Breaking News: Jindal Vetoes Pay Raise
I applaud Gov. Jindal for doing what he should have done from the get go. Unfortunately for the Louisiana Governor, at this point, the veto looks more like a politically calculated move than an act of political courage. I wonder how Jindal will explain this change of heart.
UPDATE: Here is Governor Jindal's press release on his veto of the legislative pay raise. Jindal explains his change of heart as follows:
"I clearly made a mistake by telling the legislature that I would allow them to handle their own affairs,” Jindal said. “As with all mistakes, you can either correct them or compound them - I am choosing to correct my mistake now. I have said that I was not going to stop legislators from more than doubling their own pay by vetoing this because I did not want to give them any excuse to slow down the momentum of our reform movement here in Louisiana. It turns out this is an unsustainable position. I have come to realize that the reforms I have been fighting for are simply incompatible with this legislative pay raise. I was trying to preserve our reform agenda and our momentum by tolerating this legislative pay raise that I knew was completely excessive. But the two cannot coexist. The bottom line is that allowing this excessive legislative pay raise to become law would so significantly undercut our reform agenda, and so significantly diminish the people’s confidence in their own government, that I cannot let it become law. So, I have vetoed the bill."
Well said, Gov. Jindal.
