A Louisiana Republican lawmaker chastised by her party's leaders for supporting a gas tax increase has shot back that the GOP effort to kill the bill is short-sighted partisanship. Rep. Julie Stokes, a Kenner Republican, said in a statement that "partisanship and election posturing are clouding the real debate" over crumbling roads and bridges in Louisiana. Stokes' comments came after the state GOP governing body, the Republican State Central Committee, voted to oppose the 17-cent gas tax hike proposed by Republican Rep.