BATON ROUGE – Scarcely two hours after members of the Louisiana legislature voted to table legislation that would enshrine discrimination into state law and deal a potentially mortal blow to the tourism industry, Gov. Bobby Jindal announced his plan to enact the law’s intent through executive order. Flying in the face of fierce opposition from the business community and the collective will of the Louisiana families whose jobs would be placed at risk, Jindal’s reckless and willful disregard for sound policy stands to cost state taxpayers millions of dollars. His economic mismanagement and ugly political cynicism strikes at the heart of the lone industry in our state not already crippled by the failed GOP policies that hobbled our citizens with a $1.6 billion deficit.
With this fall’s gubernatorial election rapidly approaching, Louisiana voters have the opportunity to turn the page on this kind of divisive, cynical stunt and elect a leader who will address the challenges we face head-on. Will Jindal’s would-be successor Sen. David Vitter go on record with his intent to reverse this divisive executive order? Will Lt. Governor Jay Dardenne put his money where his mouth is, stand up for the tourism industry and pledge to reverse his boss’s decision? Will Scott Angelle vow to fight for the business community and protect Louisiana’s job creators from a climate that puts them at a competitive disadvantage?
“Gov. Jindal’s stunt today once again underlines his disregard for Louisiana families, his disdain for the state legislature and his apparent contempt for the state’s tourism industry— the only segment of our economy his failed policies haven’t crippled,” said Stephen Handwerk, executive director of the Louisiana Democratic Party. “Louisiana taxpayers and businesses are once again being forced to foot the bill for Jindal’s vanity. It’s foolishness our families cannot afford.”
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