Wednesday, May 07, 2008
Stonewalling
Jeremy Alford's
article on the Jindal administration is a must-read. Don't miss the "Jindal's Media Playbook" compilation at the end. Here are some choice nuggets:
The unmistakable irony of [Gov. Bobby] Jindal’s stances [on government transparency] is not lost on some of his stakeholders. It’s a bitter pill for them to swallow, as Jindal was the mastermind behind forcing lawmakers to disclose more of their income and the chief cheerleader for everything else ethics-related in Louisiana... Many legislators see a hypocrisy underscored by the Citizen Access Project at the University of Florida, which ranks Louisiana as dead last when it comes to access to the governor’s office.
“[Jindal's Press Secretary Melissa Sellers] telling us a lie isn’t right. I hope that never happens again.”
...
Sellers has become Public Enemy No. 1 to many reporters at media outlets big and small... That comes as no surprise to Mark Ballard, Capitol bureau chief for The Advocate. “[Jindal] has surrounded himself with people who play hardball and can be punitive,” Ballard says. It’s created a good cop/bad cop situation that allows Jindal to essentially ignore the Louisiana press corps.
Lawmakers and reporters have also experienced difficult stints with Timmy Teepell, Jindal’s brain trust and chief of staff. During the February special session on ethics reform, Teepell was busted handing out free tickets to elected officials for a Hannah Montana concert. By ducking into doorways and avoiding phone calls, Teepell ignored media requests on why he gave out the freebees when the administration was simultaneously pushing a bill that would ban lawmakers from accepting such perks.
...
For now, Jindal is enjoying his status as “America’s Ethics Governor,”... But back home, there are serious questions about how Jindal’s far-reaching ethics package can be enforced. In particular, The Advocate’s [Mark] Ballard broke a story on how the governor’s heightened standard for assessing violations could neuter any serious attempt at true ethics reform.
---
Last year
I tried to get an explanation from Rep. Jindal's office for the reasoning behind his vote on an Iraq resolution. I was told by a Jindal staffer that I'd get a letter addressing my question. It
never arrived.---
h/t to
forgotston
Labels: Jindal
6 Comments:
The second rule of press flacking is Never Let Them Catch You In A Lie. (The first is a little more complicated but I used to sumarize as I Am Invisible. Unless you are the White House Press Secretary the only time your behind a podium is to check the mike and notes, or in front of a camera to hold up a handkerschief for a white balance test).
And here is why the entire Louisiana political press corps should be perpetually beaten across its collective face with $50.00 Tacos. They fall for this Dragonslaying shit every time.
Remember, Alford wrote the stupid "Geek Appeal" profile of Jindal which appeared on Clancy Dubos's Gambit during the election. And now we get to read both Clancy and Alford assume this "nobody could have predicted the hypocrisy" stance? Unbelievable.
Here are some interesting passages from Alford's "Geek Appeal" article:
Operatives from the Louisiana Democratic Party stayed in the shadows during the press conference, but roamed among the reporters at its conclusion and handed out "Bobby Jindal's Real Record on Ethics and Corruption." The one-page handout detailed five votes in which Jindal's position could be interpreted as hypocritical. There are two votes in particular where he supported killing ethics investigations related to convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff. The Jindal campaign immediately fired off a response, arguing the votes were "ill-disguised partisan maneuvers" by the Democratic leadership that separated liberals from conservatives. Most of the bills also contained riders that changed the impact of the legislation, his campaign insists.
Notice how the counterpoint to Jindal-the-Dragonslayer originates from "operatives" "roaming in the shadows"
Plus the whole tone of the article and Gambit's subsequent endorsement of Jindal indicates the editorial opinion of these "shadowy" accusations.
And then there's this:
Dodging public debates also has sparked criticism of Jindal, and his various no-shows are an extension of just how scripted and guarded the campaign has become. Sellers says that Jindal is just "busy bringing his message of a fresh start to the state" and declined further comment.
Again... "Nobody could have predicted..."
Too true. I agree, agree, agree, Jeffrey. However, I will admit to being surprised that Alford, the Advocate, and others turned on Jindal so quickly.
Well he is kind of hitting them where it hurts..
"nobody could have predicted the hypocrisy"
I just want to laugh in the face of each person in the media who finally catches on to the hypocrisy of Bobby Jindal. Many of us predicted the hypocrisy because we saw examples of it for a long time now.
As for the surprise about some people in the media turning so quickly, here is a conspiracy theory for ya.
Perhaps some people in the media actually knew Jindal was a fraud and figured that if they just went along until he got elected, they could then reveal the man behind the curtain.. making them look like heroes.
Unfortunately for us, their promoting of Jindal (regardless of their intent) created the dragon that he claimed he would fight.
