Democrat Senator Mary Landrieu had painted herself into a corner in her reelection bid this year. When it was revealed that she doesn’t actually live in Louisiana, the state she was elected to represent – a violation of state law – there was a chance she would have to justify why her “home” address is listed as her parents’ house. (Maybe her parents can’t handle the thought of being “empty nesters” since Landrieu has always listed their address as her home?)
But this is Louisiana, and her last name is “Landrieu.” Louisiana’s storied history of political corruption rivals Chicago for brazenness, and the Landrieu family has been marinating in the state’s halls of power for decades.
So when the District Attorney of Baton Rouge, Hillar Moore, announced he wouldn’t be perusing the charge it came as a surprise to no one, really.
However, a funny thing happened on the way to vindication – a copy of Senator Landrieu’s 1997 voter registration card surfaced. On it, the Senator of Louisiana committed a gaffe – the polite way of saying a politician accidentally told the truth.
Landrieu wrote her Washington, DC, address as her home address. Realizing the poor optics the truth represents, and seemingly not having a duplicate card, she crossed out her home address and wrote in her parents’ address.
Since this is Louisiana, and her last name is Landrieu, this won’t change DA Moore’s mind. But it could change the minds some voter’s who believe their Senator might be a little out of touch with the lives of Louisianans because she hasn’t been one since she moved to Washington.