Not yet scared of Bobby Jindal, the Louisiana Governor and potential vice-presidential candidate on John McCain‘s ticket?
Well, you should be.
An article in The New York Times tells us a few reasons why Jindal is a “New (True) Champion of the Right”:
In the Legislature, the climate for a conservative Christian agenda is warmer than in years. Some of that agenda, including a school voucher program for New Orleans that Mr. Jindal calls a “scholarship plan,” is being pushed vigorously by the governor. On other parts, like a bill favored by Christian conservatives that opponents say is a stalking horse for teaching creationism, Mr. Jindal has been well in the background, though legislators say they think the governor would sign it, as he has raised doubts about evolution.
…
On the floor of the House this year, several legislators have invoked the position of the Louisiana Family Forum, a faith-oriented, anti-abortion group that is affiliated with conservatives like James C. Dobson of Focus on the Family and Tony Perkins, who helped found it. Its executive director, the Rev. Gene Mills, has become a frequent presence in the legislative halls.
At the group’s modest offices here, Mr. Jindal is seen as practically one of the family.
…
In his election campaign, Mr. Jindal said that “there’s no scientific theory that explains how you create organic life out of inorganic matter,” and that students should “decide for themselves.”
…
Similarly, the vouchers bill, which would provide up to $10 million in state money for 1,500 children to attend private, and conceivably parochial, schools in New Orleans, has been criticized by Democratic lawmakers. State Representative Walter Leger III, Democrat of New Orleans, said the Jindal administration was trying to provide “public funding of private denominational institutions.”
Supporters say there is nothing wrong with sending state money to religious institutions.
This man is trouble.
He’ll be popular if he’s chosen because (I’m almost certain) the media focus will be on his Indian heritage and not so much his policies and political views.
Hopefully, he will be constantly questioned on his warped views. Let him dig his own hole instead of letting him avoid taking stances on some of these positions he clearly favors.
(Thanks to Rose for the link.)
[tags]atheist, atheism, desi, Indian-American[/tags]
