All right now, baby it's all right now

About as often as Halley's Comet drops by for a visit, a conservative is correct. When it happens, it quite joyful. Witness publius at Obsidian Wings:

The fight over the stimulus – a preview of the budget wars to come – has obviously taken on larger ideological dimensions. And the stakes are high. It’s a fight over the very idea of whether government can play a positive role in people’s lives. That’s in part why the Republicans are fighting it so hard.

The ideological debate is often taking place at a very abstract level – with anti-government advocates warning of vague unspecified dangers that will follow government spending. Last month, for instance, Jindal said in a speech that increasing spending “will have dire consequences for not only this time, but also for the future of America.”

It’s nice, then, to see some actual concrete vindication of government assistance. And it’s especially nice to see it in a state governed by Bobby Jindal.

The NYT reports that the massive post-Katrina relief effort has – shockingly – helped the people of Louisiana a great deal.

The experiment is still playing out, but some indicators suggest that what occurred in Louisiana — dumping a large amount of reconstruction money into a confined space in the three and a half years since Hurricane Katrina — has had a positive outcome. The state’s unemployment rate of 5.7 percent in February was considerably below the national average of 8.1 percent, and it was the only state to see a drop in unemployment from December to January. It was also the only state with an increase in non-farm employment in February.

Thus is the ideological shallowness of Jindal as poster boy for the new Right exposed. Publius' analysis is a good read. He ends with this:

I’m not saying this settles the debate. But it does show that government can play a significantly positive role in people’s lives.

And it reinforces a much larger point -- people like me prefer certain types of government spending because it helps people. It’s not much more complicated than that. I think national health care, broadband investment, and energy reform will help people.

And to help the public come around to that view, it’s important to advertise the successes of government done right – to show them the benefits. Democrats don’t do enough of that.

Indeed.

I don't know where I'm a gonna go, when the volcano blow

Who was that incredibly naive jerk a few weeks ago who complained about spending federal money to monitor volcanoes? Oh yeah, rising Repub star Bobby Jindal:

In his official Republican response to President Barack Obama's speech to the nation Tuesday, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal said repeatedly that "Americans can do anything!"

With one exception, apparently. We don't need to keep an eye on simmering volcanoes.

Jindal singled out "volcano monitoring" as an unnecessary frill that Democrats stuck in the recently adopted stimulus package.

"Their legislation is larded with wasteful spending," Jindal said. "It includes ... $140 million for something called 'volcano monitoring.' Instead of monitoring volcanoes, what Congress should be monitoring is the eruption of spending in Washington, D.C."

Surprise, Bobby. You totally FAIL. From Alaska Volcano Observatory:

The eruption of Mt. Redoubt continues. The height of the eruption cloud is estimated to be 50,000 ft above sea level. Further reports will be issued as more information becomes available.

I'm pretty sure folks would appreciate a warning about fucking mountains blowing up, which seems to be somewhat common in Alaska. But if Gov. Jindal had his way, I guess there would be no warning system in place.

Gov. Jindal, here's your Katrina moment. Savor it, it tastes like shit.

Don't come around here no more

More on the idiocy of Jindal, Perry, and in this case, Mark Sanford:



I hope this results in their political suicide. 24% unemployment, and they're standing on their 'principles'.

Bastards.

Come along and sing a song And join the jamboree

Bobby Jindal, Mark Sanford, Rick Perry: you ungrateful hypocritical ideologue bastards:

In a budget proposal released Friday afternoon, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal indicated he is only rejecting $98 million of the federal stimulus funds due his state.

That figure is far less than the $700 million South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford has indicated he may reject if the federal government does not allow Sanford to use that money to pay down his state's debt.

. . . Jindal's announcement also comes a day after Texas Gov. Rick Perry said he would reject the $555 million in federal funds direct to his state to expand unemployment benefits.

Kids, the money isn't to pay down your state's debt, that's your own goddam problem. The money is for, hold on now, STIMULUS of the economy, and a major part of that is to extend unemployment benefits. Hear that Gov. Goodhair? Because people, when they are either employed or getting unemplyment benefits, inject money into the economy.

But no, says Gov. Jindal (R-OverHisHead):

Gov. Bobby Jindal said Friday he doesn’t want Louisiana to tap into $98 million in stimulus money for expanding unemployment benefits for thousands of people who wouldn’t normally be eligible to receive them.

The Republican governor repeatedly had said he wasn’t sure the state should draw down all the stimulus money it’s eligible to receive, but the announcement was the first detail he’s offered about dollars he wants to refuse.

. . . The dollars that Jindal intends to reject could provide unemployment aid to 4,000 to 6,000 more Louisiana residents, the state labor department estimates. But the acceptance would require a permanent change in state law that would force businesses to pay higher unemployment taxes once the federal dollars run out, Jindal said.

Yep, we can't offer unemployment to those poor people who don't have jobs because TAXESTAXESTAXES!! Is this even true?

The basic thought is that if unemployment benefits are expanded to people previously not eligible, the when the Stimulus bucks run out, the state will have to raise taxes to keep up the benefits.

While googling the hell out of this, I found many weasel words: might, may, could, possibly, especially when reading news reports about the above-named Senators, and on Right-wing blogs. But little in the way of actual attribution to the actual text of the actual stimulus bill.

So I dunno. Maybe Gov's Jindal, Sanford, and Perry are right, that they would have to raise taxes to fix the clusterfuck that their state economies have become. Heck, even here in CA, Ahnuld has agreed to a state tax increase, because, well, we need it!

I think the House and the Senate missed a wonderful opportunity to make the Stimulus all-in: you take all, or nothing.

Or maybe Bobby, Mark, and Rick are wrong. Or maybe they're just actors on the Mickey Mouse Club; they certainly sound like it. If they were, I'd believe them more. Regardless, the Republican party has dwindled in relevance to somewhere just above the WCTU, and far below the Mickey Mouse Club:

Walk right back . . .

TheNextRight.com fancies itself as the new intellectual side of the Republican movement. Staffed by earnest young conservatives, it tries to present non-wingnut ideas that still reflect a conservative world view. Don't start laughing yet, the punch line comes later.

After the Epic Fail of Bobby Jindal's rebut of Pres. Obama's not-State-of-the-Union speech the other night, the Next Rightians try to rehabilitate the guy some think will be the candidate in '12.

Let's see how that works out:

With his actions during that natural disaster and his words as a result, we can see his most basic ideals laid bare. And they are ideals we should all applaud. So, as a reminder here are some highlights of his op ed in the Wall Street Journal from September 8, 2005. Jindal began his piece with these words:

Over the past few days, America has been both moved and disturbed by television footage of Hurricane Katrina's aftermath. But for those of us in Louisiana still struggling to cope, the troubling images are of opportunistic politicians playing the blame game while there is so much real work to do.

Rather than point fingers, we should be fixing the situation on the ground. And that will include taking steps to ensure that red tape doesn't stifle the continued security and rebuilding efforts.

There have already been a number of instances in which an overly inhibitive bureaucracy prevented an appropriate response to the disaster. For example, on Wednesday of last week a company called my office. With only three hours before rising waters would make the mission impossible, they were anxious to send a rescue helicopter for their stranded employees. They wanted to know who would give them a go-ahead.

We could not identify the agency with authority. We heard that FEMA was in charge, that the FAA was in charge, and that the military was in charge. I went in person to talk with a FEMA representative and still could not get a straight answer. Finally we told the company to avoid interfering with Coast Guard missions, but to proceed on its own. Sometimes, asking for forgiveness is better than asking for permission.

True as can be. Big Government does not work. Local efforts are far more effective. And if anything speaks to Jindal's basic American ideal it is this line...

Jeebus. So local government was too shy to act on its own, and waited until the Big Bad Feds fucked it all up? Because "Brownie your doing a heckuvajob" had no idea what to do, and thus, had no idea what to tell you to do?

Dude, if you hate the federal government, then grow a pair and act like you can take care of your own.

Seriously, the commentors at the post take no prisoners:

The Katrina story / Sherrif Lee has been found to be an exaggeration which his aides have had to walk back.

The point of the Katrina story is your "rugged individualism" and "government doesn't work". But who is the hero of the story? Sherrif Lee - a government official. Who is the villian? A FEMA bureaucrat. So the story is really about competance vs. incompetence. So it ends up reinforcing a Democratic meme.

and:

Jindal demonstrated that he does not have the leadership skills to lead a conservative movement back from being irrelevant. Knowing that everything he said was going to be facted checked by literally thousands of people, his staff choose to lie. So either Jindal picked a bad staff and thus has bad management skills or he is not capable of getting good work out of his staff.

and:

This is so off base that it is so laughable. FEMA was gutted by Bush and put in Homeland security. Many experienced people lost their jobs in the process. You had Brown who was in charge, someone who did not know emergency management. You had a video conference with Bush, Brown, and others talking about the hurricane before it struck. And then after it hit, you had a governor and a mayor who were incompetent. But you also had an incompetent FEMA. And after some three days of people screaming, Bush said "Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job." That is one of many blunders by Bush and company.

and:

A recent thread turned to memories of Reagan. People need reminding that he was a pathological liar. He made up the welfare queen story. It got to the point that his people didn't bother with "clarifications" and reporters didn't bother repeating them. It just was who he was. Bush also had an "interesting" relationship with the truth.

Now, talkingpointsmemo.com has the goods on Jindal. The Sheriff Lee story is a Reaganisque fib. That makes Jindal the future of the Republican party.

Seriously. Republicans, Jindal, the future of the party. It is to laugh.

That said, never assume anything. This guy, with the vast machine available to him, might make some actual noise in a few years. Or he might land a high-profile gig with Fox News or on a radio network next to Limbaugh, Liddy or North.

His clown skills may actually pay off.

I always thought I'd be a failure

Bobby Jindal's response to the Not State of the Union address tonight will go down as a legendary Fail.

Rachel sez:


(h/t Hoffmania.com)

Lies:

County Fair: Shuster to Rep. Issa: "Congressman, there is no project for a train from California to Las Vegas. You Republicans know better."

Sherrif/Katrina story

Stupid:

There is a lesson in this experience: The strength of America is not found in our government. It is found in the compassionate hearts and enterprising spirit of our citizens. We are grateful for the support we have received from across the nation for the ongoing recovery efforts. This spirit got Louisiana through the hurricanes - and this spirit will get our nation through the storms we face today.

Creepy rhythm, creepy smile. Made McCain's debate smile seem almost human. And folksy where it wasn't called for. Like a cadaver re-animated turned into a creepy "Hey kid, want to see what I've got in here?" kind of folksy.