U.S. Rep. Bill Cassidy, (R-La.), right, speaks to Sheriff Bud Torres, far left, and farmer George LaCour during a visit last Tuesday to New Roads.

Tommy Comeaux •

Many voters and political experts say the election set for Nov. 6 that will choose America’s president for the next four years—whether it’s incumbent Pres. Barack Obama, a Democrat, or his Republican challenger Mitt Romney—could be the most important election in decades.
While U.S. Rep. Bill Cassidy, R-La., a Baton Rouge native and resident, may not agree with Tuesday’s election being earth-shattering as some do, he does see it as an important decision for American voters.
He said if Obama wins next Tuesday, the nation will continue down its current course in most ways, while Romney’s election will mean some dramatic changes in national policy.
“That’s what this election is all about,” Cassidy said. “…So I think that although each president is somewhat limited in what he can achieve, I do think that ultimately you will see some significant differences.”
“If Pres. Obama is reelected he will spend his next four years making sure that the policies of his first four years become set in stone so the president’s healthcare law—even he calls it Obamacare now—he will do his best to ensure that the taxes and the government and benefits are all set in stone,” Cassidy said.
“He will continue to push his energy policies, which is some oil and gas and some that he’s attempting to push are windmills and solar panels,” he continued, adding Romney’s got much different ideas on the direction America should take.
“If Romney becomes president, he says he is going to re-do our tax code in a way so it is fairer to people who are middle class in a way that will raise revenue and address the deficit,” Cassidy said. “He’s going to replace Obama’s healthcare law with something which is more patient-centered as opposed to Washington, D.C., based.”
“He’s frankly going to be more pro-business,” he continued. “So by being more pro-business as opposed to pro-government intervention he thinks that we will have a more prosperous economy and I think he’s right.”
And Cassidy said the promises both candidates are making on the campaign trail are not merely rhetoric designed to earn them votes, but the direction the two men will take if they are the nation’s next president.
“I think that Obama’s solidification of Obamacare is absolute reality…It’s absolute reality,” he said. “The president really likes big government and you’re going to see more government.”
“If you talk about Romney, he has pledged to re-do the tax code and he has pledged to repeal Obamacare, so I do think he will do his darndest to do that,” Cassidy said. “He’s clearly more pro-business.”
There are also numerous seats up for grabs in the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate on Tuesday. Cassidy said he expects Democrats to retain their majority hold on the House, but believes the difference between the two parties in the Senate could become even closer, “it could become 50-50, in which case, Paul Ryan would be casting the deciding vote,“ Cassidy said. “It could even become a slight majority Republican.”
That could make for a real difference in the ease of which Romney could move his changes through Congress, the congressman said, because while he would need 60 votes of 100 in Senate “to make something happen, unless it’s connected to the budget.”
“So a lot of what Romney would want to do is going to be connected to the budget,” Cassidy said. “Whether it’s tax policy or repealing or replacing the healthcare law. So a lot of what he considers his signature issues he can do through the budget process, showing that he would only need the 51 votes and that he can get done.”
In his own reelection bid, Cassidy believes his chances are strong.
“Two guys are running against me—one’s a Libertarian and one’s a no-party,” he said. “Both are good men, but neither have done much beyond putting out a few yard signs, so I think they’re issues they’re talking about are not the top-of-mind issues for most voters.”
“You always say that good policies are good politics and we’ve always worked real hard to see that our policies reflect the values of our district and to represent our district well,” Cassidy said. “I would like to think that’s an endorsement of us, but until we’re reelected to return to Washington, you don’t take it for granted.”
 — © Copyright The Pointe Coupee Banner