[StBernard] Boasso Response to Jindal's Negative Ad Campaign

[Westley Annis]

August 20, 2007

Baton Rouge: In an attempt to shift away from his campaign's own blatant
hypocrisy and history of opposing ethics reform in Washington DC,
gubernatorial Bobby Jindal fell into desperation and negativity mode today
with the first attack ad of the campaign season. 

Whatever, Bobby.

The list of Bobby's corrupt DC benefactors and beneficiaries rattle off like
a greatest hits compilation of A-list corruption. Tom Delay, Jerry Lewis,
Don "The Choker" Sherwood, Jack Abramoff lobbyist Tom Rudy and Roy Blunt. 

Combined these individuals face investigations, trials and jail time for
everything from money laundering and swapping pork projects for campaign
cash to the attempted strangling of an extra-marital girlfriend.

And yet, in order to shield and protect these corrupt politicians, Jindal
voted against creating a Bi-Partisan Ethics Task Force, voted in favor of
easing the way for the dismissal of ethics complaints and even voted against
closing the revolving door between the government and lobbying sectors-a
major plank of Jindal's Louisiana ethics reform plan. (See votes below) 

In return, this line-up of DC's Most Wanted dumped more than $40,000 in
campaign cash into Jindal's bank account.

State Senator Walter Boasso, (D-Arabi), Democratic candidate for Governor,
who spent the most recent legislative session championing the "glass
pockets" legislation that would have required state lawmakers to disclose
their sources of personal income, called Jindal's ethics plan and negative
ads, "cheap political theater designed to distract voters from his appalling
record on the issue of ethics." 

"The bottom line is that Bobby Jindal has two sets of ethical rules. Those
he talks about and those he actually lives by," Boasso said. "He takes money
from and votes to protect some of the most corrupt politicians in Washington
DC history and then he comes down to Louisiana and tries to convince voters
that he is some ethical champion. 

"This is nothing more than a lame attempt to distract voters from this
truth," Boasso said. "That truth being that Mr. Jindal takes money from
unethical politicians and votes to protect unethical politicians. In my
book, that makes him an unethical politician." 

###

Jindal Voted Against Creating a Bipartisan Ethics Task Force. In 2005,
Jindal voted against establishing a panel that would have equal
representation of Republicans and Democrats to make recommendations to
restore public confidence in the House ethics process. The measure was
defeated.   [HRS 213, Vote 106, 4/14/05]

Jindal Opposed Closing The Lucrative "Revolving Door" Between Lobbying &
Lawmaking. In 2005, Jindal voted against a measure to prohibit Members of
the House from negotiating lucrative job deals that capitalize on their
committee membership. Politicians or federal employees frequently leave
office for the insider game of lobbying and advising private interests on
how to do business with the federal government. Special interests and the
lobbyists they employ spent more than $13 billion lobbying Congress from
1998 to 2003. More than 250 ex-members of Congress now lobby Congress.
Recently, former Rep. Billy Tauzin (R-LA) became PhRMA' top lobbyist after
he helped draft a Medicare prescription drug bill as chairman of the Energy
and Commerce panel. The measure was rejected, 196-219. [HRS 5, Vote 5,
1/4/05; Gannett, Op-Ed, 4/20/05; Baltimore Sun, 1/4/05] 

Jindal Voted to Dismiss Ethics Complaints.  In 2005, Jindal voted for a rule
(H Res 241) under which the House would automatically adopt a resolution
repealing three changes to the Rules of the House dealing with ethics
committee procedures that were made at the start of the 109th Congress,
including a rule that allowed the automatic dismissal of an ethics complaint
that is not disposed of by the committee within 45 days. [HR 240, vote 145,
4/27/05; CQ Floor Votes]