Print
E-mail
Jindal Stirs The Limbaugh Pot
By Joe Murray, The Bulletin
Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, R, reignited the controversy surrounding the Republican Party and Rush Limbaugh Tuesday night when he said it is OK to hope President Barack Obama fails.
Speaking to a conference of Republican leaders, Mr. Jindal, a man who many believe has an eye on the White House in 2012, said it is appropriate to hope the president fails if it means the president’s policies will jeopardize the nation’s security and stability.
“My answer to the question is very simple: ‘Do you want the president to fail?’ It depends on what he is trying to do,” Mr. Jindal said.
The popular governor criticized the media and Democrats for trying to stifle debate on some of the president’s most controversial policies by requiring Republicans to support Mr. Obama’s policies or get stung by the establishment.
“Make no mistake: Anything other than an immediate and compliant, ‘Why no sir, I don’t want the president to fail,’ is treated as some sort of act of treason, civil disobedience or political obstructionism,” Mr. Jindal said to a crowd of about 1,200. “This is political correctness run amok.”
Mr. Jindal’s criticism came at a time when Republicans are working to regain the credibility the lost over the past two election cycles. The Democrats’ far-reaching taxing and spending policies have created an early Republican resurgence.
“It’s time to declare our time of introspection and navel-gazing officially over,” Mr. Jindal said. “It’s time to get on with the business of charting America’s future. So, as of now, be it hereby resolved that we will focus on America’s future, and on standing up for fiscal sanity, before it is too late.”
But Democrats, in an attempt to continually link the GOP to Mr. Limbaugh, seized on Mr. Jindal’s perceived defense of the popular talk show host. And the tone taken was surprisingly personal.
Referencing Mr. Jindal’s poorly received response to Mr. Obama’s State of the Union address, DNC National Press Secretary Hari Sevugan said, “We understand that Gov. Jindal has had some problems with public speaking lately, but turning to Rush Limbaugh to be your new speechwriter doesn’t help.
“What we know has failed is the reflexive partisan politics of the past that Rush Limbaugh and his Republican party continue to be mired in. Rather than rooting for failure, we urge the Republican party to play a constructive role in moving the country forward and offer a budget proposal.”
Republicans, however, charged Democrats with deliberately trying to make the debate about Mr. Obama, rather than his increasingly unpopular economic policies.
“I want his policies that I believe take us in the wrong direction to fail,” former Republican U.S. Sen. Fred Thompson told CNN yesterday. “If he takes us down the road of tripling our national debt in 10 years and making us vulnerable to higher interest rates and higher inflation, and things of that nature, I want all those policies not to succeed.”
Mr. Thompson stressed Republicans are willing to work with the president, but said he must show some willingness to meet Republicans halfway.
Speaking about cutting the rising costs of entitlement spending, Mr. Thompson said, “If he wants to do that, I will join with him. I’ll do everything I can to make him succeed with regard to that because that’s the whole ball game in terms of our fiscal future in this country.”
Joe Murray can be reached at jmurray@thebulletin.us
Speaking to a conference of Republican leaders, Mr. Jindal, a man who many believe has an eye on the White House in 2012, said it is appropriate to hope the president fails if it means the president’s policies will jeopardize the nation’s security and stability.
“My answer to the question is very simple: ‘Do you want the president to fail?’ It depends on what he is trying to do,” Mr. Jindal said.
The popular governor criticized the media and Democrats for trying to stifle debate on some of the president’s most controversial policies by requiring Republicans to support Mr. Obama’s policies or get stung by the establishment.
“Make no mistake: Anything other than an immediate and compliant, ‘Why no sir, I don’t want the president to fail,’ is treated as some sort of act of treason, civil disobedience or political obstructionism,” Mr. Jindal said to a crowd of about 1,200. “This is political correctness run amok.”
Mr. Jindal’s criticism came at a time when Republicans are working to regain the credibility the lost over the past two election cycles. The Democrats’ far-reaching taxing and spending policies have created an early Republican resurgence.
“It’s time to declare our time of introspection and navel-gazing officially over,” Mr. Jindal said. “It’s time to get on with the business of charting America’s future. So, as of now, be it hereby resolved that we will focus on America’s future, and on standing up for fiscal sanity, before it is too late.”
But Democrats, in an attempt to continually link the GOP to Mr. Limbaugh, seized on Mr. Jindal’s perceived defense of the popular talk show host. And the tone taken was surprisingly personal.
Referencing Mr. Jindal’s poorly received response to Mr. Obama’s State of the Union address, DNC National Press Secretary Hari Sevugan said, “We understand that Gov. Jindal has had some problems with public speaking lately, but turning to Rush Limbaugh to be your new speechwriter doesn’t help.
“What we know has failed is the reflexive partisan politics of the past that Rush Limbaugh and his Republican party continue to be mired in. Rather than rooting for failure, we urge the Republican party to play a constructive role in moving the country forward and offer a budget proposal.”
Republicans, however, charged Democrats with deliberately trying to make the debate about Mr. Obama, rather than his increasingly unpopular economic policies.
“I want his policies that I believe take us in the wrong direction to fail,” former Republican U.S. Sen. Fred Thompson told CNN yesterday. “If he takes us down the road of tripling our national debt in 10 years and making us vulnerable to higher interest rates and higher inflation, and things of that nature, I want all those policies not to succeed.”
Mr. Thompson stressed Republicans are willing to work with the president, but said he must show some willingness to meet Republicans halfway.
Speaking about cutting the rising costs of entitlement spending, Mr. Thompson said, “If he wants to do that, I will join with him. I’ll do everything I can to make him succeed with regard to that because that’s the whole ball game in terms of our fiscal future in this country.”
Joe Murray can be reached at jmurray@thebulletin.us
 |
 |
|
| New York Race Could Spell Trouble For Democrats | Do The Democrats Have Another Tax Evader? |
Reader Comments
The following are comments from the readers. In no way do they represent the view of thebulletin.us.
You must register with a valid email to post comments. Only your Member ID will be posted with the comments.
Registered users sign in here: |
Become a Registered User |
