Wonkette
Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, the Indian street urchin who is also somehow a Mexican Catholic exorcist, is 36-years-old and supposedly “beloved” by his backward state, for being charismatic and Strong. He has been a governor for literally -2 hours. The state has chosen this moment to start hating him, for reneging on a campaign pledge in a comical fashion that marks the birth of a new, iconic American Failure.
It’s extremely simple: on the campaign trail, Jindal promised to veto any bill in which legislators raise their own pay, because there are only four dollars total in the all of Louisiana and they must be spent on Gas. Now both houses of the state legislature have passed a bill to raise their salaries from $16,800 to $37,500. The bill is sitting on Jindal’s desk. He has his veto pen. But he just. can’t. do it!
He has until July 8 to veto the bill or it becomes law. They are calling it the “20-day death march” in Louisiana, which is kind of funny. Jindal is such a loser, too, that he keeps asking the legislature to consider changing its mind. Obviously the legislature doesn’t give a shit.
Oh man, just look at him squirm:
“There is still time in this session and I strongly encourage them to reverse what they’ve done, to reconsider what they’ve done,” Jindal said. “I strongly recommend to individual legislators that they do not accept the pay increase. I think it is a mistake. I think it’s wrong. Again, I think the amount is excessive.”
Jindal said the average Louisiana citizen is not in line for a doubling in salary, and so the Legislature should not be either. He said any pay raise should take effect only after the next election. But he repeated his pledge not to veto the bill.
“We strongly oppose it, but we don’t want to give anybody any excuse to slow down the reforms that are so important to the people of Louisiana,” Jindal said. “But I strongly encourage the Legislature — they still have days left until Monday’s end of session — I strongly encourage them to undo what they’ve done.”
If nothing changes by July 7, expect Jindal to bring out the ol’ Exorcism kit from college and run around the state capitol building sprinkling magical Jesus water on those bullies, like a clown.
Jindal urges La. lawmakers ‘to undo what they’ve done’ [NOLA]
Considering the quality of legislators and governors that LA has had in the past, do you think that doubling it is enough?*
* Based on the argument laid for by overpaid CEOs and other dicksacks that the higher the pay the better talent you’d attract.
Legislators in LA get $16,800 now? No wonder the state is utterly fucked.
Hats off to the LA legislature for doing their work for a lower salary than a short-order cook at Dennys. Of course, that means only fat-cats can afford to be in the legislature, but whatever.
That is, without a doubt, balls we can believe in. God/Vishnu/Whateves, I hope Grampy picks this guy for Veep.
jagorev: I think they only meet for like 2 months a year…
“Reforms that are so important to the people of Louisiana?!” Like what? Making crawdads the state insect and “vittles” the state food? Replacing all the globes in Louisiana classrooms with flat earths? Installing those creepy Jesus-with-a-crown-of-thorns heart in every public building? He must love doing the people’s business.
Look at that picture: “Dayum! I Never touched a brown feller before. You’re so smooth!”
I can’t believe those Louisianans (?) voted for someone darker than a paper sack. I’m just saying…
Jim Newell: $8,400 per month? Those poor, poor legislators! Oh, the humanity…
I think everybody should be allowed to decide their own rate of pay. I want $10,000,000 an hour.
jagorev: Well, that’s the pre-bribe salaries. They really do much better than that.
And all the craw fish they can eat!
Somebody please explain to me again how Jesse the Brain is a more ridiculous political figure than Jindal the Empty-Sacked? While the rest of us were making multi-chambered bongs out of pilfered lab equipment, this cat was building a junior exorcist kit, fer shit’s sake.
gurukalehuru: The way inflation is going, that might be doable in a few months.
jagorev: Hey, that ain’t bad for a part-time job that you only have to go to every other year for a couple months….
Gopherit v2.0: You beat me to it. Corruption in Louisiana is as commonplace as file is in gumbo.
TGY: Yeah, don’t they recognize legislating as a career path that should be reasonably open to people who need to live off their paychecks? WTF? Like, maybe the great state of Louisiana would benefit from their legislators being paid enough to have time to learn about the issues?
Gopherit v2.0:
Say, can you squeal like a pig?
Jim Newell: yes. at madi gras. draped in beads
and not much else, they drink and smoke day and night, have
sex with tourists…and for that, they get paid.
it’s outrageous.
tsunami: Wait…. The LA legislature is Girls Gone Wild?
in the immortal words of George W Bush: “AWESOME!”
And speaking of corruption, politics, and Louisiana… this reminds me of another, infamously famous Fast Eddie.
Jim Newell: Ohhhh, *Potemkin* legislators. You should’ve said. :p
What a stupid campaign pledge to make when the salary at issue is the same as what a Walmart bagger on disability pulls down. With whom did he score points by pledging this during the campaign?
“As God is my witness, you fuckers in the legislature will get to seventeen grand when you come pry the extra $200 from my cold dead hand!!! By the way, I look forward to working with each of you to advance my ambitious legislative agenda.”
…$16,800? WoW, I guess the saying you get what you pay for is very accurate. You pay for a McDonald’s drive-thru attendant and thats what you get running your state!
Bobby-ji would be lucky to get the veep nod. Being governor of Louisiana sounds like something you’d want to say you did, but not actually do for more than a few months. Get out, Bobby, before the next hurricane season!
Gopherit v2.0: …Louisiana: The only state in the union where you pick-up your “supplementary salary” in brown paper bag that is stuffed into garbage can in a public park.
What a Piyushy
$16,800 is just their base salary. They really work for tips.
AngryBlakGuy: How much would you pay a part-time worker who works for one of every twelve days, has a really bad attendance record even for those days, and has obvious deficiencies when it comes to actually getting anything done? Other than telling everyone how much they got done, that is.
Not everyone likes or cares much for Jindal–he’s a conservative Republican who is highly inexperienced, and he just really doesn’t know what on earth he’s doing. He ever should have been elected governor.
Legislature of the Ring: What is made cannot be unmade!
AngryBlakGuy: Or better yet, keep it tucked away in your freezer.
he looks like Ahmadinejad with a shaved mustache.
or more accurate, he looks like Ahmadinejad if Ahmadinejad was a pussy.
thefrontpage: B-b-but, he worked for McKinsey! Are you telling me that management consultants have no idea what the fuck they’re talking about? Unpossible.
thefrontpage: He’s the Antihope.
Jindal is popular right now among Republicans who think they can con voters with the “hey — we have brown people too!” rationale. This worked fabulously for the Republicans most recently in the ‘04 senate election in Illinois, when the state party flew in Allen Keyes and put him up in a Hampton Inn down the street from Midway airport for just long enough to qualify him as a state resident because they wanted to counter Obaba’s blackness. It worked very, very well, assuming their stratgey was to capture 11% of the vote.
Shypixel: …does a swift kick to the ass count as a form currency?
queeraselvis v 2.0: …bring an entirely new meaning to “cold hard cash” doesn’t it?!
metropolitan: ….SHHHHHHHHH!!! That would have been an AWESOME 527 if WALNUTS! picked him as VP! But you had to let the (pussy)cat out of the bag!!!
This is just so weird. Why won’t he veto it? That is how you “undo” things they have done, Bobby. Grow a set. Sheesh, it does make you almost wish McCain took him on his VP because it provides more ammo.
Jindal, it’s your goddamn job to veto things you don’t like/don’t agree with, not beg the legislature to reconsider: “Pretty please don’t raise your pay. Come on, guys. I’m counting to 10! I’m holding my breath until you tear up that bill…”
(Thud as Jindal hits the ground)
AngryBlakGuy: Probably not, but it should be….
Thats what I’d pay my utility bills with.
SayItWithWookies: Actually, of late, there has been talk of technology that would allow you to bring a toilet inside a house. Sounds kind of creepy to many in LA, but Jindal is trying to ease them into it.
thefrontpage: unlike the current inhabitant of 1600 Penna? Shit, he might be useless enough to be Preznit.
NoWireHangers: Maybe he missed that day in How to Be a Governor class?
metropolitan: Do all brown-skinned people look the same to you? Th-th-that’s not racial t-transcendence we can believe in!
Gopherit v2.0: “Duelling Banjos” in the background, please.
Shypixel: …you would see the price of gas drop instantaneously!
johnbpt: You win.
jagorev:
judge for yourself:
http://www.nilacharal.com/enter/celeb/images/BobbyJindal.jpg
2nd link on next comment
jagorev:
http://cheshmgir.files.wordpress.com/2008/04/ahmadinejad.jpg
Doglessliberal: “Why won’t he veto it?” Why? Well, why should he? It’s not like he’s getting paid or nothin’. After Edwards, the position of Governor of Lousianna was made entirely ceremonial. The previous holder of the office proved that.
jagorev:
for your convenience, all in one shot!
http://surfaceimage.net/share/images/separated_at_birth.jpg
Do you think the redneck in the picture with Bobby is more excited about shaking hands with the dark one or getting back to the PBR in his hand?
S.Luggo: He do got a purty mouth.
Get it finished.
I dream of Jindal’s VPhood. I salivate over VP debates between him and… hell, anyone on Obama’s side.
XOMuffintop: Trick question. Nobody can resist the allure of PBR.
Red Necks
White Socks
Blue Ribbon Beer!
Yeah Baby! Now excuse me while I go vote for Hillz cuz she represents WHITE America
Texan Bulldoggette: I know. You expected us to keep it pure like you guys do over in Texas.
What would Rudyard Kipling think of this Indian Gentleman?
Jindal Bob
You can talk of ‘dads and beers,
And New Orleans’ queers,
When you’re in Lousiana’s Statehouse lobbyizing.
But when it comes to legislatin’, well -
Those Members need a’paying
‘Cause post-Katrina graft is disappating.
Now in the butts of Bayou Born,
There’s a little “Hindu thorn,”
Who’s a messin’ with the way the State is run,
Blocking legislative pay makes it harder for to pay
All the whores they need to diaper up their bums.
It’s “Jindal! Jindal! Jindal!”
“WHAT the HELL you doin’ now?”
Are you trying to cut off the flow of commerce?
We’ve got whores out there to pay! Diaper costs to be allayed!
Juldee![1] Lynch this bint[1] before he turns us honest!
[1] British Army Hindu: “Quick”; “speedily”
[2] ” “: “young woman”; usu. prostitute.
Neilist: That’s beautiful.
State legislator really ought to be a part-time job. Doesn’t New hampshire pay like five dollars a day?
SayItWithWookies: Why, thanks Wooks. That means a lot, coming from you.
:::Sniff:::
Gin and tonic, eh what?
Boy! Boy! Another gin and tonic for Wookie Sahib!
And plenty of ice this time, you bloody little sod!
Gopherit v2.0: Jindal already forced through reforms so people can’t buy legislators meals any more. That was almost worth the doubling of salary right there.
Meanwhile, “reformer” Jindal is also making the executive branch more and more secretive.
Oh, and another of his reforms was to make ethics complaints aginst legislators secret so they can’t defend themselves (good way to take out Jindal’s enemies.)
So, now, after all that, the lege wants their vig. JIndal will probably have to give on this issue so he can continue ramming his agenda throught the legislature. The lege is all newbies now, btw, since they term-limited out the warhorses.
Passive aggressive lawmaking: “Is that really the bill you want to pass? I mean, o.k., maybe I can go along with it if it’s really what you want? But is it really what you want? [pause] Because I don’t think it’s really what you want.”
Jeez. Didn’t this douche watch Schoolhouse Rock’s Bill on the Hill like the rest of his generation? Seems to be a basic failure to understand elementary civics.
He sure looks a lot like that I’m a Dinner Jacket Terrorist Guy…
Apparently, Jindal is also a big believer in “Intelligent Design” and wants it taught in the classroom. Just how awesome is this guy?
metropolitan: You know, that’s like putting Obama and Farrakhan next to each other and asking if they’re separated at birth. I mean, they both wear suits and are tall black guys, so how could they not be practically the same person, right?
jagorev:
i’m sorry, i’m a little lost. are you being sarcastic?
look at the pictures. the forehead, the eyes, the nose, the mouth, the teeth, the ears, the chin.
as a matter of fact about the only thing that doesn’t have a visual similarity is their skin tone.
i’m while i’m at it, i’m a motherfucking latino! if i thought all brown people looked the same i would have had a pretty hard time sucking on the right tit from birth.
jagorev: Its less in South Carolina, so the destitute politicos have to whore themselves out to corporate interests, the civil war re-enacting lobby and visiting shiners.
metropolitan: No, I’m not being sarcastic. Your comments are exactly like the anti-Obama racism we’ve come to expect from places Hillaryis44.
How many of you self-righteous morons are from Louisiana? While I would agree that we have had our share of problems, impugning the population of a whole state because some of its legislators are idiots is simply ignorant and uninformed. Did the article mention the legislators who refused to accept the salary increase? No. Every state has its corrupt politicians so get off your collective high-horses and mellow out.
jagorev:
dude. get a grip.
crawdaddy: Outrageous! Next you’ll tell them their Chicago Messiah is all mobbed up. Have y’all no decency, cher?
metropolitan: Not even close.
metropolitan: I missed this unfolding. But here’s my contribution:
http://www.mediabistro.com/unbeige/original/separated%20at%20birth.jpg
I hear that if you surround a lawmaking body with candles and read Corinthians I backwards it makes them do whatever you say…
metropolitan: jagorev: Regulars, Quit fighting! That’s not racial transcendence!
William Tecumseh Sherman: The reproductive method of pandas is proof alone that “Intelligent” Design is BS. They don’t know how to have sex, they are fertile for about 2 minutes a year, and the baby is born an embryo. Plus, they have one at a time and they need one specific type of food to survive. Good plan, Intelligent Designer!
As a citizen of Louisiana and one who stay’s close to its politics, I can tell you this was a back room deal made right after the election. Bobby got his “ethics reform’ and since the “mafia” could no longer get the “graft” (state contracts, consultanting deals for relatives that require no work, $50 limit on meals (per meal, what a sacrifice!) etc. they need to get paid for their hard work ( part time, full staffs, reserved parking , etc.) and the pay package is alot more that advertised. They get per diem every day they are in Baton Rouge for the sessions, expense money they don’t even have to provide receipts for, supplemented state housing while in B.R. So, the total package is over $ 80,000.00 for a part time job. And in this case, we don’t get what we are paying for. One poll found 90% of state voters against the raise, and they ( sticking the tax payers the middle finger) still did it and Old Bobby proved that lacking balls is not determined by race, creed, or Intellect.
It’s not just that Jindal believes in ID, he believes that it is “good science” and should be taught alongside evolution in biology class.
That, plus his 10 minutes of legislative experience and the extremely strong chances of finding pictures of him wearing “etnic garb” mean he is a PERFECT running mate for WALNUTS!
Davidlang: Yeah, but they have to share those free 2-br apartments in the Pentagon with other legislators, like a group house in Adams-Morgan or something. Very declasse.
nhunter: You forgot that Jindal led the purple-finger (stinky-pinky?) salute to Emporer W during his triumphant State of the Union.
He looks like he’s planing to jump into a tub of Purell after touching that “constituent”
Doglessliberal: Maybe God hates pandas, like the rest of us.
all i have to say is that i’m shocked to be accused of racism, but i do think white people suck.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irony
The power of christ compels Jindal to be a giant ass, apparently.
$16,800 a year?
Shit, here in New Hampshire that pays the salaries for all 24 state Senators plus 144 state reps.
And we get higher quality than those exorcist-bait bead-tossers in Red Stick, LA.
(I’m sure they’re mighty proud they had to translate their state capital into French because it just sounded too stupid in English.)
Yeah, Jindal is not as great as promised, but I want to see what he can do for more than 6 months on the job. I’d hate to see him become McCain’s running mate.
I agree with the sentiment that we should give McCain Sen. David Vitter as a vice presidential running mate instead (http://www.vitterforvp.com). He’s got right wing cred and he can beat a scandal just by being evasive and hiding for a week. Plus, all he does for LA is embarrass us.
I take offense at that “backward” comment. Backward states do not have daiquiri drive-thru huts, which I love. Hmmph.
youknew: You’re right there’s nothing backwards about this:
http://bladesofblue.blogspot.com/2007/03/drive-thru-daiquiri.html
at all. It’s positively avant garde.
Doesn’t strike me as “heartbeat away from the presidency” material. Especially the heart of an aged Type A type.
The rube is wondering if Jindal tastes smokey with just a hint of curry.
Umm, they do still eat humans down there, right? Imagine my chagrin if not…
snig: Might be worth it if Issa was the stand-in’s stand-in. A Veep-Veep?
Just too see Issa cry bitter little girly tears again when the top slot slips from his grasp.
I just got back from visiting Louisiana, and I must say that the catfish poboys were absolutely delicious and the racism (in both directions) was horrifyingly palpable. I’m glad to be back in the fondue pot of San Antonio. We may all be a little different in color and socio-economic level, but we are united by melted cheese.
Writing from NOLA. and I can take a joke, but these hackneyed prejudices do not count as humor or cogent political analysis.
New Orleans ain’t Louisiana, nougat. It’s its own damned, glorious gumbofied universe swirling in a mother-of-pearl oyster shell.
But it pains me that someone from California needs to explain this to you.
nougatmaster: How much did Jindal pay you to say that?
I’m really surprised this guy got elected. I had a colleague, let’s call him Sanjeev - born in the USA and American through and through (except for his elitist MIT education). He went to Louisiana (or was it Alabama? doesn’t matter) for work and some guy was asking him what TRIBE he was from - Navaho, Apache, etc.
What Jindal tell these people to vote for him?