on from Snead.
I’d expect Tommylee Lewis to stick around in his role as special teamer, fifth receiver, and occasional gadget offense player, unless the Saints find another undrafted free agent-type this year who can do all those things better than Lewis does them.
Travin Dural was on the practice squad all year and seems likely to return there, unless he takes a significant step forward (possibly, say, to take Coleman’s place on the roster). Dan Arnold was signed after attending the rookie minicamp tryout last May but was placed on injured reserve. He seems most likely to be a training camp body. This is probably also true for the team’s new signings for 2018, although Josh Huff was a third-round pick for Philadelphia in 2014. In theory, he has the pedigree to be a difference-maker in the right offense. (In actuality, he’s probably a case of then-Eagles coach Chip Kelly drafting a player he had coached at the University of Oregon far too early.)
Whether or not the Saints have room to bring in a new wide receiver depends on what they do with Snead and Coleman. It’s possible that they draft one or add one in free agency if the value and fit are right. Seattle’s Paul Richardson seems like the kind of player they might target, someone whose career production to date will leave him undervalued, but who started showing signs of reaching his full potential this past season. (Though many of the Saints’ bigger free-agent signings have not worked out, they have a relatively good track record of signing undervalued players or players who are on the verge of breaking out and go on to perform very well for them: think Jabari Greer or Joe Horn.)
This class also seems to have a decent crop of receivers, some of whom could be available in the middle rounds. Maryland’s D.J. Moore is a favorite sleeper for many, but I think his stock may rise ahead of the Saints’ third-round pick. (Is he worth a first-rounder? I don’t know yet.) Other potential names in the later rounds who could provide a valuable return on investment include Washington’s Dante Pettis, LSU’s D.J. Chark, or Notre Dame’s Equanimeous St. Brown, which might be the most fun name to put on the back of a Saints jersey since Stanley Jean-Baptiste (and who can’t possibly be as big a bust).
Photo credit: Chuck Cook, USA TODAY SportsTIGHT ENDS2017 Players and Cap Information
Player
Age
2017 Cap Hit
2018 Cap Hit
Signed Through
Coby Fleener
29
$7,500,000
$8,000,000
2020
Josh Hill
28
$2,595,833
$2,833,334
2018
Michael Hoomanawanui
30
$1,933,333
$1,933,334
2018
Garrett Griffin
24
$136,765
$555,000
2018 (ERFA)
New Signings for 2018
Player
Age
2018 Cap Hit
Signed Through
Alex Ellis
25
$555,000
2018 (ERFA)
(spotrac.com mistakenly lists Mitchell Loewen as a tight end; he’s a defensive lineman.)
Coby Fleener is probably one of the most obvious candidates to be a cap casualty this offseason. I wasn’t a fan of the signing at the time, thinking he was being paid more for name recognition and draft pedigree than performance. (And I thought his draft pedigree was largely a product of playing with Andrew Luck at Stanford.) That said, Fleener deserves credit for being one of the league’s best-performing tight ends last season in clutch situations– although that was almost entirely due to his performance in the fourth quarter of the Saints’ furious comeback against Washington.
All in all, though, he never really became a significant part of the offense, and if the Saints designate him a post-June 1 cut, saving $3 million this year (but still having $5 million in dead cap this year and $3.2 million next). Alternately, if the Saints decide they have room to carry his full $8 million cap charge this year, they can release him next offseason and save $5.8 million. The fact that they kept him around this long, past the February 7 date when $3.4 million of his 2018 salary became guaranteed, suggests they either plan to keep him around for 2018, or else believe he hasn’t recovered enough from the season-ending concussion he suffered to pass a physical. (Teams can’t release injured players unless they come to a settlement; a player who is injured in a football activity has his salary guaranteed until he is no longer injured.)
Josh Hill was a capable secondary receiving tight end, although someone Sean Payton may be a little too fond of: Hill had some crucial fumbles in the red zone and was the target on the Deion Jones interception that ended New Orleans’ comeback drive at Atlanta, and Payton has called plays like a reverse to Hill in crucial fourth-and-short situations (it did not work). Michael Hoomanawanui is a solid blocking tight end and seems to be a favorite of the coaching staff in that role. While the team could save a decent amount of money releasing either of them ($2 million and $1.6 million, respectively), it seems unlikely they’ll do so.
Garrett Griffin went undrafted in 2016 and spent both years since on the Saints’ practice squad, until he was called up in December after the Fleener injury, before going on IR himself with a foot injury in January. It’s not clear yet if the plan is to keep him on the practice squad, or to give him a chance to replace one of the top three tight ends on the final roster.
I don’t know anything yet about Ellis; like most futures contracts, he’ll probably be a training camp body unless he impresses enough in camp to make the final roster. (The Saints do give players like that a chance; see Trey Edmunds, Justin Hardee, and Arthur Maulet this past year.)
Tight end was a big position for the Saints when Jimmy Graham was around, although its role has been diminished since, particularly in 2017 with the offense primarily going through the running backs and Michael Thomas. It’s a difficult position to evaluate what the Saints might do, because while they’re seemingly fine at the moment, there’s a chance none of the current top three tight ends will be on the roster in 2019.
I wouldn’t be surprised if they tried to draft a player they liked at the position; even if they don’t intend for him to have a big role this year, the status of the contracts at the position beyond 2018 demand at least looking into the possibility of making a move to stabilize the position long-term. Mark Andrews of Oklahoma is generally considered the draft’s top tight end prospect, and would not be an unreasonable selection at the Saints’ #27 pick. Dallas Goedert of South Dakota State seems to fit the profile of an athletic pass-catching tight end, if the Saints want to attempt to return to having a Graham-type element at the position in the long term.
Of course, Graham himself is a free agent this year; while age and a patella injury have reduced his athleticism and effectiveness a bit, he would still be the best tight end on the roster if the Saints decided to bring him back. While I wouldn’t expect another 2013 season (86 receptions, 1215 yards, 16 touchdowns), I also think he’d probably be more productive back in New Orleans than he was The other potential prizes in the free agent class are Philadelphia’s Trey Burton, who emerged as a starter-caliber player but was stuck behind Zach Ertz; and Cincinnati’s Tyler Eifert, a dominant red zone weapon when healthy, which is almost never. I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Saints pursue one of these players, especially if they decide to release Fleener.
Next time: The offensive line.
Three days ago, The Intercept published a fascinating and alarming report: Members of the Republican Attorneys General Association (RAGA) had “created a secret online bulletin board called the ‘Briefing Room’ that’s allowing big donors to help shape legal policy” as a part of its so-called “nonprofit policy arm,” a 501(c)(4) named the Rule of Law Defense Fund (RLDF). Their correspondence and reports have largely remained unknown to the public, despite the fact that this organization is comprised of a group of elected officials who collaborate on making policy recommendations to the White House and various federal departments and agencies..
Jeff Landry and Donald Trump in the Oval Office.
“Ethics experts said Republican attorneys general — who are responsible for ensuring compliance with open records laws — are improperly hiding their own policy dealings from the public,” The Intercept reported.
According to RAGA’s most recently available 990 report to the IRS, which covers the year 2016, the organizations appear to be two sides of the same coin, sharing office space and personnel with one another.
Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry currently holds a prominent title with RAGA; he is the organization’s “Nominations Chair,” and his employee, Louisiana Solicitor General Liz Murrill, is named in at least one internal document as a point of contact for RLDF’s working group with the Trump administration.
The Intercept made multiple public records requests in multiple states for any and all communications shared by state attorneys general and the RLDF, which charges donors $25,000 a piece for access to its secret “Briefing Room” bulletin board; for the most part, they were met with obfuscation and denials.
However, theydid acquire a letter from Liz Murrill to Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price, requesting that the HHS change the interpretation of a federal rule in order to allow Landry and others to pursue investigations and arrests of individuals accused of Medicaid beneficiary fraud. Murrill had attached her office’s letter to Sec. Price in an e-mail sent to a staffer at RLDF, requesting the item be placed onto the agenda of their next meeting. (The Bayou Brief is currently developing a separate story about this effort, which we hope to publish within the next two weeks).
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The Bayou Brief reached out to one of the reporters who collaborated and contributed with The Intercept on its story about the RLDF, Andrew Perez, who works for the non-profit government watchdog group MapLight. Perez volunteered to provide The Bayou Brief with the entire cache of public records they had received from Jeff Landry’s office. These documents shed no additional light on the contributions Landry’s office has made to the RLDF, but, in many ways, they provide unique insight into his office’s priorities and policy agenda, which we will explore and unpack in a subsequent series of reports.
There is, however, one immediate thing that stands out about Landry’s office and the ways in which it evaluates and determines which records it considers to be subject to disclosure, and it should be a cause of concern for anyone who champions government transparency and respects the fundamental right of citizens, as enshrined in the Louisiana State Constitution, to have access to public records.
It is particularly troubling because, as The Bayou Brief can independently confirm, the tactic has been used by Landry’s office on at least two occasions.
As a part of The Intercept‘s initial public records request, which was filed in late September of last year, Perez requested e-mails between Landry’s office and the United States Department of Justice, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the White House. According to Luke Donovan, a staff attorney who handles public records requests, there were more than 1,800 documents that fit their search criteria, primarily due to the voluminous records exchanged between the state’s Department of Justice and the federal Department of Justice.
“Are there a lot of DoJ records? Would it have much impact if you just cut those out?” Perez asked Donovan on Oct. 31st of last year.
Donovan responded the same day, “That’s not a specific value that we coded for, so I couldn’t give you an exact page number for DoJ records, but yes, I believe cutting those out would decrease your page count significantly. I will work on it and get a more accurate page count for you.”
Donovan was right: Nearly a month later, on Nov. 27th, 2017, he sent his response to Perez (emphasis added), “Our office identified 40 pages of responsive non-privileged records. In addition, 16 pages of records were withheld under attorney-client and deliberativeprocess privileges.” Out of the 1,800 pages of documents initially identified, Landry’s office could now furnish only 40 pages.
Perez forwarded the letter to one of his colleagues at MapLight, the Pultizer Prize-winning journalist Frank Bass. “Got these files from Louisiana AG’s office,” Perez wrote (emphasis added). “I asked him (Donovan) about the files he says they are withholding because I don’t see how they can use a deliberativeprocess exemption when we are requesting their comms with people outside the agency.”
Around the same time last year, The Bayou Brief submitted a different public records request with Landry’s office, seeking, among other things. any and all correspondence to or from Shane Guidry.
Guidry is a mega-millionaire who owns a successful maritime transportation company, Harvey Gulf, and is currently the single largest donor to Republican candidates and causes in Louisiana. He also just so happens to be moonlighting as an employee of Landry’s office, with the title of “Head of the Criminal Investigations Unit.”
On Dec. 22nd of last year, I received the following response from Luke Donovan (emphasis added):
After a diligent search of our records using the search terms you provided, our office has identified 37 pages of responsive records for the first portion of your request (which asked for Guidry’s e-mails) and 176 pages of responsive records for the third portion of your request (which asked for records containing my name; I was interested in how my records requests were being handled). Copies of these records are attached to this correspondence.
Furthermore, 311 pages of intra-office email records will be withheld under the deliberative process privilege and six (6) pages of email records will be withheld under the attorney-client privilege. The deliberative process privilege protects confidential intra-agency advisory opinions, disclosure of which would be injurious to the consultative functions of government. Accordingly, it is this office’s position that these 317 pages of records are not subject to disclosure.
Once again, the Attorney General’s Office was asserting an expansive deliberative process privilege; nearly 90% of the responsive documents, they asserted, were exempt from public disclosure.
In the 213 pages of e-mails they provided, there was only a single e-mail from Shane Guidry, containing only a single word, “Wow.” Guidry was responding to the news that Matt Sledge, a reporter for The Advocate, had subsequently made an almost identical records request as I had previously filed about the so-called “Louisiana Violent Crimes Task Force,” which apparently generated nearly 5,000 documents. That was it: Wow.
The Bayou Brief redacted personal contact information.
I wrote Donovan back (again, emphasis added):
I appreciate your interesting and novel application of the deliberativeprocess exemption as it relates to this particular records request. Incidentally, when I was in law school, I wrote an entire commentary on the origins and application of Louisiana’s deliberativeprocess exemption.
I think your office has just made history.
With apologies to Mr. Donovan, who, I appreciate, was merely doing his job, there was a good reason for my dismissiveness: The deliberative process exemption no longer exists in Louisiana.
It was eliminated in 2015, after then-Gov. Bobby Jindal signed Act 145 into law. But even when it had been on the books, the exemption, specifically, had never applied to anyone other than the governor.
Landry’s office was concealing public records by citing an old law that never applied to them in the first place, and no doubt, they were counting on the belief that no one would question or challenge their deception.
****
Act 145 of 2015, which was sponsored and written by State Sen. Dan Claitor, contained the following redaction:
Before Claitor’s bill was signed into law, this particular state statute- LA R.S. 44:5– had actually been known as the “Deliberative Process Privilege,” a part of former Gov. Bobby Jindal’s so-called “ethics reform” package that he touted during his first year in office. Before Jindal, the statute had simply been known as the “governor’s privilege,” a term that dates all the way back to the administration of Huey P. Long.
Jindal had pledged the reform would increase transparency in government. It actually had the opposite effect. Although the privilege was supposed to be limited only to the governor’s office- and not to any other state agencies and departments, it was routinely asserted by just about everyone in the administration. State Sen. Robert Adley had presciently warned at the time that the change in the law would turn Louisiana from “sunshine into moonshine.”
In 2011, Kevin Blanchard, then a student at LSU Law, wrote an exhaustive and informative, 43-page comment about the deliberative process exemption.
You can read Blanchard’s entire article here.
“LPA (the Louisiana Press Association) feels that the deliberative process has morphed into something other than what we thought it would be when it was presented in 2009,” former LPA President Norris Babin told Gambit in 2013. “It’s being used more broadly than promised. We were told it would make more records public. In actuality, it has taken more things off the public records table — and we would like to see something done about that.”
Legislators had been trying to close the loophole created by the privilege almost immediately after it became law, but Jindal waited to make the fix right until the moving vans pulled up the driveway of the Governor’s Mansion.
Ostensibly, the privilege was supposed to have allowed the governor the authority to withhold public records if those records were part of an ongoing deliberation, a right that all previous governors had always possessed; the change had been sold as a recapitulation of existing state law. However, the law’s broad language- anything that would assist the governor “in the usual course of the duties and business of his office”- was exploited by department heads and agency leaders to withhold records about routine government business, despite the fact that the law specifically stated, “Internal staff shall not mean any person employed in any other government agency.”
Superintendent of Education John White used the privilege to shield records about the criteria his office used to evaluate the qualifications of voucher schools.
A lawyer for the Jindal administration advised LSU to invoke the privilege in order to prevent LSU from sharing with the media about proposed budget cuts at the school and potential plans for privatizing health care services.
Former DHH Secretary Bruce Greenstein withheld information about the changes to the bid solicitation that helped his former employer win the state contract (for Medicaid payment processing).
And now, Attorney General Landry is refusing to release documents he claims are about “the consultative functions of government,” which is a meaningless term.
There are countless other examples, and it’s worth noting, at the time, Jindal’s Executive Counsel was Liz Murrill, who is now serving Landry as his Solicitor General.
Louisiana Solicitor General Liz Murrill conducting a recent podcast with Jeremy Alford of LaPolitics.
The law was ripe for abuse, and, in fact, it was abused routinely to hide from the public those records from agencies and departments that could be perceived as embarrassing or problematic for the governor, all under the dishonest pretext that disclosure would have compromised the governor’s ability to do his job.
The state Attorney General can assert privilege over documents and records related to “prosecutive, investigative, and law enforcement agencies and communications districts,” which is enshrined in LA RS 44:3, but those privileges are entirely concerned with the production of documents and evidence related to criminal investigations and the identities of confidential sources; it does not allow him to withhold internal communication about public policy, finances, and “staff deliberations.”
He cannot assert a now-defunct “deliberative process privilege” to withhold staff communications or his own correspondence with the federal government, and given that his office has made a distinction between the meanings of “deliberative process privilege” and “attorney-client privilege” (which he can rightfully assert), there is ample reason to conclude that Landry’s office is improperly hiding hundreds of pages of records from the public.
***
On the same day The Intercept revealed that the Landry-led Republican Attorney Generals Association and the RLDF were concealing public records from the media, Jeff Landry shared this on his Twitter account:
It’s an opinion column written by the leader of the organization Citizens United, David Bossie, in which he argues in strong support of a criminal investigation into Sec. Hillary Clinton. It’s a bizarre column, written by one of Clinton’s most vociferous critics, but at its core, Bossie makes the same, tired argument he has been repeating for years now: Hillary Clinton should be criminally investigated for potentially concealing and allegedly failing to disclose public records she housed on a private server.
Landry would be wise to reflect on the old adage: “When you point one finger, there are three fingers pointing back to you.” And while he’s reflecting on it, he may recommend to his colleagues at the Rule of Law Defense Fund and his friend, benefactor, and employee, Shane Guidry, to stop using private e-mail addresses on private e-mail servers to discuss public business.
According to Landry, that sort of stuff should lead to a criminal investigation.
The Bayou Brief is a non-profit news publication that relies 100% on donations from our readers. Help support independent journalism about the stories of Louisiana through a monthly or one-time donation by clicking here.
“I am very concerned about this special session,” says Jan Moller, the executive director of the Louisiana Budget Project (LBP), a non-profit organization that analyzes the impact of public policies on the state’s low and moderate-income families.
Despite Gov. John Bel Edwards’ repeated insistence that he would not call a special session this month unless an “agreement in principle” was first achieved with House leadership, that call was issued last Friday. The special session is scheduled to run from 4 p.m., Monday, Feb. 19th through March 7th. Yet there is no definitive deal in place.
“The governor’s stated parameters have not been met.” Moller says. “This call for a special session doesn’t do anything to reform Louisiana’s tax system, nor does it raise adequate revenue. And the GOP House leadership seems to only be willing to discuss items that don’t meet anybody’s definition of tax reform.” Moller has been at the helm of the LBP since 2011. Prior to that, he spent nearly nine years as a state Capitol reporter for The Times-Picayune. There are few others who have followed the Louisiana government as closely as Moller has during the past fifteen years.
Senate President John Alario may have summed it up best when he told NOLA.com’s Julia O’Donaghue, “I don’t think there is an agreement in concrete. I think there is an agreement to proceed.”
In his call, the governor is asking for legislation to alter parts of the tax system affecting state income tax brackets and excess itemized deductions, even though those proposed reforms have failed to pass out of the House during sessions over the past two years. House Republicans have indicated they still don’t support those concepts, nor will they agree to imposing sales taxes on services – another call item that has previously been tried and died.
Moller says it’s clear. “Reform is off the table. Over the past several years, we’ve had the Richardson Report, the Tax Foundation Report, the Tax Reform Task Force Report, and our report – the Louisiana Budget Project report – all basically agreeing on what tax reforms we ought to implement. All of that has been shunted to the side.
“The easiest reform – eliminating the state deductibility of federal income taxes paid, which alone would raise state revenue by almost a billion dollars – isn’t even in the call,” Moller remarks.
Last year, in order to stave off a $1 billion budget shortfall, the governor and the legislature agreed to temporarily add another cent- a “fifth penny”- to the state’s sales tax, and as a result, Louisiana’s combined state and local sales taxes are the highest in the country.
And while the governor has said he does not want to see a renewal of the fifth penny of sales tax – a collection which ends June 30, 2018 and is the biggest single component in creating the fiscal cliff – it is also a part of the call. House leadership has signaled Republican members are leaning toward making a portion of that tax permanent. Some House Democrats are adamantly opposed. Higher sales taxes disproportionally affect low-income families.
Moller comments, “Renewal of a half-cent or a quarter-cent of the fifth sales tax penny is not a plan. It’s a portion of a plan.”
But Moller reserves his greatest concerns for what he calls “the conditions the House has put on this whole problem.”
He’s particularly alarmed by the call’s inclusion of the House Speaker’s demand for an “expenditure limit.”
“This spending cap is modeled after Colorado’s TABOR – Taxpayer Bill of Rights, which was passed in 1992 and limits Colorado’s revenue growth to a percentage of the annual inflation rate and its population growth,” Moller explains.
“Here the House leaders want to put an arbitrary limit on state spending. It’s a gimmick that doesn’t clean up the tax code and has no economic justification,” Moller continues. “And because it’s an across-the-board limit on state spending growth, this could have a generational impact on Louisiana’s ability to provide services for all the things we agree we want and need to invest in: roads, healthcare, higher education, K-12 education, and pre-school programs. In the future we might have the revenue available to invest in those things, but (if the spending cap passes) we wouldn’t be able to spend it because we put this stupid thing in the constitution.”
Politically, this special session has all the markers of a no-win scenario for the governor.
Even though House leadership failed to meet deadlines – repeatedly extended – for submitting their plan, Edwards did not stick to his own oft-repeated insistence on not calling a special session without such a plan in place, opening the door further to critics who disparage his West Point credentials by referring to him as “Governor Honor Code.”
Edwards’ call does not include the ability to address comprehensive tax reform legislation, and therefore, it may close the door on the opportunity to achieve a long-term halt to the state’s fiscal rollercoaster ride. It does include the demands by House leadership for legislation addressing a state transparency website, a top priority for the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry, as well as Medicaid restrictions, even though those items could be addressed in the regular session which begins March 12. (Bills for both the Louisiana Checkbook concept and Medicaid work requirements were pre-filed for that session prior to the special session call issued Feb. 9th).
“The Louisiana Checkbook (website) idea is fine,” Moller says, though he views the campaign for it as a “distraction” from the real fiscal issues.
Similarly, the current proposal to tether a work requirement to Medicaid eligibility, which is being championed by House Republican Caucus Leader Lance Harris, has nothing to do with the immediate budget crisis and is likely to face significant opposition from Democrats.
And then there’s that fifth penny of sales tax.
The governor doesn’t want it renewed, yet House Republicans are looking at extending a part of it. The part of it they don’t renew could then be portrayed as their “tax cut,” when the 2019 statewide elections roll around.
But there is a way out of the no-win scenario: Kobayashi Maru.
For the uninitiated, Kobayashi Maru comes from the 1982 movie Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. It is a training exercise for Starfleet Academy cadets described as “the no-win scenario.” A civilian freighter (the Kobayashi Maru) becomes disabled, drifting into the Neutral (no-fly) Zone between United Federation space and Klingon Empire space. They put out a distress call, yet a rescue attempt by the Federation ship would violate treaty, and invite Klingon attack. Without rescue, civilians aboard the freighter will certainly die.
In the movie, it is stated that Admiral James T. Kirk is the only person to have beaten the no-win scenario. He says, “I reprogrammed the simulation so it was possible to rescue the ship. I changed the conditions of the test.”
There are already distress calls from those who will be severely impacted should lawmakers choose not to replace the expiring revenue.
“We are asking our legislators, please, to firm up the bottom line for higher education, no matter what that looks like, as quickly as they can,” LSU System President F. King Alexander wrote recently in a letter to The Advocate.
Katie Corkern, director of Northshore Families Helping Families, which assists those with medical and developmental disabilities, tweeted this past week, “The cost could be the loss of lives. Children’s Choice waivers keep hundreds of kids ALIVE in their own homes every day.”
Yet the Neutral Zone – legislative autonomy under the separation of powers doctrine – is something Gov. John Bel Edwards is deeply committed not to cross, even though House Republicans seem to have fewer compunctions about crossing that line themselves.
And while we never learn in Star Trek II exactly what changes Kirk made to the scenario to make it winnable, it seems one tactic could be fomenting mutiny among the Klingon ship captains.
Based on House budget votes at the end of last year’s regular and second special sessions, a change in House leadership could be a viable option. The votes are there. A different Speaker could also tweak committee chairmanships and compositions to facilitate the rescue of civilians aboard this Kobayashi Maru.
That way, Louisiana might finally have a real chance to “Live long and prosper.”
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I know I said I would continue the offseason series this week, but I wanted to use the Super Bowl as an excuse to look at the Louisiana connections of both teams. (I probably should have done this last week to highlight both teams in case readers needed help deciding who to root for or otherwise finding a way to have a stake in the game.)
First, though, I wanted to make mention of a move that seemingly, though not definitely, brings a sad end to a player’s time in New Orleans, one who had seemingly found a home with the Saints. The team released Nick Fairley on Monday, two days before $5 million in guarantees would have kicked in for the 2018 season. Fairley signed a one-year contract in 2016 and proved to be one of a few mid-tier and bargain free agent chances the Saints have taken that worked out well, as he notched a career-best 6.5 sacks from the interior, providing the kind of disruption the Detroit Lions had hoped for when making him the #13 overall pick in the 2011 draft. Based on his play that season, the team signed Fairley, then 29, to a four-year, $28 million contract which included an $8 million signing bonus.
Unfortunately, follow-up testing after his physical revealed a chronic heart condition that was thought potentially career-ending. Doctors would not clear him to play and so Fairley spent the 2017 season on the Reserve / Non-Football Injury list. This move seems all the more likely that the Saints think he will never play again, or at least, that they can’t risk $5 million on it. Perhaps if he his cleared to play, he can rejoin the Saints, but this may just be an unfortunate bad break for both parties.
Now to our main topic. We’ll start with your world champion Philadelphia Eagles.
It all starts with the coach. As an NFL player, Doug Pederson was mostly known for being Brett Favre’s longtime backup, but he played college football at Northeastern Louisiana (now University of Louisiana-Monroe.) When he retired in 2004 and decided to get into coaching, his first job was as head coach of Calvary Baptist Academy in Shreveport, then in their second year as a football program. After four successful years, he was hired by Philadelphia Eagles coach Andy Reid as an offensive quality control coach, and rose in his time under Reid (including following him to Kansas City to be the Chiefs’ offensive coordinator) until he was hired by the Eagles as their head coach in 2016.
Unsurprisingly, the team has several players who previously played for the Saints. Starting safety Malcolm Jenkins, a two-time Pro Bowler since joining the Eagles, was a former Saints first-round draft pick, as was nickel cornerback Patrick Robinson. The Eagles also still have Darren Sproles on the roster after the Saints traded him away in 2014, although he was injured three games into the season and spent the year on injured reserve.
Two Eagles played college football in Louisiana. Starting cornerback Jalen Mills went to LSU and was a seventh-round pick in 2016. Punter Donnie Jones, now 37, is another LSU alumnus, having been drafted by the Seattle Seahawks in the seventh round in 2004. He’s been the Eagles’ punter since 2013. Jones is also the Eagles’ only player to have attended high school in Louisiana, as he punted for Baton Rouge Catholic before attending LSU.
The team does have one other high school connection to the Saints, though: Super Bowl MVP Nick Foles, who rose from backup to hero with a pair of incredible performances in the NFC Championship Game and the Super Bowl, attending Westlake High School in Austin, Texas, the same high school which produced another Super Bowl MVP, soon (he’s less than 1,500 yards away) to be the all-time leader in passing yardage, and the best quarterback in Saints history: I’m referring to Drew Brees, of course.
The runner-up New England Patriots have their own handful of Louisiana connections. Brandin Cooks, of course, was a Saint until he was traded (along with a fourth-round draft pick) for first- and third-round draft picks, selections the team used on Ryan Ramczyk and Trey Hendrickson.
Punter Ryan Allen was undrafted out of Louisiana Tech in 2013, but the Patriots signed him and he won the job in training camp, beating out veteran Zoltán Meskó. He’s held the job ever since, although unlike his counterpart for the Eagles, he wasn’t needed at all on Sunday. (Jones punted once.) Backup defensive tackle Ricky-Jean Francois was originally a seventh-round pick out of LSU by San Francisco in 2009. He bounced around the league after his rookie contract expired; indeed, he played six games for Green Bay earlier this year, being released, then re-signed, then released for a second time, before signing with the Patriots, who also released and then re-signed him.
Only one Patriots player attended high school in Louisiana: Brandon Bolden, who played at Scotlandville in Baton Rouge before attending college at Ole Miss.
One more note: I wouldn’t be surprised if we see another Saints-Patriots connection develop soon. The Saints’ interest in Patriots cornerback Malcolm Butler was well-documented last year, although the two teams could not come to an agreement on a trade that included him. Butler infamously didn’t play a single snap in the Super Bowl for reasons that are still vague and unclear, and he’s a free agent this offseason; based on his comments after the game, his time in New England is almost certainly done. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Saints were the first team to call him; assuming they don’t have to break the bank, the addition of Butler would upgrade their secondary even further, and provide a potential lockdown trio if Marshon Lattimore and Ken Crawley continue to develop as expected.
Next time: We actually will look at what the team might do at wide receiver and tight end.
a dried, smoked herring (fish) which is turned red by the smoking process.
in argument, something that is designed to divert an opponent’s attention from the central issue.
The term comes from William Cobbett, an early 19th century English journalist, who claimed he had used a salted cured herring (red herring) to mask odors from dogs following a trail.
For nearly two years, Gov. John Bel Edwards has been pleading with a GOP legislative faction to come up with a long-term plan for solving Louisiana’s fiscal problem – any plan. On Monday, January 29th, House Speaker Taylor Barras did. Sort of.
In a letter to the governor, Barras said, ”The attached recommendations represent priorities that I and a majority of House members will require to be part of the final solution.” Leaving aside for a moment the use of the ominous phrasing “final solution,” let’s delve into the recommendations enumerated in that missive, and what they might actually do to improve Louisiana’s budgetary imbalance.
The biggest attention-grabber thus far has been the demand for a “Louisiana Checkbook” website. Based on an Ohio model, the revamp of our state’s current LaTrac online spending website would include “credit card transactions, contracts, salaries of state employees, and details on debt” from “20 state agencies, the judicial and legislative branches, boards and commissions and eventually local government.”
It sounds great, and conservatives have been quick to jump on the idea. There’s a website – LouisianaCheckbook.com – and a Twitter handle, @LACheckbook, that popped up on the web right about the time the Barras’s letter to the governor was released to the media. According to its website, supporters include the Pelican Institute for Public Policy, a Louisiana-based conservative think tank; Americans for Prosperity, the conservative advocacy organization founded and funded by the Koch brothers; the Louisiana Chemical Association; the Louisiana Oil and Gas Association; a handful of local Chamber of Commerce chapters, and the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry (LABI). The site solicits more supporters, specifically “business or trade groups.” LABI president Stephen Waguespack has become diligent in promoting the concept with his tweets, and LABI’s annual meeting on Feb. 8th will feature a panel discussion with one of the creators of Ohio’s website.
But what’s the price tag and – realistically – what’s the timeline?
The Ohio site took 18 month to create, cost $814,000 to build, and requires an estimated $1.3 million per year to update and run. Ohio’s state agencies and local governments already had a “uniform accounting network” in place. Louisiana’s Division of Administration, on the other hand, has long been frustrated by state agencies running on a variety of computer operating systems, which cannot “speak” to each other.
Louisiana began consolidating its computer systems in 2014; however recurring budget shortfalls in the intervening years have reduced the appropriations for the project and slowed its progress. And as Commissioner of Administration Jay Dardenne said when presenting the executive budget proposal Jan. 22nd, “To fund the multi-year cost of adding agencies in the budget module of la.gov is a $30-million commitment. This is what is going to get la.gov and LaTrac to look like the Ohio Checkbook concept. We can’t do anything like Ohio Checkbook until we have every agency of state government singing off the same sheet of music, and using exactly the same type of budgeting and reporting. That doesn’t happen right now.”
In response to the recent clamor for a Louisiana Checkbook site, Gov. John Bel Edwards issued a Feb. 1st statement regarding the conversion to uniform reporting for state agencies: “If this is funded, the conversion will be complete by July 2021.” Additionally, he said, “The Legislature and Judiciary do not have a reporting system similar to LaTrac” and including them would incur additional costs.
One has to ask, then, exactly how will a website project that can’t be completed for over three years, at a minimum required cost of more than $30 million dollars, reduce the $884 million fall off the fiscal cliff that occurs in less than five months from now?
Red herring.
The second demand in the Speaker’s letter is the establishment of a “state expenditure limit.” This would be calculated using a three-year average rate based on growth of state population, growth of total revenue, growth of state personal income, and the southern U.S. Consumer Price Index. It would be applied to the prior year’s budget appropriation, imposing that as a cap on the subsequent budget.
Speaker Barras acknowledges it will require a Constitutional Amendment. Yet even if the enabling legislation were to be passed during legislative session this spring, voters could not weigh in on the concept until the elections in November. That means if the spending limit were to pass, it could not be imposed until the subsequent budget, beginning July 1, 2019.
Again, the question: how does this help lower the fall off the fiscal cliff that commences July 1, 2018?
Red herring.
The most extensive requirements in Barras’ letter involve Medicaid – not surprising since health care comprises 26% of the entire State General Fund, and, with federal funds included, half of the total state budget. It is also one of two budget segments without major sources of dedicated funding streams, leaving it vulnerable to budget cuts. (The other is higher education.)
The Speaker’s letter insists on tightening income eligibility requirements to qualify for Medicaid, along with instituting work requirements and co-pays for Medicaid recipients. Tightening the eligibility requirements will necessitate legislation to permit the state Department of Health access to state Department of Revenue records. Work requirements and co-payment plan will require permissions (waivers) from the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) – a process that could take up to two years to finalize.
Once again, will this do anything to alleviate the imminent loss of revenue, due to the expiration of “temporary” taxes this year?
Red herring.
Speaker Barras’ letter to the Governor states, “I am requesting that these reform measures, by topic, be included in any Special Session call you would make.” But for the regular session which begins March 12th, Rep. Lance Harris (R-Alexandria) has already filed HB 46, which would institute the Medicaid work requirement. And Rep. Barry Ivey (R-Central) has filed HB 50, to set up the “Louisiana Fiscal Transparency” website.
Clearly, neither of these items are truly fiscal matters, which are constitutionally prohibited from being addressed during regular sessions in even-numbered years. In other words, requiring they be part of a Special Session call is another red herring.
Lastly, Barras had reportedly promised to present a list by Friday, Feb. 2nd of revenue-raising areas House Republicans would consider. It did not materialize, just as it hasn’t since Gov. Edwards sent his letter to the Speaker July 20, 2017, asking for such a list.
Red herrings.
Publisher’s Note: On behalf of The Bayou Brief, I am proud to announce that Sue Lincoln, a veteran reporter who has been covering Louisiana politics for nearly three decades, is joining our team and will serve as our capitol correspondent.Sue will be covering the upcoming legislative session on the ground in Baton Rouge and in halls and backrooms of the House That Huey Built, in a similar but more expansive role than her previous position at WRKF, Baton Rouge’s NPR affiliate, where, for the past four years, among other things, she hosted the popular daily segment “Capitol Access.”The Bayou Brief is a non-profit news publication that relies 100% on donations from our readers. Help support independent journalism about the stories of Louisiana through a monthly or one-time donation by clicking here.
Over the next few columns, we’re going to take a look at various positions on the Saints roster, where the Saints stand on contracts and salary caps in that regard, and what they might do differently for 2018.
Rather than play coy, I’m just going to jump in and cover the most important position and most important player, as well as his backfield mates.
(Contract figures and salary-cap numbers are mostly courtesy of spotrac.com, with the occasional information from overthecap.com. Ages are as of the first day of the 2018 season.)
QUARTERBACK2017 Players and Cap Information
Player
Age
2017 Cap Hit
2018 Cap Hit
Signed Through
Drew Brees
39
$19,000,000
$6,000,000
Free Agent
Chase Daniel
31
$900,000
$0
Free Agent
Taysom Hill
28
$465,000
$555,000
2019
The success of the team this year has changed the outlook of this position, for sure. The roster had been in need of rebuilding the last couple of years, and if the team struggled to another season of 7-9 mediocrity, there’s a chance the Saints would’ve decided to go full-on with the rebuild and let Brees walk, using their high pick to draft or move up for a quarterback. But with the team not only making the playoffs but playing like possibly the best team in the NFL (at least by one measure), the Super Bowl window appears to be open for as long as Drew Brees plays at a high level.
Brees has said he doesn’t want to play anywhere else, so the matter now is as simple as working out a contract. Over The Cap says the Saints have over $31 million in cap space projected for 2018, but that lists Brees’ cap hit at $6,000,000, when he’s got $18 million in dead money from his last contract. If the Saints extend Brees before his contract officially expires (March 14, the final day of the league year) that dead money can be spread out at $6 million a pop each year for the next three. Otherwise, it all hits at once. This creates significant incentive for the team to get a deal done.
The Saints probably don’t want to blow all their cap space up front this offseason on Brees, so they may structure his contract similarly to the last one he signed, with a large signing bonus and multiple voidable years at the end which would allow the cap hit to be kicked down the road. There’s also a chance he takes a discount to remain with the team, a la Tom Brady, but the Saints should be able to make it work either way.
It’s not clear whether or not the team will bring back Daniel as the backup, though his familiarity with the offense is nice insurance to have. If the team decides to use a draft pick on a potential QB of the future, that may crowd Daniel out of a roster spot. The Saints claimed Taysom Hill from the Packers at the final 53-man roster cutdown, and though they’ve famously used him more as a special teams gunner and punt rusher than as a quarterback this year, they seem to believe in his talent as a potential developmental quarterback. If the team feels comfortable with Hill as the backup, Daniel may not be re-signed.
Of course, this position really comes down to two factors: Drew Brees and the future. With Brees intent on coming back, the need to draft a QB is less pronounced, but the team could still take one if they find a talent they like who falls to their draft pick at #27. Baker Mayfield was once a popular link to the Saints, as I mentioned last week, but his stock has been rising and he’ll likely be a top-10 selection. There’s still a chance Louisville’s Lamar Jackson is available with the pick; I think he’s one of the best prospects in the draft, period, but as so often happens in the NFL, QBs who don’t look and play a certain way aren’t regarded as highly as QBs who do, regardless of differing levels of performance. (Anyone really want to tell me they’d rather have Josh Allen as their franchise quarterback than Lamar Jackson?) Someone who might be worth taking a chance on on day two (but is probably not good enough for a first-round pick) is Oklahoma State’s Mason Rudolph.
RUNNING BACKS AND FULLBACKS2017 Players and Cap Information
Player
Age
2017 Cap Hit
2018 Cap Hit
Signed Through
Mark Ingram
28
$5,345,000
$6,245,000
2018
Alvin Kamara
23
$708,193
$878,193
2020
Daniel Lasco
25
$349,411
$630,000
2018 (RFA)
Trey Edmunds
23
$465,000
$555,000
2020 (RFA)
Jonathan Williams
24
$247,353
$680,000
2018 (RFA)
Player
Age
2017 Cap Hit
2018 Cap Hit
Signed Through
John Kuhn
35
$506,471
$0
Free Agent
Zach Line
28
$470,294
$0
Free Agent
Running back is probably the Saints’ most settled position. Mark Ingram and Alvin Kamara soak up virtually all the backfield snaps, save the occasional blowout. Kamara’s emergence this year as a better player than even Saints management could have expected made Adrian Peterson expendable, and with him being under a rookie contract through 2020, he provides one of the best bangs for the buck on the team. The team could save $4.6 million in cap room by cutting Ingram, but there’s no compelling reason to do so, as effective as he has been. Ingram will be a free agent after 2018, so the Saints may want to think about their long-term plans at the position. Ingram will be 29 after the 2018 season, and 30 is often a deadly age for even truly great running backs. The Saints may want to move on from him at that time, to a younger power back, but that’s something we can talk about in next year’s offseason column.
The other three running backs are, respectively, a seventh-round pick, an undrafted free agent, and a fifth-round pick acquired on waivers. Lasco and Edmunds are primarily special teamers and played fine in that role. Williams was signed during the season after Lasco went on injured reserve, and if Lasco comes back to full health, he may not make the final 53. It’s possible the Saints use a draft pick on a running back, particularly if they find one they like who can play special teams or even replace Ingram after his contract expires next year. But as it stands now, the team is looking mighty fine at the position.
John Kuhn was the starter and only fullback on the roster until he went on injured reserve, at which point the Saints signed Zach Line. Both of them are free agents now, and the Saints will likely carry only one fullback on the active roster again, and probably someone signed for the veteran minimum. Kuhn turns 36 three days after the start of the regular season, and he may retire, but if he wants to come back, the Saints will probably sign him. If they don’t sign Kuhn or Line, it’s difficult to project who they’ll target. The Saints value the fullback position enough to keep one on the active roster, but not enough to spend more than the minimum on a player.
Next time: We’ll look at the team’s pass-catching groups: wide receivers and tight ends.
On Jan. 22nd, 2018, when Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards released his executive budget for the next fiscal year, he made certain to emphasize that it was “not the budget I want,” but he had little choice: He is constitutionally required to submit a budget to the legislature that is informed by the state’s projected revenue, and due to the expiration of a temporary one-cent sales tax increase, Louisiana will likely lose $1.4 billion in revenue, which translates to a nearly $1 billion loss from its general fund.
Although the state’s annual budget is more than $27 billion, only $3.4 billion of that is discretionary, which means we will somehow have to cut 30% of our discretionary spending in order to make up for the projected loss in revenue. This is a fact that has been largely ignored by the governor’s critics, who claim the state’s problems are the result of wasteful spending, believing that a punchy talking point carries more political currency than an honest assessment of the law and the facts. There is simply no possible way to cut one-third of the state’s discretionary spending by eliminating wasteful programs; we’ve already tried that, over and over again. We’ve already cut all of the meat; we’re now carving at the bone.
Gov. Edwards and others have referred to the document as a “doomsday budget,” with deep cuts to health care, social services, and higher education, including an 80% cut to TOPS, the state’s popular college scholarship program. But it’d be just as accurate to refer to the plan as the “Harris-Henry budget,” because, once again, Louisiana finds itself on the edge of a fiscal cliff as a direct result of the failures of Republican leadership in the State House of Representatives. And although the Speaker of the House, Taylor Barras, is a Republican, it remains an open secret in Baton Rouge that his colleagues Cameron Henry, who chairs the state’s appropriation committee, and Lance Harris, who leads the Republican caucus, actually hold the reins.
It is indisputable that Louisiana, once again, continues to find itself at the brink due to the irresponsible fiscal policies undertaken during the Jindal years, saddling the current governor with a nearly $2 billion shortfall on his very first day in office. It is also indisputable that the Louisiana legislature is dominated by Republicans and that the legislature, not the governor, ultimately has the power of the purse.
What most Louisianians do not realize, however, is that there are more than enough Republicans in the state house willing to forge a bipartisan compromise with Democrats and Independents to solve what has now become a recurring crisis. Unfortunately, the Republican Party’s leadership has continually made it clear that they have little regard for the job of governing, and until and unless there is a change in leadership, we will almost certainly lunge from one crisis to the next.
For example, late last year, for several weeks, Rep. Cameron Henry shamelessly held up the renewals of five major Medicaid contracts, worth a total of at least $15 billion, in what can only be described as a pathetic act of political theater. The contracts were never controversial, had been first negotiated by his fellow Republicans, were originally a Republican idea, and their renewals had already glided through the state senate, which is also dominated by Republicans. But Henry saw an opportunity to wield his power on the appropriations committee, and, in so doing, he single-handedly threatened the health care of more than 1.6 million citizens. Ultimately, he capitulated after the administration agreed to add superflous language allowing the legislative auditor access to data and documentation to which he was already entitled. Henry claimed victory, boasting that the negotiations were a testament to his leadership skills and his commitment to transparency in government, which is ironic considering that Henry appears to have filed inaccurate and incomplete documents about his own finances to the state ethics administration.
****
The current budget crisis underscores a sad and toxic reality about our state’s political system. Louisiana was, until relatively recently, dominated by Democrats, and many of the state’s most prominent Republican leaders were once registered and even outspoken Democrats, including both of our U.S. Senators and numerous members of the state legislature. But, at some point, opportunistic partisan tribalism became more lucrative than principled public service.
To be sure, there are legitimate ideological differences about the role and function of government between the two parties, but in recent years, Louisiana has been infected by politicians who would rather traffic in partisan hyperbole. It turns out governing is hard work and requires compromise, and it’s much easier to talk than it is to govern. It’s also easier to traffic in opinions that reinforce people’s preconceived beliefs than it is to legislate based on facts that may challenge those beliefs.
As the most recent budget crisis clearly demonstrates, Republican leaders in the state house and their allies in the conservative media have very little regard for the facts or for the underlying, structural issues that created the problems we are currently facing. Louisiana, they claim, is at the edge of the fiscal cliff because we spend too much, which is a neat and simplistic explanation that likely appeals to a great many number of voters but is also totally dishonest.
We didn’t spend our way to the edge; we cut, cut, cut without any regard for the implications and with the belief that these cuts- most of which were made to foundational civic institutions like schools and hospitals- would somehow generate more economic output. It hasn’t. We gave away billions in special tax breaks and incentives in order to line the pockets of big corporations, with the belief that we would somehow recapture all of it. We haven’t.
During the Jindal administration, Louisiana refused to accept billions of dollars in federal funding for things like infrastructure (under the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act), broadband roll-out, and health care expansion, and now that we are finally receiving some of those dollars through the Medicaid expansion program, Republican leaders and the conservative media pretend as if the cause of our budget crisis is increased federal investment. It’s an absurd argument, but when you tell an average voter that Louisiana’s total budget has increased in the past two years without providing the context, it is easy to understand why that voter may conclude the problem is that we spend too much, bolstering the case for more tax cuts and undermining the justification for additional sources of revenue.
And that’s exactly the case being made against Gov. Edwards by organizations like LABI, which is led by Stephen Waguespack, a man who- more than almost anyone else- is responsible for creating these ongoing crises when he worked as Bobby Jindal’s chief of staff; it’s the case being made by far-right legislators and on the pages of right-wing blog sites and on the airwaves of conservative talk radio. It’s a narrative that particularly appeals to rural white voters, who comprise the base of the Republican Party in Louisiana, many of whom believe the government is merely in the business of giving their hard-earned money away to undeserving minorities and moochers.
This is also the reason why Rep. Lance Harris thinks now is the right time to introduce a bill forcing anyone who receives health insurance through Medicaid and is able-bodied to hold a full-time job or volunteer at least 20 hours a week. Although the proposed law would necessitate the dramatic expansion of government bureaucracy and intrude on the private lives of hundreds of thousands of Louisianians, treating those who receive Medicaid as if they are recently released felons on probation (and despite the fact that more than 76% of Medicaid recipients already have jobs), it also perfectly represents the misplaced and unserious priorities of those in control of the state house: a belief that it is better to spend public money in order to prevent people from accessing government programs than on the programs themselves.
****
Louisiana is a poor state, and yet, far too many of us have been convinced that we could become wealthier and more productive by disinvesting resources that help those most in need. It’s not aspirational; it’s delusional and cruel and dishonest. And far too often, it’s animated by racism.
Yes, we are also welfare state, but not in the way the term is commonly defined. We rely on the welfare of the federal government; 40% of the state’s revenue comes from the federal government. We could maximize the money we generate as a state; instead, we squander it, not on citizens but on corporations. Every year, we leave billions of dollars on the table through tax giveaways to the very people who need it the least. So, it should be no wonder why organizations like Stephen Waguespack’s LABI (or the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry) are adamantly opposed to any substantive reforms that would increase corporate tax revenue, decrease corporate tax giveaways, and eliminate tax loopholes. We are also a corporate welfare state.
Their constituents are not the people of Louisiana; they’re the shareholders of big businesses, who are just fine, thank you very much, with the status quo. So, instead of enacting meaningful reforms, even if those reforms enjoy broad, bipartisan support, they’re more comfortable with simply increasing sales taxes on everyone else to make up the difference. No doubt, that’s what they hope to do this year: Delay, once again, any attempt at reform and merely renew a regressive tax that disproportionately affects the poor and working class.
To do otherwise would be to acknowledge that their decade-long experiment in disaster capitalism and out-of-control corporate welfare has been an epic failure.
The Bayou Brief is a non-profit news publication that relies 100% on donations from our readers. Help support independent journalism about the stories of Louisiana through a monthly or one-time donation by clicking here.
Publisher’s Note: Rob Anderson, a writer from DeQuincy, recently formed an exploratory committee for Louisiana’s third congressional district, which is currently held by Clay Higgins. Anderson, a self-described progressive independent, expects to make a decision within the next three weeks. If he runs, he will be Higgins’s third announced opponent, along with lawyer Josh Guillory, a Republican, and Dr. Phillip Conner, a Democrat.
Donald Trump just isn’t that interesting.
Allow me to modify that statement: Donald Trump, as a person, just isn’t that interesting; as a concept, a lowbrow salesman catapulted into the office of the Presidency, his historical relevance will be significant and noteworthy. The man himself is just another prevaricator.
I have encountered and interacted with liars with agendas throughout my life; we all have. We learn to recognize the symptoms of the type – the smooth conversation that always seems to agree with you, even when he is spouting trope that disagrees. The gelatinous physical contact, the endless handshakes and back pats and arm stroking. The fierce gaze, focused on nothing. An accomplished peddler of snake oil will take the slightest opportunity to demonize someone else to ingratiate themselves with you.
We all know liars: they sell cars, copier machines, stocks and vacuum cleaners. The ability to hawk a product with no basis of belief is the hallmark of a snake oil salesman. A truly accomplished seller of goods, one to whom you might return to buy additional products, is one who believes in what they’re doing, at minimum; they might be selling average products, but at least their verisimilitude is average, as well. A computer salesman at a chain store will offer you a lack of critique of a midrange product, desirous of commission, but will not sing its praises in a manner that inspires disbelief.
Those salesmen who sell products that are egregiously substandard or shoddy are the topic – those who sell for the act of selling. Those who would lie, cheat and steal to encourage a customer to part with money for the benefit of the salesman, no matter the veracity or necessity of the product.
It is those oleaginous barkers who represent Donald Trump’s ilk, and they aren’t that interesting. There is no need to condemn or vilify a cheap pair of shoes with a meretricious sheen; we identify the shoddy merchandise and move on.
Before Donald Trump, here in Louisiana, there was Dudley LeBlanc, a four-term state senator who made and then lost a fortune selling the cure-all elixir Hadacol, which was nothing more than alcohol and honey. When asked by reporters why he chose the name Hadacol, LeBlanc would famously quip, “Well, I hadda call it something.”
I lived in New York City during the 1990s, when “The Donald” was often splashed across the covers of the New York Post or the Daily News – he was (and is) a glutton for media attention, a perpetual self-promoter. Perhaps it was due to the level of sophistication of the audience, but Mr. Trump did not inspire gasps of awe or even surprise, with his (seemingly) incessant antics – he was a sideshow, a loud and braying example of a salesman who took his head start in the money game (beginning his business career with a $10 million loan from his father) and parlayed that into shady real estate deals and other dubious ventures. He somehow always ended up in the tabloids, with yet another blonde, Eastern European wife, or another failed casino, or even an airline stamped with his name (as well as the expectation of spectacular failure, as with anything branded by the canard-clouded salesman). We shrugged at The Donald show, much as we shrugged at another, frequent cover model: mobster John Gotti.
Donald Trump is the subject of much overwrought handwringing, and it isn’t because of his unique nature: it is because his mediocrity has ascended to an office once thought to be reserved for the best and brightest beacons. The President of the United States, leader of the free world, has ever been an office which the citizens under its umbrella ascribed with dignity and merit.
In an equitable examination, it must be noted that many of our Presidents have been, in retrospect, “unworthy” of the attribution of greatness: Ulysses S. Grant should never have been allowed to raid the White House’s liquor cabinet, and the more obvious examples of Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton also come to mind. Nixon criminalized the office, with paranoia and spying, and Clinton marginalized the implied gravitas with oral sex in the Oval Office.
Donald Trump isn’t even our first “bad” President; he is simply not that interesting. The quandary that faces us is the realization that it is happening now; we think that if we stamp and shout loudly enough, his frat boy behavior and his sixth grade vocabulary will retire in shame, and return us the blind self-deception that great offices make great men.
It is the converse that is true: great men have made the office great. We are a (relatively) new country, only 241 years removed from our status as an arm of the British Empire; we have no long history of Kings or Pharaohs with which to succor our reminiscence. We have the memories of Washington, Lincoln and both Roosevelts to console ourselves as we read of The Salesman-in-Chief’s latest simplistic implosions.
We have bought a fraudulent bill of goods, thanks to an inexplicably popular sales pitch. We can only hope and pray that his dull mediocrity does not permanently assail the fabric of our Republic, and remember to keep the receipt.
The Bayou Brief is a non-profit news publication that relies 100% on donations from our readers. Help support independent journalism about the stories of Louisiana through a monthly or one-time donation by clicking here.
Our first offseason column for the Brief will take a look at some potential player moves for the Saints.
New Orleans’ coaching staff was selected to coach the NFC Pro Bowl squad, which means this week they’re in Orlando preparing for the All-Star exhibition on Sunday. Some of the players at the Pro Bowl are free agents this offseason, and whether the Saints will be coaching them or coaching against them, it’s an opportunity for the team to not only observe them up close, but perhaps get a chance to make some connections with them in anticipation of free agency (of course, not in any way that would violate the league’s tampering rules).
In addition, it’s Senior Bowl week in Mobile, Alabama; it’s a chance for a variety of viable NFL prospects at all positions to compete head-to-head and perhaps for a standout player or two to unveil himself. All of the league’s teams have scouts in attendance all week, as many evaluators consider the practices more important than the game itself.
No team ever stays put in the offseason, and even if they don’t make any big signings, the Saints will certainly bring in a few free agents, and of course they’ll have their draft picks. Based on who’ll be potentially available in free agency and what positions I think the Saints might target in the draft, I’ve done a brief look at some players the team will get an up-close look at this week.
Cowboys defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence turns the corner. (Photo credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports)FREE AGENTS AT THE PRO BOWL
The Saints’ coaching staff will be dealing with these three players who aren’t under contract until 2018:
DeMarcus Lawrence, Defensive End, Dallas. Lawrence established himself as a dominant pass rusher this year, and the Saints, while they have Cameron Jordan, could certainly use another one of those. (Who couldn’t?) The price tag on Lawrence would be high, though, and it’s far too likely Dallas uses their franchise tag on him or otherwise comes to a contract agreement. The franchise tag for defensive ends last year was almost $17 million; it’s currently projected to be about $17.5 million this offseason, and if Lawrence makes it to free agency, it might take a contract in the $20 million annual range to sign him.
Jarvis Landry, Wide Receiver, Miami. The Saints won’t be coaching Landry, but they’ll get to see him at practice, and Miami doesn’t seem likely to re-sign him. The Saints could arguably use someone like Landry as a slot receiver, but I think the fit is overrated and I don’t like it at the potential cost of $10-12 million per season. Landry was used as a high-volume, low-yardage target in the Dolphins offense, a player with more fantasy value than real value. He’s just not dynamic enough to really add something necessary to the offense. The Saints offense has enough options that can provide what Landry does, and better: Alvin Kamara and Michael Thomas both had higher catch rates and averaged more yards per catch than Landry this season.
Jimmy Graham, Tight End, Seattle. Graham pulled out of the Pro Bowl, but the Saints’ coaching staff certainly doesn’t lack for familiarity with him. Graham’s time in Seattle has been mixed, with his usage contributing to a depression in his productivity, and a patella injury two years ago that could have potentially sapped his game-changing athleticism. He seems to have bounced back nicely, though, with 10 touchdowns this year. Graham will be 32, and he may not be the player he was during his outrageous New Orleans years, but if he still has enough left in the tank, I don’t doubt that Sean Payton would be the right coach to once again maximize his talents.
One interesting name who didn’t make the Pro Bowl but was a first-team All-Pro selection this year is Carolina guard Andrew Norwell. It’s rare that an All-Pro is allowed to leave in free agency, but the Panthers tend to be frugal and potentially could slide former starter Amini Silatolu or last year’s second-round pick Taylor Moton into the position. That said, the Saints are quite set with their offensive line for at least a year and maybe two. It’s not clear yet whether the Saints will pick up Andrus Peat’s 2019 option, and Max Unger’s contract also expires after 2019, but the other three starters are under contract until at least 2020. Whatever their long-term plans are, it wouldn’t made sense to spend big on a free-agent guard this year.
SENIOR BOWL PROSPECTS
Let’s look at some of the players the Saints might consider who are in Mobile this week for the Senior Bowl. I’ve broken these up into two groups; players the Saints would likely have to use the 27th overall selection on (or even trade up for), and players who should be available on day two and later. (The Saints don’t have a second-round pick, so they won’t pick after the first round until #91 overall.)
Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield (image courtesy Inside the Pylon)First Round PicksBaker Mayfield, QB, Oklahoma. Mayfield has been a popular projection to the Saints as their potential quarterback of the future, as, like Drew Brees, Mayfield is possessed of less-than-ideal height but has the arm strength, ability to manipulate defenses with his eyes, and competitive fire necessary for a quarterback to succeed at the next level. The Saints’ offense, built both to Brees’ strengths and around his limitations, is already set up for a quarterback like Mayfield to succeed; however, his stock has been rising and it’s looking less likely he’ll be available by the time the Saints pick.
James Washington, WR, Oklahoma State. Washington is another player who might go off the board before the Saints select, but there’s enough debate over who the best wide receiver in the draft is, and whether Washington is physically gifted enough to be the top receiver prospect, that he might slip to the Saints. Washington was Oklahoma State’s leading receiver three years in a row, and many expected him to declare for the draft last year. He’s not possessed of eye-popping physical attributes, and only stands six feet tall, but he’s a real technician at the position, possessed of sure hands and an advanced understanding of the little details. The most frequent pro comparison I’ve heard for him is Golden Tate, who’s not a #1 receiver but has been quite productive as Detroit’s slot receiver, breaking 1,000 yards three of four seasons since he left Seattle for the Lions. With Michael Thomas as the clear #1 option and so many other weapons for teams to account for, the Saints’ offense might be a place Washington fits as a player that allows him advantageous matchups and greater productivity than he would see elsewhere.
Marcus Davenport, DE, UTSA. Davenport is a physical specimen who routinely dominated Conference USA competition at Texas-San Antonio. The 6’6″, 259-lb edge rusher might be a first-round pick on physical talent alone; however, the technical refinement of his game has a long way to go, as Senior Bowl practices have demonstrated. Davenport looks great in the drills, but when the pads go on and the players have gone against each other in full-contact reps, he’s routinely seen the worst of it. If he tests out well, a team might take a chance on him based on raw ability, but he needs to be coached in the finer points, such as hand usage and finishing the play, to be worth it. The Saints could be a team that could do that, given their success so far in coaching up recent young picks on the defensive line.
Ogbonnia Okoronkwo, DE, Oklahoma. This is another reasonably deep class of edge rushers, and if even if Davenport rises out of the realm of possibility at the Saints’ selection, several other players could be available, such as Boston College’s Harold Landry, Ohio State’s Sam Hubbard, or Washington’s Hercules Mata’afa. Okoronkwo is one of those players; at 243 pounds, he’s a little light to play the edge in the 4-3 the Saints run, but, like Hau’oli Kikaha, he might fit as a guy who alternates between linebacker and defensive end, or as someone the Saints use when they run concepts closer to a 3-4. Okoronkwo has a ton of physical talent but has shown some struggles in finishing; still, if he tests out to be the athletic specimen he appears to be on film, that talent could be coached up into a valuable pass rusher.
SAN DIEGO, CA – NOVEMBER 26: Wide receiver Michael Gallup #4 of the Colorado State Rams runs the ball 18 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter against the San Diego State Aztecs at Qualcomm Stadium on November 26, 2016 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Joe Scarnici/Getty Images)Day 2 and LaterMichael Gallup, WR, Colorado State. Befitting a prospect out of a school outside the Power 5, I’ve seen evaluations all across the board on Gallup, from a high second-round pick to somewhere in the fifth round. Given his pedigree, it makes sense; Gallup was a late bloomer who played two years at community college before transferring to Colorado State. He immediately stepped into the role of go-to receiver for the Rams and put up two highly productive seasons there. Of course, with a player like Gallup, part of the question is whether or not he merely dominated inferior competition at a smaller school, or if he has what it takes to succeed at the next level. The Senior Bowl is a good first step for a player like Gallup, because it pits him against other players projected to be draft prospects. The entire draft process is important to get a better picture of Gallup: We have the Senior Bowl to tell us how he stacks up against similar competition, the Scouting Combine to measure whether or not he has NFL athleticism, and film study to determine other important factors to playing wide receiver: Whether he’s capable of running a wide route tree or from a variety of positions on the field, whether he has refined his technique or is just beating lower-level players on superior talent, how sure his hands are, etc. If he checks out across the board, he may rise past the Saints’ third-round selection, but if he’s still there, he could give the team a reliable complementary option to Michael Thomas.
Chad Thomas, DE, Miami-FL. I have to admit I don’t know much about Thomas yet, and his college production is nothing to write home about, but he’s reportedly looked good in the Senior Bowl practices so far, and if he tests out well, he may be the kind of untapped talent that becomes a better pro than he was a college player. Assuming he does indeed grade out well by the Saints’ evaluation methods, he could be the kind of player who would fit in as another developmental pass-rushing end, someone to provide insurance if Alex Okafor doesn’t re-sign or something goes wrong with Trey Hendrickson’s development.
Shaquem Griffin, LB, Central Florida. He’s the identical twin of Shaquill Griffin, a former UCF cornerback selected by Seattle in the third round and possessed of superlative athleticism. Griffin is a unique prospect who would almost certainly go higher except for the fact that he only has one hand, owing to amniotic band syndrome. This seemingly puts Griffin at a disadvantage on tackling and interceptions; however, he has three interceptions in his career, and notched 100 total solo tackles and 18.5 sacks in his two years starting at linebacker. Griffin is an instinctive and explosive playmaker, and while teams may shy away from him for the missing hand, I think whoever does take him will be impressed with the kind of player they get. (Just before this went to press, the Senior Bowl announced that Griffin won the Overall Practice Player of the Week award, generally considered a bright sign for a prospect’s… well, prospects.)
D.J. Chark, WR, LSU. Chark is likely a day-3 draft pick, another one of LSU’s receivers whose production didn’t match his talent; of course, LSU’s struggles on offense and at quarterback have been well-documented, given how often the team changes coordinators and signal-callers. Chark still led the team in receiving, however, and provided a big-play element with his ability to track the ball downfield (21.9 yards per catch last season). Chark also had two punt returns for touchdowns last year and could provide more dynamic play in that area for the Saints. His highlights are deeply impressive, but he’s got to develop more consistency and focus if he wants to have a productive NFL career. He could be the kind of young receiver the Saints could try developing for a year or two to see if they can get the most out of his talent.
Both the Senior Bowl and Pro Bowl take place this weekend; next time, we’ll see if we’ve learned anything new from those games, as well as begin to take a look at various other positions on the Saints roster and how the team might handle them in the offseason.
On the day after the federal government shut down, Congressman Ralph Abraham, a Republican representing Louisiana’s fifth district, flew to New Orleans to attend a $250 a ticket fundraiser for the Louisiana Republican Party, missing at least six different votes.
Although the LA GOP had announced that Congressmen Graves, Higgins, Johnson, and Scalise would also be in attendance, Abraham was the only member of Louisiana’s congressional delegation to show up to the event, which featured former White House chief of staff Reince Preibus as its keynote speaker. Scalise, the House Majority Whip, is recuperating from surgery at a D.C. hospital, and the other members of the delegation presumably realized, like President Trump did, that it would be terrible optics to attend a political fundraiser during the middle of a shutdown.
Abraham, who has recently signaled his intention to run for governor next year, did not publicly disclose or announce his decision to attend the “Elephant Gala,” but Dr. Craig Greene, a newly-elected member of the Public Service Commission, posted this photograph on both his Twitter and Facebook accounts:
From left to right: Roger Villere, Reince Preibus, Kristen Greene, Craig Greene, and Ralph AbrahamThe Bayou Brief is a non-profit news publication that relies 100% on donations from our readers. Help support independent journalism about the stories of Louisiana through a monthly or one-time donation by clicking here.
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The Intercept made multiple public records requests in multiple states for any and all communications shared by state attorneys general and the RLDF, which charges donors $25,000 a piece for access to its secret “Briefing Room” bulletin board; for the most part, they were met with obfuscation and denials.
However, they did acquire a letter from Liz Murrill to Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price, requesting that the HHS change the interpretation of a federal rule in order to allow Landry and others to pursue investigations and arrests of individuals accused of Medicaid beneficiary fraud. Murrill had attached her office’s letter to Sec. Price in an e-mail sent to a staffer at RLDF, requesting the item be placed onto the agenda of their next meeting. (The Bayou Brief is currently developing a separate story about this effort, which we hope to publish within the next two weeks).
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The Bayou Brief reached out to one of the reporters who collaborated and contributed with The Intercept on its story about the RLDF, Andrew Perez, who works for the 
It’s an opinion column written by the leader of the organization Citizens United, David Bossie, in which he argues in strong support of a criminal investigation into Sec. Hillary Clinton. It’s a bizarre column, written by one of Clinton’s most vociferous critics, but at its core, Bossie makes the same, tired argument he has been repeating for years now: Hillary Clinton should be criminally investigated for potentially concealing and allegedly failing to disclose public records she housed on a private server.
Landry would be wise to reflect on the old adage: “When you point one finger, there are three fingers pointing back to you.” And while he’s reflecting on it, he may recommend to his colleagues at the Rule of Law Defense Fund and his friend, benefactor, and employee, Shane Guidry, to stop using private e-mail addresses on private e-mail servers to discuss public business.
According to Landry, that sort of stuff should lead to a criminal investigation.
Unfortunately, follow-up testing after his physical revealed a chronic heart condition that was thought potentially career-ending. Doctors would not clear him to play and so Fairley spent the 2017 season on the Reserve / Non-Football Injury list. This move seems all the more likely that the Saints think he will never play again, or at least, that they can’t risk $5 million on it. Perhaps if he his cleared to play, he can rejoin the Saints, but this may just be an unfortunate bad break for both parties.
Now to our main topic. We’ll start with your world champion Philadelphia Eagles.
It all starts with the coach. As an NFL player, Doug Pederson was mostly known for being Brett Favre’s longtime backup, but he played college football at Northeastern Louisiana (now University of Louisiana-Monroe.) When he retired in 2004 and decided to get into coaching, his first job was as head coach of Calvary Baptist Academy in Shreveport, then in their second year as a football program. After four successful years, he was hired by Philadelphia Eagles coach Andy Reid as an offensive quality control coach, and rose in his time under Reid (including following him to Kansas City to be the Chiefs’ offensive coordinator) until he was hired by the Eagles as their head coach in 2016.
Unsurprisingly, the team has several players who previously played for the Saints. Starting safety Malcolm Jenkins, a two-time Pro Bowler since joining the Eagles, was a former Saints first-round draft pick, as was nickel cornerback Patrick Robinson. The Eagles also still have Darren Sproles on the roster after the Saints traded him away in 2014, although he was injured three games into the season and spent the year on injured reserve.
Two Eagles played college football in Louisiana. Starting cornerback Jalen Mills went to LSU and was a seventh-round pick in 2016. Punter Donnie Jones, now 37, is another LSU alumnus, having been drafted by the Seattle Seahawks in the seventh round in 2004. He’s been the Eagles’ punter since 2013. Jones is also the Eagles’ only player to have attended high school in Louisiana, as he punted for Baton Rouge Catholic before attending LSU.
The team does have one other high school connection to the Saints, though: Super Bowl MVP Nick Foles, who rose from backup to hero with a pair of incredible performances in the NFC Championship Game and the Super Bowl, attending Westlake High School in Austin, Texas, the same high school which produced another Super Bowl MVP, soon (he’s less than 1,500 yards away) to be the all-time leader in passing yardage, and the best quarterback in Saints history: I’m referring to Drew Brees, of course.
QUARTERBACK
RUNNING BACKS AND FULLBACKS
Although the LA GOP had announced that Congressmen Graves, Higgins, Johnson, and Scalise would also be in attendance, Abraham was the only member of Louisiana’s congressional delegation to show up to the event, which featured former White House chief of staff Reince Preibus as its keynote speaker. Scalise, the House Majority Whip, is recuperating from surgery at a D.C. hospital, and the other members of the delegation presumably realized, like President Trump did, that it would be terrible optics to attend a political fundraiser during the middle of a shutdown.
Abraham, who has recently signaled his intention to run for governor next year, did not publicly disclose or announce his decision to attend the “Elephant Gala,” but Dr. Craig Greene, a newly-elected member of the Public Service Commission, posted this photograph on both his Twitter and Facebook accounts:
