It's time to cut Jindal's full-time pay

At the state capital the legislative session has concluded for the year.  However, our esteemed legislators needed to pass one more piece of legislation, a bill making it illegal to work less than full time as the governor of this state.  If a governor can’t show that he/she devoted a minimum of 40 hours per week doing the business of the state, he/she must resign the position.  Bobby Jindal already misses that mark, but his official declaration of running for his party’s presidential nod clearly leaves no doubt that he will not be a full-time state worker.  The Louisiana Constitution states that all public officials shall take and subscribe to the Oath of Office required by the Louisiana Constitution, Article X, Section 30, before acting in their respective offices.  The Louisiana Oath of Office states, “I…… do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support the constitution and laws of the United States and the constitution and the laws of this state and that I will faithfully and impartially discharge and perform all duties incumbent as governor according to the best of my ability and understanding, so help me God.”

Consequently, the passage of my proposed legislation would easily allow the citizens of this state to file a class action suit against any governor failing to adhere to the Oath of Office.

According to various media reports, in 2013 Jindal spent 74 days out of the state.  In 2014 that figure ballooned to 165 days or 45 percent of the time out of the state.  Records that are available show that Jindal’s jaunts included giving out-of-state talks on praising the reality television show “Duck Dynasty”; raising money and campaigning for more than a dozen GOP candidates; speaking at conferences sponsored by the Koch brothers and several other political events; attending fund raisers across the country; promoting America Next, the group he formed to comment on national policies; visiting casino magnate and GOP funder Sheldon Adelson; and even attending an event for Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard, in suburban Detroit.  The list goes on and on, but clearly there is enough evidence to support Jindal’s failure to work as a full-time governor.

Incidentally, Jindal not only feels that he still has the right to draw a governor’s full salary, but also that the state should incur costs for these trips, providing security on the taxpayers’ dime; the total figure well-hidden from public record.

 

How many Louisiana residents are afforded the luxury of getting paid full time by an employer and showing up only 50 percent of the time?  And Jindal sees nothing morally or ethically wrong with this behavior, a fine trait for a man running for a presidential nod.  Jindal claims he’s going to “rock the boat” if elected president.  He’s done more than that in Louisiana.  He rocked it so much that it sank!