Tuesday, February 24, 2009

The Big Speech


Tonight, the big prime time speech will be broadcast to an anxious nation.  The stakes are high, the expectations are high, and the message will set the tone for the next four yearsat least.  His admirers and supporters, including yours truly, are looking forward to a brilliantly articulated vision for the future.  

No, we're not talking about Barry Obama's speech to a joint session of the Congress.  We're talking about Bobby Jindal's rebuttal.   


Barack Obama will be under pressure when he addresses the nation on television tomorrow night, but not as much as Bobby Jindal, who will reply on behalf of the Republicans, with a performance that could determine his own presidential hopes.  [snip]

Jindal, the 37-year-old governor of Louisiana and the Republican party's new hope, needs to demonstrate confidence and competence - and show a little sparkle - to boost his hopes of being chosen to take on Obama in 2012.  [snip]

Being chosen by the Republicans to respond to Obama gives Jindal a significant leg-up over his rivals, offering millions of viewers their first opportunity to see Jindal, who is conservative on both social and economic policy. The high-profile slot in the past has boosted careers but also destroyed them.  [snip]

If Jindal does well in his reply, he can expect to benefit in terms of a sudden influx of funds. He raised $3.5m in 2008 from more than 2,100 donors. It is a relatively small figure, given that Obama raised $1bn in his fight for the presidency, but Jindal only has to demonstrate at this stage he is capable of fundraising.

Rush Limbaugh calls him "the next Ronald Reagan." Republican strategist Steve Schmidt agrees.  "The question is not whether he'll be president, but when he'll be president, because he will be elected someday."  


Fiscal conservatives argue the party must retrench around a small government philosophy from which Bush strayed. Social conservatives argue it must more fully capitalise on a religious base that never warmed to McCain. Others say it must appeal to suburban moderates who care more about the government's effectiveness than its size. Jindal's allure is that he offers a way around this choice, and an answer to all of the party weaknesses exposed above. 


More


Excerpt from Jindal's Rebuttal
"Who among us would ask our children for a loan, so we could spend money we do not have, on things we do not need? That is precisely what the Democrats in Congress just did. It's irresponsible. And it's no way to strengthen our economy, create jobs, or build a prosperous future for our children."  (more)

Bobby Jindal's big moment
He’s a star in political circles, mentioned by members of both parties as a future presidential candidate, but when Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal delivers the Republican response to President Barack Obama’s Message to Congress on Tuesday, most Americans will be seeing him for the first time. 

Our President of the Perpetual Campaign Takes Veiled Shot at Bobby Jindal
"There's going to be ample time for campaigns down the road," he said, a not-so-veiled reference to those Guvs, especially Jindal, who are said to be contemplating 2012 presidential campaigns. "Right now, we've got to make sure that we're standing up for the American people and putting them back to the work."

Bobby Jindal Outfoxes Everyone, Mother Jones Isn't Happy
Bobby Jindal is smarter than me. He figured out a way to take the vast majority of the funding set out for Louisiana (about 98 percent, according to TPM) while still earning headlines like "Jindal rejects $98 million in stimulus spending."

High stakes for Obama and Jindal this week
Party elders are giving Jindal, who missed the 2008 GOP convention to be on hurricane duty, his biggest stage yet. A flop would limit his aspirations and rob Republicans of a much-needed talent.

Meet The Press: Bobby Jindal Rejecting Stimulus Money

Saving America: Time to hit the streets?
Noting the tactics of left-wing organizations such as Code Pink, which like to send handfuls of noisy people to a lawmaker's office, DeMint suggests such things do get the attention of congressmen and senators.  "I think some of these folks might think twice if they had several hundred people standing outside one of their state offices asking, 'What in the world are you thinking?' "If that doesn't work, there's plenty of room on the boulevard.

Sign the Petition for a Chicago Tea Party
Our petition for you is this – if American Future Fund hosted this tea party, in Grant Park – site of Barack Obama’s Chicago victory speech – would you be there? If we have enough folks say “YES!” then we just might start a major movement with this event. But it has to begin at the grassroots. h/t: Red Voice

Obama's goal? Directed chaos 
The goal is to achieve chaos, because chaos leads to more government control – and that's what Obama and the Democratic Congress want more than anything.  They don't believe they should be bothered with elections or dissent or any of the nuisances of a free society. They believe they deserve perpetual power, because they are part of the enlightened elite.  h/t: Pen of Jen

iPod Touched by Midas
That's what it looks like anyway with this iPod Shuffle from Xexoo of Germany. Made from real 18 carat gold, this will definitely burn an extremely large hole in your pocket if you want one with its price tag of $19,343 (14,000 Euros).

15 comments:

cube said...

lol! I started reading your post and thought I was at the wrong blog.

Jindal is most assuredly a star in the republican party. I wonder if things would've turned out differently had McCain chosen him as VP?

*sigh*

Adrienne said...

I didn't know Jindal was doing the rebuttal. How exciting. Great post, by the way!

Adrienne said...

I don't use word verification but I've had to start moderating. I've got an INSANE troll (from New Jersey), that is haunting me and a bunch of my other Catholic blogger buddies.

This troll is going beyond ugly and vile into the almost dangerous.

Franklin's Locke said...

Jindal is a rising star. It will be very interesting to see how Jindal’s vision contrasts with Obama. Hopefully, sleeping America notices and begin to wake up. Hopefully, the angry Americans notice and begin to follow him and spread the word that Conservative movement isn’t dead. We have new leaders.

http://franklinslocke.blogspot.com/

a red voice said...

I'll keep my eye on Bobby Jindal, I look forward to hearing his rebuttal. We need someone strong and truly conservative to run in 2012 against "the one" and to fix all the socialistic damage that "the one" will bring to our nation.

robert verdi said...

how many whoppers tonight?

RightKlik said...

Cube: I don't know, I think the Maverick went into self-destruct mode. Not much anybody could have done about it.

Adrienne: Thanks. So far I've been lucky with the troll factor.

FL: I'm just hoping Jindal makes a good impression. He's the best thing since Reagan. Hopefully America will have the opportunity to see that. P.S. I can't comment on your blog because word verification is not working correctly. I had to turn mine off so that people could leave their comments here.

Red: If anyone can undo Obama's damage, I think Jindal is the one.

RV: I could care less what Obama says tonight. Practically every word will be a lie. He doesn't have an honest cell in his body.

Anonymous said...

Guys...

I'm a newbie here, but I think Jindal might have some "natural born" issues. The Dems have totally ignored it for Obama, but you can bet your last buck that they won't if Jindal has one...

RightKlik said...

suek:
Jindal was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Anonymous said...

Yes, I know. Or at least I know he was born in the USA. But part of the determination of the "natural born" rules differ during different time periods, and I believe that the one that applied when Jindal was born required that one parent be a citizen. Apparently Jindal's father was made a citizen when Jindal was 2 years old, so he doesn't meet the reqirement.
I can't tell you I know all of this for a fact - I've kept close tabs on the Obama birth certificate issue, but not Jindal's. All I'm saying is that he may have a problem, and although the Dems are more than willing to cover for Obama, they won't for Jindal - they'll hammer it and won't take it lying down as the Republicans seem to have done.
And by that I mean that Obama's original birth certificate still hasn't been seen by a court - or any government official outside of the State of Hawaii. Regardless of what that certificate says - one way or the other - there seems to me to be no justification for ignoring the Constitutional requirement. The Dems won't ignore it - especially if Jindal looks like a viable candidate.

RightKlik said...

That's interesting information suek, I'll have to do more research. It will be fun watching the Dems try to attack Jindal on that issue.

I think the dems are more likely to try to puncture his credibility on the issue of the paper Jindal wrote about witnessing an exorcism. I don't think they will get very far with that one either.

But you're right, they're going to try to tear him apart...especially after tonight's speech. But they will have to be careful. The more attention they give him, the more it elevates his status.

Timeshare Jake said...

You know, I had to reread that sentence over and over before I read the next section to realize you hadn't drank the Kool-Aid or put forgot to put in a word or punctuation.

skep41 said...

Watching the performance of Mclame and Collins at the fiscal symposium fed my intense distrust of all Republicans. After 8 years of disappointment at the hands of our 'Compassionate Conservative' I'm going to take a lot of convincing before I can trust anyone to have the will and the skill to tackle our national bankruptcy.
Great post.

Anonymous said...

Starting already. Not on the BC, but on his religious beliefs. I guess he should be complimented. Just remember the Alinsky principle: Focus on the target, personalize it, destroy it. The Dems do it well.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2009-02-24/bobby-jindals-secret-past/

RightKlik said...

Suek: Yes, they're going to try to get as much mileage out of that paper as they possibly can. It might mean a lot to the pundits, but the average Joe won't care. Compare this issue with Obama's drug use, his friendship with J. Wright and his marriage to Ms. "I'm finally proud". The fact that they've worked so hard to dig up stuff tells you how seriously they are taking Jindal.