Gov. Bobby Jindal is using his last months in office to pave the road for his 2016 presidential run, regardless of the costs to his state.
It was a brazen act of sheer self interest, a testament to the danger of unchecked ego combined with political power.
Monday morning Governor Bobby Jindal opened this year’s session of the Louisiana state legislature with a 22-minute oratory that sounded in part more like a presidential campaign ad than a speech helping a co-equal branch of government set a rational vision for the future.
Jindal focused on three issues: balancing the state’s budget without raising taxes, improving education in Louisiana by killing Common Core, and passing a sweeping anti-gay “religious freedom” bill already labeled as worse than Indiana’s.
It was that portion of the speech that smacked of sheer self interest and unchecked ego.
HB 707, the Louisiana Marriage and Conscience Act, was introduced by Rep. Mike Johnson. But in the wake of the firestorm caused in Indiana and Arkansas by their “religious freedom” bills, lawmakers in the Pelican State have little desire to vote on or pass this anti-gay legislation.
But with an eye focused on 2016 and his White House aspirations, Jindal has latched onto this bill as a flag of religious liberty he can wave in the air, his banner of bigotry he thinks can open the door to the Oval Office.
“There is a nationwide push by the far left to weaken the First Amendment to the Constitution,” Jindal charged.
“We either believe in religious liberty or we don’t. In Louisiana, I believe we do,” he touted.Â
“Let me be crystal clear – I absolutely intend to fight for the passage of this legislation,” Jindal said of HB 707, “and any other that seeks to preserve our most fundamental freedoms.”
“And here in Louisiana, as long as I’m your Governor, we will protect religious liberty and not apologize for it.”
The 43-year old Oxford graduate told the lawmakers in the chamber he wanted to “clear up some falsehoods” about the bill.
“All this bill does is provide necessary protections for individuals to prevent adverse treatment from the state based on religious beliefs regarding marriage.”
And he warned that “people, charities and family-owned businesses are at risk of being penalized by the state because they believe in the traditional definition of marriage.”
Equality Louisiana says “the bill clearly is targeting gay and transgender people by focusing on religious beliefs about marriage,” and warns that it “aims to make actions legal — such as denying the same sex spouse of an employee access to life-saving benefits such as health insurance.”Â
Jindal sailed on, denying the Marriage and Conscience Act has any impact on gay people at all, but rather, saying it protects Christians.
“In the United States, a state should not be able to take adverse action against an individual for holding a sincerely held religious view regarding marriage. That would be true discrimination,” Jindal concluded.
Unlike his tax and education remarks, Jindal’s preaching about the “religious liberty” bill received not a single clap, not one lawmaker applauding.
Watch:
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Image: Screenshot via YouTube
Transcript via WWLTV
Hat tip: Times-Picayune
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