Comments on: Bobby Jindal Will Never Be President

By: sinz54

sinz54 — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 19:23:07 +0000

Krove: On this very blog, last week, I said that if avowedly conservative GOP governors took Federal stimulus money for their states, it would leave the GOP open to the charge of hypocrisy. I was ridiculed for making that assertion. Your reaction to Jindal, and the reaction on the left-wing blogosphere, have proved I was right. If an eloquent, knowledgeable guy like Jindal can’t sell economic conservatism to the voters of his own state–who already elected him–he sure won’t be able to sell it to the rest of the nation.

By: Chekote

Chekote — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 15:54:38 +0000

“I suggest that a talking-point for us should be to highlight those American companies which continue to succeed without taking any corporate welfare checks from Washington.” Excellent point Sinz.

By: sinz54

sinz54 — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 12:51:48 +0000

Chekote: “For the response, the GOP should have prensented an alternative, specific plan instead of generalities.” Of course. But the reason Jindal didn’t present a “specific plan” is that the GOP doesn’t have one yet. The GOP is still arguing with itself: Cut capital gains taxes for investors? Cut SS payroll taxes for the middle class? Build infrastructure or not? How to reform health care? Etc. And that shouldn’t surprise anyone. It takes *time* and thought to come up with a plan to fix something as complex as the mess we’re currently in. Look at the ridicule that Geithner got when he wasn’t more specific with his own plan for the financial industry. Right now, the GOP doesn’t have a coherent plan in its hip pocket, other than Bushism (which already failed), and McCainism (which was already rejected by the voters). Beyond that, all the GOP has is a bunch of half-baked ideas proposed by various factions within the GOP–but not a plan the GOP could sign up to and put in its 2012 platform. Perhaps by 2010, the GOP will have synthesized a new position on the economy. But they sure don’t have one now.

By: sinz54

sinz54 — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 12:40:24 +0000

Part of the problem we conservatives are facing is that so much of the business community has betrayed the principles of capitalism–and deserted us–by running to Washington with their tongues hanging out for corporate welfare. It’s hard for us to make a case for a free market when some of America’s greatest companies, from Merrill Lynch to General Motors, are all throwing up their hands and saying they can’t succeed without a Federal welfare check. (Why does Wall Street need welfare checks???) I suggest that a talking-point for us should be to highlight those American companies which continue to succeed without taking any corporate welfare checks from Washington. And there are many–they just don’t get the headlines because they’re not the ones facing bankruptcy right now. Let’s try to show the American people that there still are CEOs out there who neither need nor want corporate welfare from Washington for their companies. GM wants a welfare check. FedEx, UPS, Wells Fargo, etc. do not. Let’s highlight them.

By: krove

krove — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 18:18:54 +0000

Whoops!

Louisianas transportation department plans to request federal dollars for a New Orleans to Baton Rouge passenger rail service from the same pot of railroad money in the presidents economic stimulus package that Gov. Bobby Jindal criticized as unnecessary pork on national television Tuesday night.

The high-speed rail line, a topic of discussion for years, would require $110 million to upgrade existing freight lines and terminals to handle a passenger train operation, said Mark Lambert, spokesman for the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development.

Jindal on Tuesday delivered the official Republican Party response to President Barack Obamas address to Congress. He criticized the stimulus package passed by the Democratic-majority in Congress and the president and noted examples of projects that he found objectionable.

While some of the projects in the bill make sense, their legislation is larded with wasteful spending, Jindal said. It includes $8 billion for high-speed rail projects, such as a magnetic levitation line from Las Vegas to Disneyland.
There is no high speed rail from Las Vegas to Disneyland or anywhere else in the bill by the way.

By: Chekote

Chekote — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 16:59:43 +0000

krove. Exactly my point. We need to take the bad medicine and move on. Once we are out of the current situation we will have to do some forensics and determine exactly how we got here. There are a few principles that we should apply in developing a solution: 1) you don’t reward bad behavior. I doesn’t matter whether it is an individual or a company. Rewarding bad behavior will increase more bad behavior and will demoralize the people who believe in personal responsibility. 2) we cannot begin with the premise that no one can lose their home or job and that no company can be allowed to fail; 3) the government should no be in the business of picking winners and losers; 4) you don’t bring down the 92% of the people who are meeting their obligation just to save the 8% who can’t.

By: krove

krove — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 16:41:00 +0000

Churl, fair point let’s see how he does. I think he has damaged his chances badly but time will tell. Same with Obama he will need at least 18 months to get anything done to judge him on. The secret is not to allow ones ideology to cloud real judgments. The electorate is not so uninformed or disinterested as they have been. You can’t hide “fail” anymore.

By: krove

krove — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 16:30:44 +0000

Chekote. You are right. I have been wondering for weeks when someone (anyone) is going to get before the public and show graphically and with clarity what thel has happened and where we actually stand. There seems to be a fear about admitting the truth of the situation because the markets would fall, well if the truth drops the market then the market is overvalued. It’s time to face the music take the consequences and move on. It will come sooner or later so you may as well get it done. Is there a need for “too big to fail” banks in the system anyway. Whats wrong with small to medium sized banks?

By: Churl

Churl — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 16:22:25 +0000

krove, Louisiana is indeed a poor and badly governed state. But, it’s a bit early to fault Jindal because he hasn’t single handedly cleaned up the messes from generations of corrupt politicians. Let’s keep our eyes on actions and results instead of analyzing speeches and daily polling numbers. It is possible, you know, that Obama is reprising the role of Herbert Hoover instead of FDR and may be easy pickings in 2012.

By: helios

helios — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 16:13:23 +0000

I once watched a Governor of Arkansas totally bomb a major convention keynote in 1988, whatever happened to him anyway?

I think Jindal had a pretty difficult task. I thought he was flat and a little patronizing but I didn’t think he was as dreadful as Tim Kaine or Kathleen Sebelius. I’ve also heard him speak at different venues and he can be much better. I’m saying this as someone who has serious reservations about him, particularly as it relates to playing politics with science education.

That said I think he’d be ok if he had just sucked. But he added to his woes by strangely including “volcano monitoring” into his lampooning of the stimulus (there were more egregious examples and the raising of an item about natural disasters was unfortunate for a gov. from Louisiana) and it now appears he at best took serious liberties with his Katrina story.

I think those two things will linger longer than the memory of his performance.