Life is a State of Mind

President Obama’s address was a joy to listen to.

I am sad that Governor Jindal has resorted to lies for his response to the president’s address. I previously had high hopes that Jindal would bring reason and hope for change from the Republican side; for we really do need an opposition party to serve as a check for the party in power. Sadly the current batch of Republican leaders, including Jindal, continue to re-broadcast lies and misstate facts rather than pull together with Democrats to fix the serious problems our country faces.

As usual, party first, country last – and without Jindal the chances of a Republican recovery of any sort shrink dramatically. It’s a shame; but necessary.

If it continues, I look forward to a short period of complete Democratic domination of American politics followed (hopefully) by a period where Greens, Libertarians, and Democrats vie for coalition governments.

Update: People have challenged me on my assertion that Jindal’s rebuttal was lies. So here are some salient points:

• The stimulus package does NOT call for a high-speed train from Vegas to Disney; this is a wing-nut talk show and right-wing blog echo chamber talking point that has already been refuted many times. Eye roll.
• The stimulus package includes a lot of tax cuts, Jindal lies when he implies that it does not include tax cuts, and he lies again when he claims that Republicans offer tax cuts to most Americans. The public records of the past three Republican administrations clearly show that their tax cuts are only for the very wealthy under the horribly incorrect assumption that that wealth will “trickle down” to all Americans when the wealthy people spend.
• As Governor of one of the states most impacted by Katrina, Jindal knows full well how much the recovery is from Federal aid versus good will donations of Americans. The numbers don’t lie, Jindal does.
• Jindal knows full well that Obama is trying to balance the budget and inherited the horrible deficits run up by the previous administration; to imply that the stimulus bill and the balanced budget directives of the new administration are saddling our children with the deficit is hypocrisy at it’s absolute worst.

Aside from the lies, here are some basic points:

• Magnetic levitation for high speed rail is not voodoo, it is tricky, and there are issues – but the basic premise is sound science, less friction means greater fuel efficiency and potentially higher speeds. High speed rail could mean more efficient travel than air, less carbon emissions, less dependence on fossil fuels. Why are Republicans behaving like high-speed rail and mag-lev are cult terms of evil?
• You’d think that Jindal would know how valuable early warning of natural disasters like Volcanoes and Hurricanes is. I am not sure about the $140 million number, but to belittle the funding of disaster monitoring the way Bush would have is a sad disappointment and a poor choice of direction. Effective monitoring and early warnings save lives. Do Republicans really want to try to argue against that fact? Really?
• While Jindal is correct in saying incompetent government bureaucrats impeded the Katrina recovery efforts, he neglected to mention that mostly they were bureaucrats appointed by a Republican president. Heck of a job pointing that out again, Bobby.
• Obama has not yet lost the trust of the American people, so counting on their support as if they’d already lost trust not only baffles them, it calls into question your own ability to judge the mood of the nation. I am sorry, but Jindal’s star as a national leader is now over.
• Here was a fabulous opportunity for Jindal to distance himself from the pointless partisan bull-shit of the past decade and move along with real constructive criticism coupled with basic support for recovery for all. Jindal missed the opportunity and the Republican party is left with Crist as their last best hope for any redemption.