Quin Hillyer is a veteran political writer who has stuck several toes in politics himself. He was a page at the 1980 Republican National Convention. He was around for a very big scoop. He later worked for Louisiana congressman Bob Livingston. He was part of the effort to block the ascension of David Duke. He went to Georgetown University, where one of his teachers was Jeane Kirkpatrick.

Quin and Jay talk of many things – starting with New Orleans, where Quin grew up (and which Jay loves, and knows a little). They talk about political ideas. They talk about Confederate monuments, a sore, delicate, and important subject. Finally, they talk about one of their favorite people in sports, and one of their favorite people on earth: Jack Nicklaus.

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  1. Douglas LeBlanc Member
    Douglas LeBlanc
    @DouglasLeBlanc

    Thanks very much for this thoughtful interview with Quin Hillyer.

    One friendly correction: the late Sen. Russell B. Long was Huey Long’s son. Journalist Jonathan Alter wrote a report about Huey Long’s violent death. Russell Long wrote a letter to the son of Dr. Carl Weiss, whom many believed was Long’s assassin. The letter attests to Russell Long’s quiet kindness:

    A few weeks ago I obtained from a Pavy family cousin, Claire Bateman, a previously unpublished 1993 letter from the late Russell Long, son of Huey Long, to Carl Weiss’s brother, Tom. In it, the younger Long, who was 16 years old at the time his father was killed and grew up to be a powerful conservative U.S. senator, essentially confirms that doubts remain over whether Weiss shot Huey Long.

    After recounting that he had recently met with Weiss’s son, Carl Weiss Jr., who was only a few months old at the time of the shootings, Long—while publicly maintaining that he believed the testimony of the bodyguards—wrote privately that because both boys lost fathers that night “we shared a personal tragedy.”

    “It was my fortune to know some of the eyewitnesses and respect them,” Long said, referring to Long’s bodyguards. “I do not want to do anything to cast doubt on what they testified under oath. Yet I remain of the view that only the Eternal could know all that happened and why it happened as it did.”

    On another note, here is another great quotation attributed to the late Earl K. Long. The late Louisiana political journalist John Maginnis called it Uncle Earl’s law: “Never write down what you can say on the phone. Never phone what you can say face to face. Never say what you can nod. Never nod what you can wink. Never wink what you can smile.”

    • #1
  2. colleenb Member
    colleenb
    @colleenb

    Douglas LeBlanc (View Comment):

    Thanks very much for this thoughtful interview with Quin Hillyer.

    One friendly correction: the late Sen. Russell B. Long was Huey Long’s son. Journalist Jonathan Alter wrote a report about Huey Long’s violent death. Russell Long wrote a letter to the son of Dr. Carl Weiss, whom many believed was Long’s assassin. The letter attests to Russell Long’s quiet kindness:

    A few weeks ago I obtained from a Pavy family cousin, Claire Bateman, a previously unpublished 1993 letter from the late Russell Long, son of Huey Long, to Carl Weiss’s brother, Tom. In it, the younger Long, who was 16 years old at the time his father was killed and grew up to be a powerful conservative U.S. senator, essentially confirms that doubts remain over whether Weiss shot Huey Long.

    After recounting that he had recently met with Weiss’s son, Carl Weiss Jr., who was only a few months old at the time of the shootings, Long—while publicly maintaining that he believed the testimony of the bodyguards—wrote privately that because both boys lost fathers that night “we shared a personal tragedy.”

    “It was my fortune to know some of the eyewitnesses and respect them,” Long said, referring to Long’s bodyguards. “I do not want to do anything to cast doubt on what they testified under oath. Yet I remain of the view that only the Eternal could know all that happened and why it happened as it did.”

    On another note, here is another great quotation attributed to the late Earl K. Long. The late Louisiana political journalist John Maginnis called it Uncle Earl’s law: “Never write down what you can say on the phone. Never phone what you can say face to face. Never say what you can nod. Never nod what you can wink. Never wink what you can smile.”

    Thanks for the information on Russell and Earl Long. Louisiana politics are a class to themselves. So are you living in Louisiana now or did you grow up there? My husband’s father was a distant cousin to E. Edwards – but then I always tease him that everyone in LA is related in some way. 

    • #2
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