BANANNA BOBBY STRIKES AGAIN!
Posted on 06/17/2008 1:23:19 PM PDT by kms61
Is our Governor--Jindal the Spineless, the Bonehead or the Deceiver?
It pains me to express such since two weeks ago I praised him effusively after a press conference.
Now, the question is whether Dorothy should help him find a noggin, starch for his courage shirt or a light beam to honesty. Something is now sorely lacking in our Governor. Meanwhile, the honeymoon clock is screeching. The love affair with Bobby Jindal is officially dead.
More importantly, the public needs answers, now, for Jindal to be effective in the future.
It appears that certain legislators put a legislative gun to Jindal’s head and threatened that the Jindal reform days were numbered unless his administration fulfilled a prior deal on legislative salaries.
It also appears that when Jindal realized the public outrage engulfing the legislative pay issue, his Administration tried to manage the disaster and minimize a “pledge” it previously made with the legislature. Breaking the pledge would have been breaking his word but keeping his pledge with the legislature meant breaking his word with the public.
On Friday after the House voted for a compromise, Jindal said, “. I will not veto this as it is very clear to everyone that the result would be a grinding halt to the tremendous reforms and progress our state is making.”
Which means the screws were turning on the Governor, yet, the Louisiana voters were getting screwed by the very government officials who were hired to represent our interests. .
After Monday’s (yesterday) Senate vote to support the House compromise on the legislative pay raises Jindal said, “I will keep my pledge to let them govern themselves”.
Which statement by itself raises a cache of questions:
Topping of the list is: Specifically, and in detail, what was the pledge, when was it given, to whom and what were the circumstances in terms of time, place and content?
Was the pledge a quid pro quo, which appears obvious? If so, did the quid involve his ethics reform package? Or did it involve legislation that specifically targeted his own campaign’s ethics transgression? We just don’t know, which is why we need to know.
More importantly, the public has a right to know. Unfortunately Jindal this session wants to put a Big Hush on administrative communications, calling them privileges. He wants more public privacy and less open government. What transpired this past week punctuates the compelling need for public access which he promised us when running for Governor and during various occasions after he was elected.
Regardless, it is absolutely astounding that Jindal would make such a bonehead pledge in the first place when budget cutting and halting government benefits for the privileged were basic “Jindal Revolution” tenets. Yet, something reeks terribly about the “pledge” and the facts and circumstances related to the entire selfish legislative grab bag.
For instance, why did the Governor (who certainly is known to be a “words smith”) say “I will keep my pledge to let them govern themselves”.
“Govern themselves”? Just how far does this “governing themselves” pledge go and what does it cover?
By contrast, why didn’t Jindal say “I will keep my pledge to let them set their own salaries”?
Yet, no matter how broad was Jindal’s “pledge statement” announcing an agreement to allow legislative self-governing, Jindal’s actions evidence inconsistency. So far this session, the Governor has vetoed legislation this session. So far this year, the Governor imposed his will on the legislature regarding income reporting and perks during Special Session I. But, when it came to pay raises, Jindal has decided to keep his pledge, so why the marriage to an undefined pledge?
In short, the people have the right to know if this pledge involved only the pay raise or other matters. If the pledge only related to pay raises, then why didn’t this “articulate” Governor say so in the first place?
The bottom line is—this entire controversy--from the pledge, to his decision not to veto the pay raise needs to be sharply investigated by the media and then possibly by law enforcement professionals. Jindal and legislators must meet the press and answer the hard questions or else doubt will forever linger and his administration will go down the tubes.
If we do not get straight answers, law enforcement officials should intervene. When threats were made about shutting down government that’s arguably extortion if personal matters (legislative income) was involved.
Only after a full vetting will the voters know the circumstances surrounding the pledge, whether serious laws were broken, and about the legislature-Administration dealings. Only then will the entire truth ever be told. Only then will true reform ever take place in Louisiana. Only then will Louisiana voters know if Bobby Jindal and his administration possesses the competence, the honesty the courage and the openness to take Louisiana into the “promised land”.
Until the voters secure these answers, the Jindal administration and the members of the legislature who voted green instead of clean, should not be trusted.
In the meantime, Jindal should veto this legislation and the people should demand total transparency in the administration. Our future is too important falling down the black hole the Governor wants to grant the public about his own affairs.
Bobby Jindal is no longer just the whiz kid. He is Governor. The public must always come first. Although he certainly appears to hold greater political aspirations, he will go nowhere, nor will the state until “Pay Raise Gate” is fully examined.
No honeymoon lasts forever. Reality sets in like the sun. Which is exactly what Louisiana needs immediately—sunshine on the administration and the legislative branch. Until then, we’re clearly getting “mooned”by our leaders.
TY for the La insight.
What struck me was the “...let them govern themselves.” They should be governed by the people.
Our country is disintegrating, agonizingly slow. I say we pull a “Wyatt’s Torch” and start over. OBAMA for prez. (I will throw up later.) He is the most likely to disintegrate this country faster. McCain would bleed us to death with a thousand needles. Obama is the chainsaw to McCain’s needles. VP choices don’t really matter anymore.
America was created as a constitutional republic. That does not exist anymore. I am deeply saddened. (seriously)
BANANNA BOBBY STRIKES AGAIN!
I haven't lost all faith in Jindal, but he's definitely disappointed so far. He can still salvage himself if his plan works.
I think his plan is to let the legislature have their exorbitant, unearned pay raises, and then he'll have a pliant group who will vote for all of his reforms.
One problem with this plan is that a huge part of reforming the state should involve cutting taxes and shrinking government and I'm not so sure that these legislators will always go along with that, even if they did get their pay raise. When the time comes to cut Department X which has a lot of employees in Senator Y's district, he'll still go against the cut, in spite of the pay raise.
We'll see. I give Jindal a better than even chance of pulling this off and rehabilitating his image in the state, but I don't think it had to come to this. I think he would have done better to have stood firm against a huge pay raise from the beginning and let the pols feel the citizens' wrath. He just didn't expect such an enormous outcry of fury from the voters.
Another thing I heard on the radio is that during the campaign, Jindal pledged to fight any pay raises that would take effect before the next session. He's not doing that.
We'll see what happens, but he's lost the voters' goodwill and now looks very weak.
I agree with you, mostly because he promised to try to do that in his election material. That is where he is most at fault, for not pushing the legislature to require the raise to take effect after the next election.
If they really were upset, he could have compromised by having it take effect AFTER the next election, but be retroactive for those re-elected back to the date of enactment.
So if the people liked it, they could vote the reps back in and they would get their raise, if they didn’t like it they could vote them out and the raise would be gone.
Virginia has a part-time legislature, and we like it, but it does mean that some people can’t be representatives because they don’t have the kind of job that allows you to take off for several months a year.
On the other hand, I thought we had a lot of lawyers, but I learned we don’t have that many.
An interesting side effect is that staff members make more than the legislators, because they are allowed to have a full-time staffer.
He’s just too inexperienced and has had an easy road in politics to go on the McPain ticket. I am unsure that he will be a successful governor. He can declare himself successful in 2011, I suppose, and be reelected, as voters have short memories.
No, LA embraced Clinton TWICE.
Oops, I just changed my perspective. With a $70,000 salary for part-time “work”, I suspect that in 2011 the people will reelect the legislators but they will defeat Jindal and hold HIM accountable for the salaries. Such is LA politics.
The American people don’t want a republic any more. They don’t even know what a republic is anyway.
“unless his administration fulfilled a prior deal on legislative salaries.”
So you’d rather he break promises he made to get his reforms passed?
Harrumph. Reagan did a lot lot lot more comprimising than a mere pay raise.
Give him more than a millimeter of slack.
Thanks for a common sense comment. I really hate it when the Freepers get the vapors over one issue.
I’m on the record (and have contacted the Governor as such) on this issue already. I’m against the pay raise in this form, as it should take effect in 2012. Even our congresscritters can’t pass a pay raise like this, thanks to the 27th Amendment. Precedent has been set, and our lawmakers chose to ignore it. Shame on them.
[sidebar] I know... Congress subverted the 27th Amendment by enacting automatic cost-of-living raises. No one has to remind me... [/sidebar]
Perhaps, but if (highly unlikely) the legislature actually goes out and EARNS that fancy new pay raise, then Bobby will look like a genius.
The legislature is mostly conservative - will they make do on their part of the deal, or will it be more “Business as usual”?
We’ll find out soon enough. I’ll say this about Louisiana politics - there’s never a dull moment!
I took Louisiana History at LSU under the late Mark Carleton. He was from Minnesota, had studied at Stanford and Yale, and ended up in Louisiana because “no other place is half as interesting.” It is “interesting,” I’ll give it that.
So for this I’m supposed to forget about Jindal and what? Support a McCain/Lieberman or McCain/Ridge ticket? Are you suggesting that we abandon Jindal over a minor issue like this and instead support a candidate that has stabbed conservatives in the back over major issue after major issue?
Call Bobby and tell him to grow a set and veto this pay increase:
1-866-366-1121 (Toll Free)
If Jindal vetoes this bill, then he has the people behind him and can get fresher, reform-minded officials in the legislature.
I’m not an expert on the LA political system, but this just seems like a time to take a stand.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.