CenLamar | Est. 2006

  • Under the Radar, David Melville Prepares a Serious Campaign for Congress in LA-04

    Two years ago, Republican John Fleming, a Minden-area physician and the owner of a string of Subway sandwich restaurants, narrowly beat Caddo Parish District Attorney Paul Carmouche, a Democrat, to become the next Congressman representing Louisiana’s 4th Congressional District. Fleming won the seat by a margin of only 356 votes. Although Fleming’s victory ensured the seat remained Republican, the nail-bittingly close victory demonstrated the district’s true competitiveness, which is often overlooked by political pundits and prognosticators. Indeed, some have suggested that Carmouche could have won the seat, had his campaign not taken such an aggressively conservative stance on social issues, a…

  • President at the Parkway

    Early this afternoon, as we were packing to head back to Alexandria, a young man walked by the house and, seeing us on the front porch, announced, “The President’s down the street. He’s eating lunch at Parkway.” I was staying at my friend’s house on Lafitte, about a block and a half away from the historic bakery and tavern. So we hurried out of the house and walked over to the Parkway, where a swarm of Secret Service agents had assembled. The President’s motorcade was parked directly in front of the restaurant. Of course, no one at the Parkway or…

  • Flyover of Deepwater Horizon

    I’m not sure exactly why I was invited to do this, but a little over three weeks ago at about seven at night, I received a phone call from someone at the White House, inviting me to participate in a flyover of the former site of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig and the current location of a cluster of clean-up crews. I haven’t covered the Deepwater Horizon disaster with nearly the same passion and insight and detail as other bloggers in the State, but believe me, it’s not for lack of care; it’s because I’ve found myself so frustrated, disappointed,…