FUCK BOBBY JINDAL

Bobby Jindal, three years younger than me, is currently the front runner for the governor's mansion here in Louisiana. Since I've moved to Metairie, he is also now my Congressional Representative. Even though his public persona suggests he's a really nice guy, he's also a typical hard-hearted Republican son of a bitch. Indeed, last time he was running for governor against the pro-life Democrat who beat him, he managed to distinguish his position on the issue by ruling out abortions when they are needed to save the life of the mother!!! The NRA loves him. He's a strong supporter of the illegal, immoral, and stupid Iraq occupation. I mean, this guy's a GOP kool-aid clone for christ's sake.

I hate Bobby Jindal. That's why I'm totally loving this alligator mouth he's stuck his head in.

From the Daily Kos courtesy of Eschaton:

LA-Gov: Jindal (R) accused of being anti-Protestant

"Most Americans believe we should respect one another's religion. But not Bobby Jindal," the ad says, according to a script from the Democratic Party. "He wrote articles that insulted thousands of Louisiana Protestants. He has referred to Protestant religions as scandalous, depraved, selfish and heretical."

The ad references articles Jindal wrote for New Oxford Review, a Roman Catholic magazine, during the 1990s before he was a congressman. Vezinot, the Democratic Party spokeswoman, said the religion ad is running in the Alexandria, Monroe and Shreveport TV markets — areas of the state that are more heavily Protestant than south Louisiana.

More here.

Jindal asserts that his writings are being mischaracterized, but as Kos observes, he might as well just take ownership of his statements because he actually wrote them. On the other hand, I have absolutely no problem with slamming Protestants, especially the fundamentalists who speak as though they've all had frontal lobotomies; I think Protestants are just about as misguided as Catholics. Or as Muslims or Jews for that matter. However, this shit could conceivably stop Jindal's campaign dead in the water: while Louisiana has a large Catholic population, it's concentrated mostly in the Southern part of the state; Protestants, especially Baptists, are strong in the North. Jindal desperately needs those Baptists to win--most of them are Republican.

I'm really loving this.

But in the grand scheme, this a primary example of why religion should just be kept out of politics. Of course Catholics look down on Protestants as practicing a sort of ghetto-Christianity. I mean, Catholicism is the one true religion, right? On the other hand, many Protestants, especially the Southern Baptists, think the same thing about Catholics. Well, okay, fine. People have the right to religious freedom and can believe whatever foolish bullshit they want; it's all very important culturally. But none of it has anything to do with what kind of official a person would be once elected to office. Ideally, anyway. That is, I think Jindal's right-wing scum, but not because he's a Catholic. There are countless Catholics who are pretty far to the left, plenty who tell the Pope to fuck himself on the issue of abortion. Jimmy Carter and Al Gore are Southern Baptists, although I heard recently that Carter had pulled out because of that denomination's ever rightward loony march.

Mitt Romney, a loony Mormon, is facing the same kind of crap as he tries to get the GOP nomination. Hate Romney for his lies, flip-flops, and politics, but not because he's a loony Mormon.

I suppose that overall I should be happy for this kind of right-wing division on religion. It makes the "traditional values" crowd less effective as a political force. But it pisses me off. People's personal views about the universe and man's place in it are their own goddamned business, even if they write about it in religious journals. It's meaningless, really, which is why these politicians who wear god on their t-shirts should just shut the fuck up. Same thing.

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$