Oh my goodness,the winds of political thought sure can change in a hurry … especially when a candidate is being groomed for the presidency. Enter Gov. Bobby Jindal of Louisiana. Jindal seems to be on a mission to beef up his conservative credentials for 2012 (when a lot of people from the right wing would probably love to see him make a run at incumbent President Barack Obama).
From Think Progress:
On Friday, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) announced that he would reject roughly $100 million in unemployment assistance from the federal recovery package, claiming the aid would lead to a tax hike on businesses. Jindal’s decision ensured that at least 25,000 unemployed Lousiana residents would not be eligible for unemployment insurance.
But, before becoming one of the hot names to potentially run for president, representing the GOP, Jindal seemed to have different ideas about taking government money. In fact, he had some very different ideas about the federal government working to put dollars in the hands of people who need it the most.
Check out this comment from Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz:
This is a guy, who while I served with him in Congress, voted for that [unemployment] assistance twice, and is certainly willing to take funding from the federal when people are out of a job and out of their home as a result of a hurricane, but not willing to take that assistance when his constituents are out of a job and out of a home as a result of this economic crisis. I’m not sure what the difference is. A crisis is a crisis.
Added Rep. Jim Clyburn:
“Jindal cosponsored and supported legislation to expand unemployment benefits and inject federal dollars into Louisiana’s unemployment trust fund. Yet today in the face of a financial disaster and record unemployment, he opposes similar action under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. What changed?”
What changed is that Bobby Jindal is now being considered a potential candidate for the presidency. So, it’s politics as usual for people like Jindal who don’t want to be outcast like Republicans are threatening to do with the senators from Maine and the GOP senator from Pennsylvania who dared vote for the stimulus package. Politics is a dirty business and I suspect Bobby Jindal will require a long shower after his Republican (likely hypocritical) response to President Barack Obama tonight.
Think Progress:
http://thinkprogress.org/2009/02/24/jindal-unemployment-insurance-katrina/
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