David Thibodaux - Thibodaux As A "movement Conservative"

Thibodaux As A "movement Conservative"

Bill Decker of the Lafayette Daily Advertiser described Thibodaux thus:

" a movement conservative who might not appreciate the appropriation of Democrat Al Smith’s nickname. But Thibodaux was a happy warrior. taught English at ULL, took on mamby-pamby language and knee-jerk liberals in a pair of books, the latest of which is called Beyond Political Correctness: Are There Limits to This Lunacy? At the time of his death, he was locked in the battle for which he may be remembered most: his duel with U.S. District Judge Richard Haik over school desegregation. Thibodaux fought Haik every way he knew how.

"His opposition was about the proper role of the judiciary, not about indifference to the kids. His push for reduced class sizes, lovingly detailed in half a dozen conversations over the years, was about improving education in Lafayette schools that serve low-income students. And his biggest allies in the fight against the court-ordered desegregation measures were the two black school board members, Ed Sam and Rickey Hardy, who resented the closure of schools in black neighborhoods."

Mrs. Thibodaux told the Daily Advertiser that her husband "gave everything that he could. He was the only person I knew that lost sleep over someone else’s children."