Liberty and Justice for All!

Clancy Dubos is apparently having some buyers remorse on Bobby Jindal.

 My response to him (in that link) is as follows:

Clancy: You endorsed Bobby Jindal. And not only did you endorse him, but you did so by annointing him with such lavish praise. You have come a long way from

“We think the best way to respond is by electing a governor who will fundamentally change our political culture from top to bottom and present Louisiana in a whole new light to the rest of the world. In our view, Congressman Bobby Jindal will be that kind of governor.” (your words)

and

“More than anything else, Bobby Jindal’s integrity is above reproach.” (your words)

to

“What’s becoming obvious is that Governor Jindal, who promised us a “gold standard,” actually wants to give us a “double standard” — one for himself and his cronies, and another for everybody else.” (your words)

This is not “becoming obvious”. This has BEEN obvious to many of us out here who have known for YEARS that Jindal is a hypocrite and not someone to be trusted to bring meaningful ethics reform.

Perhaps you should apologize to your readers for not doing the appropriate research on the candidate you endorsed. Because all of Jindal’s flaws existed well before to the election to those who wanted to see it.

In Jindal’s speech he gave to open the special session on ethics, he stated:

Today, we embark on the single most important endeavor for the future of Louisiana - bringing comprehensive ethics reform and transparency to our state.

Oh really? Well, today HB27 was sponsored by Wayne Waddell and it “Limits the public records exemption for the office of the governor to the executive office of the governor”. See, currently all of the agencies under the governor are exempted by the public records law. This law would open up the agencies under the governor to public review. The law would also allow a person to examine (or get a copy of) records relating to any financial transaction that comes through the office of the governor.

Do I need to say who does not support this legislation? Well, according to 99.5 fm newsat 6pm, Governor Jindal is opposed it. Campaign finance law avoider and executive council Jimmy Faircloth stated that:

… the governor’s office opposed the bill because it would create problems for the governor to freely receive ideas, policy recommendations and communications from legislators and others. He also said it would create problems with investors who want to privately negotiate with the state.

That has to absolutely be the lamest excuse I have ever heard. How on earth would it create problems for the governor to receive ideas and policy recommendations from legislators and others? IT EXEMPTS THE GOVERNORS OFFICE! (As a side note, it should not exempt the Governors office either. The legislation SHOULD include the entire administration to the public records law and Bobby Jindal, if he really was the ethics champion his supporters claim he is, would wholeheartedly endorse it.)

And guess what… investors should not be able to privately negotiate with the state! Having an open, honest and TRANSPARENT government requires that every transaction be done above board. So if investors want to privately negotiate with the state, I say TOO BAD! Havn’t we had enough problems with secret back room deals with our state? Won’t this statement by Jindal’s executive council continue to spread the message that our Governor wants to continue the back room deals that have tarnished the reputation of Louisiana? So much for eliminating the perception of ethical problems! Apparently the time of backroom deals in Louisiana politics is far from over, and Jindal wants his ability to conduct them protected.

It also seems that the only thing that is transparent about Jindal is that he is who I said he was. So when do I get to say “I told you so”?

Update 1: After further review of Jindal’s comments before the special session, he stated: 

Private enterprises deserve a level playing field when doing business with the government.

How on earth can we give businesses a level playing field when Bobby Jindal’s administration stresses that private investors need to be able to have private meetings that can avoid the public records law. Jindal says: 

We must also shine the light of day on those special interests who lobby our government.

How will we shine the light of day on special interests if they are allowed to do business with the government in the dark? Jindal says: 

We must change the way business is done in

Baton Rouge by passing legislation that will put an end to the lavish meals and free tickets.

Yet Jindal chief of staff Timmy Teepell just got free tickets to Hannah Montanah. Will Timmy be fired for this? Will he be let go for using his position of power to get free tickets to a very popular concert? No, because he states: 

Gov. Bobby Jindal:  Jim, again, bottom line. We’re gonna follow the law like everybody else

So instead of setting high standards for people in his administration, instead of having people in his administration act in the way that he state government SHOULD work, the people in his office are free to violate those stated principles as long as the actions are still legal. That should do wonders in helping us fix our ethical perception problems. Jindal says: 

The bright light of transparency and public access should extend to every corner of the state budget…so that we can regain the trust of the public.

Every corner of the state budget… except for what Jindal is in charge of. And the Jindal apologists STILL refuse to see the hypocrisy.