Bobby Jindal Wins Louisiana’s Governor Race

The Republican Party finally got some good news over the week-end. Congressman Bobby Jindal (R-LA) won the Louisiana gubernatorial primary with more than half the vote. That means there’s no run-off in November, and he’s officially Governor-elect at age 36.

Mr. Jindal ran as a conservative’s conservative. His stump speech included, “We’ve got a government that’s out of control. We’ve got a government that spends our money without any regard. We’re in the top five in having the most crooked politicians in America. We’re going to change that.” He opposes abortion rights, is willing to let intelligence design into the classroom and he believes taxes are too high.

His parents immigrated to the US from India so that his mother could take graduation classes at LSU. While he is the first non-white governor of the state since reconstruction, he doesn’t make much of it. “People want to make everything about race,” he said while campaigning. “The only colors that matter here are red, white and blue.”

Mr. Jindal has a lot of work ahead of him. New Orleans is still a mess, and the corruption he talks about could flourish if the reconstruction isn’t well supervised. Mr. Jindal exudes competence and ethics, and one hopes that he can deliver on his promises – New Orleans deserves it.

If he has any kind of success at all, he will almost certainly be looking at higher office. When the GOP finally gets around to picking a candidate for 2008, Mr. Jindal will be talked about as a running mate. At 36, he should probably be grateful to be considered, and then politely turn down any offer. Eight years from now, with a Louisiana track record, he would be formidable.

© Copyright 2007 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Fedora Linux.

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