Emily Metzgar's dictionary of Louisiana political terms.
While Louisiana is near the bottom of state rankings in many categories, in political shenanigans, we're a national leader. I've heard rumors there are some other states trying to knock us out of the top spot there, so these terms may be useful nationwide.
Examples:
–Campaign: An opportunity for elected officials to rewrite history in the hope that voters aren’t paying attention. A time of selective truth-telling and exceptional creativity during which elected officials endeavor to blend fact with fiction about job performance in pursuit of continued job security. See also rhetoric.
–Children: Second only to “recovery” as justification for action/inaction on a given measure. Particularly effective when exercised in the context of health care, education or poverty.
–Harassment: Distribution of information about an elected official’s voting and attendance records. Circulation of statistics, voting records and other fact-based performance indicators. Viewed by incumbents as unwelcome political speech.
As the saying goes, read the whole thing.
