Kyl is on the screen with a chart. Sadly it is a bar chart and not a pie chart.

Kyl cites the budget cuts for the armed forces as something that will warrant GOP resistance.

Chris Wallace looks like he has Bells palsy. Funny I thought Rachel Maddow had Bells Palsy just yesterday. I’m not the only one. Maybe these talking heads need to take a break.

“Happy Mardi Gras” Ha, the party certainly is over.

Bobby provides a very Disney GOP response. Very Opie Taylor…not the genius wonk we all know and love.

Bobby Jindal provides some much needed cold water on some of the Katrina mythology. The strength of the USA is not in our gov’t but in the compassion of our neighbors.

“Instead of monitoring volcanoes, we should monitor the eruption of gov’t spending.” Priceless. This is the first rebuttal I’ve sat through and it is fun. I see Jindal won’t be mentioning the pay raise the LA legislature nearly passed last summer.

God Bless Louisiana. Absolutely needed that.

From the Jindal camp. I do like how the response is prepared before the State of the Union is presented.

As I grew up, my mom and dad taught me the values that attracted them to this country - and they instilled in me an immigrant’s wonder at the greatness of America. As a child, I remember going to the grocery store with my dad. Growing up in India, he had seen extreme poverty. And as we walked through the aisles, looking at the endless variety on the shelves, he would tell me: “Bobby, Americans can do anything.” I still believe that to this day.
…

Republicans are ready to work with the new President to provide those solutions. Here in my state of Louisiana, we don’t care what party you belong to if you have good ideas to make life better for our people. We need more of that attitude from both Democrats and Republicans in our nation’s capital. All of us want our economy to recover and our nation to prosper. So where we agree, Republicans must be the President’s strongest partners. And where we disagree, Republicans have a responsibility to be candid and offer better ideas for a path forward.
…

The strength of America is not found in our government. It is found in the compassionate hearts and enterprising spirit of our citizens.
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To solve our current problems, Washington must lead. But the way to lead is not to raise taxes and put more money and power in hands of Washington politicians. The way to lead is by empowering you - the American people. Because we believe that Americans can do anything.
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Democratic leaders say their legislation will grow the economy. What it will do is grow the government, increase our taxes down the line, and saddle future generations with debt. Who among us would ask our children for a loan, so we could spend money we do not have, on things we do not need? That is precisely what the Democrats in Congress just did. It’s irresponsible. And it’s no way to strengthen our economy, create jobs, or build a prosperous future for our children.

…
In recent years, these distinctions in philosophy became less clear - because our party got away from its principles. You elected Republicans to champion limited government, fiscal discipline, and personal responsibility. Instead, Republicans went along with earmarks and big government spending in Washington. Republicans lost your trust - and rightly so.
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A few weeks ago, the President warned that our nation is facing a crisis that he said “we may not be able to reverse.” Our troubles are real, to be sure. But don’t let anyone tell you that we cannot recover - or that America’s best days are behind her.

…

Bobby Jindal sends another update, more jobs created in Louisiana:

Expanding our Workforce Opportunities

Last week I was able to attend the opening of Shell Exploration & Production Company’s expanded Training and Conference Center in Tangipahoa Parish. The new center is a 55,000 square foot expansion, and is equipped with 17 classrooms and meeting rooms that will allow for team meetings, conferences, training, and workshops for Shell and dozens of other companies.

As I said in the Baton Rouge Advocate, “these are the kinds of investments that we have to make” in our state’s workforce development system. Of companies looking to either expand or invest in Louisiana, approximately 70 percent mention the need for a skilled workforce as one of their top priorities. The new center will provide all the training needs for Shell’s operations in the Western Hemisphere, and is the only workforce development program in Southeast Louisiana offering industry-wide training in exploration and production operations.

People associate conservative politicians as do-nothings, as opposed to their more liberal spend, spend, spend colleagues, such as Arnold Schwarzenegger. Jindal shows that you can be active and business friendly. Funny how these things work out sometimes. Recently Jindal hosted his 20 year high school reunion at the Governor’s Mansion. He rubbed elbows with a mid-level executive at Electronics Arts sports and a few weeks later EA sports is setting up a development lab at LSU. It didn’t require an executive order or an act of the legislature either.

Bobby Jindal just gets things done.

Whether you are democrat or republican, this is good news for the state of Louisiana.  Willliam Jefferson’s patronage was powerful, and carried him through a difficult and challenging primary.  The Democratic party tried hard to unseat him in the primary with 6 challengers, but brand identification is a powerful tool, and one that those challengers could not shake.  Jefferson’s plight and his loss is similar to that of Ted Stevens, an embarrassment for the GOP ever since he threw a tantrum on the Senate floor demanding 200 million dollars in pork barrel spending.  Like Mark Begich in Alaska, Ahn Cao is a fish swimming upstream.  Nassim Taleb may call him a “Yellow Swan”, a GOP representative from the 2nd district is certainly a rare occurence, and it was a perfect storm that sent him to the House of Representatives.

An interesting blurb:

Jefferson’s defeat also marks the latest and most severe blow to the Progressive Democrats, the Central City-based political organization that he founded.

Among Jefferson allies who have been forced from public office since news of the FBI probe into Jefferson’s dealings broke are: Renee Gill Pratt, the congressman’s former legislative aide who lost her seat on the City Council; close ally Eddie Jordan, who was forced to resign as Orleans Parish district attorney; and Jefferson’s daughter, then-state Rep. Jalila Jefferson-Bullock, who lost a bid last year for the state Senate.

Good riddance. Cao was supported by the democrats that ran against Jefferson, and he will likely be challenged hard in 2010. If he loses in 2010, it will not be to William Jefferson, and Jefferson’s politics of patronage seem to have finally ceased their stranglehold on New Orleans.

The GOP will be taking notice to the Louisiana trend of putting yellow and brown faces in high places. The parallels of Ahn “Joseph” Cao and Piyush “Bobby” Jindal are pretty amazing. If Cao were white he would not have won the second district, I fear. While I do not like multiculturalism for multiculturalisms sake or massive immigration, the Vietnamese community in New Orleans and Louisiana has been a boon to the community and have done the work “Americans aren’t willing to do” for a generation, including working in a pogy plant in my old stomping grounds. Some of my family, encouraged by the government after the Vietnam war, sponsored the immigration of Vietnamese refugees into Louisiana. I heard several stories about how several families lived in a trailer and would buy 30 lbs of rice and a small hen to eat for an entire week. In one generation they have gone from living 20 to a house to graduating with MDs or running successful businesses. And by business I don’t just mean restaurants, we’re talking real estate and finance. So, good for them for having elected their first representative for the US government,and may Joseph Cao be a voice in Louisiana politics in one form or another. Provided, of course, he doesn’t get corrupted.

After winning a championship in any sport, I think there should be a moratorium on the mention of possible repeats or threepeats until the next season begins.  I hate to see when they ask a guy celebrating in the locker room if he thinks he can repeat.  Similarly, since we have a current republican president, I think it is a little early to speculate on who the next one will be.  So I am not  a big fan of this 2012 business.  What happens if the planet starts healing on Jan 22nd, and this whole planet rides this wave of hope to endless prosperity?  Chances are Sarah Palin and Bobby Jindal will be hanging tight and claiming their favorite job is governor of their state.

For a full eight minutes.  If you look at this clip, starting at 4:50, when the commentators brings up Captain Cocktail David Brooks (natch), you can see Jindal’s smile stretch to an irritated grimace for a brief second before he totally dismantles Brooks flawed logic.  Bobby is getting his ducks in a row.

I received this email from Bobby Jindal while I was waiting for the power to come back on with Ike.

In the coming weeks, you will hear the stories of heroes who built levees while storm waters rose, evacuated patients in the middle of the night, and risked safety to rescue the stranded.  You will hear stories about first responders, members of the National Guard, pastors, and everyday Louisianans who saved lives and cared for the hurting.

You will hear these stories and you will be proud of our state and proud of our people.

I’m glad the Stelly tax finally has come down.

“This legislation is a tremendous victory for the people of our state,” Jindal said. “Allowing Louisianans to keep more of their hard-earned money in their own pockets not only benefits families all across the state, it is also one of the best ways we can grow and strengthen our economy and encourage increased investment. The elimination of the Stelly tax means we have cut more than $300 million in taxes, and more than $1 billion in taxes over the next five years.”

Over on Between the Lines Jeff Sadow defends Bobby’s recent voucher program.  As usual he is spot on.

This was a good idea. From the Advocate

A bill that would initially cut state income taxes by $359 million per year won final legislative approval Tuesday.

The measure, Senate Bill 87, cleared its last legislative hurdle when the Senate passed it 38-0.

The same measure breezed through the House last week 102-0 and now goes to Gov. Bobby Jindal, who earlier endorsed the proposal and called the Senate action “terrific news.”

Also Jindal supports the idea of making lemonade out of lemons, if by lemons one means “destroyed interstate bridges” and lemonade is “coastal reef barriers.” From the Times Picayune:

Gov. Bobby Jindal on Tuesday threw his support behind plans for using concrete from the demolition of the Interstate 10 twin spans to create fishing reefs in Lake Pontchartrain and help shore up New Orleans’ storm defenses.

The reef plans call for sinking the rubble of two 500-foot bridge sections at two locations between I-10 and the U.S. 11 bridge. The reefs, proposed by the Coastal Conservation Association, a nonprofit group, are intended to boost recreational fishing in the area.

A team from the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development, with help from other agencies, is still reviewing separate proposals for using the concrete, which Jindal said will save the state upward of $15 million. Parts of the bridge will likely go toward reinforcing levees and strengthening breakwaters off the coast to help reduce storm surge in the lake.

As usual, Jindal is applying a little known skill in politics, that is making priorities. That means some programs get cut, and some projects that have higher priorities get funded. When the benefit of the state takes the top priorities, NGOs and teachers unions tend to lose. I still don’t think he’ll get picked to be VP simply because McCain wants someone to tow his line, and Sarah Palin definitely fits that role and can help garner the coveted white housewife vote.

The capital outlay bill approved by lawmakers each year essentially has been a wish list that leaves decision-making to the governor.

The governor’s office submitted its recommendations for the bill. Lawmakers then added more projects than there was money. That left the governor’s office to choose among hundreds of items to determine which few actually get in line for state dollars. The State Bond Commission must vote on whether to grant lines of credit to projects submitted by the governor, but that vote was seen as a rubber stamp because the commission is packed with the governor’s allies.

Jindal wants the process overhauled to limit the annual construction budget bill passed by the Legislature to five years of projects for which the state can pay. He issued an executive order Tuesday outlining a reworking that includes setting up an evaluation system to review the projects sought by executive branch agencies, lawmakers and local government agencies. It’s amazing that allocating only the amount of money the state can afford to spend is considered a revolutionary idea.

http://www.nola.com/newsflas…storylist=louisiana