Governor Bobby Jindal (R-LA) is gutting his state in order to run for President in 2016, yet Jindal accused Obama of using scare tactics regarding the budget today on Meet the Press. In real life, Jindal shifted the tax burden to the poor, refused Medicaid expansion in his state, cut domestic violence funding by 16% and even threatened to kill hospice funding all together (he finally walked that one back after the outrage).
Here is the video from Meet The Press:
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While campaigning for the Republican nomination in 2016, Jindal told Obama to stop campaigning, “My recommendation to the president is it’s time to stop campaigning, time to do the job in D.C. In my state we passed one of the most sweeping reform laws in the country giving real choice to our kids, putting great teachers in the classroom, tenure laws. Putting dollars in the classroom, significant tax reform. We have different ideas. We’re trying to get rid of the income tax in Louisiana.”
Jindal has advice for the President, because – hey, Republicans know how to win, “My advice to the president. Stop the campaigning, stop sending out your cabinet secretaries to scare the American people. Roll up your sleeves and do governing. I’m for closing loopholes by the way. Let’s use those revenues to lower tax rates so we can grow the economy so we don’t have the world’s highest corporate tax rate. So we put more money in the private sector. WalMart is saying thanks for tax increases, seeing business slow down. We don’t need more taxes, we need private, not public growth.”
Gov. Jindal’s reforms include a school voucher plan that gave state funds to religious schools that teach creationism and climate change denial — which was ruled unconstitutional, turning down federal funds for a Medicaid expansion that would have covered hundreds of thousands of poor people in his state, and raising taxes on the poor, middle class, and seniors by trying to replace the state income tax with a higher sales tax.
Jindal’s explanation for his cuts to domestic violence shelters was evidence that he doesn’t understand or care about the issue. The Jindal administration said “the state was moving away from costly residential care for domestic violence victims in favor of short-term hotel stays and family care.”
A few problems with this “solution”: Leaving is the most lethal time for a woman. Staying with family is not a good plan, unless the woman wants to be found and doesn’t mind if her family is collateral damage. Staying in a hotel is not secure and leaves a credit card trail. Jindal says they’ll give a voucher to the shelter to use for hotels. This doesn’t address the security issue, as well as the many services shelters coordinate for women and their children (e.g., calling police, filing PPOs, group support, etc). This isn’t a cause, it’s a matter of life and death. Three women die a day due to domestic violence. Until Jindal is hunted down by a mad man with a gun, he probably won’t understand that offering a hotel room isn’t helpful. She has to eat and put gas in the car, and then he will know where she is. She also has to park outside at the hotel (where he can see her car and where he can easily attack her). Hello, Bobby.
Of course, what’s really bothering Governor Jindal is that President Obama is winning with his message, whereas Jindal has not had the same result. Granted, it’s tough to sell getting rid of hospice, starving the poor, shifting the tax burden to the poor and middle class, and tossing hunted women and their children into hotels and hoping for the best. The President has it easier since he is selling not forcing the poor and middle class to bear the brunt of austerity measures.
Why kill people when the rich can pay a few more dollars in taxes? Why starve people when we can close loopholes for corporations first? Why not try those things before we strangle the poor and downtrodden. Why not try asking everyone to do their part before we shove people out of hospice after we cut healthcare funding? Hey, it’s an idea. Jindal calls naming these things “scare tactics”.
Sure, Jindal said he’s for closing loopholes, but guess what? He’s not for using that money to pay down the deficit or to put toward government programs. Oh, no. We should use that money to lower taxes on those poor corporations for the trickle down glory! “I’m for closing loopholes by the way. Let’s use those revenues to lower tax rates so we can grow the economy so we don’t have the world’s highest corporate tax rate.”
In other words, let’s close loopholes so we can lower taxes on the rich. No one cares about the deficit, or the poor. Put another million down on the debunked fantasy that lowering taxes will cause the economy to “grow” because the private sector booms when they are given government welfare. Jindal might want to ask Mitt Romney how this “idea” went over with the people. Turns out, it wasn’t 47%, but rather 51%, who weren’t buying.
Bobby Jindal really wants to be president, but he has little chance of winning the Republican nomination. So his message to Obama is stop scaring people by telling them the truth about the Republican agenda.
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