Why Bobby Jindal’s ethics plan is already a failure.
Jan 18th, 2008 by Daniel Z.
The advisory council appointed by Bobby Jindal to suggest ethics reform has completed its suggestions. There are some good ideas in the plan and I will not begrudge anybody for trying to clean up Louisiana. However, this statement explains why Louisiana will still be a corrupt state after all is said and done.
10. Undertake a review to reform campaign finance laws. Because this issue was not a primary focus of the Council, members recommend conducting additional research to determine specific measures for campaign finance reform.
The fact that campaign finance law was not a primary focus of the Council says a lot about how meaningful this reform will be. Of course, I am not surprised that Bobby Jindal did not make campaign finance reform a priority. Bobby Jindal benefits by our current system of campaign finance laws. As I have shown both on here and on jindalisbad.com, and others have showed on other sites, Bobby Jindal has gotten campaign contributions from people who abuse the loopholes by using multiple corporations to funnel tens of thousands of dollars to his campaign.
In fact, I wonder how many of these suggestions made by the advisory council will impact Bobby Jindal’s reelection campaign. My guess would be that nothing in what is suggested will impact Bobby Jindal whatsoever. I am sure any legislation will be drafted in such a way to make sure that Bobby Jindal can follow the same unethical practices he embraced in previous campaigns.
Finally, if you want to know how tough Bobby Jindal is going to be on ethics reform, all you have to do is look at his executive order on the required financial disclosures of his cabinet members. They are not required to file them immediately, or in 30 days or even 90 days. They have to file them by January 2009. Such tough standards Jindal has set up for his own staff… a year? You have to be kidding me! Oh, I’m sure his worshipers will still lift him up as a paragon of virtue. And I am sure than when an ethics bill gets passed he will be seen as a hero and the T-P will sing the praises of Jindal and his hard work.
Cross posted on LJ4A
(21 votes, average: 1.57 out of 5)
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[…] Cross posted on JindalIsBad.com […]
[…] As Dan Zimmerman points out, Governor Jindal’s ethics advisory council punted on the topic of campaign finance reform. The fact that campaign finance law was not a primary focus of the Council says a lot about how meaningful this reform will be. […]
Hey Dan,
Did you see this little nugget posted on Bayou Buzz? I reprint it here because it’s a nearly dead thread:
“I hope that our new Governor will indeed begin the long task of cleaning up Louisiana politics. I hope… However, I recieved an invitation this week to attend a $500.00 per person fund raiser for David Heitmeier. In the invitation is the following quote, “To help retire the debt(campaign debt)please consider joining Governor Bobby Jindal, Senate President Joel Chaisson, and myself for what will be an enjoyable evening in Baton Rouge by purchasing the enclosed ticket.” Now this event is at the Pentagon Barracks, Apartment D-3, which I can only assume is a State owned appartment, given to the Senate President. I just did not know that it was furnished for Campaign Finance Events. Secondly, I cannot think of a single reason why I should be petetioned to help pay off the campaign finance debt of the State Senator from New Orleans. I live in St. Francisville. If anything looks and smells like more of the same old Louisiana Politics, this is it. You folks should try to cover this “selling of the seat” event. Again, I remain hopeful that Governor Jindal will help clean up Louisiana Politics. I am disappointed he is lending his name and his presence to this. Regards, Warren Record, Sr.
Written by W. Record, Sr. on 1/21/2008″
The URL is http://www.bayoubuzz.com/News/Louisiana/Politics/Louisiana_Ex_Governor_Treen_Wrong_Message_With_Edwards_Jindal__5635.asp
Poor, poor, DanZ.
You still have not gotten over your political thrashing I see.
I wish you had a clue how much you hurt Ron Paul’s campaign (or any other campaign you support). As someone very distressed by the disrespect of Mr. Paul by the mainstream media, I am equally distressed by your support. Your bitterness oozes off this site like a leaking battery that eventually destroys whatever it touches. Only your political record makes this clearer.
To address what I believe are purposely destructive comments about campaign finance/ethics reform, designed only to create dissent and rot the unity of Louisiana residents, your plan would destroy all hopes for meaningful reform of either campaign finance or ethics reform.
Luckily you recognize the need to cleanup LA politics, but as usual, you are unable to properly examine more enlightened intelligence.
By separating the issues of campaign finance reform and ethics reform, Governor Jindal is taking the advantage away from the most corrupt, and will stand a much better chance of making improvements in both, instead of getting bogged down in a combined effort, as your attempts to sabotage would allow.
Even more brilliant of Governor Jindal, a characteristic of our new Governor that helps generate your infinite jealousy, is recognizing that there is momentum provided by the public for ethics reform. With leaders like Rep. Rick Gallot, Senator Bob Kostelka, and Senator Mike Walsworth championing ethics reform, we have a clear chance to make remarkable changes in the way our legislators take care of our business. No better example of the present corruption is available than Poverty Point Lake (aka “Thompson’s Pond”) which includes a former sitting Representative (unfortunately now a Senator) being paid off by his Legislative Democrat cohorts with lakefront property on a state funded lake. Making matters worse, Francis Thompson was allowed to appoint his brother, now under indictment for misappropriating those funds, to be the director over the lake and setting him up to receive even more appointments for other boondoggle lake projects.
The public’s desire to see ethics reform will provide much incentive for the Legislature to move forward with the Governor’s plan and by brilliantly separating campaign finance reform from those efforts, it will not only allow easier passage of much needed ethics reform, it will make it much harder for the “Good Old Boys” to resist badly needed campaign finance reform.
Given my past experience, I can only conclude that if you indeed would like to see Louisiana improve, you remain politically naive. If as I suspect, you remain a hollow and bitter person with Governor Jindal the object of your sick obsession. Nothing would please you more than to see Governor Jindal fail, thus this latest article demanding a “different way” of doing things.
In my opinion, your suggestions are well-planned to cultivate dissent and provide a “solution” designed to make the whole process fail and allowing you your FIRST opportunity to say “I told you so”.
Your inability to think of Louisiana first over your selfish sick desires is pitiful. Your condemnation of a plan yet to be discussed only provides the proof needed to expose you as the spoiler you hope to be.
By the way, DanZ, your own poll tells the story. 2/3 of the people who risk nausea by visiting your hatefilled site, don’t agree with you. That really gives me hope.
Oh, by the way, what is with this most annoying jumping up and down your site does? I am sure it only adds to your readers nausea.
4up: “I wish you had a clue how much you hurt Ron Paul’s campaign (or any other campaign you support).”
You obviously have not paid attention. I do not run this forum and I do not support Ron Paul for President. The owner of this forum does support Ron Paul. I support John Edwards.
“To address what I believe are purposely destructive comments about campaign finance/ethics reform, designed only to create dissent and rot the unity of Louisiana residents, your plan would destroy all hopes for meaningful reform of either campaign finance or ethics reform.”
Meaningful ethics reform cannot happen without campaign finance reform.
And if Bobby Jindal doesn’t push for campaign finance reform, I cannot take him seriously on ethics because he obviously wants to continue to allow himself to be bought and paid for by those whose campaign contributions are only limited by the number of corporations they own.
“By separating the issues of campaign finance reform and ethics reform, ”
By separating the issues of campaign finance reform and ethics reform, Bobby Jindal misses the point of the entire thing.
“In my opinion, your suggestions are well-planned to cultivate dissent and provide a “solution” designed to make the whole process fail and allowing you your FIRST opportunity to say “I told you so”.”
You are wrong. I would say “you could not be more wrong” but you have been wrong so many times on this site that I have given up ranking which one was actually the worst.
I want ethics reform, but I want real ethics reform and not some pseudo-ethics smokescreen that will try and make people believe that we have change when in reallity the unethical activity of Jindal and others continue. Unless you think it is ethical for people to circumvent campaign finance restrictions by using multiple corporations to funnel campaign funds to candidates.
“Oh, by the way, what is with this most annoying jumping up and down your site does? I am sure it only adds to your readers nausea.”
I don’t know why the site does this, since this is not my site. My blog, http://blog.lj4a.com , does not jump like this.
One more thing 4up.
Had you actually read the thread about Ron Paul you would see that I do not support him.
DanZ,
Whew! Glad to hear you are not for Ron Paul. That would have been very out of character for you. Now picking a loser, especially one like Edwards, that is far more characteristic of you.
Had I read two of your articles in one day, I would have worse nausea than I do already.
Stopping elected officials from profiting off gov’t projects/contracts can most certainly be accomplished without campaign finance reform, and more importantly, there is NOTHING to prevent campaign finance reform once ethics reform has been accomplished. Like so many other shortsighted people, your rigid thinking will always fail you in solving the most serious problems.
Like Governor Jindal’s plan for solving coastal eroson, a collection of several plans, our Governor proves he is flexible and reasonable. When you paint yourself into a corner by insisting on “all inclusive” plans like yours, you allow your opponents to trap you in that corner. I would have thought that such a diehard Dem like yourself would be more familiar with the concept of “incrementalism”. Please forgive my mistake of once again giving you far more credit than you deserve.
To go further on the campaign finance reform issue, I have not seen a single article where our new Governor has claimed that he is not concerned about the issue. Unless you can provide a link to such, it only proves again how disingenuous you really are concerning Governor Jindal.
Anytime I am considered “wrong” in your mind, it is a good day. It is when we agree that gives me concern.
As long as you have been spewing your hate on this site, you would think that you could pass it along about this EXTREMELY annoying jumping up and down. So much for personal initiative.
Well, thanks, again, for allowing me to point how flawed your “policy” is, and especially for allowing me to differentiate the brilliance of our Governor from the hateful spite you attempt to pass off as “alternative thinking”.
“Stopping elected officials from profiting off gov’t projects/contracts can most certainly be accomplished without campaign finance reform”
But stopping campaign contributors from buying government projects/contracts via campaign donations cannot be accomplished without campaign finance reform.
“there is NOTHING to prevent campaign finance reform once ethics reform has been accomplished. ”
That is true. However, there is nothing out there to make me believe that Bobby Jindal will push for campaign finance reform after passing his ethics legislation. And again, ethics reform without campaign finance reform is incomplete.
“To go further on the campaign finance reform issue, I have not seen a single article where our new Governor has claimed that he is not concerned about the issue.”
His silence on the issue is deafening. I have not seen a single article where our new Governor has claimed that he IS concerned about the issue. With that fact, and the fact that it wasn’t a priority of the advisory council on ethics reform that he formed, I find it more likely that he is not concerned about the issue of campaign finance reform. Of course, he is more than welcome to prove me wrong. I won’t be holding my breath though. I find it hard to believe that he would prevent his campaign contributors from contributing as much as they want.
“Unless you can provide a link to such, it only proves again how disingenuous you really are concerning Governor Jindal.”
Now that is just laughable. Jindal has NOT made any statements saying that campaign finance reform is a priority of his. He has made statements about other things that are priorities. Bobby Jindal is not shy and he does speak his mind about those policies he does support. So when Bobby Jindal brings up ethics reform and discusses priorities in ethics reform and fails to leave out campaign finance reform, you can see where I would logically believe that Bobby Jindal is not making campaign finance reform a priority.
“Anytime I am considered “wrong” in your mind, it is a good day. It is when we agree that gives me concern.”
Oh, you are not just wrong in my mind. You are wrong in the mind of people who have the ability to read.
“you would think that you could pass it along about this EXTREMELY annoying jumping up and down. ”
I have mentioned the jumping to the owner. I cannot force him to do anything. If you’re as smart as you would like people to believe you are, you would see that my posts here are cross-posted at my other blog. You could read what I say over there and only be annoyed by what I say and not by the movement of the text on the screen.
Winning an election with 25% of the registered voters does not qualify as a state in unity. Fifty percent of the people are so fed up with politicians they don’t even exercise their right to vote. As long as he accepted pay for a job he did not do he’ll have a hard time being considered ethical. LA 01 is going to go five months without representation in Washington DC. That’s five months of our taxes being collected without Congressional representation because he wouldn’t let the seat go after being elected. I wont mention the months he never showed up to vote in DC. Ethics has to start at the top. Telling other folks what they have to do is an ineffective way to try and kick off a reform effort. There’s two sides to every coin. Just because it lands on one side doesn’t mean the other is not there or it has disappeared. I have never seen you 4UP even try to understand the other point of view. I have also never seen Dan Z attack you personally. It’s all perception 4UP. Each one of us sees things differently. That doesn’t make us wrong or right.
Tony,
I never failed to give you praise for being so bold to actually run for Governor. No matter how remote the possibility of you winning, the simple fact that you put your name and face out there was commendable in my book.
HOWEVER,
Your political naivete is as boundless as your boldness to run for Governor. My point is only reinforced by your present political aspirations, which illustrates too well that you failed to learn from your past endeavor in that you do not have the slightest chance of winning a seat in the House of Representatives, just as were your chances of becoming Governor. I would even go as far as predicting you will not make as good of a showing as DanZ did in his attempt for the same position.
First, LA 01 was never without representation. There were no critical issues in the House that went unattended. Had Governor Jindal stepped down, it would have given the most inept Governor in LA history the opportunity to appoint Governor Jindal’s replacement. That would have been the greatest disservice possible to the Governor’s constituency. Given former (finally) Governor Blanco’s track record, she might even have appointed the most inexperienced person available, you.
The voter apathy in this state, as well as in this country, is shameful and, imo, is more to do with the process, not with ANYTHING Governor Jindal has done. No matter what the percentage by which the Governor won, it was a history making event that not only provided a mandate, but it was several times more than any of his opponents. In fact, it was so embarrassing one actually moved out of the state proving the Dem’s choice for Governor had NO loyalties to this state.
As for your knowledge of the personal attacks by Dan Zimmerman upon me, it is best compared to your political savvy. YOU DON”T HAVE A CLUE.
4up: You again have proved your ignorance.
“First, LA 01 was never without representation. ”
We had a “sitting” congressman in Jindal who was “sitting” at home and not doing the job that he was being paid to do. So Tony was correct that we did not have representation in LA01 while Bobby Jindal selfishly (and I would go as far as to say unethically) accepted a paycheck for a job he wasn’t doing. Of course the blind Jindal followers will defend any action of his, regardless of how unethical.
“Had Governor Jindal stepped down, it would have given the most inept Governor in LA history the opportunity to appoint Governor Jindal’s replacement. ”
And here is where you prove your ignorance. The Governor DOES NOT replace members of the House when they step down. The Governor only replaces SENATORS.
Louisiana law about the replacement of Senators: http://www.legis.state.la.us/lss/lss.asp?doc=81285
Louisiana law about the replacement of Congressmen: http://www.legis.state.la.us/lss/lss.asp?doc=81286
So Bobby Jindal could have stepped down immediately when he won in November and Blanco would not have been able to name his replacement as you so ignorantly and incorrectly stated.
Just as you incorrectly and ignorantly stated that I this was my blog, and that I was somehow involved in Tony’s campaign.
Ignornace and being incorrect seems to be a running theme with you.
We’re without representation right now. All because of his selfishness. Read what C B Forgotston says about him. Jeremy Alford. People that were high on him suddenly came crashing down. True it’s early in his term. I do not believe I said I blamed the low voter turn out for what Jindal did or did not do. I agree it’s what the business of politics has evolved into. People are disgusted and stay away. The one the Republicans are pushing to replace Jindal comes right out of the mold. Backed by big money power brokers with agendas they want satisifed. Isn’t it time the average American gets some representation?