Governor-elect Jindal takes on Corruption
[Guest post by DRJ]
Let’s face it: Louisiana is known for corruption in government …
… but Governor-elect Bobby Jindal wants to do something about it:
“Changing Louisiana’s reputation for corruption would do more than just make over its image, Gov.-elect Bobby Jindal said Sunday: It could help the state attract businesses and win federal aid for hurricane recovery. The Republican congressman, a day after his historic win in an election that featured a dozen candidates for governor, pressed ahead with his campaign pledge, saying in an interview with The Associated Press that one of his first acts will be to call a special legislative session to reform ethics laws.
“I think we’re setting the bar too low when we say, ‘Look, isn’t it great that we haven’t had a statewide elected official go to jail recently?” Jindal said. “The reality is there are a lot of practices that are accepted ways of doing business in Baton Rouge that are considered unethical in other parts of the country, that are considered illegal in other parts of the country,” Jindal said.”
Jindal isn’t worried if people find him boring:
“The governor-elect said he is not worried that in a state known for its brash and flashy politicians, he’s seen as methodical and wonkish.
“If I go down as one of the more boring but effective governors, I’ll take that as a great compliment,” he said at a news conference earlier Sunday. “Our people don’t want to be amused by our politics anymore. We don’t want to be entertained.”
I hope Jindal is successful. Louisiana is a great state but it could be much better with good management.
— DRJ
DRJ, an awesome post and a great public statement by the Governor-elect. I wish him every success. He will be up against a struggle, I predict.
Christoph (92b8f7) — 10/21/2007 @ 6:01 pmHuey Long, in whatever part of the hereafter he is, must be doubled up in laughter.
Jindal proposes, but the legislature disposes….
kishnevi (b359eb) — 10/21/2007 @ 6:07 pmAs Prince Hal said to Owen Glendower (in Henry IV Part 1), when the latter claimed to the ability to call spirits from the other world: “But will they come when you call them?”
You are not alone on that DRJ….there are many of us who have been here for a lifetime that have been waiting for someone to come in and just do things in a logical, reasonable fashion, and Gov. Jindal is quite possibly the one to do that. He has always approached what he does with the best interests of all in his mind, but with the knowledge that not everyone can be pleased all the time with the results….
Hope he does just that…
reff (99666d) — 10/21/2007 @ 6:10 pmAll I can say is if Rindall can reform Louisiana’s government, an extremely difficult historic accomplishment, then he deserves a serious look for a GOP Presidential nomination.
Christoph (92b8f7) — 10/21/2007 @ 6:22 pmJindal, sorry. Oops. My bad. Someone spank me, preferably a certain guest blogger…
… wls, where are you? So kidding. Apologies to all. Especially those left out.
Christoph (92b8f7) — 10/21/2007 @ 6:23 pmI live in northern Louisiana and am thrilled that Jindal won. I think he offers some real potential for the following reasons:
(1) He is not from the old political families like the Landrieus and feels no obligation to the old monied interests
(2)He can’t be tarred with the Katrina finger pointing as to who didn’t do what. Had he beaten Blanco four years ago he would have borne the Katrina fallout, regardless of his performance.
(3) This point is difficult to understand if one doesn’t live here in a non-white/non-black family. The animosity between blacks and whites has pushed interests of Hispanics, Asians, Indians, and all others to the side. The only real commonality that blacks and whites at odds with one another shared was a dislike of other people of color. My wife and kids get it everyday and I would imagine Jindal grew up with similar experiences. If Jindal is “the one” he can transcend many of the differences and position himself as the change agent that can be trusted to move La forward. He had significant support from the black and white community which is a very good sign.
(4) The Air Force is probably going to establish a major command (means a four star in charge with lots of personnel) in charge of cyberoperations in the Air Force. A 100 million dollar cyber innovation center has been approved (prior to Jindal’s election) and will offer the Northwest corner of the state a real boon in high technology jobs. This is already causing the local colleges to considering Information Assurance degrees to their programs and the technical schools to add Cisco and Microsoft type training.
(5) Since Katrina, many of the New Orleans businesses have relocated in Baton Rouge, Alexandria, and Shreveport. These cities are closer to the I49 route and offer much safer environments than New Orleans. Out of state businesses may see these as viable places to locate new operations.
Things really could be ripe for sea changes in the state of Louisiana.
voiceofreason (2b30e4) — 10/21/2007 @ 6:33 pmVOR,
Good analysis. It sounds like Jindal is well-positioned to help Louisiana move to the next level and that might not be the case if he had been elected Governor last time. So maybe it’s true that good things come to those who wait?
DRJ (35ac59) — 10/21/2007 @ 6:53 pmDRJ,
Thanks. That could be. If he steps up and makes good things happen some may call his first loss providence.
voiceofreason (2b30e4) — 10/21/2007 @ 7:02 pmlouisiana corrupt? oh no. san francisco 49er fans are still lamenting the loss of our great owner, eddie debartolo jr., kicked out of the league because edwin edwards solicited from him, successfully, $300,000 cash in a suitcase in exchange for a casino license. oddly, the nfl disapproved of this.
assistant devil's advocate (efc917) — 10/22/2007 @ 3:59 amLots of luck, Bobby. It’s not just the government, but the citizens of Louisiana who can’t be trusted in matters of money. I was cheated in almost every transaction I participated in while living there.
They are liars, too. Despite all the propaganda, Louisianans are not friendly. Oh sure, they smile a lot, but that’s to distract you while they’re trying to empty your pocket while welshing on their end of the deal.
Brett (7783f5) — 10/22/2007 @ 7:01 amBrett,
I guess you’ve met all of the residents of Louisiana to be able to make such a broad statement. I bet you think of yourself a friendly though, don’t you?
If you lost out on everything, I guess you just prove that there is a sucker born every minute.
Rand (b5c096) — 10/22/2007 @ 5:53 pm