Washington Watch for Jan. 04, 2009

• By GERARD SHIELDS
• Washington Correspondent
• Published: Jan 4, 2009 - UPDATED: 12:05 a.m.

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As usual, Louisiana made national news last year in the most recent Congress.

Voters in Louisiana’s 2nd Congressional District that encompasses most of New Orleans elected Republican Anh “Joseph” Cao. Cao garnered headlines across the country for not only being the first Vietnamese American in Congress but also defeating 18-year Democratic incumbent U.S. Rep. William Jefferson of New Orleans.

For those who said it would be a cold day in hell before a Republican was elected to the heavily Democratic district, it promptly snowed in New Orleans.

Jefferson is already a national figure, pleading innocent to 16 public corruption charges that include racketeering, conspiracy, money laundering and bribery. The case attracted national attention after the FBI said it found $90,000 of its money hidden in Jefferson’s home freezer during an August 2005 raid.

In addition to losing his congressional seat, Jefferson had a tough year in watching his brother, sister and niece also get indicted for allegedly skimming thousands of dollars from a nonprofit group. And Jefferson’s trial is expected to start sometime in the beginning of this year.

Jefferson’s loss contributed to another detrimental trend in Louisiana congressional politics last year: the loss of nearly 60 years of seniority.

Former Republican U.S. Rep. Richard Baker of Baton Rouge retired in February, taking 21 years of experience with him. Republican U.S. Rep. Jim McCrery of Shreveport left at the end of the year with 20 years of service. Jefferson had 18 years in the House.

In 2004, former Republican U.S. Rep. Billy Tauzin of Chackbay and former Democratic U.S. Sen. John Breaux retired with 54 years of combined experience. That translates into a loss of more than a century of seniority to the Louisiana delegation — in four years.

The circumstance makes Democratic U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu the dean of the delegation with a mere 12 years of experience. Last year was good to Landrieu, who easily won re-election over Republican state Treasurer John Kennedy and positioned herself as the go-to gal for Louisiana with the incoming administration of president-elect Barack Obama.

While the rest of the nation was mostly electing Democrats to Congress, Louisiana bucked the trend by electing three Republicans. In addition to Cao, voters elected Republican Dr. John Fleming of Minden to replace McCrery and Republican state Sen. William Cassidy of Baton Rouge, who beat out six-month incumbent Democratic U.S. Rep. Don Cazayoux of New Roads.

Cazayoux gained national attention in May when he became one of three Democrats in the nation to win seats long held by Republicans. Cazayoux suffered defeat because of the candidacy of former Democratic state Rep. Michael Jackson of Baton Rouge, who ran as an independent. Jackson siphoned off 12 percent of the Democratic vote, clearing the way for a Cassidy victory.

In the “one door closes and a window opens” category, Cazayoux is considered the lead candidate to become the U.S. attorney in the Middle District of Louisiana.

Republican U.S. Rep. Rodney Alexander of Quitman becomes dean of Louisiana’s House delegation, having only been elected in 2002. Alexander holds a pivotal position for the state on the House Appropriations Committee.