When Bobby Jindal was crusading for his business reform legislation on Monday, probably, little did he know that an event in New York, miles away from the Baton Rouge capitol would come back and haunt him.
On Monday afternoon, news broke that Democratic Governor Elliot Spitzer was in the personal and political crises of his life.Reports were fast and furious that Spitzer had crossed the line and was linked to a prostitution web.
Obviously, for many in Louisiana, it was a painful reminder of one Senator, David Vitter, who likewise was linked to a potential similar network.
Within minutes of Elliot Spitzer facing the media doing an“oops” but saying no more, the Republican Governor’s Association released a statement calling for Spitzer’s resignation.
That call was absolutely within the rights and the ambit of the RGA.However, one of the individuals who make up the “executive committee” of the RGA is our rising star, Bobby Jindal, who was asked to join the committee only approximately six weeks post-Gubernatorial election.
Yesterday, when Jindal was signing legislation putting the finishing touches on his Ethics Special Session, and while he was likely handling legislation for the current session, it would seem logical that the focus of his attention would be on continuing to rebuild Louisiana in his image.
Probably, the last thing that he would expect or want would be for anyone to question him on facts related to Elliot Spitzer or David Vitter, but the Louisiana Democratic Party saw some irony in the midst and decided to take advantage of it.In my view, based upon the letter forwarded by the Louisiana Democratic Party, there are some questions that should be answered by the Jindal administration especially since the Democratic Party has couched the issue claiming that Governor Jindal is “faced with yet another hypocrisy test” since governmental ethics has been his sword and his Achilles heel at times and since he is a member of the executive committee of the RGA.
Months ago, Jindal was asked about David Vitter’s personal episode and Jindal said it was a personal matter for the Senator.
Yet, yesterday, the Louisiana Democratic Party in the email basically implied possible Jindal hypocrisy.After review of the email, I believe in many respects it is a ploy to make the Governor look bad, is inconsistent on its face but does ask some interesting questions—even by implication.In effect, the Louisiana Democratic Party asked if the RGA was going to immediately urge Spitzer’s resignation, what role did Jindal play in that request and shouldn’t Jindal also call for Spitzer’s resignation and that of David Vitter?In the email, the Louisiana Democratic Party’s Chairman, Chris Whittington implies that the Party agrees that Spitzer should resign.
To actually do justice to the story, here is the e-mail from the Louisiana Democratic Party in its entirety:
Governor who sits on 4-member RGA Executive Committee faced with yet another hypocrisy test
"The Governor of New York should immediately resign from office and allow the people of New York to pursue honest leadership. The American people are tired of corrupt and hypocritical politicians," said Republican Governors Association executive director Nick Ayers. "The Governor of New York is just another in the long list of politicians that have failed their constituents." Statement from Republican Governor’s Association Executive Director Nick Ayers 3/10/08
Baton Rouge: Chris Whittington, Chairman of the Louisiana Democratic Party, responding today to RGA Executive Director Nick Ayers’ statement regarding New York Governor Elliot Spitzer’s implication in a prostitution ring that the Governor resign, said that he has just one question:
“Does that go for David Vitter?”
Vitter, who was similarly implicated in two prostitution rings last summer in Washington DC and New Orleans, has yet to speak openly and honestly about his misdeeds, let alone resign.
“We agree with Mr. Ayers,” Whittington said. “Governor Spitzer is joining a long list of politicians who have failed their constituents. Unfortunately that list has Louisiana Senator David Vitter’s name right there at the top. Right along with fellow Republican Senator Larry Craig.
“Senator Vitter ducked and ran when similar calls were made for his resignation last year,” Whittington said. “And yet we don’t remember Mr. Ayers or anyone else from the Republican Party for that matter being quite so outspoken and judgmental.
“On the contrary, Louisiana Republicans, including Governor Bobby Jindal and state Treasurer John Kennedy got together last month and hosted a fundraiser for Senator Vitter that raised him nearly a half a million dollars.
“In fact, Governor Jindal, who now sits on the four member executive committee of the Republican Governor’s Association, and is thus Mr. Ayers’ boss did not call for Vitter’s resignation saying instead:
“While we are disappointed by Senator Vitter’s actions, Supriya and I continue to keep David and his family in our prayers,” Jindal said, referring to his wife. “This is a matter for the Senator to address, and it is our hope that this is not used by others for their own political gain.”
“Apparently Governor Jindal does not agree with Mr. Ayers’ assertion,” Whittington said.“But we do. Which is why we still believe that Senator Vitter should resign.
“To quote Mr. Ayers, the American people are tired of corrupt and hypocritical politicians and that is why we are renewing our call for Senator Vitter to resign and allow the people of Louisiana also to pursue honest leadership. And, in the name of honestly and sincerity, we hope that Mr. Ayers will join us in this call.”
Let me state as adamantly as possible that I would not call or imply that Governor Jindal is a hypocrite on this issue until I learned more information about Governor Jindal’s knowledge of the RGA’s “Spitzer” resignation call.If Governor Jindal was involved in the decision to call for the resignation, I would want to know if Governor Jindal had input into that RGA resignation call and if he agreed with it prior to the RGA releasing the statement.Of importance, the RGA released the statement only moments after the Spitzer story broke and minutes after Spitzer gave his statement to the press and the nation.If Jindal did have prior knowledge of the RGA statement and agreed that it should be released, then, obviously, the question is why does Governor Jindal not support the resignation of Senator Vitter?
In the scheme of things, the Spitzer affair is lightyears away from what Louisiana needs to do to recover from a devastating twin storm and build our reputation and infrastructure which Governor Jindal has been working hard to do.However, he chose to sit on the executive committee of a partisan body and therefore really should let us know of his involvement in the RGA Spitzer resignation request.
It is absolutely a shame that Vitter, Spitzer and so many others have fallen.It is a shame that our new Governor is being questioned about possible inconsistencies on such a collateral matter when his efforts have been so focused on lifting the state.But, since perception and ethics are so important for Louisiana, it is fair and important to ask him—what did he know and when did he know it?If he knew about the RGA and had input in the quick decision to call for Spitzer’s resignation, then, obviously, reasonable people would want to know how he could distinguish Spitzer from Vitter.
Perhaps, Jindal did not know of the RGA decision at all.A press release from the Jindal transition team sent one month after our new Governor was elected said, “Today, the Republican Governor’s Association elected Governor-Elect Bobby Jindal to a four-member Executive Committee which helps guide fundraising and political strategy for the association, in an incredible showing of confidence in the newly-elected governor by governors from across the nation.”
The key issue is whether Jindal would be involved in the decision at all—if the Spitzer resignation statement was under the umbrella of “political strategy” and needed Jindal’s input.The Governor can provide this information to us, and hopefully he will do so soon so we can put this issue to rest and help move this economy onward.
A secondary issue is whether Governor Jindal now supports the RGA resignation request and whether his opinion regarding Senator Vitter is any different than it was months ago. If he does support the RGA opinion, many including this writer would want to know whether Jindal also supports David Vitter’s resignation, and if not, then why?
Governor Jindal clearly has the right stuff to be a “rising star”. The key to his success will be his consistency of beliefs.
Bayoubuzz Note:Bayoubuzz sent the body of the Louisiana Democratic Party’s letter to Governor Jindal’s Press Secretary, Melissa Sellers for a statement regarding the Democratic Party’s email. Sellers did not reply to our request. Hopefully, the Jindal administration will quickly and definitively shed light on this issue that could
be a total“non-issue”--if and when the facts and Governor Jindal’s opinions become more transparent.
Vitter did 'er, Vitter did 'er, did he not. Written by Abe
on 4/17/2008
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You are right that Jindal should give that info. But what if the info is: "No, I wasn't involved". I'd rather like a "No, I wasn't involved but I agree, and Vitter should resign too", or "No, I wasn't involved and I disagree, we should all offer our prayers for Mr Spitzer and let him deal with this personal matter". But Jindal, rising star or not, is a politician, and politicians avoid commitment, and he will be no exception. If he ever bothers to heed your call, he will say: "No, I wasn't involved with the RGA statement", and he will say nothing else.
All those posting about how evil Spitzer is make me laugh. It's like they want to say "maybe Vitter is bad, but Spitzer is bad-bad-bad". Ha. Many politicans visit prostitutes and many of them are married, but only some, including Vitter, pose as champions of "family values" (and that's why he was outed). His hypocrisy is so obvious that only mental retardation would prevent people from seeing it. That he still represents us in congress is an insult to the citizens of LA. But, you know, democracy guarantees "representation" and the word says it all. If Vitter "represents" us, then there must be something seriously flawed about our character.
Concerned citizens, and true republicans, would rather see him go and clear the field, instead of hanging around and making Jindal's job more difficult. Written by Concerned
on 3/13/2008
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You have let yourself get caught up in the titillating aspect of the story and are missing the elements of this that create some real legal peril for Spitzer. His resignation has less to do with hookers and more to do with trying to avoid criminal prosecution for things like structuring, possible violations of the Bank Secrecy Act of 1970, and possible violations of the federal money laundering statutes that were put in place in the 80's. Written by ts
on 3/12/2008
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Spitzer had been in free fall in his home state well before last Monday. See the Nov 07 Commentary, "The Elliot Spitzer Show." It's a real shame he's likely to be remembered mainly for $5,500/hr hookers since that "private matter" pales into insignificance compared to his abuses as AG. It says a lot more about Whittington than either Vitter or Jindal that he has to muddy up the waters with such a specious comparison attempt. A diversion this big would save our coast. Written by Kelly Haggar
on 3/12/2008
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Dear Miz Scarlett, your views are as antiquated as your antebellum plantation, completely out of sync with the times. Nevertheless they are correct, IMHO. I do not think the Feds will stop paying for children having children. The more this happens the more people there will be in this country who will have to depend upon Uncle Sam for their welfare. No need to send Gen. Sherman on a march to take control of our southern cities, the Feds will control these people though their dependency on government support. Written by Your most humble and obedient servant, S.A.
on 3/12/2008
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Who cares what Jindal said or did not say? Just wait for more info.
Gov. of NY did not just visit a lady of ill repute. He committed a crime by transferring small amounts of $ to hide the thousands he spent from IRS and across state lines. Feds have it on wiretap and text messages. He had busted other rings so he need how to do the $$(maybe as much as $80,000) from IRS and FEDs Written by Ben
on 3/11/2008
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Steve great story but the difference between new york and louisiana is that new york's federal prosecutor does his job and so does the f.b.i. But here in louisiana jim letten participated with diaper dave in his escapades, probably the one who put the diaper on him. Jim letten is the most incompetent political whore we have in the federal judicial system here.And he represent all the filty sleeze ruling class like the phelps, and the amoss's, and the trash in louisiana that accept this kind of behavior.You david vitter supporters face the fact the guy is a filty disease carrying piece of trash. And that is what yall want representing you people in the nations capitol. Says a lot about how ignorant are those who still back this guy.So gov, hadji need to be a man and a real ethics reformer and tell this scab of a u. s . senator to hit the road.Cause there is a good chance he will be back in the news next month when the d.c. madame trial starts. Written by anthony
on 3/11/2008
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Well, dears, we are back this afternoon. Frankly in our opinion the Feds have legalized prostitution over the years by paying for the well being of illegitimate children (the results of the immorality of many over the years). It is time to start looking at helping those children in more effective ways. It is time to start educating them in self-respect. Old Josie Arlington was snubbed by her clients and they crossed the streets with their wives to avoid speaking to her. Some say she still haunts this city. Generations later we still face the problem - but wait prostitution refers to buying sex. Heck the little prostitutes give it away. Their parents have failed and society must step in. Stop the payments to the legal prostitutes - the feds should get out of the business. In addition, the feds need to show the status of our political leaders. The monies saved could be more effectively used in education of your men and women in self-respect rather than letting them learn to be parents while still children themselves. An old theory but a true one. GET WITH - EMBARASS THE LOSERS WHO SEEK TO USE WOMEN. PUT THEM ON A SEX OFFENDER LIST. NOW WOULD THAT NOT BE SOMETHING? Written by RhettsWife
on 3/11/2008
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Randal, you're right that our politicians should be held to "standards of basic decency" - unfortunately this type of behavior is only seen as wrong by many when it is committed by members of the opposition party. It is the wives and children of these men who I feel sorry for, at least Bob Livingston spared his family some humiliation. Written by kpf
on 3/11/2008
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Randall do you mean those like Bill Clinton? You seem to be forgetting that Vitter has not been accused or charged with a crime. Now I am not naive enough to think that he did not do something but like I said before sleeping with a hooker is one thing. Money laundering and human trafficking another. I did not see this outrage when Bill Clinton was actually caught in the oval office. Or was that because he did not pay for it? Written by Audra
on 3/11/2008
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It is apparent that the state of New York has standards that are miles ahead of those of Louisiana. Gov. Spitzer will be forced to do the correct thing and resign or face impeachment by the state legislature. The same standards of basic decency, values, morality, character and obeying the law as opposed to breaking the law are lacking lacking in the United States Senate and in state officials relative to the Vitter whoremongering. It is shameful and pathetic when we hold one of the 100 most powerful people in our govenment to a lower standard than we would hold a local janitor to. New York stepped up to the plate and showed that they stand for something--Louisiana has yet to do the same. Those of Vitter's dishonorable ilk are disgusting and repugnant! Written by Randall
on 3/11/2008
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Rhett's wife's comment is right on, with one caveat in which Louisiana ethics place us in a different orbit. To paraphase a qoute from our old esteemed Governor Edwin W. Edwards -- "Such behavior is not a problem (for me) unless I was found in bed with a dead girl or a live boy." Hence we know why Larry Craig has been vilified and David Vitter is still held in high regard. The only question remains is whether Vitter's wife Wendy made good on her threat regarding if her husband ever had an extramarital affair, she would do what Lorrania Bobbit did ;) Written by friend of EWE
on 3/11/2008
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I do believe we need to be consistant. However, if you look at the facts surrounding Spitzer the ironic thing about this case is that his bank set things in motion when they noticed the governor moving large amounts of cash to accounts that were apparently shell companies. They reported the transactions to the IRS.
Yes cheating on your wife is a private matter between you and your wife. Money laundering is a public matter.
Also he paid for the prostitute's plane ticket. Transporting someone across state lines for prostitution is a violation of the Mann act and as a former Attorney General Spitzer knew this.
It's one thing to cheat on your wife with a prostitute but money laundering and human trafficking are totally different. Neither of which Vitter is linked to. Written by Audra
on 3/11/2008
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Stephen, dear, Pi should answer. However, we reiterate our original views expressed in a previous item. The feds should release the names of all that are involved and not just a few. In fact, we also request the names in the Canal Street Madame's little black book. Let's see the Republicans and Democrats who may be involved. Let the blood spill, let it spill. Need we remind the Democrats of the actions of even Presidents past that have been involved with women other than there wives. If the Republicans are talking about morals and family values, then let it all hang out in both parties. Frankly, dear, the public has a right to know even facts of this kind for they speak to the type of individual they are electing and doing business with. The lack of morals in this nation is deplorable and it crosses all lines, even political ones.
Written by RhettsWife
on 3/11/2008
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Sometimes, it’s hard to be a “rising star”.
