Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal has a message for his fellow Republicans: Stop being so “stupid.”
In his first interview since Mitt Romney’s defeat and Republicans failure to capture the Senate majority, the lawmaker went on the attack, saying his party needs to appeal to more voters and stay away from offensive comments that tarnish the party.
Jindal told Politico, “It is no secret we had a number of Republicans damage our brand this year with offensive, bizarre comments—enough of that “It’s not going to be the last time anyone says something stupid within our party, but it can’t be tolerated within our party.”
Indiana’s Richard Mourdock and Missouri’s Todd Akin, who made offensive statements about rape and pregnancy during their Senate races and subsequently lost, of course, come to mind.
Jindal also said his party has a habit of speaking down to its electorate.
“We’ve also had enough of this dumbed-down conservatism. We need to stop being simplistic, we need to trust the intelligence of the American people and we need to stop insulting the intelligence of the voters,” Jindal said, adding Republicans need to “stop being the stupid party.”
Jindal’s name is already being floated as a potential 2016 presidential candidate. He’s been selected to chair the Republican Governors Association next year. Hardball host Chris Matthews noted on Tuesday that while “Republicans are becoming brutally honest in the wake of their defeat last week,” Jindal was the same lawmaker who signed into law a measure that allows for teaching creationism in public schools. msnbc political analyst John Heilemann of New York Magazine agreed with the irony, adding there’s going to be room for non-Washington figures, “those who come from places where the Republican party is still strong, people in the south, so you think of people like Jeb Bush, people like Bobby Jindal who will bring a message of reform, and it’s not surprising on some level that economics will be central.” Howard Fineman of the Huffington Post said it was clear Jindal is “sticking with the cultural conservatism.”Recommended
