Jindal to Turn Down Stimulus $$$ for Jobless

(NEWSER) - President Obama “is currently just flinging stuff against the wall, in trillion-dollar chunks, to see what sticks,” and his plans for health care are no different, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal writes on Politico. Thanks to failed bailouts and a “trillion-dollar stimulus that has not stimulated,” America is up to its neck in deficits, and the Democrats’ health plans will drive up costs and decrease quality. "This here is a fine pot of gumbo," scolds Jindal, a GOP hopeful for 2012. More»

Ambitious conservatives cave on most federal aid dollars

(NEWSER) - Tough talk about rejecting stimulus funds earned some GOP governors—and presidential hopefuls—plenty of headlines, but reality has set in, Politico reports. Under fire from their legislatures, Bobby Jindal, Mark Sanford, and Sarah Palin have all requested funds in the past week. “At this point it looks like everybody’s on board with the program,” said an OMB rep. More»

Politician's handlers fail to showcase his talents

(NEWSER) - He may have looked like Bobby Jindal, but the man delivering the Republican response to President Obama's congressional address on Tuesday was no Bobby Jindal. Rather, the "brilliant statesman" was "equal parts Mister Rogers, Bobby Brady, and Kenneth the Page," writes Kathleen Parker in the Washington Post. In real life, Jindal is "the intellectual equivalent of a nuclear power plant," but his handlers forced the embarrassing performance. More»

Louisiana governor faced little Democrat opposition

(AP) - Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal easily coasted to a second term today, winning in a landslide election after failing to attract any well-known or deep-pocketed opposition. The 40-year-old Republican overwhelmed nine competitors in the open primary, where a candidate wins the race outright if he or she receives more than 50% of the vote. With 99% of precincts reporting, Jindal had received about 66% of the total vote. More»

Flash flooding expected from drenching storm

(AP) - As Katia regained hurricane status, the center of Tropical Storm Lee stretched across the central Gulf Coast early today, dumping torrential rains that threatened flooding in low-lying communities in a foreshadowing of what cities further inland could face in coming days. Lee's center crawled ashore in Louisiana before dawn after the vast, soggy storm system spent hours during the weekend hovering in the northernmost Gulf of Mexico— knocking out power to 32,000 before it even made landfall . The storm's slow crawl to the north gave more time for its drenching rain bands to pelt a wide swath of vulnerable coastline, raising the flood threat. More»