Gov. Bobby Jindal: ‘We’re All Frustrated’ with Shutdown
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NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) — Louisiana governor and potential 2016 Republican presidential contender Bobby Jindal says he’s “frustrated” with the lack of leadership in Washington but declined to directly criticize his own party for fueling the current government shutdown.
“I’m not interested in Republican fratricide,” Jindal told Politics Confidential when asked if he approved of the Republican Party’s tactics in refusing to reopen the government unless the president’s health care law is changed or repealed. “You’ve got Republicans criticizing each other, fighting each other. I’m not interested in getting into micromanaging their tactics.”
But Jindal did bemoan a general lack of leadership from Congress.
“Like every other American, we’re all frustrated with what’s going on in D.C.,” he said. “You’ve got a House that’s only passed five appropriations bills, a Senate that hasn’t passed any. You’ve got a Senate that does one budget bill approximately every five years. That’s not leadership.”
Jindal places much of the blame for the ongoing government shutdown on President Obama for his refusal to come to the negotiating table over funding his health care law.
“Do I have a problem with the government shutting down? Absolutely,” Jindal said. “We don’t see leadership out of the White House. …He [Obama] has time to golf, he has time to negotiate with the Iranians, doesn’t have time to negotiate and talk to the Congressional leadership, doesn’t have time to find common ground. That’s what real leaders do.”
On the subject of 2016, Jindal did not rule out the possibility of a presidential run. “I don’t know about my own plans about 2016, but I think it’s too early for anybody to be thinking about it,” he said.
Jindal specified that he thought “it’d be best” for the next Republican nominee to be a governor.
“One of our criticisms of President Obama was that he needed on-the-job training. He hadn’t run anything before he was elected president of the United States,” Jindal said. “I think chief executives make better presidents, and I think governors have been tested and proven.”
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