John Bel Edwards Flip-Flops On Economic Development

Today Governor John Bel Edwards spent part of his day touting Monster Moto new facility. Under Governor Edwards’ predecessor, Monster Moto received economic development support, yet that hasn’t stopped Edwards from taking the credit.

By appearing at this event though Edwards opens himself up to charges of hypocrisy. That’s because when Edwards ran for governor he blasted Governor Jindal for helping Louisiana businesses with economic support:

“‘The previous administration,’ Edwards said, ‘blew a hole in our state budget by writing checks for tax credits, rebates, or refunds to corporations with no consideration of whether Louisiana receives a good return on our investment.’”

Edwards continued to speak this way even after he became governor. Last year, far from wanting to take credit for projects, Edwards actually said he wanted to “rein it in”:

“’It’s time we rein it in,’ Edwards told the state Board of Commerce and Industry. ‘We need to give locals some input, and we need to tie it to jobs.’”

It’s clear that now that Edwards is under economic pressure, he’s desperate to associate himself with anything positive. Edwards is the accidental governor, and every time he takes credit for something he had nothing to do with, it just furthers that point.