Raymond Blanco tells it like it is.

The Independent - House speaker doesn’t get it

I understand the need for cuts given the current budget forecasts, but it was Speaker Tucker’s angry tirade against the state’s colleges and universities that revealed how little respect our purported leaders hold for higher education in Louisiana, and how little understanding they have for the critical need to properly invest in higher education. In his fury, he made all sorts of negative accusations, but basically declared higher education to be dysfunctional.

Blanco has seldom aired his political opinions in public, preferring to stay in the background. But I suppose he has just decided that enough is enough. The governor and his people seem determined to create a crisis in higher education, possibly as a preliminary to a power grab. And it was about time someone called them on it. Kudos to Blanco for coming out with this -- it's not likely to make him many friends.