Bobby Jindal
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Piyush "Bobby" Jindal (born June 10, 1971 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana) is a Louisiana politician. Jindal was elected as a Republican to the United States House of Representatives on November 2, 2004, from Louisiana's First Congressional District (map (http://nationalatlas.gov/printable/images/preview/congdist/la01_109.gif)), based in the suburbs of New Orleans.
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Biography
Jindal, born in Baton Rouge to Indian immigrants, was a Hindu but converted to Catholicism while in high school. He graduated from Brown University with honors in biology and public policy. Afterwards, he received a master's degree in politics from Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar. He is the only Indian-American currently serving in Congress, and is only the second in Congressional history after Dalip Singh Saund, who served California's 29th District as a Democrat between 1957 and 1963.
His previous public service includes time as the Louisiana Secretary of Department of Health & Hospitals, Executive Director of the National Bipartisan Commission on the Future of Medicare, and Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. He was also the youngest ever president of the University of Louisiana System.
He was chosen by Scholastic Update magazine as "one of America's top 10 extraordinary young people for the next millennium."
In the Spring of 2004, fellow Louisianan, Christopher Mora, a Navy veteran and graduate student at Harvard University, proposed and coordinated an invitation for Jindal to serve as one of the Visiting Fellows for the Harvard Kennedy School of Government Institute of Politics. Jindal's presentations, focused on health care public policy and welfare reform, were both popular and highly attended.
2003 race for Governor
In the 2003 open primary for Governor of Louisiana Jindal came in first place with 33% of the vote. In the runoff election he faced then-Lt. Governor Kathleen Blanco in 2003, a conservative Democrat. Blanco won with 52% of the vote to Jindal's 48%. Some political analysts believe that his loss was partly due to the fact that white conservatives from northern Louisiana did not vote for Jindal because he is not white. Other political analysts believe that Jindal lost because of his refusal to answer questions about his record and policies he enacted during his public service. Still others note that a significant number of Louisiana conservatives remain more comfortable voting for a conservative Democrat than for a Republican.
Despite losing the election, the run for Governor made Jindal a well known figure on the state's political scene.
House victory
A few weeks after the gubernatorial runoff, Jindal decided to run for the 1st District. The incumbent, David Vitter, was running for the Senate seat being vacated by John Breaux. Jindal had lived in Baton Rouge for many years, but moved to Kenner to run for the congressional seat. He became the "official" Republican candidate in Louisiana's open primary for the district. As the 1st District is considered the most Republican district in Louisiana, this gave Jindal a substantial advantage. He won handily in November with 78% of the vote.
Controversial policy positions
Bobby Jindal supports a policy of "no abortions, no exceptions". This is a policy he has stated several times publically, including on Jeff Crouere’s former mid-day radio show in New Orleans. He does not consider procedures that only target the woman and not the embryo, like a salpingectomy, to be abortions (in contrast to the medical community, which considers any procedure that terminates a pregnancy an abortion). However, if a procedure would save a woman's life and would require the embryo to be targeted, it would be considered an abortion and he would oppose it. This position would also force a woman who was raped to carry the pregnancy to term.
One report on his stance on abortion can be seen here here (http://capitolwatch.reallouisiana.com/html/BC4983D2-AC99-421E-83DC-00FD0707A94D.shtml) where it states "Blanco and Jindal both oppose abortion, but Blanco supports the exception for rape, incest and to save the life of the woman. Jindal opposes the exceptions but said if a procedure to save the life of the woman is performed that results in an abortion, that's OK.". This paints Jindal's policy in a clear light. An abortion should be illegal. However, if a medical procedure that is not intended to be an abortion happens to cause an abortion, then he is "ok" with it.
Jindal is directly quoted on his stance on abortion here (http://www.siecus.org/policy/PUpdates/arch03/arch030075.html), where it states "On abortion, Jindal told the paper, 'I am 100 percent anti-abortion with no exceptions. I believe all life is precious.' "
The Gambit Weekly sites his stance as "he is anti-abortion -- with no exceptions" (http://www.bestofneworleans.com/dispatch/2003-11-04/commentary.html). Jindal is a Roman Catholic and this view point is consistent with the Roman Catholic church's position on abortion.
Jindal supported the "Stelly Tax plan", an idea that was supposed to reduce the tax burden on a majority of Louisiana taxpayers. Whether or not the "Stelly Plan" is giving the desired results is still hotly debated statewide. Early Republican challenger Steve Scalise challenged Jindal on his support of this tax plan before he dropped out of the Congressional race.
Jindal also supports co-payments in Medicaid.
External Links
- Campaign site (http://www.bobbyjindal.com/)
- Official House site (http://www.house.gov/jindal/)
- Little India Article about Jindal. (http://www.littleindia.com/december2004/JindalGoestoWashington.htm)
- Bobby Jindal's Voting Record. (http://www.vote-smart.org/voting_category.php?can_id=MLA55695)
| Louisiana Congressional Delegation serving in the 109th United States Congress. |
| Senators | Mary Landrieu (D), David Vitter (R) |
| Representatives | Bobby Jindal (R), William J. Jefferson (D), Charles Melancon (D), Jim McCrery (R), Rodney Alexander (R), Richard H. Baker (R), Charles Boustany (R) |
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Congressional Delegations by State | |
Categories: NPOV disputes | 1971 births | Louisiana politicians | Members of the U.S. House of Representatives | Indian Americans
