Is Bobby Jindal Self-Destructing?

Candidly, I do not like the policies that Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal has been pursuing in his quest to bolster his image with the national Christofascist and Tea Party crowd.   The irony now seems to be that while he has increased his name visibility at the national level, his popularity is on a sharp decline in his home state where the policies cheered by the knuckle draggers and saboteurs of the Christofascist/Tea Party are proving not so popular with the hometown crowd.  Of course, if one's popularity crashes and burns in one's home state, it makes the likelihood of success nationally far less certain.  Apparently, Jindal should have kept his eye more on the wants and desires of those in Louisiana.  Here are highlights from a Washington Post article:

Jindal’s approval rating appears to be in steady decline. On Monday he dropped his tax reform plan that would have replaced income taxes with higher sales taxes, acknowledging a widespread backlash from the public, religious groups, business and state lawmakers in his own party. ”It certainly wasn’t the reaction I was hoping for,” Jindal said.

That very public failure comes just 16 months ago after Jindal was easily reelected with two-thirds of the vote against minimal Democratic opposition. What happened? The answer is that the policies that have made Jindal an increasingly attractive national candidate have hurt him back home.

Deep budget cuts, particularly to health care and education spending, have been unpopular. Polling suggests that a small majority also opposes the vouchers at the heart of his educational reform plan, which a judge has deemed unconstitutional. While other Republicans gave in, Jindal has held firm in his opposition to a federally-funded Medicaid expansion — an unpopular position, according to a Southern Media Opinion & Research poll.

Jindal’s popularity dip is the price of getting things done, Anderson [a Jindal political consultant] argued. At six percent, unemployment in Louisiana is lower than the national average and low for the region. In 2011 the state GDP ticked up .5 percent. Per capita income has also grown, although it’s still below the national average.

The current slump is hardly the end of the story. Jindal is still pushing for an income tax repeal without the sales tax swap — and his staff is no longer insisting that the package be revenue-neutral. To pass that legislation he needs only a simple majority rather than the two-thirds required to raise sales taxes and it will likely be much more popular (at least in the short term) even if fiscal hawks in the state cry foul. (Republicans control both the state House and state Senate.)

As a presidential contender, Jindal has been touted not just as a reformer but as one who can stay hugely popular while making dramatic cuts. Of late, that’s not been the case, however.

I'm sorry, but anyone willing to prostitute themselves to the Christofascists/Tea Party doesn't deserve a promising political future. Long term, these groups are political poison to the GOP's future.  When will someone grow a spine and stand up to them?