If U.S. Rep. Julia Letlow truly is in the running to be the new president or chancellor of LSU or the LSU system, as is rumored, then she really ought to pursue the job.
The third-term Republican congresswoman, originally from Monroe, could do more good at LSU than she can do in the House, and her pursuit of the university job would be a better use of her energy than a risky race for the Senate against incumbent Republican Bill Cassidy.
As a caveat — and while I am in no way privy to her individual family situation — the odds are high that the position at LSU, with one and only one job locus, would create an easier home front for a widowed mother of two young children than would the inherently split-focus existence that members of Congress endure.
Even when Congress was a relatively friendlier place, back in the 20th century, the frequent travel between home districts and Washington, D.C., was stressful even for two-parent families, even if the families were largely based in D.C. rather than back home. Now the U.S. Capitol is a den of political viciousness in a city choked by ever-more horrendous traffic, and one in which individual, junior representatives are hard-pressed to make much of a difference.
Quin Hillyer
Those political realities are worthy of more extended public comment. Unless a junior member is either clearly on a track for formal leadership posts or is a media-obsessed demagogue — or is on a high-risk mission to fundamentally change her party’s trajectory on major issues or in general — the chances to do meaningful work among 435 prima donnas are limited. This is especially true when, more than ever before (or so it seems to this long-term observer and former staffer), members are hugely fearful of political crackdowns from presidents or party leaders.
These days, there is almost no comity in Congress between members of different parties — very few bipartisan coalitions, much less friendships! — and even a paucity of genuine comity among party colleagues. Without casting blame at one side or the other, it is safe to say that in the age of Donald Trump, what always has been the rough-and-tumble of politics is now far worse than ordinary roughness. The U.S. Capitol complex is a toxic place now.
Granted, large swaths of academia also have become toxic. Still, it’s far easier to do lasting good when one is the person at the very top of a major academic institution than when one is a junior member of a 435-person body of people who each are answerable in conflicting ways to angry presidents, angry party leaders and angry voters.
Congresswoman Julia Letlow’s daughter Jacqueline age 4 gives a thumbs at the election night party at Tiger Stadium.
The comparative ability to make a constructive difference was analyzed a few years ago by Ben Sasse (R-Nebraska), who resigned midterm from the Senate to become president of the University of Florida. A senator by design holds a much more powerful post than a House member of similar seniority, and Sasse had even larger influence because he had a national (if slightly underground) following as a darling of conservative intellectuals; yet Sasse saw a Southeastern Conference university presidency as being a much better opportunity to do good.
If a college presidency made sense even for Sasse (who since left the university to help his wife with an illness), surely it makes even more sense for the more junior Letlow. And that’s even before acknowledging that her political perch is at least somewhat more precarious because Louisiana’s congressional map still faces a serious court challenge that could change her district lines yet again, this time in a way less favorable for her reelection.
It is well known, of course, that Letlow also is considering a Senate race, but she would first need to defeat both the incumbent Cassidy and state Treasurer John Fleming in a Republican primary and then outlast whomever Democrats nominate for a general election. That’s a tall order — and an exhausting campaign slog — even without trying simultaneously to do a representative’s job both in D.C. and in Louisiana, all while raising two children under 10 years old.
None of this is to say whether LSU should or should not hire Letlow. That’s a completely different question, although it is worth noting that she does have a solid background in academia at the University of Louisiana at Monroe and at Tulane. It’s also instructive to see that another former House member, Republican Jo Bonner of Alabama, is doing an excellent job as president of the University of South Alabama. In other words, the skill sets actually can translate well.
Either way, if LSU wants Letlow, she should snatch the opportunity. Compared to the halls of Congress, the halls of academe could offer her greater personal and professional rewards.
