Live Blogging Jindal’s Rebuttal (and the SOTU) at 9p.m. EST

Ok folks, tonight we will try a second attempt at “Cover it Live” which Anna debuted on SM to cover the Oscars on Sunday night. I have had zero practice at this and am totally winging it so I aplogize if it doesn’t work out. If it fails then you can revert to leaving comments in the comments section as usual.

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Also I was think about a drinking game. How about every time Jindal says “Let me be clear” or “stimulus” or “Louisiana” in a good-ol’-boy accent you have to take a shot?

88 thoughts on “Live Blogging Jindal’s Rebuttal (and the SOTU) at 9p.m. EST

  1. I saw on “The Daily Show” that Jindal is taking 4.6 Billion of the 4.7 billion offered, but wont stop talking about that .1 that he is rejecting. If this is true, than why dont reporters straight up ask questions like “Why are you fronting, Mr. Jindal”

    Isnt this a win-win for Republicans by saying they reject it? Because by saying that, they have their number 1 issue that they are going to drive to the public during election time, if the bill flat out fails to do anything. If the bill is a success then there is no way in hell the republicans are going to win anyways, so you might as well set your self up for the failing of the bill by saying this.

  2. Jindal’s rebuttal definitely made me want to root for him to be the republican candidate in 2012.

  3. I’m incredibly worried about everything. Obama did nothing to assuage my fears, and I’m afraid if all the jobs are headed overseas, I should be too.

  4. Sad. Did you see the comments on some of the other blogs? Nasty – they are referring to Jindal as the Slumdog Governor.

  5. Hmmm–well, Jindal didn’t meet my (high) expectations–he’s gonna need to work on delivery. Will be interesting to see how it plays w/ the broader electorate.

  6. Sad. Did you see the comments on some of the other blogs? Nasty – they are referring to Jindal as the Slumdog Governor.

    Wait, why were you reading other blogs?

  7. I am still not sure as to why Jidal gave the rebuttal from a 7-11 store. I was underwhelmed.

  8. 10 · Pagal_Aadmi_for_debauchery said

    Jidal gave the rebuttal from a 7-11 store.

    Because.. americans can do ANYTHI..zzzz.

  9. Btw, fantastic idea liveblogging with comments. I would have loved to participate instead of following it on Wonkette. Can we have some advance notice next time?

  10. Wow. Missed the live chatting (it’s been a while since i’ve been back here so i didn’t even know y’all were doin’ that sorta thing). coolness. But wow. Other than the many comments about Jindal seeming like he was talking to 2nd graders, I was truly offended by Jindal commending Americans’ resolve and the pull yourself up by your bootstraps performance re: Katrina as an example of the way government should work. Seriously?

    I recently saw the documentary about Katrina: “Trouble the Water”. IF you haven’t seen it, go see it (it was nominated for best documentary at the oscars too). The sheer resolve and heroicism that Americans displayed in the lower ninth ward — saving their own lives and saving others when the local, state, or federal government refused to do their jobs — was amazing. TRULY inspiring.

    Americans have to have such resolve PRECISELY BECAUSE the US Government (and that of Louisiana) flat out failed them and decided that its priorities were elsewhere. And even now, the post-katrina mess is still a mess. I’m so surprised (speechless, as Rachel Maddow was) that Jindal would even bring up Katrina in the first place, let alone as an example of something for the GOP to be proud of.

  11. 12 · Pagal_Aadmi_for_debauchery said

    Can we have some advance notice next time?

    What, my doing it on Sunday for the Oscars wasn’t enough advance notice? This is what we’re doing now. 😉 Wait a minute– was someone impersonating you? I got a bunch of odd comments from a Pagal Aadmi during the awards ceremony.

  12. Look, I can hate on Jindal as much as the next guy. But so much of the response to this speech that I’ve seen on other blogs and comments has been flat-out racist. If Jindal were liberal, how many of us would be cheering him on against these attacks? Do his ideological positions (many of which appear genuinely felt) justify the sorts of attacks he’s getting on his looks, hair, accent, name, etc?

  13. But so much of the response to this speech that I’ve seen on other blogs and comments has been flat-out racist.

    which ones? links?

  14. 10 · Pagal_Aadmi_for_debauchery said

    I am still not sure as to why Jidal gave the rebuttal from a 7-11 store. I was underwhelmed.

    LOL!

    I read someone on another blog joking about jindal previously working for dell tech support.

    The speech was horrid and I doubt he’ll make an improvement by 2012. You either have charisma or you don’t and jindal doesn’t have it. He doesn’t even have the looks.

    If he looked like sanjay gupta then maybe I’d be more willing to give him a break, but nope.

  15. Jindal is an opening salvo for the Republicans. He’s not a closer.

    I think Ed Rollins’ comments on CNN about the Republicans being an opposition Party and having to cater to their 20% base are accurate. That 20% of the American population who will vote die hard Republican is their only concern. His comment on their waiting to see if the economy turns around or not as a means to identify their ideology, is dead on.

    Regardless, Jindal didn’t bring it. This should have been his 2004 Democratic Convention moment in the sun.

    Palin or Cantor will be next up to bat for the Republicans.

  16. 16 · Mihir said

    But so much of the response to this speech that I’ve seen on other blogs and comments has been flat-out racist.

    Apparently his wiki entry was changed mid speech to “Bobby Curry Scrotum Jindal” from “Piyush Bobby Jindal”, etc. I wish I had known, would’ve taken a screen shot (I learned about it via Twitter).

    Honestly, if you have to resort to curry jokes after THAT speech, you’re a half-wit. There’s plenty to slam without going there.

  17. Razib, I think those comments illustrate my point perfectly. Liberals can be as racist as conservatives.

  18. A few minutes into his speech, all I could think was that his intonation when he tells stories is just like that of the page on 30 Rock. I emailed a few friends about this, and one wrote back saying that others were noting the same thing, including Andrew Sullivan.

  19. Razib, I think those comments illustrate my point perfectly. Liberals can be as racist as conservatives.

    bigotry, like cheese, is even more pungent when served soft.

  20. Liberals can be as racist as conservatives.

    my personal experience with racism online as someone who is right-of-center is that liberals feel justified in being racist against conservative colored people because if you’re colored you shouldn’t be conservative, and you support racism implicitly and so it is totally fine that you are the target of racist characterizations. in other words, the reason that they are attacking bobby jindal with racialist tropes isn’t because they are racialist, but because he’s a conservative, and conservative colored people don’t deserve the consideration that right thinking people do 😉

  21. is that liberals feel justified

    and of course, some. although i do have to say that when i was attacked a few years ago as an anti-feminist by a radical feminist blogger, she didn’t object when one of her readers started utilizing standard south asian stereotypes (i.e., dowry demanding wife-beater) to lampoon me. i suspect that only flew because i am of course an evil anti-feminist and so not covered by the canons of sensitivity 😉

    IOW, if jindal stays on the scene, expect more attacks on “curry conservatism.” 🙂 and of course, jindal is into “outsourcing american jobs” because he’s indian, etc.

  22. Well, racist commenters on liberal blogs notwithstanding, none of this changes the fact that Jindal’s delivery was pretty terrible, and that this particular response/speech is not going to get him on a glidepath to the presidency. It was no Clinton responding to Reagan or heck, even Jim Webb. Also, the content was pretty darn awful. If you’re not part of the 20-30% of America that’s the republican base, what exactly was in that speech of his to pique your interest/ build your confidence? Mocking preparation for natural disasters (ie: volcanoes — consider Alaska, or Yellowstone which could cover 1/2 of america in ash) from the Governor of Louisana? Palin, Romney et al. must be thrilled. But, good lord the republicans needed a moderate to respond with something sane if their goal was to stay relevant in the short run.

    It seems like the working assumption of this speech is that the stimulus and Obama will fail, and they’ll be there to say I told you so. All hail the party of Limbaugh.

  23. 27 · razib said

    the reason that they are attacking bobby jindal with racialist tropes isn’t because they are racialist, but because he’s a conservative, and conservative colored people don’t deserve the consideration that right thinking people do

    hence the liberal number of “uncle tom” comments that SM Intern has to clean up from time to time…

  24. 27 · razib said

    liberals feel justified in being racist against conservative colored people because if you’re colored you shouldn’t be conservative, and you support racism implicitly and so it is totally fine that you are the target of racist characterizations. in other words, the reason that they are attacking bobby jindal with racialist tropes isn’t because they are racialist, but because he’s a conservative, and conservative colored people don’t deserve the consideration that right thinking people do

    This is probably a fair summary of kossack type far lefties. However, they don’t “control” the dem party the way the far right controls (or at least has for the past 20 years, and significantly so, in the past 8 years) the republican party.

  25. Well, are you racist if you’re only racist against the “wrong” political party? The politics serves as a great cloak for other sentiments–you see this when people bash Clinton or Palin.

    I think it’s interesting that Jindal is actually well regarded by people we typically think of as “racists”–they go not only for his “aw-shucks” identity, but conservative politics and wonky attitude. He did a great job mobilizing young people and is perhaps the only Republican in the country working on health reform–he’s done much more on this front, for instance, than Sanjay Gupta. But he’s in the bad party, so any and all racist tropes are acceptable.

  26. 29 · jackal said

    t seems like the working assumption of this speech is that the stimulus and Obama will fail

    It’s more than an assumption, right now, the republicans with their gleeful obstructionism (Steele’s “goose egg”, Cantor’s video etc.), are seeming like they are rooting for the economy to tank and tank hard. They are not proposing any solutions except the tired old discredited bromides, and ideas which are diametrically opposite to the ones they tamely acquiesced to these past 8 years, and only seem like they want to get in the way of people who do want to do something.

  27. I guess Obama’s continuing with his theme of making his first 100 days domestically focused. I personally wanted to hear more about Afghanistan and Pakistan, which I think will be the dominant foreign policy issues of his presidency (if Iraq stays in the semi mended limbo that it is, and the Sunni militias we armed stay within the parameters we’d like them to). The situation in Afghanistan is quite worrisome, especially with the diversions caused by Taliban expansion in Swat, among other places.

  28. “he’s done much more on this front, for instance, than Sanjay Gupta. “

    That’s not a useful or relevant comparison. The Surgeon General is the leading spokesperson on matters of public health, NOT the leader of the government’s health policy or health policy reform. That would be the secretary of HHS who was to be Tom Daschle, until that fell apart. Nevertheless, the Obama team does have a lot of good health policy folks on board and consulting from a variety of disciplines. I personally found Jindal’s comments on the matter rather ridiculous, and if he’s the Republican who’s been doing the most working on the problem,.. well that does not bode well.

    In any case, it seems many wish to continue attacking the hordes of liberal racist hypocrites that apparently abound in America, instead of considering JIndal’s actual performance this evening. So be it.

  29. I’ve done a quick tour of other blog comments just now. Once you throw out the content free or racist comments the one theme that emerges is that people felt Bobby Jindal was talking down to them. They felt like he was using a sing song voice treating them like they were little kids. This is the opposite of how people typically view Obama’s approach. Jindal choked big time and I think the pundit class will reflect this view in their punditry tomorrow.

  30. 4 · Rahul said

    Jindal’s rebuttal definitely made me want to root for him to be the republican candidate in 2012.

    heh heh heh

  31. i haven’t heard jindal but i’m sure he was roadkill, after all who wants BJ after the big O?

    wouldn’t want to be a republican at this point in history, opposing this brilliant president. poor Bobby, he’s just jan to obama’s marsha.

  32. What bothered me was his insistent iambic for the first half of the speech. Never heard anybody speak like that, nervous-nervous. It didn’t help that he wore a barber pole striped tie that looked like a clunky version of Obama’s.

  33. Jindal’s target audience for this speech was the typical Republican primary voter in ’12 and ’16. If you keep that audience in mind, the speech wasnt that bad.

  34. This is NOT the right group to be criticizing anyone else about racism. What next, the KKK complaining about racism and misuse of bed linens?

    At least Jindal didn’t start advocating a caste system to solve US problems….not yet

  35. What Jindal should have said (but didn’t) is that this present administration’s policies will most likely lead to a mortgage boycott, credit-worthy defaulting on their credit card/college debt and a full blown tax revolt not unlike what Washington did to the British. There is an intense, boiling anger under the surface – what the present regime needs to understand is that pandering to the rowdy left will cause a revolution by the silent majority, and most likely tear the country apart.

    If you have a mortgage, consider defaulting on it. Did you know that they cannot foreclose on you until they show you the original paperwork? Apparently, in almost 40% of the cases, the paperwork has been shredded. The house is yours to keep! If you have credit card debt – default on that as well. It’s Legal. The only thing that’s going to happen is that the company will not issue you any more credit cards. If you are a saver, you can use your debit card till kingdom come. As for any student loans, just rip off the bills. The cost of coming after millions of students is overwhelming – it will take ~350 years for a company to come after each one of you.

    Of course – if you are one of the unlucky ones who get picked, just pay it back with interest. Stay legal. Next month onwards, continue ripping the bills.

    Moral hazard results in moral folks doing immoral (but legal) things.

    M. Nam

  36. Jindal sounds like he’s reading a bedtime story to a 2 year old. But close your eyes, and imagine it’s someone who looks like Jeff Foxworthy talking. Sounds better — the disconnect between colour and accent is hurting him.

    Still, it’s important for a political leader to sound smarter than a fifth grader.

    It’s hard to give a rebuttal speech after a President. He’s Presidential. You’re not. Remember Gary Locke’s rebuttal speech to President Bush back in 200? Before it, he was a rising-star democratic governor. Now, his biggest hope now is being the five hundred and tenth choice for Commerce Secretary.

  37. I live in Louisiana . I am PROUD that Jindal is my govenor. Some of the comments made here are racist and uncalled for. Whether or not he or his father worked at a 7-11 – ha ha – At least they WORKED for what they have, not like this new plan the wonderful President “O” has put in. FYI –Jindal took NONE of the money and is not planning to. What he did not go into detail with on his rebuttal (which wasn’t the place to do it) but he has gone into on the govenor’s website is that this Wonderful Stimulus plan has more strings than an elementary school has on kite flying day. Strings which will require the states that take the money to continue at the COST of the STATEs taxpayers years after the federal funding has dissolved. Jindal’s first responsibility is to the state of Louisiana and it’s residents and feels it would cost us too much to take this money –his exact words were — Spend a dollar to get a dime —

    He has definately cleaned up Louisiana, which is saying a whole lot, if you live here — and still has a ways to go. Unlike our wonderful President “O” – his history in politics and his stances can be traced backed all the way to his time on the debate team when he was 17. All of his personal finances, that of his wife included, are public knowledge. He has never denided who his is, where he comes from, where his parents come from. He has worked hard to get where he is at such a young age and I for one — hope he runs in 2012. It would be a great loss to our state, but a wonderful gain for our Country.

  38. 48 PS said

    Some of the comments made here are racist and uncalled for. Like what?

    like this: I am still not sure as to why Jidal gave the rebuttal from a 7-11 store. I was underwhelmed.

  39. 45 · MoorNam said

    If you have a mortgage, consider defaulting on it.

    This has always been true, independent of the present administration’s policies. The cost of default on mortgages in American system is only to your creditworthiness, as the only thing that can be possessed is the collateral, which is the house.

    Don’t have too much time to go into it in detail, but the summary of the present admin’s policy of backstopping mortgages at Fannie and Freddie to reduce interest rates is that it will reduce interest rates for everyone, not just defaulters, so it does not create additional perverse incentives to default. (and the govt is effectively doing a call on the future financial health of America in that it hopes the value of the mortgages it backstops goes up, since the belief is that the govt is the only entity that can move the market to that extent and has the threshold to wait for it).