The Revolving Door

Baker decides to take the money and run.

Demonstrating where his true loyalties lie, 6th District Representative Richard Baker made it official. He'll bail on the Gret Stet and take a job as CEO of a hedge fund, thus ending a long and thoroughly undistinguished career.

In 22 years, I can only think of a single positive accomplishment--an $18 million dollar Hope VI grant that paid to demolish an absolutely awful public housing block in what's called Old South Baton Rouge/the Bottoms, and replace it with single family homes. In real terms, that was one small drop in an ocean-sized bucket, as anyone who's actually BEEN to the neighborhood can tell you.

Oh, speaking of public housing, remember this?

"We finally cleaned up public housing in New Orleans. We couldn't do it, but God did."

Asshole.

That said, I'll give him credit for at least proposing the Baker Bill; however, the congressman evidently possessed so little clout that the Bush administration was able to kill it. So much for being the "dean" of the Gret Stet's delegation.

Oh, and I can think of several things offhand that the district truly needs (mainly infrastructure improvement), but for which Rep. Baker hasn't. Done. Squat. Gee, thanks.

About the only other aspect of Baker's career that's somewhat noteworthy is the fact that he faced genuine electoral opposition only twice in two decades, which speaks volumes about American "democracy" these days. Why bother with what amounts to a phoney choice when you can have no choice at all?

And now Baker chooses to ride off into a multimillion dollar sunset just as the economy nose dives. I suppose it's smart for him personally...and, all in all, maybe it will be good for Louisiana in the long run, given that we're at least getting rid of true mediocrity, a representative who couldn't even translate seniority into legislative accomplishment.