The numbers on the voucher thing are out of date - neither one of those schools was able to enroll that many, though they did enroll some and they are getting public money.

I know Jindal is already campaigning for 2016, but I don't think he will be their nominee. With the way he has screwed up this state (and in particular, alienated the state's media--he won't speak to them), he wouldn't even win Louisiana.

In the last gubernatorial election, when he was running essentially unopposed (his best-funded opponent had a campaign budget of a whopping $50k), he got just over 60% of the vote statewide, and barely got over 50% in his home parish.

He also vetoed a law that was passed that just continued a small tax on cigarettes, the proceeds of which helped fund healthcare in the state, and then proceeded to dismantle the state-run health system, including firing it's very well qualified director when he dared disagree with Lord Bobby.

He's just more of the same, no matter how good a game he talks.

Talk, it's ooonly talk
Babble, burble, banter
Bicker bicker bicker
Brouhaha, balderdash, ballyhoo
It's only talk
Backtalk

Elephant Talk.

Jindal explicitly rules out any actual change in policy. He's arguing for being more clever in deceiving moderates who are scared away by the ferocity of the right.

Excellent post. The last paragraph is perfect.

Bobby Jindal.

Governor of Louisiana.

Wants to talk like grownups.

Good luck with that, Bobby.

It's funny that he thinks that he can turn the ship around at this point. The Rs spent literally an entire generation creating this mess for themselves - they're not going to get out of it at this point by trying to appeal to the "smart conservative" electorate they've been bent on exterminating.

@3
Chatter. Chit-chat. Chit-chat. Chit-chat. Conversation. Contradiction. Criticism.

It's all just talk.

Now, cue the outrage among the conservative echo-chamber. W/in two days, we'll see Jindal effigies hung on trees, right next to Obama.

Is there one of those complex German words for "irony so profound that it rips space-time?"

If it wasn't for stupid people there would be no Republican Party at all.

"Cause and effect" is not a biblical principal.

Well my call (in SLOG) was that whichever party lost the election would split apart. We're definitely seeing some fractious tea party noise.

Thank you, Paul, for calling out Jindal on education.

Louisiana is the POSTER CHILD for all that is wrong with so-called ed reform. Vouchers for all and there are school teaching that dinosaurs existed at the same time as people. New Orleans is virtually an all-charter district (and with the predictable outcomes and fraud).

Yes, he wants them dumb and malleable (as though no one can see what he is doing to the children of his state - at least those in public schools).

Super. Lets take an example from Louisiana, where they seriously proposed to allow charter schools do reject gay students. Louisiana has one of the most fucked up education systems in the entire country.

Jindal is an ass.

Reading about that "school" turns my stomach. How about we call them madrasas instead? It sounds like they're closer to madrasas that than what we'd typically call a school, and the conservatives would hate that.

That's kind of like telling you new puppy not to shit on the floor.

@12 - No joke. The Republicans have been so disciplined about uniting on a simple message ever since The Contract with America in the 90s. Now they are all over the map.

Fox News viewers must be beside themselves. "Why is everything so darn... complicated!"

These schools that take the voucher students are also exempted from the state tests. So until they graduate, no one will know just how dumb they are. (Unless they use Twitter prolifically, so everyone can see how poorly they spell and how racist they are.)