BATON ROUGE – Late today in the Louisiana Legislature, the House of Representatives took its boldest stand yet against the stubborn, selfish demands of Gov. Bobby Jindal and the out-of-state special interests he serves. House leadership showed dogged determination to push back against the “zombie bill” being pushed by Sen. Jack Donahue and Jindal’s other minions in the legislature. On the House floor, Rep. Alan Seabaugh was forced to withdraw his amendment attempting to bolt the SAVE scam onto capital outlay legislation when abruptly informed he didn’t have the votes to pass it.
In contrast to the abject compliance offered up by their colleagues in the Senate, who today twice refused to kill the phantom “SAVE” legislation, legislators from both sides of the aisle in the House came together to deny Jindal the ability to hold our state’s economy hostage to further his own doomed, national political ambitions. In doing so, they rose to the dignity of the office they hold and did the will of the people of Louisiana, not the bidding of Grover Norquist.
Thanks to the leadership of Democratic Caucus Chair Rep. John Bel Edwards, Vice Chair Rep. Ted James and Legislative Black Caucus Chairwoman Rep. Katrina Jackson, the House took a stand against the kind of financial mismanagement and accounting tricks that have plagued the statehouse under Jindal’s administration.
“The fight is not over, and we know Jindal’s cronies are going to keep dredging up this zombie legislation again and again,” said Stephen Handwerk, executive director of the Louisiana Democratic Party. “But we should be encouraged by the strength and the good sense that prevailed in the House today. ‘SAVE’ only serves Bobby Jindal, but for the legislature of Louisiana and the people they are sworn to represent, it only serves to waste time.”
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