Is Governor Bobby Jindal (R-LA) really going to turn down the roughly $3.8 billion in stimulus funds slated for Louisiana, as he’s threatening? Of course not. Louisiana is a poor state with growing unemployment. It is experiencing a budget shortfall. If Jindal turns down the money and the economies in the other 49 states creep upward over the next 12-18 months, Jindal will have committed career suicide.
So what’s with his posturing? I would posit that he’s simply a crafty and ambitious politician. Jindal is building an reputation as the most conservative member of the GOP’s presidential wannabe crowd, which squabbles over who is the most right-wing every time it hits the Iowa campaign circuit. Talking tough about the stimulus nets him press now; quietly taking the money a few weeks from now will almost certainly go unnoticed.
