Perhaps this should be filed under “How Soon We Forget,” or maybe it shouldn’t be remembered at all because of the bitter irony it invokes. Either way, we felt a little reminder of campaign promises past might give you an insight into political realities present and future.
Candidate Bobby Jindal had an interesting campaign flyer in the last gubernatorial election that someone found and sent to LouisianaVoice.
It’s all about how touchy-feely he was about state employees. It’s almost enough to give you a warm fuzzy if it weren’t for the foreboding chills it invokes when one considers that his real motivation is not the welfare of state employees or even the citizenry of this state, but the consolidation of his own political power base.
While state employees are being laid off and in some instances, as in the case of Office of Group Benefits CEO Tommy Teague, fired outright, Jindal continues to campaign weekly outside the borders of Louisiana, adding more and more to a campaign war chest already crammed with more than $10 million.
When he campaigns in California, New York, Texas, and elsewhere, the costs of those trips—including flight costs, hotel accommodations, meals, and security detail (state police who accompany him on each and every trip)—are not reimbursed to the state by the Republican Party. They are borne by Louisiana taxpayers. And lest you thought he travels alone, rest assured he takes staff members with him on those jaunts. When George Bush campaigned for a second term and when Barrack Obama campaigns, the costs were—and are—reimbursed by their respective national parties.
All his hopping from fundraiser to fundraiser at out-of-state venues must surely raise the question: just why is someone in California or Wisconsin or Montana so vitally interested in a governor’s race in Louisiana? That’s the question voters must ask themselves when they enter the polling booth next fall.
It’s a good bet that laid-off state employees or employees of agencies that Jindal has privatized or plans to privatize will be asking.
It’s a certainty that employees with serious health issues would like to know why they stand to lose their health benefits after years of loyal service, some of whom even fell for Jindal’s “love of state employees,” pitch and voted for him—not once, but twice—for governor.
Here, then, are the verbatim contents of that long lost (at least he must wish it was lost) flyer that, with any justification, will bite him in the backside next fall:
As a former state employee, I know firsthand how important it is that we protect state employees and state retirees.
I have served the state as Secretary of the Department of Health and Hospitals and as President of the University of Louisiana System.
My mother has been a state employee for three decades. I know that she and the thousands of people who serve our state at every level dedicate themselves on a daily basis to ensuring that Louisiana is moving forward, and I strongly believe that we must support these workers in their efforts.
As my campaign for Governor continues to intensify, I expect that some people will begin to spread false rumors about the future of state employees under my Administration.
I wanted you to hear it from me that I will be a friend and supporter of both state employees and retirees.
Any statements to the contrary are simply false.
I am committed to bringing more jobs and more economic opportunities to Louisiana, and I want to see state workers and retirees supported for the work they do.
In addition, I have been a vocal supporter in Congress of legislation to protect state employees and retirees from unfair Social Security provisions, specifically, the Government Pension Offset (GPO), which lowers the dependent benefits a state employee with a spouse working in the private sector receives through Social Security, and Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP), which penalizes public school teachers and state workers who have second jobs.
I am a co-sponsor of the Social Security Fairness Act (H.R. 82) in the U.S. House of Representatives, which would repeal both the GPO and the WEP.
I do not believe we should punish people for working, and certainly do not believe teachers and state workers in Louisiana should be singled out for penalty.
These men and women work incredibly hard to ensure a bright future for our state and our children, and they deserve to receive adequate Social Security benefits.
My mother is a state agency employee and I myself have paid into the State Teachers Retirement System, so I know firsthand how unfair these provisions are to state workers. I fully understand the importance of rectifying this problem so state workers and teachers are not unfairly penalized for their service.
I commit to you that I will continue to fight to protect all Louisiana workers as Governor of Louisiana.
There you have it. The words in that flyer certainly take on a hollow ring today. We have only one word for Gov. Jindal and his promises: pandering. By any definition, it’s pandering in the sorriest sense of the word. Does anyone remember Jindal’s uttering a single word as governor about the GPO or WEP? Didn’t think so.
Has anyone heard a single encouraging word from him to state employees. No? Hmm.
Does any remember another campaign promise to block any attempt by legislators to give themselves a pay increase? Probably not, but he certainly did, in another flyer like the one quoted above. Yet, what did he do when they voted for a 123 percent pay raise back in 2008? He said he would not veto the pay hike. Only when he was swamped with public outcry such that his email literally shut down, did he finally acquiesce and veto the action.
Turn your attention away from the NBA playoffs and LSU and Saints football long enough to do your homework. Weigh what he says against what he does. Consider the contracts handed out to donors to his wife’s foundation. Think about the motive behind his interstate campaign trips. Look below the surface for his real reasons for wanting to privatize so many state agencies and find out who is getting the contracts for those agencies. Most of all, try to put yourself in the place of that state employee who, facing grave health issues, finds himself on the street.
Louisiana Voice 