“The widespread expectation
among conservative thought leaders is that the Louisiana governor will be the
2016 cycle’s Tim Pawlenty, a nice guy who would make a great cabinet secretary
for the next Republican president. He pulled 3 percent in the straw poll, tied
with Palin.
It was a sign of how much
Jindal has been overshadowed by Paul and Rubio that throngs of attendees
streamed out of the room after Romney spoke and before he took the stage an
hour later. Romney himself notably omitted Jindal, who endorsed Rick Perry in
the primaries, from a list of nine Republican governors that the party can
learn from.
Jindal positioned himself
as the GOP’s truth teller in the wake of the election, criticizing Romney and
saying Republicans must “stop being the stupid party.” Many noticed that he
dropped that admonition in his CPAC address.
Otherwise, he delivered an
almost identical speech to the one he gave this January in Charlotte at the
Republican National Committee winter meeting and, later, at a National Review
conference in D.C. The governor’s advisers say that the message – embracing
growth over austerity – is an important one that bears repeating.
Jindal also recycled the
same jokes he delivered at last weekend’s Gridiron Dinner in Washington.
“I see Eric Holder is with
us,” he said at one point, setting up a jest at the attorney general.
Holder, obviously, was not
at CPAC.”
Can you say “Ouch”? I think that hurt more than the Governor’s Sunday auto accident.
You can view Politico's full report here.
