Bobby Jindal: Stupid, Party of One
From the New Yorker courtesy of a facebook friend:
After Obama won reelection — once again, Republicans noticed, with the same coalition of young, non-white, and college-educated voters — Republicans remembered they still had this Jindal guy sitting around. Jindal reinflated his reputation with speeches urging Republicans not to be the “stupid party,” advice that struck some of them as potentially a good idea. But now the second Jindal bubble has popped. His approval rating in his home state — a crucial measuring post for national viability — has dipped below 40 percent.
If the first Jindal collapse was farce, the second is tragedy. And the cause of it is easy enough to identify. Jindal unveiled a sweeping plan to eliminate the state’s income taxes and corporate taxes, replacing the lost revenue with cuts to social programs and higher sales taxes. It sent the hearts of national Republicans (like The Wall Street Journal editorial page and Grover Norquist) aflutter but provoked massive opposition within the state.
More here.
Longtime Real Art readers know that I've been calling Jindal a stupid fucking moron for years now. This is important because, among the political and media establishment, the Louisiana governor has a reputation for being a smart guy, which is puzzling. My guess is that people think this because he seems to be wonky and has a willingness to wade into policy details when others won't. But whatever. Any old idiot can spout jargon.
The reality is that that my former Congressional representative embraces impossible conservative positions and tries to implement them from his roost in the governor's mansion. And this is traditionally a no-no for Republican governors. Indeed, when you get down from Washington into the states, governors, all governors, regardless of party affiliation, tend to be rather pragmatic with their rule, rather than ideological, because, you know, governors have to get shit done. And Jindal, who is obviously trying to appeal to Republicans nationally in hopes of winning the GOP presidential nomination some day, doesn't appear to understand this.
You know, because he's fucking stupid.
More here.
Longtime Real Art readers know that I've been calling Jindal a stupid fucking moron for years now. This is important because, among the political and media establishment, the Louisiana governor has a reputation for being a smart guy, which is puzzling. My guess is that people think this because he seems to be wonky and has a willingness to wade into policy details when others won't. But whatever. Any old idiot can spout jargon.
The reality is that that my former Congressional representative embraces impossible conservative positions and tries to implement them from his roost in the governor's mansion. And this is traditionally a no-no for Republican governors. Indeed, when you get down from Washington into the states, governors, all governors, regardless of party affiliation, tend to be rather pragmatic with their rule, rather than ideological, because, you know, governors have to get shit done. And Jindal, who is obviously trying to appeal to Republicans nationally in hopes of winning the GOP presidential nomination some day, doesn't appear to understand this.
You know, because he's fucking stupid.
But with this tax thing, he appears to be in the process of jumping the shark here among the bayous and swamps. In some small way, this reaffirms my faith in humanity.
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