John James Maginnis (March 17, 1948 – May 25, 2014) was a writer of columns and commentaries on current political events in his native

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

Maginnis' column appeared in

newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, sports a ...

s and other sources statewide. His website is read by political analysts nationwide as a barometer of governmental trends and events in Louisiana.

Career

After military service, Maginnis became a correspondent in Baton Rouge for ''The Catholic Commentator''. He began his coverage of Louisiana political events in 1972. He wrote three books: ''The Last Hayride'' (1984), ''Cross to Bear'' (1992), and ''The Politics of Reform''. ''The Last Hayride'' concerned the rise of

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

Edwin Edwards Edwin Washington Edwards (August 7, 1927 – July 12, 2021) was an American politician and member of the Democratic Party who served as the U.S. representative for from 1965 to 1972 and as the 50th governor of Louisiana for four terms (1972– ...

to a then-unprecedented third nonconsecutive term as

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

by unseating

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

David C. Treen David Conner Treen Sr. (July 16, 1928 – October 29, 2009) was an American politician and attorney at law (United States), attorney from Louisiana. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, Treen served as United State ...

in 1983. ''Cross to Bear'' narrated the controversial general election of 1991 when Edwards, thought to be politically finished, re-entered the governorship for a fourth term by coming up as the remaining alternative to

David Duke David Ernest Duke (born July 1, 1950) is an American white supremacist, antisemitic conspiracy theorist, far-right politician, convicted felon, and former Grand Wizard of the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan. From 1989 to 1992, he was a member ...

. In 2008, Maginnis began touting Louisiana Governor

Bobby Jindal Piyush "Bobby" Jindal (born June 10, 1971) is an American politician who served as the 55th Governor of Louisiana from 2008 to 2016. The only living former Louisiana governor, Jindal also served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives a ...

as a potential Republican contender for

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Vice President A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on t ...

of the United States. He also questioned whether Jindal's potential for those offices was taking up too much time from state duties in Louisiana. Maginnis particularly observed Jindal's lack of enthusiasm for the

Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

administration Administration may refer to: Management of organizations * Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal ** Administrative assistant, Administrative Assistant, traditionally known as a Secretary, or also known as an admini ...

's economic "stimulus package" prior to Jindal's speaking to the nation as the Republicans' chosen responder to Obama's first address to

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...

on February 24, 2009. Maginnis was interviewed by

Robert Siegel Robert Charles Siegel (born June 26, 1947) is an American retired radio journalist. He was one of the co-hosts of the National Public Radio evening news broadcast ''All Things Considered'' from 1987 until his retirement in January 2018. Early ...

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other n ...

(NPR) concerning Louisiana political trends.John Maginnis discusses the recent political trends in Louisiana.
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maginnis, John 1948 births 2014 deaths Catholic High School (Baton Rouge, Louisiana) alumni Louisiana State University alumni American political writers American male non-fiction writers Journalists from Louisiana American columnists American newspaper publishers (people) Writers from New Orleans Writers from Baton Rouge, Louisiana United States Navy sailors Deaths from blood disease Catholics from Louisiana