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Bobby Jindal must be defeated at all costs

By November 8, 2003Uncategorized

The Louisiana Governor’s Race is down to two candidates, and the election is just one week away.  For those of you outside of Louisiana here are the vital facts. 

Bobby Jindal is a 32 year old whiz-kid, ultra-conservative religious guy, Rhodes scholar, and energetic speaker.  Republican, of course.  What’s really interesting is that he has attracted some surprising endorsements, such as New Orleans democratic mayor Ray Nagin.  Apparently, Nagin, who was not a politician but a businessman when he took office as mayor, sees Jindal as a business-friendly problem solver.  In other words, Nagin and Jindal have a particular ideological bond –even though they are politically opposite.  The mainstream Democrats are shocked that their black, Democratic mayor would break ranks and endorse a conservative Republican.

The democratic gubernatorial candidate, Kathleen Blanco, is a very nice, smiley woman, mother of 6 kids, whom you’d trust in a hearbeat with your life savings.  As a person, that is.   As a politician, you’d might have some reservations.  In my view, she is not what you would call a ‘bold thinker.’  Her job-qualifications are that she was Lieutenant Governor, which in Louisiana means that she was a powerless ambassador of good will.  But she is a "solid Democrat," whatever that means.

Bobby Jindal is now leading in the polls.  We do know what that means: time for the last minute mudslinging and demagoguery.  Time to launch the accusatory flyers.

Stuffed in my mailbox yesterday I find a flyer that purports to give me the latest scoop about Bobby Jindal, juicy tidbits that the mainstream press is apparently too afraid to publish:

"Bobby Jindal is willing to let Louisiana women die to protect his extreme agenda: Even if a doctor says a woman’s life is in danger, Jindal would prohibit her from having an abortion.  On November 15th take exception to Bobby Jindal.  Reject his extreme views and protect the health of Louisiana women."

For what it’s worth, I prefer Jindal to Blanco, even though I don’t like his pro-life views.  But I like the fact that he is smart and understands that Louisiana needs to attract and keep business if it hopes to improve its economic condition.  I’m sure that if Blanco were leading I’d be getting some flyers accusing her of engineering the Nazi holocaust, or similar heinous acts of depravity.

So one thing I know that both Democrats and Republicans agree on:  a significant number of voters have childishly simplistic views that respond well to demagoguery.  And if Jindal keeps up his lead in the polls I expect to learn that he once tortured newborn kittens.


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3 Comments

  • Jindal says:

    This is outragous. I do not torture new born kittens and I am doing this for the good of Louisiana.

  • Ernie says:

    Here is a copy of the letter that Mayor Nagin sent out to various local church groups and other citizens who have signed up for his E-mail listserve:

    Dear Fellow Citizen,

    I surprised a few people recently with an endorsement of Bobby Jindal for Governor. I want you to hear directly from me why I did what I did.

    Side by side, Bobby Jindal and Kathleen Blanco have similar platforms. Seeing that, I then looked at who can do the most for and be focused on our great city. In addition, I met with both Mrs. Blanco and Mr. Jindal on numerous occasions. This is what I found:

    Kathleen Blanco has no specific plan for improving the future of New Orleans. She had no plan for Charity Hospital, where I was born. However, I was very impressed with the details and thought that went into Bobby Jindal’s blueprint for New Orleans and Louisiana. In fact, he is committed to improving or rebuilding the Charity Hospital facility. I know this because I have that commitment in writing.

    For those reasons, I join with the New Orleans Tribune, The Times Picayune, Gambit Weekly and the BOLD political organization to endorse Bobby Jindal.

    Don’t get me wrong. I am a lifelong Democrat, but this race is bigger than me. It is about our future, and I have to do what is right for our city.

    There’s a coalition building behind Bobby Jindal that knows he is the right choice to create jobs, improve the healthcare system and improve public schools.

    The New Orleans Tribune said it best in its endorsement of Bobby Jindal: “We, at the Tribune, are not ‘down with the program’, nor are we falling for scare tactics this time around. We’re not following the party line, especially when, as we see it, the platforms of the two last standingcandidates are both of conservative bent, differing not at all.”

    It is my prayer that our community will have an open mind and recognize that old school politics will bring old school results. This election is bigger than Ray Nagin or party affiliation. It is about our children’s future and the future of New Orleans and Louisiana.

    Please remind your congregations, family members and friends to study the candidates, review the issues and vote on November 15th.

    Sincerely,

    C. Ray NaginMayor of New Orleans

  • “Ernie … got a funny.” Now this is one reason I have a fairly liberal policy towards editing posts!

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