Jindal will fight to keep Confederate monuments in New Orleans

New Orleanians will have the chance on Thursday to weigh in on the possible removal of Confederate monuments in the Crescent City.

Gov. Bobby Jindal’s office said it is looking into ways it can stop the removal of four Confederate monuments in New Orleans, but a recent report indicates his administration may not have any authority. Judy Reese Morse and Scott Hutcheson from the mayor’s office said the monuments represent the Lost Cause following the Civil War, in that they were erected during racially divisive Reconstruction efforts to nobilize the cause and have become symbols of white supremacy and ideologies that continue to oppress minorities. Each statue was evaluated separately by the 12-member board to determine whether or not the monument was a “nuisance”, reported WDSU New Orleans. The matter will then have to go back to the City Council before any statue actually gets taken down. The hearings are part of the 60-day period of discussions and public meetings that Landrieu outlined during his meeting with the council.

The vote came after a warmed open listening to Tuesday about the Robert E. Lee statue at Lee Circle, the Jefferson Davis statue on Jefferson Davis Parkway, the P.G.T. Beauregard statue on Esplanade Avenue at the passage to City Park and the Battle of Liberty Place Monument at Iberville Street.

Of course, Jindal too is focused on an election, which may explain why he and his aides didn’t bother to research whether such a law exists. Jindal’s all about scoring political points these days, and his opposition fits right in with the argument he’s pushing on the presidential campaign trail.

A spokesman says U.S. Sen. That’s what numerous people who spoke at Thursday’s public hearings did, including some who argued for keeping the statues in place.

City officials have not announced the date for the next hearing.

Others, who proposed similar ideas, viewed the monuments as a way to educate the public about the role the expansion of slavery played in American history, and said they thought the city of New Orleans itself was a museum. That is, unless they only care about appealing to voters who have as little interest in the underlying issues as they do.