Jindal wins Louisiana governor's race

[TreasonousBastard]

Source: AP

BATON ROUGE, La. - U.S. Rep. Bobby Jindal became the nation's youngest governor and the first nonwhite to hold post in Louisiana since Reconstruction when he carried more than half the vote to defeat 11 opponents.

Jindal, the Republican 36-year-old son of Indian immigrants, had 53 percent with 625,036 votes with about 92 percent of the vote tallied. It was more than enough to win Saturday's election outright and avoid a Nov. 17 runoff.

"My mom and dad came to this country in pursuit of the American dream. And guess what happened. They found the American Dream to be alive and well right here in Louisiana," he said to cheers and applause at his victory party.

His nearest competitors: Democrat Walter Boasso with 208,690 votes or 18 percent; Independent John Georges had 167,477 votes or 14 percent; Democrat Foster Campbell had 151,101 or 13 percent. Eight candidates divided the rest

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071021/ap_po/louisiana_governor

[Massacure]

1. Interesting. He may not be a democrat, but it sure sounds like he has an interesting life story.

I wonder how the fact that he is so young compared to other politicians and from India will shape his views.

[FarCenter]

4. The fact that he is from India says almost nothing about him

India is a whole subcontinent populated by a multitude of ethnic groups that differ by language, religion, caste, and other dimensions.

They vary greatly on where they would be in the politcal spectrum. For example, attitudes towards women are generally regressive. I've also heard some express the most outrageously reactionary sentiments towards the lower castes.

[Frances]

18. I had a student from India

whose family disowned her because she married another Indian who was from a lower caste than she was. Her husband was studying engineering at the University of Maryland!

[smitra]

42. And I know of an American family...

white, Christian, whose daughter fell in love with the son of one my colleagues, who is of Indian origin, and a Hindu by birth. The girl's family insisted that the boy be baptized before any marriage could take place. When the boy refused, and the girl married him anyway (they were both 19 or so) the girl's family disowned her. Incidentally, the boy was attending an Ivy League College at the time.

The existence of DU is obvious evidence that this family should not be considered representative of all Americans. The piece of information you post, similarly, should not be something that is intended to make it representative of a general Indian attitude. If this was not your intention, then fine, else I think some care should be taken.

FYI, the constitution of India, a democratic republic since 1950, outlaws untouchability and reserves jobs and seats in colleges for the former lower castes. Its implementation has been sketchy, yes, but it has helped many. The President of India from 1997-02 was of a 'lower caste'.

[Frances]

49. Sorry, I did not intend to offend

I've known many parents, both native and non-native Americans, who objected to the person their child married.

[pitohui]

54. as far as i know, he's from louisiana, his PARENTS are from india

i've met him, he's sort of a dweeb/nerd/geek type

[Malikshah]

5. Nope-- read a piece on him-- he's a scary dude.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobby_Jindal

From the wikipedia article on him

Positions on selected issues

Congressman Jindal has stated that he is "100 percent against abortion, no exceptions"<5>. During his 2003 run for governor he distinguished himself from Kathleen Blanco, who is also pro-life, by stating that he supports an abortion ban without exceptions for the life of the woman, the health of the woman, rape, or incest. His definition of abortion differs from the medical community as it only includes procedures that target the embryo or fetus, a definition that exclude procedures, such as a salpingectomy, that do not target the embryo specifically but may result in what the medical community would call an abortion. He has stated that he would allow emergency contraception, which some pro-life groups consider morally equivalent to abortion.<9> He has voted with the Republican Party on all abortion related issues.<10><11>

.....

Jindal supported a constitutional amendment banning flag burning, and the Real ID Act of 2005. Jindal has an A rating from Gun Owners of America.

He is a member of the conservative Republican Study Committee.<12> In 2006, Jindal voted with the Republican Caucus 97% of the time during the 109th Congress<13>. In 2007, Congress.org, a nonpartisan group, ranked Jindal 432 out of 439 in terms of overall effectiveness in the US House during the 110th Congress.

Jindal also supports co-payments in Medicaid.<14>

In 2006, Jindal sponsored the Deep Ocean Energy Resources Act (H.R. 4761), a bill to eliminate the moratorium on offshore oil and gas drilling over the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf, which prompted the watchdog group Republicans for Environmental Protection to issue him an environmental harm demerit.<15> Jindal's 2006 rating from that organization was -4, among the lowest in Congress. The nonpartisan League of Conservation Voters also censured Jindal for securing passage of H.R. 4761 in the House of Representatives; the group rated his environmental performance that year at 7%, citing anti-environment votes on eleven out of twelve critical issues. Jindal's lifetime score from the League of Conservation Voters is 7%.<16> Despite claims that Congressman Jindal's bill was successful<17> H.R. 4761 was actually replaced by S 3711 (known as the Domenici-Landrieu Fair Share Plan). The Senate version was the actual legislation that was passed by both houses of Congress, word for word, and signed by President Bush. <18>

Jindal is an enthusiastic supporter of the war in Iraq. In 2005, Jindal led other freshman Republican House members in dipping their fingers in purple dye to celebrate the 2005 Iraqi national elections.

[pattmarty]

6. Yeah, him and ALL modern Republicans ain't your fathers republicans.

[skipos]

9. I wasn't a Blanco fan, but Jindal is way worse. No abortion even if the woman's life is endangered?

That's some taliban level shit right there.

[jwirr]

23. That is and has been the Roman Catholic stand on abortion from

day one. I wonder what his religion is? Many Indians will not kill animals either.

[Igel]

29. Roman Catholic. n/t

[Odin2005]

33. It seems to be that a lot of catholic Indians tend to be right-wing nuts.

Like Dinesh D'Souza :crazy:

[fujiyama]

35. Jindal converted in HS I believe

There is something incredibly opportunistic about the guy. The thing that really got me was his use of the phrase "outside agitators" when referring to protesters from other states regarding the Jena 6. This echoes the words of segregationists from the fifties and sixties like Strom Thurmond and George Wallace. Yeah, I can just imagine - if the outside agitators from back in the day never said anything he could very well have been using colored drinking fountains and colored restrooms.

He's definitely a nasty piece of work.

[merh]

60. You hit the nail on the head

He is an opportunist

But you can't blame the citizens of Louisiana, they are not anti-dem, they just saw how much easier Mississippi was having it because of the Republican gov. Most of us in MS know that it has a huge advantage to us to have the repug governor. The admin and the agencies cooperate with our state, that is not the case in Louisiana by design.

[skipos]

32. I am Catholic. I know all about our history of being behind the curve

on many issues.

[pitohui]

55. jindal is catholic

he makes no secret of his anti abortion stance, sigh

[Faygo Kid]

15. I've heard from Louisiana coworkers that this guy is horrible

Another Bush in his total disregard for working families, the poor, and anyone not rich and powerful already. Louisiana may have just elected itself the worst governor in the country, and that's saying a lot.

[...of J.Temperance]

22. Jindal is as scary as W, but with ONE BIG difference

Whereas W is as dumb as a box of rocks....Jindal is a VERY smart fellow....so that makes him scarier than W.

:scared:

[Deja Q]

26. That's a change; and (by comparison!) a good one.

In India, some of their women are forced to have abortions if daddy finds out his woman is carrying a girl.

There are plenty of articles describing the misogynic attitudes in India and other "developing" countries, some of which are genuinely shocking or worse.

Mind you, fetus vs mother, if mother's life is threatened by baby (a rare but legit possibility), having her die, which may render baby dead too, seems fairly gruesome too.

[Deja Q]

24. As long as he does his job re: Louisiana, I do not care where he came from.

Because he is an American and Louisiana is the state he calls his home. The people of Louisiana voted him in to govern Louisiana, and that's what his job is there for.

[Magleetis]

2. I don't like him

and I don't trust him. He is a right wing fundie through and through. Without the voting block in New Orleans the right wing takeover of Louisiana will be swift I am afraid.

[razorman]

3. The incompetence of the state and local governments in the aftermath

of hurricane Katrina did not help the Dems, in spite of the failures of the Feds. I think this may be a foreshadowing of a "throw the bums out" mentality in the next elections, which will be bad for the incumbents of both parties.

[pattmarty]

7. Yes, this I believe is a anomaly that should not worry us much.

[JeanGrey]

45. This is only the beginning. They are still mad in NO over the state/

local response to Katrina and I believe they are on a "throw them out" rampage.

[YareweinIraq]

8. Is the honeymoon over?

I thought we would still be in a re-birth of the Democratic Party. Is this a fore-shadowing of the 2008 election cycle?

Should I be worried?

[NYVet]

10. I once heard a quote. It was "All Politics are local."

The only reason we should be worried is if there is a perceived sense of dissatisfaction at the Dems in our local areas.

[razorman]

11. Agreed. However, taken to the extreme, it can affect the national stage, as well.

Take,for instance, Harry Reid's situation. If he were up for re-election in Nevada right now, he almost certainly would not win. His poll numbers there are dismal, because of his stands with the national party. His local constituency is much more conservative than Democrats nationally. Fortunately, he has three years to pull it out, but we will probably see him begin to tone down his public stances. I could be completely wrong, but that is my take.

[davsand]

12. I wouldn't read much more into this than Louisiana has a new Governor.

Politics in that state bear no resemblance to what happens in the rest of the country. Even the Dems there tend to be a lot more conservative than the average DUer, and I think that is probably representative of the voters (overall) in that state.

I think the oil companies and chemical corporations carry a lot of weight down there (they are major employers and serious campaign contributors in the state) and as a result you see a lot of votes coming out of the Louisiana Congresspeople that make no sense to the rest of the Dems.

Voters look to their own PERSONAL interest when they go into the voting booth. For most people it is not as much about ideals, as it is about "what are you gonna do for me?" Louisiana voters are no exception to that, I think.

Everybody in that state was impacted by Katrina in some way or another, and I don't think it is any real surprise that the party in power when it happened (Dems) got nailed in the next election. THAT anger, however, is a phenom based on he handling of one specific event. This is a localized thing, I suspect.

The DNC is in good shape for now, and barring a major screwup between now and the Presidential election I don't think the GOP will do well.


Laura

[YareweinIraq]

16. But it is * we blame for Katrina

isn't it? The foul up at the federal level. We put the Democratic party in power for a reason. And this is how we are paid back? We are supposed to be enjoying election victories!

[davsand]

20. I can see how ANYBODY that was in office would be culpable.

I live in Illinois, so I really can't speak with much authority about the average Joe/Jane sitting in Louisiana except in general terms--ok?

Having established my own lack of credibility, here goes:


I do think, just from my own perspective, that there is blame to share with the handling of Katrina both before and after the hurricane. I think our federal response was dismal (at best), and for the life of me, I have no idea why there wasn't an evac order out much earlier for the city of NOLA and the entire south end of that state. The loss of life and the abandonment of the survivors is a criminal failure of the system AND of leadership, and I can't blame anybody for being pissed off enough to vote people out of office. (I know I sure as hell would feel that way, personally.)

If I'm being totally honest, I marvel at the fact that there were not angry mobs with torches and pitchforks outside Nagan's office, the Capitol in Baton Rouge, and ultimately in DC. Yeah, they ALL screwed up that bad.

I dunno if you have ever been faced with widespread devastation of the place you live. I hope you have not. I will tell you that we see this sometimes on a limited scale here in Illinois when a tornado rolls thru. I have cleaned up from a tornado and I will tell you that it ain't fun, and there are times when you wonder if you will EVER have your life back in order. I honestly can't fathom how that must feel for an entire REGION to face that, and I can easily see how even the smallest failure on the part of government services would leave you feeling bitter for a very long time.

Now, imagine how it would feel to experience failure out of every blasted service in face of that level of death and damage to property...

I don't think "anti-incumbent" even begins to describe the attitude at work here.

YMMV.


Laura

[Auntie Bush]

46. Every thing seems to be going according to bush' plan.

That's why he neglected NO and deliberately made things as bad as possible. He knew the people would rise up and kick the bums/Dems out of office.
Mission accomplished! I felt from the beginning that this was his his plan and seems I was correct. He's an evil man without a heart or soul.

[MikeNearMcChord]

31. Agreed, It looks like Kentucky may elect a Democrat for Governor.

[Doctor_J]

13. I don't believe any election results any more

The Katrina response was not a mistake - it was a deliberate slaughter/displacement of 10's of 1000's of democrats. It was predicted in the immediate aftermath that it was done precisely to change LA from red to blue. Mission Accomplished.

[Frances]

19. I agree that the Katrina response by Bush was deliberate

Without New Orleans, Louisiana is Mississippi. And Karl Rove knew that better than anyone.

[fudge stripe cookays]

59. Awful. But predictable for those bastards

The only good thing being that Texas picked up a buttload of new Democrats. Many of them stayed.

[2Design]

14. no need to outsource to india anymore - n/t

[YareweinIraq]

17. What is wrong with Indian-Americans?

What are you trying to say?

[Deja Q]

25. That's a bit cynical, isn't it?

I might say if the Louisiana people feel their newly elected governor isn't putting their interests at heart, then striving for a recall election wouldn't be out of the question.

Until he actually does that, there is NO reason to accuse him of double-standards, having conflicts of interest, or anything else.

[fujiyama]

36. In this case, Jindal is 100% American

His parents' place of origin is irrelevant. He was born in the US and grew up in Louisiana so he's a product of LA, not India. This is a guy who converted to Catholicism, some say, largely as an opportunistic climb to power.

[BestCenter]

37. You mean he was eyeing the Governor's mansion in high school?

That's the most insane idea ever.

[pitohui]

56. in louisiana culture, that is NOT the most insane idea ever

in southeast louisiana especially, where you went to high school is considered very important, and people make a lot of important decisions about their future at that age

if you want to be big in politics, you don't wait to find out when you're 30, you are indeed already making plans in high school

i realize it's different other places but don't be fooled by parents from india, HE is from louisiana

[...of J.Temperance]

21. The Louisiana Democratic Party should have ran John Breaux against Jindal

John Breaux would have beaten Jindal, probably about 60% to 30%.

The Democrats should have picked one candidate and told the others to drop out....and that one candidate should have been John Breaux.

[ohio2007]

27. Jindal is the first Indian-American to lead a U.S. state

How much help he will get running the state now that the dems no longer hold the office ?

[...of J.Temperance]

28. Sorry but could you

Elaborate on and expand on your comment some....I'm not sure what your comment is meaning as it is.

Thanks.

[KamaAina]

39. They tried!

I see you've got off to Scotland. Good on ye! :hi:

Breaux was testing the waters -- but the repukes raised the dread issue of residency. Breaux has lived in Md. for some time (high-powered DC lobbyist) but still owns, and pays taxes on, property in La. La. law (surprise!) is somewhat murky on this point, so Breaux called on the AG for a ruling. Alas, the AG, Charles Foti, is, as you might say, a "useless git" (cf. botched Memorial Hospital prosecutions); he waffled on issuing a ruling, thereby driving Breaux out of the race. And this is the result.

Scotland's looking better and better. Maybe you could show them how to deep-fry gumbo? :eyes:

[...of J.Temperance]

48. Yep

Scotland's looking good....I'm getting married in December, the SO is from Glasgow, he's a Doctor, he's cool and my parents like him :)

It's a pity though that John Breaux couldn't have done a Dick Cheney, I mean Cheney was a resident in Texas, yet somehow managed to work it so he could get on the same ticket as W, who was also a resident in Texas.

I see Charles Foti lost, hopefully Jim Caldwell can retain the AG office for us....Royal Alexander's a bit scary.

Deep-fry gumbo....well they already have deep-fried Mars Bars, not that I've eaten one....I'll approach the subject of deep-fried gumbo though :hi:

[pitohui]

57. john breaux was disqualified, but i would have loved having him as our new governor

sadly thru a long series of events he was no longer considered a resident of louisiana and was not qualified to run

he DID try but the court said no

[customerserviceguy]

30. The story here

is that enough Repukes were willing to overcome their racism to send a man of color into the Louisiana governorship. You don't know whether to smile...or cry.

[FarCenter]

38. send a man of color ???

He appears to be relatively light complexioned for an Indian.

[customerserviceguy]

43. Make no mistake about it

he's "colored" to a Republican.

[FarCenter]

47. According to the Times of India He Is Punjabi

The Punjabis are about half the Pakistan population and there are about 30 million more in India. They are from the Northwest border of India and have the largest "Aryan" genetic component of the Indian ethnic groups.

[customerserviceguy]

53. You're talking social science

I'm talking about perception in redneck country. The two do not have much in common, I'm afraid.

[musette_sf]

34. i saw this on the crawl

on some news station last night. i can't swear that it was FUX, because i would never watch that willingly, but whatever it was, the announcement called him "Jindal (D-LA)". appalling.

[KamaAina]

40. Funny, I didn't see any displaced NOLA voters bused in for this one

not that they would really have had a dog in this fight; the only Dem, Campbell, is from north LA. (Boasso doesn't count 'cause he switched from repuke only because he felt the repukes were ignoring him in favor of Piyush)

A few hundred busloads of displaced Dems might have kept Piyush (Jindal's given name) under 50 percent and forced a runoff, much as they put Nagin :puke: over the top in the N.O. mayor's race.

[KamaAina]

41. "They found the American Dream to be alive and well right here in Louisiana,"

...and Texas... and Georgia... and everywhere else where Louisianians are still displaced more than two years after Katrina. :grr: And what has Piyush (his given name) done about it while in Congress? Well, there was that vote a couple of weeks ago on a flood relief bill... oh, right, he missed that. Too busy campaigning. :puke:

[Jacobin]

44. He's a born again bible thumping bushbot fuck up

His plan is to close charity hospitals in Louisiana.

He's a right wing ass hole of enormous proportions.

When he ran the first time four years ago, he was so far up Bush's ass, you could smell him a mile away. Now, he distances himself from Bush.

We are in for four years of a bornagain whack job Bushbot and it sucks.

The dems running against him were worthless.

[varun]

50. Jindal is an opportunist

He would not stand a chance to win in Louisiana if he was a Hindu (his former religion).

And he has used his newly acquired religion to the fullest. By pushing anti choice and anti gay policies.

What a shame - that he comes from my native country - India

[pitohui]

58. jindal comes from louisiana

don't feel bad, it is not he but his parents that come from india, i'm about 99 percent sure he was born and bred right here in louisiana

he has been roman catholic and anti abortion for quite some while, this is no latter day change of heart

his policies stink but sadly they appeal to certain elements in this state, there is no getting around it

"see, you voted a WOMAN into the governor's office, and look what happened, god sent a dam hurricane" is the jist of it, if you ask me

it ain't about voting for jindal so much as it is that he had no real opponent in the race

[funkybutt]

51. God help us! n/t

[Ferretherder]

52. I have a feeling it is going to SUCK to be us(Louisianians)...

...for about, oh,...I don't know,.....um, maybe four years or so.