Jindal blasts ‘Democrat-lite’ GOP leadership as he eyes 2016

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal condemned the “Democrat-lite” Republicans he says are running Congress and declared that the next Republican presidential candidate must come from outside Washington.

In a speech to the conservative American Principles Project in Washington on Thursday, the possible 2016 GOP hopeful said Republicans in Congress campaigned on fully repealing ObamaCare but have backed off now that they’re the governing majority.

{mosads}“Do what you promised you would do when you asked us to vote for you,” Jindal said in a speech at the Mayflower Hotel. “Don’t become this cheaper Democrat. We don’t need Democrat-lite. If the whole point of this last election was to get Boehner and McConnell nicer offices, let’s give them back.”

In a press conference with reporters after the speech, Jindal said he’s “taking a serious look” at running for president.

However, he dodged when asked by The Hill if he was meeting with donors and hiring top-level political operatives to staff a campaign.

“I know that folks like to focus on polls and fundraising and political consultants. I think it’s more important to know what you propose for the country,” he said. “What’s your direction; what’s your vision; where do you think we need to go? This is an important election — it won’t be based on personalities or celebrity status or last names or who has the most money in their bank account.”

Jindal is buried in the polls right now. The most recent Fox News survey showed him take only 2 percent support and trailing nine other potential candidates. Still, Jindal allies have launched a new PAC that could help him raise money, as he tests presidential waters and is staffed by those who would likely join his campaign, should he run.

There are a handful of Republican senators considering presidential bids, including Sens. Rand Paul (Ky.), Marco Rubio (Fla.) and Ted Cruz (Texas), but Jindal on Thursday argued that the next GOP standard-bearer should come from outside Washington.

“We need somebody outside of D.C., someone bold and willing to make big changes,” Jindal said. “I’m biased towards governors. They’ve got executive branch experience. I think we’ve seen what happens with on-the-job training like our current president; let’s go with someone who has actually balanced a budget and run a state government.”

The focus of Jindal’s Washington trip are the Common Core educational standards, which he attacked in his speech as government overreach that will leave bureaucrats in Washington determining school curriculum at the state and local levels.

“Imagine if you have an elite in D.C. making curriculum decisions of our local classrooms,” Jindal said. “What happens when we stop teaching American exceptionalism to our students?”

Jindal is suing the Obama administration over Common Core, claiming that the Education Department is forcing states to adopt the academic standards.

The Louisiana governor once supported the standards and tests, which are developed at the state level. But like many Republicans, Jindal believes it has been hijacked by the federal government and is now being forced on the states.

Common Core has become toxic in conservative circles.

At the American Principles Project event on Thursday, Emmett McGroarty, the president of the conservative group called it “one of the most potent political issues” of 2016 and warned that if the GOP nominates a candidate that supports Common Core, they’ll likely be going up against Hillary Clinton, “who has no Common Core baggage.”

This week, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, who has risen to the top of the polls of Republican presidential candidates, unveiled a budget that seeks to toss out the Common Core education standards that the state is preparing to enact in the spring.

The standards have been an early flashpoint in the fight for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination. Nearly the entirety of the huge field of GOP contenders has denounced Common Core.

The lone exception is Jeb Bush. The former Florida governor did not implement Common Core standards while he was in office, but he has promoted them through his education foundation and continues to support them today.

Karl Rove has said the former Florida governor’s support for the nationalized education standards will be his biggest challenge in seeking the GOP presidential nomination. His likely rival, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), has predicted it will doom Bush in the primaries, and GOP strategists in early voting states like Iowa and South Carolina agree.

Bush on Wednesday gave an early preview of how he intends to combat attacks against him on Common Core. In his first major speech in the run-up to 2016, Bush deviated from his prepared remarks to give an impassioned defense of his education reform record. 

He argued that under his watch, Florida went from having one of the worst records on education to a national model.

“We decided that the right to rise was also a civil right,” the Republican said. “So we went to work to change education in Florida, and boy did we.”