Jindal: Nation’s leaders don’t have the courage to tell the truth

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Gov. Bobby Jindal (R-La.) said on Sunday that the nation’s leaders don’t “have the courage to speak the truth to us.”

{mosads}Jindal, speaking on ABC’s “This Week,” cited a speech he gave last week in London on threats of radical Islamic terrorism that drew criticism.

“I know it made a lot of people upset, but we need leaders to tell us the truth,” he said. “For example, people coming to our country need to integrate, need to assimilate. So I think people are looking for leaders that are willing to take on the big challenges.

“One of the biggest challenges facing us, I think, is the current administration’s attempt to redefine the American dream. My parents came to this country over 40 years ago in search of freedom and opportunity. The American dream is not about redistribution or government spending or debt, it’s about freedom and opportunity. I think the voters want us to restore the American dream for our children and grandchildren,” he added.

Jindal, who once called the GOP the “stupid” party, said “we’ve gotten better.”

“We have to be a party of solutions. Not only repeal, but also replace Obamacare. We need to offer detailed plans for energy independence, manufacturing renaissance, school choice — where the dollars follow the child, a stronger foreign policy where our friends trust us, our enemies respect and fear us, where we invest in our military.

“We need to be a party of solutions. We need to be a party consistent with our conservative principals. We don’t need to be a second liberal party, but we need to be more than just the party of no.

“I think we’re making progress, we’ve still got some more work to do, especially in Washington, D.C,” he said.

Jindal, who’s mulling a White House run, also said he doesn’t change his views based on the polls.

“I am proud that in Louisiana, we define marriage as between a man and a woman. If the Supreme Court were to throw out our law, our constitutional amendment — I hope they wouldn’t do that — if they were to do that, I certainly will support Ted Cruz and others that are talking about making an amendment in the Congress and D.C., a constitutional amendment to allow states to continue to define marriage.

“I think it should be between a man and a woman,” he said.

Jindal skipped Iowa Freedom Summit on Saturday, the unofficial start of the race for the Republican presidential nomination, to headline a prayer rally in Baton Rouge.

“We can’t just elect a candidate and fix what ails our country,” Jindal said at that rally. “We can’t just pass a law and fix what ails our country. We need a spiritual revival to fix what ails our country.

“It is like God has given us the book of life. He doesn’t let us see the pages for today and tomorrow, he doesn’t promise us everything will go the way you want, but he does let you see the last page in the book of life. And on the last page, our God wins,” he added.

Jindal defended those comments on Sunday, saying it’s a “time-honored tradition” for the nation’s leaders to turn to God for guidance.

“George Washington did it. Abraham Lincoln did it. Harry Truman did it. So absolutely I think this idea of praying to god for wisdom and guidance is as old as our country,” he said.

“Secondly, look, I think we are a diverse country. Obviously, a majority of our people are Christians, but we don’t discriminate against anybody, that’s one of the great things about America we believe in religious liberty,” he added.

“Yesterday was an amazing, amazing event. Thousands of people came together to worship and pray across racial lines, across political lines. I thought it was a great, great event. I hope you’ll see more of these across the country.”