re: If Louisiana was a blue state..

Louisiana has some of the best solar tax credits in the nation.
We have free healthcare and free textbooks for all of our children. Our medicare expansion and charity hospital (what's left of it) gives free medical care to just about anyone who needs it. We have free college tuition for every student who can meet the minimalist of requirements.

Louisiana was a blue state until 2000 and has a blue governor now. If you add up all of the democrats and former democrats in the state legislature, they would have an overwhelming majority. Senators Kennedy and Cassidy were both dyed in the wool democrats not 10 years ago. The black caucus in the legislature is as big an impediment to medical marijuana and microbreweries as the GOP. Despite that, medical marijuana was passed and is in the stages of getting implemented.

Don't give me this "red state" crap. We're a purple state that is socially conservative on some issues and too broke and corrupt to function on others.