Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal

Does he really represent a new thinking for the republican party like people in the news media say as they promote him the rising star of the GOP.  The press in Louisiana is promoting him as such every chance they have.  As of this writing his accomplishments have been little in the year that he has been governor.  Obviously that is not long enough to judge the merits so lets look at some of his comments to try and understand what his ideology may really be.

 

In the February 12 issue of the Times Picayune on page A-15 Jindal told an audience in North Carolina that voters in 2006 and 2008 fired the republicans in congress and in the minds of too many the republican party has become the party big government spending, earmarks and the party of corruption in Washington, the party of Wall Street and big corporations.  No one can disagree with that description of the GOP but he forgot to mention that the GOP is the party of record deficit spending and debt creation.  In fact the last 5 republican Presidents in the last 38 years have not balanced one federal budget in all those years.  He neglected to mention that the republican party has no record of creating a sustained economy or job creation.

 

Jindal's was reported to say his solution would be to restore what he calls America's core cultural values, which he says are under assault by Television, Hollywood, the music industry and the Internet.  If that sounds familiar it should because that is the same ideology Ronald Reagan ran on almost 30 years ago and every republican President since.  There is nothing new there for Jindal.  It is the same divisive issues used in the past by the republican party.  One would think with the U.S. in the deepest economic trouble in 50 years, with massive job loses the governor would have something to say to address that priority.  It should be noted that Governor Jindal said that if he was still a member of congress he would have opposed both the House and Senate version of the stimulus plan as reported by the Times Picayune on Feb. 11, page A-4.  Jindal did not say what he would do to help the economic recovery.

 

Gov. Jindal failed his leadership role when he was silent when the Louisiana legislature raised its members pay which outraged the public and finally the governor vetoed the measure when it got to be his hot potato.  He supported the cancellation of the Stelly Tax plan which the Time Picayune reported cost the state a loss of over $300 million in revenue.  Now with the next state budget projecting a huge deficit the governor has mandated cuts in higher education and other area's. 

 

Commissioner of higher education Sally Clausen said her staff and the state's college system presidents have been looking at economies in programs as they face cuts as much as $382 million in the coming year as reported in the Times Picayune of Feb. 13, page A-2.  The loss in revenue of the Stelly plan has made the budget crisis worse.  There is no question there are times to cut taxes but republicans have a history of cutting taxes for votes and then get into the pockets of the average citizen 100 different ways.  Governor Jindal talks a good game but real action on important issues are lacking. 

 

Jindal has had fund raising events out of state in North Carolina, Arkansas, Florida, Texas, Connecticut and Mississippi so far to date.  It is obvious his mind is on a national office.  I have no problem with that but his priority should be the people of Louisiana.  A changed republican?  The record so far does not support that conclusion.