"It is no secret we had a number of Republicans damage our brand this year with offensive, bizarre comments - enough of that," he said, according to Politico. "It's not going to be the last time anyone says something stupid within our party, but it can't be tolerated within our party. We've also had enough of this dumbed-down conservatism. We need to stop being simplistic, we need to trust the intelligence of the American people and we need to stop insulting the intelligence of the voters."Sound advice, Governor! But look at the next paragraph:
Jindal initially backed the presidential bid of his western neighbor Gov. Rick Perry, then campaigned for and alongside Mitt Romney.Ah, Rick Perry -- the man who actually managed to prove you could be too dumb to win the 2012 Republican presidential nomination.
Specks and logs, Governor Jindal. Specks and logs.
But what did Perry say that was offensive? That's what Jindal, an intelligent design advocate, meant by stupidity. He didn't actually mean things that were "stupid" in the sense of exhibiting a lack of knowledge about facts (though obviously Todd Akin was a great moment in that type of stupidity as well as the "offensive" kind). He meant things that were "stupid" in the sense of an own-goal, saying things that conservatives probably actually believe (like Obama's winning by giving "gifts") but that are off-putting to everyone else not already in their choir.
ReplyDeleteAlso, there was a strong rumor among DC political journalists that Perry's worst moments, like blanking on which Cabinet posts he'd abolish, were due to his being on some heavy pain-killers to make it tolerable for him to stand for hours during debates and campaign events despite a back injury. Googling indicates this rumor made it into a book.