Categories
Domestic issues Politics

Public groundswells

Adam Nossiter of the New York Times profiled Republican and reformer Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal.  Mr. Jindal is being promoted as a future Republican star.  So far, he seems like the real deal. Mr. Jindal decided to start his reforms by taking on the most prominent aspect of the corruption: lavish meals for state politicians.

The governor, ignoring cries of pain and going against the unswerving devotion to Louisiana’s food culture, pushed for the $50-a-meal cap, at any restaurant. No more unlimited spending.

In a town where legislators have been known to proclaim paid-for meals a principal draw to public service, this was an especially unpopular move. Last week, State Representative Charmaine L. Marchand of the Lower Ninth Ward in New Orleans said the limit would force her and her colleagues to dine at Taco Bell, and urged that it be pushed to $75 per person, to give them “wiggle room.”

No public groundswell took up her cause, and the $50 limit held.

(Incidentally, the dry humor the last line demonstrates made the article for me.)

%d bloggers like this: