Bobby Jindal's response to President Obama's speech, while predictable, was interesting in that Governor Jindal said that Republicans "had gone along with earmarks and increased government spending" and, as a consequence, had lost the trust of the American people. It was the "gone along with" portion of his comment that struck me as odd. I interpret this to mean that the current mess is all the fault of Democrats in Congress who, apparently, forced their Republican colleagues to spend irresponsibly. Given that Republicans had the White House for the last eight years and controlled Congress (and committee leadership seats) for six of the last eight years I'm not certain how Democratic members of Congress managed to pull that off.
I'm also interested in why the GOP chose Jindal to deliver the response. I suppose he and other Republicans view these opportunities as auditions for the 2012 elections. Also, given the President's popularity and after the stimulus dogfight, I doubt that either John Boehner or Mitch McConnell wanted to be the fly in the ointment last night.
2 comments:
I thought Jindal's speech was brilliant in parts, awkward at other times, uplifting for a second, and totally ignoring facts for a plurality of the time.
The Republicans like spending as much as the Democrats. Anyone who says anything differently needs to to review the facts of the last 8 years. Even during the Reagan years, the Democratic Congress actually trimmed out some of the pork that the Republican administration submitted.
There are several important reasons why Jindal was chosen to gve the GOP response. First, he truly is a Washington outsider. Second, he's a non-Caucasian within the GOP party, and the GOP needs to attract non-Caucasians to their party. Third, he represents a Southern state, which will rally the GOP base in their opposition. Fourth, he's a very articulate man. His discussion regarding his father was moving, and I actually admired what he had said. Fifth, he was somewhat less confrontational than other people of his party. His message was somewhat uplifting, and he seemed to keep "above the fray" of the GOP opposition.
What is backfiring for the GOP is that their base is mostly in the South and Mountain West. The Northeast is solidly Democratic, the Rust Belt is moderately Democratic, the midwest is somewhat split between Dems and Republicans, and the Pacific Coast is solidly Democratic. If the GOP want to remain a viable party, they need to establish some principles and develop workable plans to help all Americans, and not just the rich.
I think Jindal was trying to imply what I have heard many times before, that the last 8 years the GOP became more democrat-like in their fiscal policy, and I would agree with him on that. However, it shouldn't sound like their arms were twisted into it.
Jindal was chosen because he is not white. The last thing the GOP needs is another old white codger as the face of the party. It needs youth, diversity, and vision. Old people in the GOP don't have any of those.
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