Presidential Candidates - #1 Bobby Jindal

The first Presidential candidate we met this year was Bobby Jindal.  His townhall meeting at the Fischer Community Center in Marshalltown, Iowa was packed.  We arrived only a few minutes before the scheduled start time, and ended up standing in the back as all the seats were taken. 

A campaign worker started the meeting on time (if I recall correctly), told us about Bobby Jindal and his book, and finally introduced him.  

Miscellaneous Facts: Born June 10, 1971, Jindal is the youngest presidential candidate in this election; he's 13 days younger than Rubio.  He's a first-generation American; his parents immigrated to the United States from India.  He's a Roman Catholic, is married to Supriya Jolly, has three children, and is 5 feet, 9 inches tall.

Created with www.readwritethink.org's  Timeline Generator

Jindal's Speech

Jindal began his speech by saying he admires the Democrats' tenacity and Bernie Sanders for being so honest as a socialist.  "Why can't we fight for our principles, like they do for theirs?" he asked.  Among the other Republican candidates there are many great, entertaining speakers, but what we need is a doer, not a talker.  "I'm not the best looking, the greatest speaker, or the richest, and my dad is not president," he said, "but I do have backbone, and what we need is a strong president."  

Governor Jindal is the only candidate with a detailed plan to repeal and replace Obamacare.  He also claims to be the only person in the race who has actually cut government spending.  He believes in fighting the establishment, and making Congress live by the rules and laws they create for everyone else.  

Jinal says many problems face this country, including an $18 trillion debt and an out-of control EPA.  President  Obama doesn't go out of his way to watch out for Israel; instead he makes a deal with Iran.  And instead of worrying about the most important issues, he fights a war against trans fats.  Meanwhile the Supreme Court believes they can write a definition of marriage that is better than God's definition of marriage.  

Bobby Jindal's parents wanted the American Dream so much that they moved from India to the United States when his mother was 9 months pregnant with him, and they worked hard to make good so their children could have a better life.  But now the American Dream is turning into a European nightmare.  It's not too late to save the country, but it's getting late.

"I'm a Christian," he said.  Jindal wasn't raised a Christian;  he got saved at the age of 16.  Christians under assault in this country, and we need to stand up for our values.  It won't be enough to just elect him as President.  We need a spiritual revival.

Governor Jindal cancelled Louisiana's Medicaid contract with Planned Parenthood.  When protesters came to the governor's mansion, he played the infamous Planned Parenthood videos outside of his mansion for them.  Six years in a row, Louisiana has been ranked the most pro-life state.  He also has kicked Common Core out of LA.

Townhall Questions 

Q: How did you pay for your education?

A: Jindal and his family saved money to pay for his college education.  His parents told him he had a choice in whatever he would go to school for, "You can be any kind of doctor you want."  (They didn't want him to get a worthless degree).  Student debt is a big problem now.  It's important to grow the economy so that students can actually get good paying jobs.  Tuition has gone up, but incomes haven't.  This is in part due to a federal monopoly on accreditation (which should be ended).

Question about Veterans

A: Every veteran should get a card to entitle them to whatever doctor or hospital they want, so they have more choices than just going to a V.A. hospital.  There have been many V.A. scandals, but when has anyone gotten fired or gone to prison?  There should not be different rules for bureaucrats, and they shouldn't be allowed to get away with things other people would go to jail for.

Question about Energy

A: We should reduce dependence on foreign fuels.  We could be energy independent if we used all energy sources.  He voted for ethanol, but he believes we should level the energy playing field, gradually phasing out all special treatment.  The government should keep it's word on what it has already promised, but phase out subsidies, so that lobbyists don't get to pick the winners and losers.  

The left uses climate change for their own agenda, and it drives away businesses.  How is a company building a steel factory in Brazil any better for the climate than building a steel factory in Louisiana? Driving business to other countries does not help the world environment, but it does hurt our economy.  

Q: When candidates get to Washington it seems they join some sort of cult and don't do what they promised.  How do we know you'll actually do what you promise?

A:  Congressmen are privileged.  When you are elected to Congress, you get a special HR license plate.  When Jindal first became a Congressman, he wandered around trying to find a parking spot, but there were no parking and reserved signs everywhere.  Finally he asked a policeman, "Where can I park?"  The policeman told him that with the HR license plate he could park wherever he wanted.  Everyone else had to go through security and metal detectors; he could just take a private elevator.  And with the card that said he had a vote in the House, he could say even the dumbest things, and lobbyists would agree with him.  When he voted against an earmark, he remembers someone took him aside and said, "You shouldn't do that, that's the chairman's!"  But he wouldn't vote for anything that didn't make sense.  "Look at what people do, not what they say," he said.  You can look at his record as a congressman and governor.  Also, he notes, there should be term limits.

Question about getting rid of our national debt

A:  We should end the Department of Education.  Getting the federal government out of education would save a lot of money and improve teacher quality.  We should have a lower, flatter tax, stop the IRS from going after preachers, and stop the EPA from strangling the economy.

Social Security and Medicare will be broke by 2030 unless changes are made.

We need to cut spending.

According to the Constitution, the federal government's job is to defend the American people.  While the government is doing so many other things, it is slacking in it's primary role.  Precautions need to be taken to prepare for and prevent attacks on our water supply and energy.  We shouldn't be so weak and indebted to other countries that we feel we have to please them.  The Iran deal was made to please China.  We need to cut our spending so we can be strong again and have a better national defence.  The ISIS forces are barbarians.  We need to stop these evil, murdering terrorists before they kill us.  Radical Islam is a problem that needs to be taken care of.  

Closing:  This election is the most important election in our lifetimes.  Shame on the fools in Washington DC, and shame on us if we let them ruin our country.  Join our cause, and together we can take our country back again.  

Jindal speaking with members of the audience.

Further Resources:  Visit Governor Jindal's website to learn more about his life and accomplishments, read about his stand on each of the important issues and his policies.  You can also read about him on Wikipedia or read his book Leadership and Crisis.

My Remarks:  Governor Jindal seemed to speak with earnestness and sincerity. What particularly impressed me was his policy of being the last person to leave.  He waited to talk with each and every person who wanted to meet him.    

Disclaimer: Candidates' speeches are reconstructed from my imperfect notes.  If you notice any mistakes, just let me know.  I would not intentionally misrepresent anyone's position.  I am not endorsing any candidate or candidate's position at this time, and no candidate has endorsed me.  And yes, I do realize that often speeches are to some extent propaganda, but it's interesting to me to see the points candidates consider as most important.
For my personal political views, please see this article.