What's the definition of insanity, again? Isn't it something like doing something over and over again and expecting different results? Why yes, it is, but Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal has no problem treading in the same water where Indiana Governor Mike Pence nearly drowned.
In an op-ed published in our favorite paper of record, Jindal shook his little fists at corporations who do business in Louisiana, telling them to "save their breath" rather than protest Louisiana's proposed RFRA law.
The legislation would prohibit the state from denying a person, company or nonprofit group a license, accreditation, employment or contract — or taking other “adverse action” — based on the person or entity’s religious views on the institution of marriage.
Some corporations have already contacted me and asked me to oppose this law. I am certain that other companies, under pressure from radical liberals, will do the same. They are free to voice their opinions, but they will not deter me. As a nation we would not compel a priest, minister or rabbi to violate his conscience and perform a same-sex wedding ceremony. But a great many Americans who are not members of the clergy feel just as called to live their faith through their businesses. That’s why we should ensure that musicians, caterers, photographers and others should be immune from government coercion on deeply held religious convictions.
Take THAT, IBM. Everyone knows those "radical liberals" wield tremendous influence with Fortune 500 corporations, right?
Salon writer Katie McDonough thinks Jindal's timing is interesting for a couple of reasons:
Jindal’s bigotry is not new, but the timing of his corporate tough talk is interesting for a few reasons, and not just because he is rumored to be angling for a 2016 presidential run. Jindal’s editorial was published less than two weeks after he told state legislators that he wanted to rein in “corporate welfare” by going after certain refundable tax credits.
This is a small but nonetheless significant change in tone for Jindal, since it was just two years ago that he proposed abolishing the state’s corporate income tax (as well as the personal income tax, which worked out so well in Kansas) and has spent much of his tenure as governor taking his cues from Grover Norquist.
“If companies are getting checks from the taxpayer as opposed to paying taxes, then that is government spending that needs to be examined and reduced,” he said earlier this month. “It would be wrong for us to impose cuts to higher education, in order to protect this corporate welfare.”
So Jindal’s big ask of these corporations is that they stand shoulder to shoulder with him in discriminating against LGBTQ people at the same time he is threatening to target (even if minimally) their tax goodies. He wants companies to embrace homophobia as a brand while he cuts their welfare checks. It’s an interesting request, to say the least.
There isn't a lot of space in the 2016 Clown Car these days. Jindal has apparently decided that his best bet is with Ralph Reed's Faith & Freedom Coalition and the American Family Association, to name a couple. Give him a month or two and he'll be as irrelevant as Mike Pence, Chris Christie, and the other second and third tier GOP contenders.
Update: At the end of his op-ed, he makes this statement: "If it's not freedom for all, it's not freedom at all." That more or less informs as to what he thinks of the LGBTQ community, doesn't it? Bobby's lexicon defines the words "freedom" and "all" very differently than mine does. But don't take my word for it. Check out the Human Rights Campaign edits to his op-ed. They used their red pen -- liberally.
