Well, that didn't take long. Just a few months after taking office and being lauded as conservatism's new star, Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal is taking hits from every side, including the right.
His vaunted ethics reforms, which actually made ethics violations harder to prove and don't apply to many of his own appointees, were the first specks of tarnish on the Golden Boy.
Now, conservatives are up in arms over his caving to the legislature on their pay raises.
The story, which has dominated local media for weeks, is ready for its national close-up, with a piece in today's New York Times highlighting the gov's stumble:
Conservative talk-radio show hosts and bloggers have denounced it, newspaper editorials have inveighed against it — The Times-Picayune of New Orleans called the increase “greedy” and its main proponent “shameless” — and the legislators themselves received floods of e-mail messages from angry constituents.
More confounding to many citizens here than the action by the lawmakers is the inaction of Governor Jindal, who came into office this year with promises to overhaul Louisiana’s reputation for dubious ethics.
And denounce it they have.
“This pay raise is devastating him,” said Moon Griffon, a conservative talk-radio host with a wide following in northern Louisiana, the most Republican and evangelical part of the state. “I’ve gotten over 5,000 e-mails from people who say they voted for him, and who say they would never vote for him again.”
Also, speculation that Jindal may have been underconsideration for John McCain's VP, rather than burnishing the gov's image, have further outraged conservatives. 4unionparish, a blogger on LouisianaConservative.com, writes:
IF Governor Jindal chooses to abandon Louisiana to ascend his political career as Vice President, Louisiana Republicans are going to be so pissed off that they will likely either stay at home on election day, or they may cross over to the “Dim Side” just to make it even more clear just how they really feel.
Louisiana Conservatives will feel abused and betrayed.
At best, Louisiana Conservatives will give greater consideration to those that have not abandoned conservative principles no matter the struggle or the Party.
Taking this together, I am more convinced than ever that McCain needs to pick Bobby. Combined with an influx of new, enthusiastic voters, a heavily evangelical state GOP that's not that enthralled with McCain and, should he be smart enough to make it, an unequivocal Obama pledge to restore the state's eroding coast, could mean a Dem victory in the Sportsman's Paradise in November.