Problem is, he seems to have nobody to blame except his own hyperventilating response to the spill. As CBS news has pointed out, Jindal asked for federal (ich!) help and received word from the Oval Office that the state would receive a helluva lot of support paid by BP. He was authorized to deploy 6,000 National Guardsmen two months ago. So far, he's only come through with 1,053 of the 6,000 available.
The Republican governors in Alabama, Florida and Mississippi are doing even worse. There's a certain amount of speculation in those states that the sight of guardsmen on the beaches and elsewhere would scare off tourists. Alas, it used to be only worrisome hurricanes and alligators.
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It seems that most of the GOP governors in gulf states don't understand small government; they continue to expect a federal bail out. Also, they have forgotten the meaning of responsibility - BP's bad should be paid for by BP, not the US taxpayer. Whatever has become of their conservative principles? I find it enlightening to see the bail out rhetoric change when a home town ox is gored.
Inscribed in the biggest plank of the Republican Free Market Platform is, "Privatize your profits and nationalize your losses".
Hey, that's something they know how to do, right Bobby?
PJinOregon,
It seems like you are the one who doesn't understand small government. Conservatives want to limit government to its proper roles, and I think all people would agree that an oil spill requires some involvement by the federal government. Limited government doesn't mean a complete absence of government.
As for Governor Jindal, I think his performance during this oil spill has been nothing short of remarkable. Americans crave strong leadership and decision making during times of crisis and he has filled a vacuum by providing just that. I truly believe that if Governor Jindal had been in office during Hurricane Katrina that perhaps some lives could have been saved.
It is interesting that during Katrina, the left savaged the Bush administration and yet remained stunningly silent about the incompetence of the state and local governments (both run by Democrats). Now here we are during the oil spill and you guys are attacking Republican governors but remaining silent about the performance of the Obama administration.
Do you not see why it is hard to take you guys seriously???
RF84, thanks for your Bartonesque response. If you think Democrats were "stunningly silent" about state/local response to Katrina, it's likely because you see what you want to see and hear what you want to hear. You can be spectacularly self-unaware and revisionist at times.
My recollection of a good deaL of the conservative commentary after Katrina was nothing more than a thinly veiled attempt to place the blame on the victims. Glenn Beck was less tactful calling the Katrina survivors "scumbags".
Haley Barbour's more recent comment that "We don't wash our face in it, but it doesn't stop us from jumping off the boat to ski," can replace the "Heckuva job Brownie"for the time being.
But back to Jindal. He can afford to sound like an environmentalist now because he knows few will remember that in February, 2006, while serving as a member of the House of Representatives, Jindal introduced the Deep Ocean Energy Resources Act. The bill would have opened up the entire US coast to offshore oil drilling.
It seems that I'm in the court of the Queen of Spades - words and principles means what the speaker intends at the moment of speaking. Whatever became of the original intent of "Conscience of a Conservative"? Conservatives seem happy to redefine limited government and responsibility when it serves their purpose of attacking POTUS. How can you expect the country to take you guys seriously???
But PJJ, you don't need to follow your conscience or the rule of law when guys like RF84 think all of this discourse is "just good fun".
"What good's permitting some prophet of doom
To wipe every smile away.
Life is a Cabaret, old chum,
So come to the Cabaret!"
Imagine Haley Barbour with top hat and cane singing that on a Biloxi beach.
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