VIDEO: Bobby Jindal mocks RNC staffers

By GottaLaff

Um, Ba-Ba-Ba-Bobby Jindal? Wrong joke to the wrong crowd at the wrong time in the wrong room. Major rule of comedy: Know your audience.



Way to win over your own side, Sparky:

How do you get a lukewarm reaction from an otherwise friendly crowd? Joke about the politically embarrassing elephant in the room. That is just what Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal did Friday at the SRLC, having a laugh at the expense of the RNC.

Mock and awe fail.

NononononoPalinJindalNonononono

By GottaLaff

Newton Leroy Gingrich decided that the GOP should be the "party of yes." What a novel idea! Why, it's positively Spoonful of Sugary! One might surmise that Republican voters would lap that right up, it's so sunshiny and positive!

One might even go so far as to imagine party leaders would embrace such a pleasant about-face from all that nastiness and No-itude.

Think about it. Those poor Rushpublics! It must be an awful burden, all that dragging around, looking all frowny, staining their vocal chords screaming "You lie!", "Baby killer!", "Reload!", and "Hell no!" at the top of their lungs.

"Yes" is such a happy word. "Yes" brings to mind all good things. "Yes" is as feel-goody as it gets. Who could refuse an opportunity to associate with such a life-affirming word? A word filled with promise and opportunity? A word that would be good for America!?

Ba-Ba-Ba-Bobby Jindal:

“Let’s be clear: A bad idea is a bad idea, and shame on us for being afraid to say so,” Jindal said. He added that, when it comes to bad ideas, “We shouldn’t just be the 'party of no,' we should be the 'party of "hell no." ' ”

NaySay McThumbsDown:

“There is no shame in being the 'party of no' if the other side proposes something that violates our Constitution and conscience,” she said.

Bobby Jindal: I won't run for president

By GottaLaff

From February 2009:

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Shorter Ba-Ba-Ba-Bobby Jindal: There is no way in hell I can win.

Why? There are any number of reasons, the least of which is how he's destroying access to mental health care in his own state.

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal told a hometown crowd Friday that he will not make a bid for the White House.

"I am not running for president of the United States,"Jindal said at the Southern Republican Leadership Conference. "I've got the job I want."

And the job he wants is privatizing health care and destroying lives in the process.

Rachel's initial reaction to Ba-ba-Bobby back in 2009 still works today:

New Orleans has mental health care problem. Bobby Jindal makes it worse... again.

By GottaLaff

State Representative Neil Abramson (D) New Orleans and Bobby Jindal

I post as often as I can about Rep. Neil Abramson's valiant efforts to maintain, at a minimum, decent (mental) health care for Katrina victims, and of course other patients, in New Orleans. It's been an ongoing struggle with that stellar speaker and compassionate Louisiana governor, Ba-Ba-Ba-Bobby Jindal.

Jindal has recently cut mental health care in Mandeville, which was supposed to replace the New Orleans Adolescent Hospital (NOAH).

Last year, Jindal and Levine wanted to close NOAH and move everything over to a hospital in Mandeville. Neil blocked the move by amending the state budget bill, but Jindal line-item vetoed it, meaning NOAH would indeed be closed.

Back in 1981, a deal was made that said the property would used for "general health care" services for 30 years, until the end of 2011. Before Hurricane Katrina, it primarily housed inpatient care for mentally ill kids and teens.

Here's the latest:

After losing his fight last year to keep New Orleans Adolescent Hospital open as an inpatient mental health facility, Rep. Neil Abramson has returned this year trying to ensure that the Uptown campus at least continues to house some kind of health-care operations.

This time, Abramson, D-New Orleans, and state Health Secretary Alan Levine, the architect of closing NOAH, are on the same side, agreeing on a compromise bill that would accomplish Abramson's aim while satisfying the state's effort to aid Children's Hospital expansion. [...]

The bill would block the state from selling the NOAH campus [...] for at least a year. Thereafter, any buyer would have to provide health care or health-care education on the campus. If the buyer failed to meet that burden, Abramson said, the state would reclaim the property. The state would be free to lease the property immediately, as long as a tenant honored the health-care use requirement.

Neil Abramson continues to fight for those in dire need, who have nowhere to go, who see their options dwindling to nothing.

Bobby Jindal, on the other hand, has other priorities (read: privatization) which apparently don't include access to mental health care. So much for Returning to America's Core Values.

Jindal the Swindle

By GottaLaff

Here is Jindal turning down a stimulus check. Oh wait.

I have posted a lot about what GOP Governor Ba-Ba-Ba-Bobby Jindal is doing to health care in his state. You can find all of those posts here and here, including my exclusives with State Representative Neil Abramson (D) New Orleans.

Now Jindal wants to end the statewide Charity Hospital System, which has been around for a very, very, long, long time time.

And if that's not bad enough, he's cutting mental health care in Mandeville, which was supposed to replace the New Orleans Adolescent Hospital (NOAH).

His forthcoming book, On Solid Ground: Returning to America's Core Values, has a rather misleading title, under the circumstances.

Privatize, privatize, privatize:

[...] Gov. Bobby Jindal's administration is seeking to put its stamp on state government this spring by privatizing a broad range of state services.

The changes, many of which will be up for debate in the three-month legislative session that starts Monday, would affect everything from insurance claims processing and prison pharmacies to the way Louisiana cares for its mentally ill and people with developmental disabilities. They would shift hundreds of state jobs to the private sector.

And while some of the changes are relatively minor -- such as a plan to save $1.3 million by outsourcing lab services at the Department of Environmental Quality -- others are likely to impact the state for years to come. [...]

In mental health, for example, the administration is proposing what officials say are the biggest changes to the state's mental health system in generations.

There is a lot more at the links to this article and to my earlier posts. He has cut health care for so many in need, so many Katrina victims, and now he's compounding the damage.

And to think this man has presidential aspirations...

H/t: NolaTalk

Run, Bobby, run!

By GottaLaff

The GOP has no credible leader, not one.

Ba-Ba-Ba-Bobby is not only an embarrassment, but he cares nothing about his own state, as he keeps proving.

By all means, Bobby, run:

A description of Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal's (R) forthcoming book, On Solid Ground: Returning to America's Core Values, makes it sound like he's seriously considering a presidential bid.

The AP notes the book "will be more than just an autobiography of the Louisiana governor" and will include "a political treatise on his vision for the Republican Party."

The book is due out in July.

If all his speeches are like this one, he'll be out before you can say "book tour".

TPC EXCLUSIVE- State Rep. Abramson talks Jindal priorities: Superdome suite v. mental health services

By GottaLaff

State Representative Neil Abramson (D) New Orleans

Cutting services to those who desperately need them is becoming a habit over in JindalLand. He is now gutting all mental health care in Louisiana to fill the Medicare budget shortfall:

The state also plans to shift money from its mental health and public health programs into the Medicaid budget, where it can draw federal matching money. Levine said the agency has no plans for layoffs, but that workers in the three state-run psychiatric hospitals will be working fewer hours and that as a result the number of staffers per patient will decrease.

Sidebar: Jindal didn't show up at a big-- make that huge-- opening of a World War II Museum. Was he afraid that someone might connect the sore subject of mental health issues/veterans/the military, the tragedy at Ft. Hood and the need for proper psychological care? That would put him in a bit of a mental health pickle. A stretch? Maybe. Just a thought.

Gordon "Nick" Mueller, the museum's co-founder, president and chief executive officer, stressed the symbolic importance of the building, one of the biggest local construction projects since Hurricane Katrina laid waste to the New Orleans area in August 2005.

"The whole museum is in the American spirit," he said.

Bobby must have been too busy doing important stuff like turning down stimulus checks to attend. Oh wait.

But back to funding issues. Apparently, shoring up Medicaid with cuts to mental health facilities isn't as upsetting to Health and Hospitals Secretary Alan Levine as the dearth of alcohol and fancy schmancy shrimp and oysters in Ba-Ba-Ba-Bobby's own private Superdome suite:

While the New Orleans Saints storybook season has made them the hottest ticket in town, it also has driven up demand for the governor's private suite in the Superdome. [...]

"It's certainly an honor to be invited, but you don't get to spend a whole lot of time watching the game," said Health and Hospitals Secretary Alan Levine, who was on hand for last Monday's game against the Atlanta Falcons. Besides, Levine said, the governor's box doesn't come with the same amenities as the neighboring suites. "You walk by the other boxes and you see shrimp and you see oysters and you see alcohol, and you walk into the governor's box and there (are) literally just plastic cups next to the sink."

Maybe Levine could snatch a few dollars from what was formerly the mental health budget and buy his own gourmet nummies.

If you recall, I previously posted about the horrific mental health crisis in New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, plus State Rep. Neil Abramson's exclusive comments here. A short excerpt from my interview with him:

The real problem, unfortunately, is this became an issue of politics: Who has the idea and whether or not we need to be problem solvers, not bean counters.

Jindal decided to save money, to consolidate two state mental hospitals into one. It became obvious to me that you can save all the money you want, but the facility HAD to be in New Orleans to address the needs of the patients.

Yesterday State Rep. Abramson sent me another exclusive e-mail:

Governor Jindal already closed the only public mental health hospital in New Orleans. Now, Alan Levine, Jindal's secretary of Department of Health & Hospital, proposes cutting more mental health services in order to save medicaid money.

Yes, that is the same Alan Levine who has public longings for shrimp. Moving on:

As a member of the legislature, we found a way to keep the mental health hospital open in New Orleans, working with the economic constraints of our balanced budget. Yet, Governor Jindal vetoed that funding and closed the hospital. Now, his administration is targeting more mental health cuts throughout Louisiana.

At some point, his administration needs to recognize that mental health is health care, and particularly after Hurricane Katrina, there is a desperate need for mental health care treatment. It's time we focus on being problem-solvers and address the needs of our citizens, rather than just being bean counters and cutting to cut.

Here comes the part about Secretary Shrimp:

It's more interesting that these additional devastating cuts in mental health care in Louisiana come at the same time of reports in our local newspaper about political friends, including Secretary Levine, enjoying the Governor's suite at the Super Dome for Saints games. Secretary Levine apparently commented that the suite wasn't anything special because it didn't have boiled shrimp or raw oysters like the other suites. I don't think these culinary cutbacks at a posh suite during a Monday Night NFL game are quite the same type of sacrifices as eliminating mental health care for the people of Louisiana.

Pretty revealing priorities, there, Sec. Shrimp.

Maybe if health care centers provided tasty buffets, you and Bobby would feel more compelled to support them. Meanwhile, I dare you to hold a town hall meeting with a few of the suffering patients and Katrina victims who no longer have a safe haven, let alone free booze and oyster treats.

Jindal Fires State Employee Day After She Criticized Him, Blames It on Katrina

By GottaLaff

Ruh-roh! Ba-Ba-Ba-Bobby did someone wrong:

A state worker fired the day after publicly criticizing state government last week was actually told she was terminated because of problems pertaining to Hurricane Katrina four years ago, her attorney said.

Melody Teague, a state Department of Social Services contract grants reviewer, was informed she was fired because of problems with the disaster food stamps program that she was drawn into during the Katrina aftermath, her attorney, Mark Falcon said.

Teague will go through the Civil Service appeals process to undo her firing, Falcon said.

He called it a “secondary” matter that she was fired one day after criticizing state privatization efforts and Gov. Bobby Jindal during an Oct. 1 state Commission for Streamlining Government forum in Jefferson Parish.

Of course it was. Secondary, that is. One always fires someone for something they did four years ago, as opposed to, you know, what they did the day before.

So what's an unfairly fired state worker to do?

Don't expect an outspoken political appointee to go quietly. That's the lesson Gov. Bobby Jindal's learning after he tried unsuccessfully to force out one of his picks for the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education.

Tammie McDaniel not only refused to leave the job, she coalesced support from other board members, education officials and community leaders to stay in the post.

As the episode unfolded, McDaniel made the Jindal administration look secretive, heavy-handed and engaged in the kind of back-room dealing the governor decried when he took office.

Wait. Don't tell me. Ba-Ba-Ba-Bobby comes off as a ... hypocrite? Again? A guy with a face like this?

But he looks so sincere!

The problem is Jindal can't remove her from the position because the appointment runs concurrent with the governor's four-year term, and McDaniel has refused to step down. [...]

Jindal said he was disappointed with McDaniel's decision -- but he's never explained why he wanted her to resign. He's repeatedly insinuated she didn't support his "reform agenda," saying recently, "The members that we appoint to any commission or board, we expect to support our reform agenda. If they don't, they can certainly expect to hear from us."

But he hasn't described what that agenda might be or which votes she cast that conflicted with the governor's views.

The Great Communicator.

"We obviously don't comment on private meetings or conversations," Jindal said.

The matter's not exactly private when McDaniel, other BESE members, north Louisiana education leaders and lawmakers are talking about it -- and speculating publicly.

Bobby, Bobby, Bobby... See, "private" means "not public" and "public" means "not private". Got that? I knew that you would.

Since the governor isn't talking, all that's available is speculation the governor's trying to muzzle an appointee with an independent streak who questions Jindal or the education superintendent he supports.

That's not the message a governor who talks about transparency in government should want to convey. And it might not even be the whole truth. But no one knows since the Jindal administration is keeping its decision-making under wraps.

Never fear, Bobby's poor reputation is intact. The inability to muzzle an employee is just one of a long list of failures... right after wrongful termination. See? Consistent epic fail.

H/t: Hippie_Cyndi

Jindal endorses Democrats’ health care reform bill

By GottaLaff

All of you out there who got snookered by Ba-Ba-Ba-Bobby Jindal's WaPo piece, raise your hands. It was easy to do, so don't go all guilt-ridden on me.

My good pal Karoli has opened a lot of eyes by explaining that Bobby has actually lifted a few (read: most) ideas from the Dems (please read Karoli's whole post):

Bobby Jindal [...] makes a conservative case for health reform by outlining a 10-point plan that looks very much like the plan that President Obama outlined in his September speech to the joint session of Congress back in September.

Let’s compare:

1. Voluntary Purchasing Pools. Check. In the Democrats’ bill, they’re called “the Exchange”.
2. Portability. Check.
3. Lawsuit reform. No, this isn’t in the Democrats’ health care reform bills, but it is on the agenda. Let’s not forget, lawsuits (aka torts) cover a universe far wider and deeper than health claims. While it’s surely something to consider, it’s also a dense issue that would have to be coordinated with states’ rules on lawsuits. (And let’s not forget, tort reform has done little to keep health insurance costs down in states that have adopted it.)
4. Required coverage of pre-existing conditions. Check.
5. Transparency and payment reform. Check.
6. Electronic medical records. Check.
7. Tax-free health savings accounts. Nope, these aren’t part of the Democrats’ plan. Why? Because they only work for the very rich and those who don’t really care if Wall Street steals half of them while Congress turns its head during Republican administrations.
8. Reward healthy lifestyle choices. Check, though premium rebates are not the reward in the Democrats’ plan. The entire plan focuses around wellness rather than sickness.
9. Cover young adults by allowing them to remain on parents’ plan longer. Check.
10. Refundable tax credits for the uninsured to obtain insurance. Check.

8 out of Jindal’s 10 are already in the President’s plan and the variations wending their way toward a merge process. [...]

Jindal’s article makes it clear that conservatives agree with how we’re proceeding on health care reform. It looks like Democrats made a serious effort to bring conservative principles into play where they could as a proxy for the demagogues in Congress who decided stonewalling is the way to reform our health care system.

Here's the punch line. Ba-Ba-Ba-Bobby ends his piece with this:

In short, ideas matter. The public is interested in solutions that will improve America's health-care system, not dismantle it. Republicans can lead on this.

Click on the button:


Ha!

Please go here to read Karoli's entire analysis. It'll be well worth it.

Jindal Will Not Challenge Vitter

By GottaLaff

Ba-ba-ba-Bobby says na-na-na-no to a senate run:

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) "has gone on the record in regard to speculation he might run for U.S. Senate," WWL-TV reports.

Said Jindal: "Well a couple of things, first (Sen. David) Vitter's going to have to make his case with the voters, just like every candidate does. There's been a lot of speculation. Let me answer your question very directly, I'm not running for the senate, I'm running for re-election as governor in 2011, but David's going have to make his case with the voters directly just like any other candidate's going to have to do that."

That Vitter is even close to being a viable anything, let alone a candidate, is astounding.

The Re-Introduction Of Bobby Jindal

Think he's been working with a public speaking coach?

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) "will wade into the national debate over health care this week by penning op-eds in Politico and the Wall Street Journal and appearing on a series of cable chat shows today and tomorrow," the Washington Post reports.

"That Jindal is adding his voice to the chorus of Republican critics of Democrats' approach to President Obama's chief policy priority... is evidence that the youthful governor sees a role for himself in the national policy debate despite a rocky introduction to the country earlier this year."

"Allies of Jindal insist his disappearance from the national stage from February until, well, now, had everything to do with his engagement in the legislative session and nothing at all to do with his lackluster performance."

Countdown- The Real Republicans Candidates Of 2012

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Want a good laugh?

By GottaLaff

Feelin' down? Wish Iran was doing better? Sick of Rushpublic hypocrisy and nastiness? This ought to help:

Fundraising Begins for a Jindal Presidential Bid

A group of Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal's (R) political supporters, "including an uncle of the governor's wife, Supriya Jindal, are forming a federal political action committee to support a presidential run by the 38-year-old Republican," the New Orleans Times-Picayune reports.

Though Jindal's press secretary insists to the Baton Rouge Advocate that the governor, "does not support this effort," an insider tells Political Wire that Jindal's top aides manage their responsibilities "in the context of preparing Bobby for a 2012 run."

Still need some giggletude?

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Republicans To Launch "Rebranding" Effort, aka "Groundhog Day"

By GottaLaff

J-J-Jeb Bush... and J-J-J Sid? That's who they're using to launch a makeover?

CNN reports on a new effort to revive the image of the Republican Party and to counter President Obama's characterization of Republicans as "the party of no."

"It will involve an outreach by an interesting mix of GOP officials, ranging from 2008 Republican presidential nominee John McCain to Jeb Bush, the former Florida governor and the younger brother of the man many Republicans blame for the party's battered brand: former President George W. Bush."

Also involved: Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal and Mitt Romney.

What, they haven't figured out yet that Ba-Ba-Bobby is a la-la-loser? And that Jeb is a ::shudder:: Bush?

And that J Sid--What's the word? Oh yeah-- lost??

The Rushpublic party: The equivalent of Tee Vee producers fooling themselves into thinking that Extreme Makeover reruns would attract a larger, newer, more competitive audience who are incapable of remembering, and therefore can't anticipate a different outcome.

Bobby Jindal Gets Book Deal

Let's hope his ghost writers write better than he speaks.

"In a move almost certain to fuel fresh speculation about his national ambitions," Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) said that he "has agreed to write a book for a conservative publishing house about his life and policy ideas," the New Orleans Times-Picayune reports.

"The book is tentatively scheduled for release in 2010... In recent years, book authorship has become a virtual requirement for presidential aspirants."

Chris Matthews Show Makes Some News On Bobby Jindal

By GottaLaff

Here's a juicy little scooperoony:

TVNewser has obtained a partial early transcript from this weekend's, "The Chris Matthews Show." Panelist John Heilemann of New York Magazine relayed an interesting "rumor" about Lousiana Gov. Bobby Jindal:

I was down in New Orleans, and I heard a great rumor that Bobby Jindal, who we were just talking about as a potential presidential candidate for the Republican party, is thinking about giving up the governorship and running for Senate against David Vitter, or for Vitter's seat if Vitter doesn't run. He's got a terrible budget situation down there. He's thrown himself into a Republican primary up in Baton Rouge that he's going to apparently get creamed in. And I think what's interesting is that that tells you that he's got the message that 2012 isn't his year.

Senator Ba-ba-ba-Bobby?

DNC says Boss Limbaugh is Jindal's speechwriter

By GottaLaff

Ba-ba-ba-Bobby Jindal is making quite a name for himself, and it's "Booby" (Sidebar: Every time I type his name, I typo "Booby". Coincidence? I don't think so):

The Democratic National Committee fired back Wednesday at Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal for saying it is OK for Republicans to want President Obama to fail if they think the president is jeopardizing the country.

"We understand that Governor Jindal has had some problems with public speaking lately, but turning to Rush Limbaugh to be your new speechwriter doesn't help," DNC spokesman Hari Sevugan said in a statement sent to the media. "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."

Another smackdown. Watch out, Rushpublic Party of No, the Dems are finding their sea legs.

Bobby Jindal urges GOP to stand up to Obama

By GottaLaff

So this is the new line? Stand up to Barack Obama! Um, could you imagine Ba-ba-ba-Bobby going nose-to-nose with President Obama? Or should I use the old, "But I am standing!" line instead:

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal again found himself carrying the Republican mantle opposite a primetime appearance from President Barack Obama on Tuesday, saying Republicans must be ready to defy the president when they disagree with his policies. He also joked about his widely panned response to Obama's address to Congress last month.

"We are now in the position of being the loyal opposition," Jindal said at a Republican congressional fundraising dinner that only by coincidence fell on the same night as Obama's news conference. "The right question to ask is not if we want the president to fail or succeed, but whether we want America to succeed."

Glad to see that distinction... without a difference.

Saying "the time for talking about the past is over," Jindal said Republicans have begun to find their voice after back-to-back elections losses - motivated by what he called historic Democratic spending excess.

They have? To me, it sounds like they still have a bad case of laryngitis.

At Tuesday's $2,500-per-plate dinner - which President George W. Bush headlined last year - Jindal opened his speech by poking fun of himself. He threatened to deliver a reprise of the earlier performance and then jokingly compared it to torture.

Those Rushpublicans can't seem to stay away from torture:

"They're not allowed to show my speech at Gitmo anymore," he said. "They've banned that."

Gosh. That. Sure. Was. Funny. Ha.....

Ha. .....

Ha.

The real punch line? They raised $6 million. No, I'm not kidding. Imagine how much they could raise with decent jokes.

Bobby Jindal again speaking same night as Obama

By GottaLaff

Will Ba-ba-ba-Bobby never learn?

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal will again carry the Republican mantle opposite a primetime appearance from President Obama on Tuesday.

Jindal, considered a potential GOP presidential candidate, is slated to headline a major congressional fundraiser that coincidentally fell on the same night as Obama's planned news conference.

That's like the Weather Channel going up against American Idol.

VIDEO-- Meghan McCain on the Early Show: "It's hard for me to defend these icons.. I love Bobby Jindal"

By GottaLaff



She says "summerrrr" with the same inflection that my younger teen students do. Meghan's 24. Then again, she's a Jindal admirer.

Snarkage aside, I prefer her to her parents. She seems to be more evenhanded and reasonable. Kewl.