The Economist - USA (2019-11-23)

The EconomistNovember 23rd 2019 United States 29

C

ountingratsina citymaybeim-

possible.Butwithplumpspecimens

scurryingaboutduringthedayonState

Street,themainshoppingdraginSanta

Barbara,a touristdestinationinCalifor-

nia,it appearsthatthebeachtown’s

rodentsarenumerous.Infact,ratsseem

tobethrivingstatewide.LouisRico,of

AmericanRatControl,saysLosAngeles’s

ratpopulationhasprobablygrownby

50%infiveyears,bringingpublic-health

problems.HisLosAngelesCountyfirmis

“busyasheck”.LosAngelescomessec-

ondona rankingofAmerica’s“rattiest”

citiesbyOrkin,a pestcontroller.

Whatisbehindtheratboom?Thanks

totheendofCalifornia’slongdrought,

morefruithasfallenfromtreesoris

tossedintothecompostpilesthatrats

love.Lengtheningwarmseasonshave

increasedrodentbreeding.Alsotoblame

arepoliciesthathaverestrictedhome-

buildinginCaliforniaandtherebydriven

uprents.Homelessnessissoaringasa

result—Californiaishometo12%of

Americansbutnearlyhalfthecountry’s

“unsheltered”,accordingtofederalsta-

tistics.Theresultingoutdoordefecation

feedsroachesforratstoeat.Clutterand

foodinhomelessencampmentsoffer

ratshidingplacesandadditionalgrub.

Despiteallthis,Californiaappears

likelytobecomethefirststatetooutlaw

mostuseofa highlyeffectivetypeofrat

poison.Californiaalreadyrestrictsthe

useofsingle-doserodenticide,asthe

anticoagulantpoisonisoftenknown,to

licensedpestcontrollers.Butpressure

groupspushingfora banhavegathered

supportfrommostlyliberallawmakers.

A ratthatemergesfroma baitbox

“weavingaroundsick”islike“alittle

tickingtimebomb”,saysLisaOwens

Viani,headofRaptorsaretheSolution,a

Berkeleyoutfitthatsponsoredab1788,as

thebillisnamed.Thepredatorsmost

vulnerabletodeathfromsecondary

poisoningarecoyotes,foxes,raccoons,

skunksandbirdsofprey,saysStella

McMillin,a scientistatCalifornia’s

DepartmentofFishandWildlifewho

supportsthebill.Mountainlionsarenot

toosusceptible,shesays.Manywere

outragednonethelessaftera mountain

lionsuccumbedtorodenticideinSep-

temberinCalifornia,raisingtofivea

NationalParkServicecountofsuch

deathssince2002.

SanFrancisco’sexperiencesheds

lightonwhatmighthappenif thebill

becomeslaw.Roughlyfiveyearsaftera

moratoriumin 2008 onsingle-dose

rodenticideoncityproperty,ratcolonies

beganshowingresistancetomultidose

poisons,saysLuisAgurtoofPestec,

whichhasa thrivingrat-controlbusiness

inSanFrancisco.Manyratshadassociat-

edtheirillnesswiththeslow-acting

poisonedfoodandavoidedit,a phenom-

enonknownas“baitshyness”.SanFran-

cisco’smayorwhenthemoratoriumwas

introducedwasGavinNewsom.Opposi-

tionto“super-toxicrodenticides”was

partofhiscampaignlastyeartobecome

California’sgovernor.

Somethingrodentinthestate

Californianpests

SANTABARBARA

A billinCaliforniawouldmakeithardertocontrolthestate’sthrivingrats

A lunchpailDemocrat

L

ouisiana’s governor John Bel Ed-

wards, the only Democrat in the deeply

Republican Deep South to hold his state’s

top office, won a second term on November

16th, a result that was startling from nearly

every angle. Mr Edwards hung on for a

51-49% victory over Eddie Rispone, a busi-

nessman, despite furious efforts by Presi-

dent Donald Trump to turn the race into a

referendum on impeachment. The result

has been misread in some corners as a re-

pudiation of Mr Trump or as evidence of a

turn towards the Democratic Party on the

part of Louisiana voters. It was neither.

Despite governing a state where 58% of

voters plumped for Mr Trump, Mr Edwards

is popular. His achievements—a balanced

budget, criminal-justice reforms—have

been cautious, bipartisan affairs. He is an

avid hunter and a diehard pro-lifer, taking

away two of the most reliable lines of attack

on Democrats in this part of the country. Mr

Trump told voters that Mr Edwards was

coming for their guns, but it is not clear

anyone bought that.

The fact of Mr Edwards’s victory is im-

portant. But it is worth asking why an in-

cumbent with a record of competent gover-

nance barely eked out a win over a feeble

opponent, when four years ago, as a virtual

nobody, he crushed a longtime Republican

standard-bearer. The only explanation for

the tight margin was what is going on in

Washington. Mr Trump’s presidency, and

the impeachment inquiry, have further

hardened partisan divisions and national-

ised races that used to be parochial affairs.

Mr Edwards’s perceived strength ex-

plains why his opponent was Mr Rispone,

the low-wattage owner of an electrical-

contracting firm. Mr Rispone’s only com-

petition in the primary came from Ralph

Abraham, who shared some of Mr Ris-

pone’s attributes but lacked his money. Mr

Rispone ran a campaign that consisted

largely of attaching himself to Mr

Trump—he attacked Mr Abraham for brief-

ly questioning Candidate Trump’s fitness

after the “Access Hollywood” tape. He por-

trayed Mr Edwards as a “liberal trial law-

yer”. He appeared at just one debate, rarely

spoke to the media and offered few poli-

cies, saying only that he would hold a con-

vention to rewrite the state constitution if

elected. How? Mr Rispone did not say.

Mr Edwards tried mightily not to anta-

gonise Mr Trump. A day after the election

he told Tyler Bridges of the Times-Picayune

and the Advocatethat he had avoided pay-

ing attention to the president’s appear-

ances in the state for fear it would cause

him to say something intemperate. He al-

lowed himself one dig on election night.

“God bless his heart,” he said of Mr Trump,

to a jubilant crowd—a backhanded compli-

ment which, in the South, roughly trans-

lates as “Forgive him; he’s a moron.”

Mr Edwards promises to protect the

achievements of his first term: less incar-

ceration, a rise in teachers’ pay, balanced

budgets. The biggest new idea he has put

on the table is a promise to put more state

money into early childhood education.

Whether even such a modest agenda can be

brought to fruition will depend on the leg-

islature, which has a nearly veto-proof Re-

publican majority. Four years of gridlock

seems a likely outcome. 7

NEW ORLEANS

A rare Democratic win in the Deep

South will not trouble Republicans

Louisiana politics

A familiar gumbo