Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal (R) spoke at a GOP dinner in New Hampshire on Friday, urging his fellow Republicans to "get over" last year's electoral defeats and instead focus on reassessing party priorities ahead of the 2016 presidential election.
“We lost an election that we probably should have won,” Jindal said at a GOP fundraiser in Manchester, N.H., according to ABC News. “It’s time to get over it. … I think we can win elections by sticking to our principles, but I do think we need to make some changes and I think we need to think seriously about where we go from here.”
He continued, "We spent too much time last year criticizing the other side without saying what we were going to do instead, without saying what we were for."
The Republican governor made headlines last year when he called on members of his party to end "dumbed-down conservatism" and "stop being the stupid party." During his New Hampshire speech, Jindal offered an explanation for those remarks.
"What I meant by that was we’ve got to present thoughtful policy solutions to the American people — not just bumper stickers, not just 30-second solutions,” Jindal said, according to the Washington Times. "We have to have the confidence and the courage in our convictions and show them that our ideas will benefit them."
Jindal has frequently been floated as a potential candidate for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016. However, he has brushed off the speculation, insisting that it is too early to wade into the race.
"Anybody on the Republican side even thinking or talking about running for president in 2016, I've said, needs to get their head examined," Jindal said during a February appearance on "Fox and Friends." "And the reason I say that is, we've lost two presidential elections in a row, we need to be winning the debate of ideas-- then we'll win elections."
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