Bobby Jindal walked out to the microphone with a glaze in his eyes and seemed hopped up on Red Bull as he shuffled through the Republican response speech to President Obama. If the Republican Party thinks he's their solution they are sadly mistaken.
Instead of launching his national political career, he just about ended it. Some people thought he reminded them of Kenneth from 30 Rock, but at least Kenneth has some enthusiasm. Not only was he zombie-like throughout, but he didn't even have his facts straight. Too much Red Bull?
But Democratic leaders in Congress rejected this approach. Instead of trusting us to make wise decisions with our own money, they passed the largest government spending bill in history -- with a price tag of more than $1 trillion with interest. While some of the projects in the bill make sense, their legislation is larded with wasteful spending.
It includes $300 million to buy new cars for the government, $8 billion for high-speed rail projects, such as a 'magnetic levitation' line from Las Vegas to Disneyland, and $140 million for something called 'volcano monitoring.' Instead of monitoring volcanoes, what Congress should be monitoring is the eruption of spending in Washington, DC
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As Newsweek documented, the levitating train is a complete myth.
A widely repeated claim that $8 billion is set aside for a "levitating train" to Disneyland is untrue. That total is for unspecified high-speed rail projects, and some of it may or may not end up going to a proposed 300-mph "maglev" train connecting Anaheim, Calif., with Las Vegas.
The truth never seems to be a problem for the Republican Party. Jindal also boasted that government is ineffective by sneering at the government response to Hurricane Katrina. Yes, under Republicans and George Bush, Hurricane Katrina was a disaster -- one led by his own party. Way to go there, Bobby. I don't think Americans have forgotten that fact, and it was an idiotic analogy to use. Pretty much like most of his childlike stories.
Dave N: Don't you think he and Sarah Palin seem fated for each other? ... Birds of a feather and all that.
UPDATE: Digby has her take:
I'm listening to Jindahl and finding it hard to believe that this guy is the great Republican hope.
I'm also getting angry. He, like all conservative a*&holes, is a hypocritical, lying jackass. It's really, really hard not to just say that the people who voted for this creep don't want any help and so they shouldn't get any. Unfortunately, there a whole bunch who didn't and a lot of children who don't deserve to pay the price for their parents' folly.
But my God, I'm gobsmacked by the fact that he actually raised Katrina in the way he did, suggesting that they didn't need government help. I just don't know what to say about that.
