Is General Honore' Running for U.S. Senate? The General Says, "no" and that he is the victim of an elaborate hoa on The Louisiana Weekly

UPDATED September 1, 2009 -   On Friday, August 28, The Louisiana Weekly reported that sources close to Gen. Russell Honore' said that the hero of Hurricane Recovery was about "50%" decided that he would challenge incumbent David Vitter for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate.

On Sunday, though, Honore' told CNN News that any notion of his standing for the Senate was "speculation and rumors".

In an interview on Monday with The Louisiana Weekly and this author, General Honore' said that he has "no plans" to run for office, and no knowledge of the people in question, who ardently claimed to this newspaper that they had entered into discussions with the General to plan a Senate race.

The primary source for Friday's article in The Louisiana Weekly was local political consultant Joe Berry. He came on record on Monday again stating, "I have had over a dozen conversations with the General in the last few weeks exploring a run for the Senate. I visited him at his home in Georgia where he expressed great interest in a possible race against David Vitter.   By Thursday of last week [August 27th], the General told me that he was fifty percent sure that he was running for the Senate, and would make a final decision by Labor Day."

Berry cited Honore's alleged official spokesman Charles Lamley as confirming that as late as Saturday August 29th, that the General was considering many options and specifically would not rule out a run.

Over the weekend, WWL-TV New Orleans and the AP both reported that Honore' himself refused to rule out a possible race. Reporter Paul Murphy asked the General about his plans, and he replied, "I think there was a lot of wild speculation. We'll see down the road what happens and what I do in the meantime. I enjoy working with volunteer organizations and going around the country, encouraging people to be prepared what we know will happens which are disasters."

Having not heard a definite yes or no, Murphy asked Honore' point blank, "Would you like to be a U.S. Senator?" Honore replied, "I like being here in Louisiana for a little while longer. We'll see how all that works out in the future."

Honore did not say he would run, but did not rule it out either.   Therefore, a story by CNN.com, posted to the news agency's website late Sunday night created some confusion in political circles.

While it confirmed that Honore' was moving back to his home state, it quoted the General as stating, "No one's talking to me about running for Senate."

Honore went on to say to CNN, "That is a serious rumor that's got started that's created a lot of buzz." Yet, he also added that he had received more than 100 e-mails in response to that report, but the article claimed that no news outlet asked him whether it was true before CNN contacted him Sunday.

Honore' was quoted by the article as saying, ""That ought to scare the hell out of people in this country," the fact that a rumor of his possible candidacy went out without his comment.

But, the General had been asked about running for the Senate at the Katrina Rememberance celebrations in New Orleans the day before.   And, WWL Reporter Paul Murphy told the Weekly in an interview that his impression was "All I can say is that Gen. Honore' had the perfect opportunity to say he's not interested, and didn't."

Asked if Honore's claim that he had not been asked about running against Vitter struck Murphy and his WWL-TV colleagues as odd, Murphy replied, "It does, and we were shaking our heads about that as well. I clearly asked him about it on Saturday. I don't know if that was CNN's assumption or Honore' told them that nobody asked him about the Vitter race."

Nevertheless, by Sunday night, Honore' said without hesitation to CNN, "As of this time, I'm not running for any political office."

The comment left political consultant Joe Berry confused. In an interview with www.louisianaweekly.com, he explained, "Why would the General have had all of these conversations exploring a race, and then say that he had no intention to run. It doesn't make any sense. And, local reporters did ask if he planned on running. Lee Zurich of WWL-TV asked him directly, and the General refused to deny that he was considering a run."

He’s still insisting that "I have spent hours with General Honore' on the phone and in person discussing a race. I talked to him just six times this last week. Reporters have asked him directly before CNN interviewed him. He has specifically refused to rule it out, and told me in person that he was seriously leaning toward a run."

In point of fact, the author of this story sought on the record confirmation from the General, as opposed to the myriad of background conversations which confirmed the discussions, both before Friday and since that time. Tidmore called Honore's Georgia home several times. The General admitted that he was traveling, though, and did confess, "My wife said the phone was ringing 'off the hook'."

By Monday, the author managed to obtain Honore's private cellular telephone number. The General had been at a speaking engagement and away from his home in Georgia, so had not gotten the requests for interviews. (He later apologized for not receiving the author's calls due to the speaking engagement in Colorado.)

When he did speak to this author, a very shocked Russell Honore' said that he had never heard of Joe Berry, had neither met with nor ever spoken to the local political consultant, and did not have any idea who Charles Lamley -- who billed himself as Honore's official spokesman-- was. Lamley had confirmed Berry's claim that Honore' planned to seek the Senate seat.

The General explained, "I am not running for office. I don't know who this guy [Joe Berry] is. I was not at my home two weeks ago [when Berry claimed to have met with the General]. I have no idea who this gentleman could be."

Berry, who is a well-known local political consultant, had told this newspaper that the General was "a registered Republican since the Reagan's second term," a point to which Honore' took violent exception.

Honore told The Louisiana Weekly, "I never declared myself as a Republican during the Reagan Administration. I have never lived in Zachary as he claimed. I have never heard of Charles Lamley."

Continuing he says, "I don't have a political consultant. I don't have any political ambitions. I give speeches. I speak about preparedness, and the culture of preparedness."

The Weekly called Joe Berry and asked him about the General's comments.   The consultant said he was "shocked".

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