May 24, 2015
Searching for the Compassionate Conservative
By Dr. E. Faye Williams
(TriceEdneyWire.com) - One of the principles of civics that I hold inviolate is that which tells me to vote for the candidate who’s most likely to pursue policies and practices I believe are in my best interest and the interest of my community and country. After giving it thought, most will agree.
Accepting that principle means that I must search for and accept a candidate without regard for political party affiliation. In each election, I strive to do that. The 2016 election is no exception and I’ve already begun my evaluations of declared and potential candidates. Since the Republican Presidential candidates are greater in number this cycle, I’ll begin with them to decide whether a worthy Republican exists!
Although I usually find the Morning Joe program too negative to begin my day, I learned that Louisiana's Governor, Bobby Jindal, would be a guest on the show. Since I’m a native of Louisiana and have family members who remain there, I’m always eager to examine the vision of any Louisiana politician who aspires to lead us into the future. Having done nothing to improve Louisiana or its national image, I was not surprised to hear Jindal state the unrealistic case for considering him for the presidency.
Facts (according to StateMaster.com) I consider about Louisiana are: Crime is a significant problem. The state leads the nation in homicides per capita, in the number of state and federal prisoners in jail per capita. It maintains relatively high levels of aggravated assaults and violent crimes. Health is a major concern. Of the 50 states, Louisiana was dead last in Morgan Quitno Press's Health Index. Key indicators were a high child mortality rate, the nation's highest rate of STD's and low health coverage for residents. These issues were made worse by Hurricane Katrina.
In addition to bringing this type of governance to the United States as President, Jindal has stated that he, specifically, wants to get rid of the Affordable Care Act. I can only guess that he desires for all lower and middle income Americans to suffer for health care the way similarly situated Louisianans do now. I have personal knowledge of the many who seek health care they can afford while Governor Jindal refuses to exercise his power to help them get it.
Jindal thinks that he can improve upon American Education. I would hope that he doesn’t "improve" it to Louisiana's current standing. According to ALEC, the right-leaning American Legislative Exchange Council, Louisiana ranks 48th in national academic achievement levels. It's also a good time to note that this same brand of Republican education leadership guides 16 of the bottom 25 states in the union.
He thinks he has the answer to "Religious Freedom." He’s among Republican candidates who criticize President Barack Obama for over- stepping the legislative process on things like Immigration Reform. As is typical with hypocrites, after the Louisiana legislature gave the governor thumbs down on his personal brand of religious freedom, what did the governor do? Within hours, he initiated an Executive Order reversing the will of the legislature.
If we analyze the records of many of the other candidates as closely as we have Jindal's, we’d have to ask, "When the problems of your state, seemingly, overwhelm you, how do you expect us to hand the reigns of national authority and leadership for you to dismantle the good we’ve been able to wrench from those vested against us."
I will always give people a chance to prove themselves, but, when their record of failure and incompetence dictates, I will not allow them to convince me to join them in the madness of their failures. One good thing I can say is that Louisiana remains the largest producer of crayfish in the world!
(Dr. E. Faye Williams is President of the National Congress of Black Women. 202/678-6788. www.nationalcongressbw.org.)