Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal
Before last night, I definitely knew about Bobby Jindal. I knew the Republicans looked at Jindal as a future star in the party. He was expected to compete for the 2012 presidential nomination against Sarah Palin.
Much of America got to see him for the first time last night and America was not impressed. Governor Jindal was lucky that many Americans turned off President Obama’s speech before Congress (not the State of the Union) once POTUS completed his speech.
I found Jindal to be painfully dull. He was amateurish in his speaking; sounding as if he was reading and his writing skills were elementary.
I hoped his speech had more pizzazz as I planned on writing that Jindal was a better solution than the Republican frontrunner – Palin. (Personally, I am a Charlie Crist supporter because I believe he looks beyond partisan politics (except when he was running for governor and vying for the VP nomination with John McCain.)
After yesterday, I have to say that the Republicans have a much greater shot in 2012 with Palin than with Jindal.
Here are some excerpts:
Tonight, we witnessed a great moment in the history of our republic. In the very chamber where Congress once voted to abolish slavery, our first African American president stepped forward to address the state of our union. With his speech tonight, the president completed a redemptive journey that took our nation from Independence Hall to Gettysburg to the lunch counter and now, finally, the Oval Office.
Regardless of party, all Americans are moved by the president’s personal story — the son of an American mother and a Kenyan father, who grew up to become leader of the free world. Like the president’s father, my parents came to this country from a distant land. When they arrived in Baton Rouge, my mother was already 4½ months pregnant. I was what folks in the insurance industry now call a “preexisting condition.”
I found it odd that Jindal began the response by mentioning that POTUS was the first African American president. By now, that should have been obvious to everyone and in these tough times, I doubt the majority of American care what race, creed, religion, or gender POTUS is. Though I guess he used it, however, to segue into his ancestry.
As the president made clear this evening, we are now in a time of challenge. Many of you listening tonight have lost jobs. Others have seen your college and retirement savings dwindle. Many of you are worried about losing your healthcare and your homes. And you are looking to your elected leaders in Washington for solutions.
Republicans are ready to work with the new president to provide those solutions. Here in my state of Louisiana, we don’t care what party you belong to if you have good ideas to make life better for our people. We need more of that attitude from both Democrats and Republicans in our nation’s capital.
Is that why they refused to work with the Democrats on this stimulus package? Is this why Jindal is refusing to accept stimulus money (not all the money, of course) even though his state is struggling with the rest of ours? Is this why Republican Senator Judd Gregg withdrew his nomination as POTUS’s commerce secretary because he didn’t want to play in the sandbox even though he previously accepted the nomination? Is that why Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity relentlessly attack Obama every step of the way?
All of us want our economy to recover and our nation to prosper. So where we agree, Republicans must be the president’s strongest partners. And where we disagree, Republicans have a responsibility to be candid and offer better ideas for a path forward.
Instead, these Republicans continue to offer the same tired old ideas that have helped deliver us to the state we find ourselves in now. But I agree that it is critical for Republicans to offer better ideas – but make sure they are new and creative.
To solve our current problems, Washington must lead. But the way to lead is not to raise taxes and put more money and power in hands of Washington politicians. The way to lead is by empowering you – the American people. Because we believe that Americans can do anything.
Is Jindal paying attention? Did he watch President Obama’s speech? I realize he wrote this prior to Obama’s speech, but, dude, you have to adjust.
POTUS told us that if we make less than $250,000 – our taxes would decrease! POTUS has already empowered us – from the beginnings of his presidential campaign. During the transition, Obama’s Change.gov website kept Americans abreast of what they were doing and they reached out to us with questions and asked for feedback.
I guess Jindal missed that too.
That is why Republicans put forward plans to create jobs by lowering income tax rates for working families, cutting taxes for small businesses, strengthening incentives for businesses to invest in new equipment and hire new workers, and stabilizing home values by creating a new tax credit for home-buyers.
These plans would cost less and create more jobs.
How does lowering income tax rates create jobs? Of course, with no income, we don’t have to worry about paying taxes.
The point Jindal seems to be missing is that these projects in the stimulus package will be completed with American companies and American workers.
But Democratic leaders in Congress rejected this approach. Instead of trusting us to make wise decisions with our own money, they passed the largest government spending bill in history — with a price tag of more than $1 trillion with interest.
Here is why I believe that Jindal is completely out of touch. In January, 2005, former President Bush stood before Americans and said that he had a mandate. He wanted to privatize Social Security. He believed that Americans could do a better job investing their own money than the government could
Has Jindal taken a look at the Dow Jones lately?
If I had been investing my own money over the past few years, I’d be in much worse shape than I am in.
I can’t believe that in a recession, Jindal still believes that we would be comfortable making our own money decisions.
Who among us would ask our children for a loan so we could spend money we do not have, on things we do not need? That is precisely what the Democrats in Congress just did. It’s irresponsible. And it’s no way to strengthen our economy, create jobs or build a prosperous future for our children.
This is kind of how the Republican Party ran things during Bush’s years. Did Jindal look at the National Debt clock on January 19th?
He also took the time to mention the classics: 9/11, Katrina and $4 gas prices.
To strengthen our economy, we also need to address the crisis in healthcare. Republicans believe in a simple principle: No American should have to worry about losing their health coverage — period.
We stand for universal access to affordable healthcare coverage. We oppose universal government-run healthcare. Healthcare decisions should be made by doctors and patients — not by government bureaucrats. We believe Americans can do anything — and if we put aside partisan politics and work together, we can make our system of private medicine affordable and accessible for every one of our citizens.
Right now, our health care decisions are being made by executives in corporations who have to consider what is best for the shareholders.
To strengthen our economy, we must promote confidence in America by ensuring ours is the most ethical and transparent system in the world. In my home state, there used to be saying: At any given time, half of Louisiana is underwater — and the other half is under indictment.
No one says that anymore. Last year, we passed some of the strongest ethics laws in the nation — and today, Louisiana has turned her back on the corruption of the past. We need to bring transparency to Washington, D.C. — so we can rid our Capitol of corruption and ensure we never see the passage of another trillion-dollar spending bill that Congress has not even read and the American people haven’t even seen.
Is Jindal aware of the websites that are now available to us? He may wish to take a gander at Recovery.gov.
And a quick word to Jindal, I did see the bill and even had the ability to see the initial draft that passed the house the first time.
Here are a few reactions from conservative pundits:
“The speech read a lot better than it sounded. This was not Bobby Jindal’s greatest oratorical moment.” - Brit Hume,
“Jindal didn’t have a chance. He follows Obama, who in making speeches, is in a league of his own. He’s in a Reagan-esque league. … [Jindal] tried the best he could.” – Charles Krauthammer
“A wonderful human being, I like him very much, but he is a horrible speaker. You can’t go on TV and counter Obama with that.” - Laura Ingraham
“It came off as amateurish, and even the tempo in which he spoke was sing-songy. He was telling stories that seemed very simplistic and almost childish.” - Juan Williams
Most of the comments I read dealt with Jindal’s horrible oratory skills. Columnist David Brooks was put off by Jindal’s content.
“You know, I think Bobby Jindal is a very promising politician, and I opposed the stimulus package – I thought it was poorly drafted – but to come up at this moment in history with a stale, ‘government is the problem…we can’t trust the government’…it’s just a disaster for the Republican Party.
“The country is in a panic, now. They may not like the way the Congress passed the stimulus bill. The idea that government is going to have no role in this…in a moment where only the Federal government is big enough to do stuff…to just ignore all that and say government’s the problem…corruption, earmarks, wasteful spending – it’s just a form of nihilism.
“It’s just not where the country is, it’s not where the future of the country is. There’s an intra-Republican debate: some people say the Republican Party lost its way because it got too moderate, some people say they got too weird or too conservative. He thinks they got too moderate, and he’s making that case. I think it’s insane. I think it’s a disaster for the party. I just think it’s unfortunate right now.” – David Brooks
{h/t: Huffington Post and the Washington Post for the quotes}
Most recently, GOP Chairman Michael Steele said the following while describing President Barack Obama:
The all-new The Randi Rhodes Show begins today after a 3-month hiatus during which Rhodes has changed syndicators from the now defunct Nova M to Premiere Radio Networks.
Is Michelle Obama – the First Lady of the United States showing too much arm?
When I listened to Rush during the Bush (41) and Clinton years, I half wondered if he really believed what he was saying.
Obama campaign manager, David Plouffe wrote an excellent op-ed for the Washington Post – published Wednesday – that addressed this very topic.
