Jindal Attacks Obama's Healthcare, Stimulus

[Herb Schaffler]

Jindal Attacks Obama's Healthcare, Stimulus


Monday, July 20, 2009 9:40 PM



BATON ROUGE, La. -- Republican Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal sharply criticized Democrats' health care plans Monday, thrusting himself back into the national spotlight for the first time since his awkward rebuttal of President Barack Obama's policies in February.

In an editorial posted on the Web site Politico, Jindal, a former state and federal health official, complained about federal government spending and opposed the House Democrats' proposed health care overhaul. He says the Democrats' plan is likely to drive up unemployment and federal debt and will force most Americans into a government-run health program.

"Our federal government is currently just flinging stuff against the wall, in trillion-dollar chunks, to see what sticks," Jindal wrote, criticizing business bailouts and the federal stimulus package — and omitting his use of $1 billion in stimulus money in Louisiana's budget.

Jindal also scheduled two days of appearances on national TV news shows to talk about health care, said his spokeswoman Melissa Sellers.

The 38-year-old Jindal, considered a possible future GOP presidential contender, had been largely missing from national appearances and commentary the past few months after he was panned for his nationally televised rebuttal to Obama's address to Congress. Speculation on his future cooled after his speech was criticized by detractors as awkward and deficient.

Sellers, however, tied the governor's quieter national profile to the Louisiana Legislature's regular session, which ran from April through June. She said Jindal had repeated interview requests from national TV shows, but waited until the session was over before accepting.

By picking health care, Jindal has focused on a policy area in which he is closely familiar. He once worked as Louisiana's health secretary and later as an assistant secretary in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under former President George W. Bush.

Obama has made a health care overhaul a centerpiece of his legislative agenda, saying the current system is too costly and leaves too many people uninsured.




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