Today, Louisiana governor and chairman of the Republican Governors Association, Bobby Jindal, expressed frustration with the government shutdown and the lack of leadership in Washington while speaking with ABC’s Chief White House Correspondent, Jonathan Karl, and ABC News Political Director, Rick Klein, on Politics Confidential.
“Like every other American, we’re all frustrated with what’s going on in D.C.,” says the potential 2016 presidential contender. “You’ve got a House that’s only passed five appropriations bills, a Senate that hasn’t passed any. You’ve got a Senate that does one budget bill approximately every five years. That’s not leadership.”
But Jindal is not stopping the buck at the Hill for absent leadership, “We don’t see leadership out of the White House. … He [Obama] has time to golf, he has time to negotiate with the Iranians, doesn’t have time to negotiate and talk to the Congressional leadership, doesn’t have time to find common ground. That’s what real leaders do.”
When Karl directed a question about Republican Party stalling tactics to reopen the government, requiring changes to Obama’s health care law, Jindal responded, “I’m not interested in Republican fratricide… I’m not interested in getting into micromanaging their tactics.”
Jindal chose rather to promote state vs. federal actions, saying that while Washington is about a lot of talk, “the real action is at the state level… in state capitals, we’re actually getting things done.”
Check out these stories from the #Americancomeback project about the positive things happening in the states. http://t.co/ERQPbWbMPU
— Gov. Bobby Jindal (@BobbyJindal) October 3, 2013
The RGA chose last Thursday to preview a major ad campaign promoting governors’ work in their home states. The campaign called American Comeback highlights interviews with Republican governors, especially those seeking reelection next year, and the theme of the early interviews seems to be consistently pointing a finger at Washington for preventing the states from making progress. The first round interviews include Jindal, John Kasich (Ohio), Susana Martinez (New Mexico), Nikki Haley (South Carolina) and Scott Walker (Wisconsin).
With regards to a possible 2016 run, Jindal did promote the idea for the next Republican nominee to be a governor. “It’s too important of a job… I think chief executives make better presidents, and I think governors have been tested and proven,” Jindal said, referencing a criticism of the president, that he lacked the experience running a state, a company, etc. before his taking office.
Jindal says he does not know about his own plans for an upcoming presidential bid. He passed off questions by saying it was too early and referencing other elections coming in the interim.
[Image via Bobby Jindal official Twitter.]