A Win For Democracy in New Orleans

One can only hope that there will be no further delays in the municipal votes for mayor in New Orleans. Folks like Jesse Jackson and his sycophants have tried to delay the elections time and time again because Hurricane Katrina dispersed the interest groups that those in power (Mayor Nagin) had relied upon to get elected.

A federal judge on Monday refused to delay New Orleans' April 22 mayoral election, telling both sides to solve any problems that might hinder displaced residents' ability to vote.

''I recognize that there is still room for improvement in that electoral process,'' U.S. District Judge Ivan Lemelle said.

Civil rights groups wanted to postpone what would be the city's first municipal elections since Hurricane Katrina, arguing that too many black residents won't be able to participate.

The Aug. 29 storm flooded 80 percent of the city, destroying some polling places and scattering more than half the population. What was a mostly black city of nearly half a million people was reduced to well under 200,000 inhabitants.

Some black leaders say the state's plan to allow mail voting for residents in other states, along with satellite polling places elsewhere in Louisiana, won't do enough to give all displaced residents the opportunity to vote.

''We can see that train wreck coming in slow motion,'' plaintiffs' attorney Bill Quigley said Monday.

Secretary of State Al Ater, the state's top election official, said he was prepared to work with the plaintiffs and the judge. ''I'm very proud of what we're doing,'' he said.

The city elections had been set for Feb. 4, but state officials said they could not possibly hold balloting that soon after Katrina. The postponement led to a lawsuit by residents who wanted no delays, and the state then set the April 22 date. The state's emergency plan includes polling stations in 10 Louisiana cities, a national advertising campaign, and an easing of voting rules to allow displaced residents to cast ballots.

With a changed electorate, reelection for those whose political destinies were intertwined with the former demographics of southern Louisiana is anything but a sure thing. So, Jackson and others were trying to delay the election to obtain more favorable demographics.

Shameful. Absolutely shameful.

And of course the eased voting rules will make the likelyhood of fraud a distinct possibility.

The people that would benefit from any delays in the election date are the same people who ran the city before, during, and after Katrina came ashore and distinguished themselves by showcasing the worst of all worlds in incompetence, political backstabbing, and petty bickering that left hundreds of thousands of Louisianans in the lurch.

UPDATE:
While the political situation shapes up, Paul at Wizbang puts the carnage caused by Katrina in some perspective. He notes that Habitat for Humanity would have to build double the number of homes that it has built since it was first established more than 30 years ago just to meet the need caused by Katrina. Are any of our politicians (either within Louisiana, Mississippi, and other affected areas or outside the Gulf Coast) up to this task? Thus far, it would seem that by and large they're doing a far better job on posturing than they are in rebuilding.