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5 min readThe Louisiana Voter's Revenge
Bill Cassidy voted to convict Donald Trump after January 6th, and Louisiana Republicans have not forgotten. Six years later, as the senator runs for reelection, the voters Sarah Longwell and Tim Miller listen to in two focus groups describe him as "slimy," "two-faced," "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde." One man wrote Cassidy a letter after the impeachment vote promising he'd vote against him, and now says: "I think he thought six years we'd forget. We didn't forget."
Cassidy's predicament is the central drama of this episode. After taking what looked like a principled stand, he spent the intervening years trying to ingratiate himself back with MAGA voters—most damagingly by casting the deciding vote to confirm Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as HHS secretary, a vote Miller calls "one of the worst votes in the Senate" given Cassidy's medical background. The result is a candidate nobody trusts. His ads are everywhere in Louisiana, and they are exclusively about proving he loves Trump more than his primary opponents. The voters see through it completely.
The Trap Cassidy Walked Into
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What you'll learn
- 1 (02:21) **Episode Introduction & Setup** - Sarah Longwell introduces the episode, explaining why she is doing focus groups in Louisiana for the first time to cover Senator Bill Cassidy's reelection primary, and previews segments on Marco Rubio and Don Jr.
- 2 (04:02) **Louisiana Politics Primer** - Guest Tim Miller, an adopted Louisianan, gives a quick overview of the state's political landscape, noting its shift from a dynamic multi-faction system to a one-party state dominated by Trump.
- 3 (09:02) **The VRA and Redistricting Context** - Tim flags a separate issue: Louisiana is holding off on primaries to redistrict quickly after the Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act, potentially nullifying 42,000 votes already cast.
- 4 (10:06) **Moral Accounting on Bill Cassidy** - Sarah and Tim wrestle with their feelings about Cassidy: he took a brave impeachment vote but has since undermined his integrity, most notably by confirming RFK Jr. despite being a doctor.
- 5 (16:16) **Focus Group: How Voters Talk About Cassidy** - Listen to Louisiana Republican voters describe Cassidy as "slimy," "two-faced," and "wishy-washy," with one voter saying they've "proudly been waiting six years to not vote for him."
- 6 (19:47) **Tim Reacts: Schadenfreude vs. Alarm** - Tim feels some Schadenfreude at Cassidy's predicament but is more struck by the fact that no one in the group is open to the idea that January 6th merited any censure.
- 7 (24:18) **The Other Candidates: Fleming and Letlow** - The focus group moves to the other two major candidates in the primary: state treasurer John Fleming and Representative Julia Letlow, the Trump-endorsed candidate.
+ Full timestamped outline available in the app
Guests on this episode
Show Notes
This week's show has a rare note of agreement with our MAGA focus group participants. In Louisiana, Bill Cassidy is running for re-election to the Senate, and trying to pass himself as a MAGA true believer, even though after January 6 he voted to bar Donald Trump from office forever. Our Republican focus groups know he's full of it, and so does Tim Miller who joins the show this week.
Tim and Sarah also discuss Republican voters' recent Strange New Respect for Marco Rubio, JD Vance's falling stock, and whether Republicans have an appetite for a future Donald Trump, Jr. candidacy.
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