http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2014/11/democrats_rushing_to_raise_for.html#incart_riverBy Bruce Alpert, NOLA.com | Times-Picayune
on November 07, 2014 at 7:23 PM, updated November 07, 2014 at 8:56 PM
Democratic Senate group now raising money to aid Landrieu
After getting criticism by Democrats for cancelling advertising reservations for the Dec. 6 Louisiana Senate runoff, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee says it is now raising funds for a "moneybomb" to support Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La.
The cancellation of ad time previously reserved by the committee for the runoff had fueled speculation the committee was giving up on Landrieu after she only mustered 42 percent of the vote in Tuesday's primary. Rep. Bill Cassidy, R-Baton Rouge, qualified for the runoff with 41 percent of the vote, but conservative Republican Rob Maness received 14 percent, meaning the two Republicans took 56 percent of the vote.
Sen. Michael Benett, D-Colo., chair of the DSCC, said in an email to Democrats that the group will indeed be active in Louisiana. "Today, I'm joining with colleagues and allies around the country to give Mary's team the resources they need for a 30-day dash to the finish," Benett wrote. "Help us get out the vote in Louisiana -- join our moneybomb and support Mary today... Mary's spent her career reaching across the aisle to build coalitions and find solutions -- we need her back in the Senate."
Also sending appeals to help Landrieu were two Democratic Senate candidates who lost their races Nov. 6 -- Alison Lundergan Grimes of Kentucky and Sen. Kay Hagan, D-N.C. "Mary Landrieu is the type of leader that puts aside partisanship and works for people. We need people like her fighting for us in Washington," Grimes wrote.
Cassidy defends record on twitter after attacks by Landrieu
Rep. Bill Cassidy, R-Baton Rouge, is defending himself after Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., criticized him for opposing, as a member of the State Senate, construction of a new $1.1 billion replacement for the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in New Orleans damaged during Hurricane Katrina.
The day after the primary ended with no candidate getting more than 50 percent of the vote -- triggering the Dec. 6 runoff, Landrieu held a press conference in front of the South Galvez and Canal Street construction site, blasting Cassidy for not responding to Katrina by supporting a new VA Medical Center and later opposing legislation with emergency aid for people in his own congressional district impacted by Hurricane Isaac.
She called him "wishy-washy, unreliable, undependable, not sure who he is, not sure who he was and not sure who he wants to be."
Cassidy, a physician, responded via Twitter. "Mary Landrieu wants to know where I was during Hurricane Katrina? Setting up a surge hospital for refugees."
The latest Senate numbers
For those counting, Republicans now control 52 seats in the 100-member Senate, and could control as many as 54 when the final votes are tallied. Incumbent Alaska Democratic Sen. Mark Begich is trailing Republican challenger Dan Sullivan by 8,100 votes, with absentee ballots still being counted. If Begich loses and Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., can't beat Republican Bill Cassidy in the Dec. 6 Louisiana runoff, Republicans will hold 54 seats to 46 for Democrats. That would be a turnaround of nine seats from Democratic to Republican in the 2014 election cycle.
Yes, lots of GOP ads mentioned Obamacare
If it seemed Republican candidates and their conservative advocacy group backers were running lots of ads linking their Democratic opponents to the Affordable Care Act, you weren't imagining it.
Kaiser Family Foundation reported these findings:
Over the first 9 ½ months of 2014, half of the 1.3 million ads that mentioned health care made reference to the Affordable Care Act, many not mentioning the law's official name but it's informal title, Obamacare.
Of all political ad spots, 14 percent specifically mentioned the health law and most of them were negative.
Republicans included Obamacare messaging in 84 percent of their political ad spots that cover health issues, compared to 15 percent for Democrats.
Lunches made at home aren't as healthy as school-made
Sorry parents. Those lunches you pack for your kids aren't as healthy as those made available at the school cafeteria via the federally subsidized school lunch program, according to Virginia Tech researchers.
The VT researchers found home-made lunches had higher calories, along with more saturated fat and sugar.
Many of the home packed lunches, contained chips or desert, and many two deserts. For parents who want to make lunches for their kids, Virginia Tech researcher Alisha Farris suggests including fruit, a vegetable, protein and dairy. Along with that sandwich, add an apple and carrot sticks, Farris says.
Some Republicans have questioned new federal requirements for school lunches, saying that while they might be healthier, if they don't taste good the kids won't eat them -- defeating the purpose of the federal school nutritional program.
