Ringside Politics With A Punch

Relations between Governor Bobby Jindal and legislators were bad enough after he vetoed their legislative pay raise, but now it is even worse. This week, Jindal used his line item veto to remove 258 items from the budget, which is more than the total number of budget vetoes for Governors Foster and Blanco combined. These vetoes eliminated funding for many causes important to legislators. Not surprisingly, the response from many legislators was swift and strong condemnation. The toughest criticism came from State Senator Yvonne Dorsey (D-Baton Rouge) who called the Governor “asinine,” and said he was engaged in “political grandstanding.” Dorsey claimed that Jindal is trying to pander to leaders in the national Republican Party by fostering his credentials as a conservative who is tough on spending. According to Dorsey, Jindal is “feeding his ridiculous Presidential ambitions.” Respected national political analysts like Bob Novak continue to place Jindal in the top list of vice presidential hopefuls for presumptive GOP presidential nominee Senator John McCain. In recent months, Jindal has been a frequent guest on national cable programs such as The Factor with Bill O’Reilly.

Dorsey and many of her colleagues believe that Jindal cut worthy programs and the Legislature should convene in a special session to override these vetoes. Such an override session has never occurred in Louisiana history. While it will only take a majority of legislators supporting such a session, it will take a two-thirds vote to override any specific veto. Along with the spending measures, Jindal vetoed 23 bills while allowing over a hundred bills to become law without his signature. If it occurs, the session will take place between the dates of August 2-6, 2008.