Louisana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) on Thursday called for Republicans to rethink their approach to the so-called "fiscal cliff" negotiations and instead fight for structural reforms, such as instituting a federal balanced budget amendment, requiring a super majority to raise taxes or creating term limits.
While he didn't explicitly suggest that Republicans should drop their opposition to tax increases on the wealthy, he argued that the party's focus should be elsewhere.
"[I]n the negotiations, Republicans certainly should fight to at least get something done that will matter," Jindal wrote in an op-ed published in Politico. "At present, any reading of the headlines over the past week indicates that Republicans are fighting to protect the rich and cut benefits for seniors. It may be possible to have worse political positioning than that, but I’m not sure how."
Jindal sounded a pessimistic note on the future of America's finances, predicting that the fiscal cliff would be followed by "the fiscal mountain, after that the fiscal black hole, and after that fiscal Armageddon."
He also suggested a new overarching goal for politicians.
"Additionally, amidst all the talk of increasing taxes and cutting entitlements, something more important than either of these has been lost –- economic growth," he wrote. "America is forever young because America is forever growing, leading the world and showing the way forward. All actions taken by Washington should be seen through this simple prism – will this help grow our economy? If not, maybe we shouldn’t do it."
The Louisiana governor, considered a possible 2016 presidential contender, has embarked on a campaign to rebrand himself and his party since the election. “We’ve got to make sure that we are not the party of big business, big banks, big Wall Street bailouts, big corporate loopholes, big anything,” Jindal told Politico last month. “We cannot be, we must not be, the party that simply protects the rich so they get to keep their toys.”
Jindal also chided Mitt Romney for his comments that President Barack Obama won reelection through distributing "gifts," telling fellow governors, "I absolutely reject that notion."
Before You Go
