Weeks ago, I urged the people to force Governor Jindal to veto the pay raise passed by the legislators. I have always felt many are deserving of a pay raise but the process was flawed.  I found the entire experience exhilarating and draining as virtually thousands of people were mobilizing to voice their complaint at the state’s capitol.

This week, Governor Jindal had his say.  He vetoed a record number of funding legislation in HB1 and had previously vetoed millions in a supplemental spending act.    While doing so, he essentially announced as proud as a peacock that he was the “Veto Governor”.

There is nothing wrong with watching the taxpayer’s money and Governor Jindal should be praised for doing so.  How much of his actions were for local consumption or for national vice president hopes, we will never know, but there is plenty reason to suspect.  One reader yesterday did note that Rush Limbaugh had Jindal’s VP praise on his web site but that was taken down when a posting by a Bayoubuzz reader went up on Limbaugh’s site showing that some did not approve of the way that he was handling state government on his maiden voyage.

Jindal has not denounced his aspirations for Vice President and I strongly believe that his eyes are on and have been on the national plum position.  As a result, I have very little doubt he has been playing to the national audience with his various national appearances and contacts.

Louisiana deserves so much more.

We deserve a veto override session, not a Governor who promised us he wanted to be our leader who then turns around at the first opportunity to seek greener pastures.

This regular session is Evidence Item Number One.

Some legislators have never even met Governor Jindal.  Some complain he was never at the legislative floor and they never saw him.  While he set out a criteria that would limit government spending on Non-Government Organizations, that criteria was ill-defined.  He never spent time going over the details, answering questions about the criteria as a true administrator would and should do.

Of the 258 bills that were vetoed on Monday, we do not know whether any or which of those vetoes were justified.  Had he spent more time on dealing with the legislature on the criteria, we would have had fewer vetoes, possibly less requests for money and absolutely less anger by the legislators and by some of the voters.

We need a full-time Governor, not one who is putting his own national personal life ahead of the people of Louisiana.

Our state is a very poor one hit very hard by Katrina and Rita.  Good jobs are very scarce which is why many of our young kids still feel hopeless.  By the Jindal vetoes, much of the safety net has been taken away for our citizens.

This does not mean that Louisiana should depend upon Government.  But, many families are rubbing their pennies together to try to make ends meet.  Divorces are at a record high which means that something very dramatically wrong is going on in America and yes, here in Louisiana.

There is little money to support many of the fine organizations that help the needy so many of them will fold.  People are just beginning to recover from Katrina and Rita and although the Governor has put into place streamlined government, the results have not yet trickled down to the citizens.

There should be a full vetting on these vetoes since there was not one during the legislative process.  Governor Jindal might have very good reasons for line-iteming these projects and so he should explain in full detail his reasons for those nays.  Obviously, not ever bill will be raised for override and there might be a select few that would be brought up for discussion.  Many legislators did not receive phone calls from the Administration so they had no chance to discuss the merits of the funding requests with the Governor.   On one bill which calls for transparency in Government (including the Governor’s office), the Governor is telling us Rep. Neil Abramson conceded that the language was flawed which Abramson denies.  There is still no reason that the legislation should not be law immediately so we can see who got jobs and gave contributions to the Governor and to other elected officials based upon those contributions.

This override process is not to embarrass Governor Jindal who I hope remains our leader although I wish he would denounce any desire to be vice president which aspirations have absolutely caused suspicion and anger among the masses and the legislature.  By the way, other politicians have denounced their interest in being vice president although they have not been asked, so it would not be presumptuous to do so when national media are urging Jindal’s selection. 

This override process would be to let full sunshine into the Capitol. 

Louisiana has a right to know which bills are worthy and which are not.

Vetoing in the closet of darkness is the absolute opposite way for Louisiana to proceed.

We received this treatment on the campaign trail from Bobby Jindal when he became the stealth candidate.  It is time for him to stop being the stealth governor and for him and his administration to justify in hearings his reasons that poor and helpless Louisiana families would be better off by his veto pen.

So, let the veto override actions begin.  Hopefully, Louisiana and Bobby Jindal will learn plenty from the process.  Hopefully, the administration will become approachable and true democracy will ring.  We do not live in an autocracy.  Governor Jindal wants reform and so do all of us.  But, we want a Governor who takes his job seriously, will work with the legislature and above all else, the people. 

Bobby Jindal is a good man.  However, his record these few weeks has been pathetic.  He will not be vice president material until we know he can run the state which voted for him for Governor.