In Greenville, South Carolina last month, I noticed that Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal — who famously lamented Republicans for being “the stupid party” — ratcheted up his dry, brainy persona with a pointedly partisan speech that excoriated President Obama.
Compared to Govs. Scott Walker and Rick Perry, it was Jindal who served up the most attack-laden speech.
It appears that wasn’t by accident.
Over the weekend at the Mackinac Conference in Michigan, Jindal once again delivered the most negative speech of the three 2016 attendees.
Jindal, the smooth-speaking Louisiana governor, took a different approach than his fellow presidential prospects, rallying Republicans through opposition to the Obama administration rather than suggesting a new direction for the party.
“There’s a rebellion brewing in these here states,” Jindal said, “and you can see it in state capitals all over America.”
While Jindal’s fiery speech was an exception to the general rule of positive messaging at the Mackinac conference, several other speakers made clear that they positively hate the Affordable Care Act, commonly known as “Obamacare.”
While certainly a departure from Jindal’s customary routine, this approach is likely to snag more headlines and show conservative audiences that the Rhodes Scholar can throw punches with the best of them.
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