Donelon, Disco & the Dividends of Defeat

Man of the Senate: Secretary Glenn Koepp Speaks

Man of the Senate: Secretary Glenn Koepp Speaks by LaPolitics

Donelon, Disco & the Dividends of Defeat

In the latest episode of The LaPolitics Report podcast, Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon sat down for an in-depth discussion that spanned his nearly 50-year career in Louisiana politics. During an entraining and reflective interview, Donelon dished on his political roots in New Orleans and Jefferson Parish, and the role he played during the transformative period of the 1970s. If that wasn’t enough, the commissioner likewise offered up two rules to live by when faced with defeat, and he has encountered his fair share — on nearly every level of elected office: 1.) The friends you make when you’re a loser could come in handy as friends when you’re a winner 2.) Losing provides a real opportunity for politicos to review their philosophical beliefs and policy priorities Donelon also talked about his bid for re-election this year. “I’m very, very confident that the public knows and appreciates what we have done and how we have done it for the past 12 years,” he said. Plus, we kick off this episode with some very groovy sounds and a vintage news clip that’s worthy of your white jumpsuit.

Son of a Preacher Man: Bob Mann Speaks

For our latest episode of The LaPolitics Report podcast, longtime Bayou State politico and LSU professor Bob Mann sat down for an in-depth interview about his career in newsrooms, on Capitol Hill and in the classroom. In an entertaining and revealing discussion, Mann spoke about his early political experiences (as a Republican, no less) and the path that eventually took him through the offices of Russell Long, John Breaux and Kathleen Blanco. Mann also gives his early thoughts on the 2019 governor’s race and what is ahead for the candidates, although he is avoiding an outright prediction. “I learned last time not to make any predictions,”he said. “I’ve never been happier to be wrong about something than I was about that race.” Plus we get a congressional update from Adams & Reese’s Zach Butterworth and look back on ads from the career of former U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu.