Jindal Disappointed But Excited About Louisiana's Future

Shreveport, LA, Times ^ | 11-17-03 | Hasten, Mike

[Theodore R.]

BATON ROUGE - Bobby Jindal publicly congratulated Gov.-elect Kathleen Blanco on Sunday in a press conference where he offered to assist in her transition but not to work in her administration.

Jindal, who lost the governor's race Saturday by 54,567 votes in unofficial returns, said he called Blanco twice Saturday night, the second time to congratulate her and her husband, Raymond "Coach" Blanco.

[Theodore R.]

Somebody Saturday quoted Leo Dourocher (Sp.) here: "Nice guys finish last!"

[kittymyrib]

Hmmm...after reading this, perhaps Bobby is not the man for LA politics and is better suited to a policy wonk job.

[gunnedah]

Conservatives will find that you cant be nice to liberals and get away with it. Being nice to a liberal sends a sign of weakness and Bush will find this out.
The Conservatives allow liberals to downplay their racial and biggoted remarks while at the same time they turn on their own for less. Really conservatives are dumb when it comes to competing with liberals.You dont have to be nasty but you need to respond aggressively.precise and without wavering. Attack,attack,attack!

[OldPossum]

I agree, partially. While he may not be the kind of politician you need to be to get elected in Louisiana (i.e., down and dirty), he is a person of quality and I would hope that if he wants a political career he would move to a state whose citizens appreciate his talents.

I know that there are some fine people in LA but plainly there are not enough of them.

The old political adage holds here: the people generally get the government they deserve.

[LibFreeUSA]

Why do Republicans keep nominating "nice guys"?

The same thing happened in Philadelphia, who had "nice guy" Sam Kats go down to defeat (2nd time) against John Street for Phila mayor's race (who's under a Federal investigation).

Louisiana seems to be electing Democrats recently. Seems like LA Republicans are not cut for elections over there.

[Lee'sGhost]

OK, so who's who in terms of lib/dim vs conservative/GOP and what relevance does this have in terms of good vs evil?

This article gives outsiders no clue as what's going on here.

Thanks.

[Wonder Warthog]

"Hmmm...after reading this, perhaps Bobby is not the man for LA politics and is better suited to a policy wonk job."

Just maybe he was trying to implement change in Louisiana politics BY EXAMPLE, and just maybe, TO KEEP HIS WORD.

Blanco said she wouldn't run a negative campaign---she lied.

Bobby said he wouldn't run a negative campaign, he kept his word.

The real problem was that many Cajuns did their usual trick of voting for someone of Cajun ancestry, no matter how incompetent or how big a liar they happen to be. See "the life and times of Edwin Edwards" for another example of same.

To a lesser extent, the rednecks did the same, by voting for the candidate "most like them" (i.e. white).

[Vinomori]

If you don't know how to win an election, if you can't focus yourself enough to WIN, then you deserve to lose: ie. Bob Dole and the tax-loving, unfocused senior Bush. Therefore life is, once again, perfect.

[JohnnyZ]

Why do Republicans keep nominating "nice guys"?

So you think nominating Hunt Downer, or John Hainkel, or Jay Blossman, would have been better? Jindal was a first-time candidate and demolished all those guys.

I'm not sure I buy the whole Medicare thing as the reason he lost. Why would people in N. La. care about Medicare and people in South La. not? I think Jindal finally did hit a glass ceiling at 48+% of the vote, the number who were willing to put their state in the hands of a 32-year-old suburban Indian guy. 32 (smart/precocious), suburban, Indian. I think THAT killed in in the rural counties, which is where he ended up having major problems.

[JohnnyZ]

Louisiana seems to be electing Democrats recently.

If by recently you mean the last hundred years, then yes, they have been.

[ken5050]

If there's any saving grace in this very disappointing result, it may be that it'll motivate La pubbies even more in next year's senate election...I'm assuming Breaux' gonna retire..not sure if he goes before his term is up..and with Tauzin do=going to Hollywood..well the "message" Lousisianans should be..lessee.."Dem Govenor..two Dem senators, and the most powerful Pubbie in La retired..well, if the good people of La need something in Washington, just who the heck they gonna ask?"

[linn37]

Smile when your heart is breaking......its alot better then those weird concession speeches that Davis and his side-kick gave.

[Witherspoon]

I hear what everyone is saying about the conservatives in Northern La. being hesistant to vote for an Indian-American. There may be something to that, but I think it has been overblown. As a former Louisiana resident, I would like to humbly offer a couple of other possible reasons for why Northern Louisianans MIGHT have hesitated to support Bobby (not that I think such reasoning is justified or rational -- I don't).

1. SOME MAY HAVE BEEN PUT OFF BY JINDAL'S ENDORSEMENTS FROM THE NEW ORLEANS MAYOR AND THE JEFFERSON PARISH SHERIFF. Voters in N. La. have a longtime distrust of and rivalry with the power brokers in New Orleans. Such distrust is, in large part, justified. Also, that conflict was exacerbated last year when the national party sided with an Orleanian (Suzie Terrell) who was viewed as a mushy moderate over a N. La. conservative, Congressman Cooksey. Maybe voters in the North mistakenly assumed that endorsements from Nagin and Lee were indicative of Jindal's being a closet moderate or a potential "tool" of the New Orleans establishment (rather than correctly viewing the turn of events as evidence of Jindal's attractiveness to moderate voters because of his intellect and charisma).

2. THEY MIGHT HAVE BEEN PUT OFF BY JINDAL'S CONSTANT TRUMPETING OF THE FACT THAT HE WAS A "CATHOLIC" CONVERT. I can understand why Jindal wanted to make such a big deal out of that -- Louisianans might have been prone to assume he was a Hindu and hold that against him, so he had to be clear about the truth. However, I firmly believe he could have more subtly and effectively accomplished the same purpose by saying that he was a convert to "Christianity" or by simply emphasizing that he is a traditional values oriented "pro-lifer." My point: N. La. voters are predominantly Protestant and if they were given a choice between Blanco and (to them) an Indian guy who is very pushy about the fact that he is Catholic, the good ole boy Baptists might have feared that Jindal would have been a puppet for the Pope and might not have given Protestants a fair shake.

The bottom line is that N. La. Protestants might not have held it against Jindal that he was Indian. BUT, they very well may have held it against Jindal that he was (again, in their minds) a hard-core Catholic Indian guy who (to them) seemed suspiciously friendly with those corrupt big-city boys down in New Orleans and Metairie. Maybe, or maybe not. Regardless, it's food for thought. All these sorts of things have to be taken into account along the way. In such a close election, HOW Jindal presented his faith and the downstate endorsements might have made the difference. Any thoughts?

[Theodore R.]

Former Governor David Treen is the ONLY LA Republican to win a statewide office (governor, senator) who defeated a white opponent.

LA has a perennial Republican down-ballot office holder in Secretary of State Fox McKeithen, son of former Governor John McKeithen. Paul Hardy was a Republican lieutenant governor from 1987-91. Suzanne Terrell was the last and only Republican elections commissioner.

[Galactic Overlord-In-Chief]

If there's any saving grace in this very disappointing result, it may be that it'll motivate La pubbies even more in next year's senate election...I'm assuming Breaux' gonna retire..not sure if he goes before his term is up..and with Tauzin do=going to Hollywood..well the "message" Lousisianans should be..lessee.."Dem Govenor..two Dem senators, and the most powerful Pubbie in La retired..well, if the good people of La need something in Washington, just who the heck they gonna ask?"

Indeed. We should be doubly motivated. The ball's in Rep. David Vitter's court. He's a bright conservative and will respond to attacks leveled against him. He'll be a great candidate whether he runs for Senate or Governor.

[JohnnyZ]

1. SOME MAY HAVE BEEN PUT OFF BY JINDAL'S ENDORSEMENTS FROM THE NEW ORLEANS MAYOR AND THE JEFFERSON PARISH SHERIFF.

2. THEY MIGHT HAVE BEEN PUT OFF BY JINDAL'S CONSTANT TRUMPETING OF THE FACT THAT HE WAS A "CATHOLIC" CONVERT.

Those are both excellent points that I had neglected.

Indian, Young, Brilliant, UberCatholic, Suburban with Urban Allies -- all of it makes for a mismatch with the (stereo)typical N La. white, older, common-sense (not to say "dumb"), Protestant, rural voter.

[Kuksool]

If David Vitter runs for the Senate next year, Jindal would make the perfect Congressman for the LA-01.

[Galactic Overlord-In-Chief]

He could win, but he'd have to move down here. He's currently based in Baton Rouge, which is Richard Baker's seat.

[Pern]

To a lesser extent, the rednecks did the same, by voting for the candidate "most like them" (i.e. white).

Rednecks are from MS, AL, & W. FL. We're called 'CoonAss'.