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Bobby Jindal on Principles & ValuesRepublican Governor; previously Representative (LA-1) |
But the values I learned from my Hindu parents ran deep: honesty, respect for elders, hard work, modesty, reverence, the importance of family--traditional Hindu values that meshed quite well with Louisiana's traditional Bible Belt beliefs. I never felt culturally different from your typical Baton Rouge kid.
My questions continued until a church at LSU showed a simple film about the crucifixion. I had studied that momentous event, yet watching that film I suddenly realized that Christ was on the cross because of me--my sins--what I had done, what I had failed to do. This was my epiphany. He didn't die for billions, which was so abstract, but because of me. Suddenly, God was tangible.
In the summer of 1987 I knelt in prayer and accepted Christ as my Savior. For a year I postponed telling my parents.
My path to Christianity was an intellectual journey followed by a leap of faith. It took me years, and at the end of it I concluded that the historical evidence for Christianity was overwhelming
National reporters have often said to me, "It must have been so tough for you growing up in the Deep South." To which my response is, "Um.no. It was not tough, in fact it was tremendous. I'm a son of the Deep South, so you can keep your prejudices to yourself." Louisiana is my home and I'm proud of it.
I've never had it tough, but my dad did. He grew up in India, the only one of nine children to get beyond the fifth grade. For me, growing up middle-class in Louisiana was anything but tough. Compared to my father, I grew up in great riches, because I grew up in America.
To this day, it surprises me how little the national press understands about faith. When I was serving in Washington, I had lunch with a well-known reporter. Before we ate she saw me bow my head and say grace, ever so briefly mind you. She immediately asked me if everything was okay. She was startled and fascinated by what I had done. And the fact that it startled her startled me. She was not rude or condescending. She just didn't have any frame of reference for a person who would say grace in a public restaurant before lunch. But some of our top national reporters ARE condescending, & it goes beyond matters of faith.
Truth be told, I have never mastered the teleprompter. In fact, I hate the teleprompter. And as the country found out that night, the teleprompter hates me, too.
So here you have me, a guy who is "teleprompter challenged," versus the king of the teleprompter. Bad match up. My delivery was just awful. Even though it's never been done before, I should have just winged the response. The press savage my performance.
The bottom line is this: it was my speech, I delivered it poorly, and I take full responsibility for it. When you screw up, it's time to man up. Interestingly, many people who heard the speech, but did not see it, thought it was great.
As I grew up, my mom & dad taught me the values that attracted them to this country, and they instilled in me an immigrant's wonder at the greatness of America. As a child, my dad would tell me: "Bobby, Americans can do anything." I still believe that to this day: When we pull together, there is no challenge we can't overcome.
The GOP controls the Senate by just one vote. Even with today’s margin, the GOP doesn’t have effective control of the agenda as the Democrats use the filibuster to kill pro-growth reform or crucial judicial appointments. The next Senate could confirm two U.S. Supreme Court justices.
If the Republicans do manage to pick up a few extra seats in the Senate, there could also be an ideological shift toward pro-growth issues. Right now, the balance of power is in the hands of the RINO Republicans like Olympia Snowe and Arlen Specter. With a seat pick-up for the GOP, plus the addition of GOP superstars, Olympia and Arlen would no longer be deciding votes. We could move away from watered-down Republicanism toward a genuine pro-growth agenda.
Members of the Club are economic conservatives, like-minded political contributors who are frustrated with the ideological drift of both parties today. Club members have a shared goal of contributing to and electing more Reaganites to Congress who are willing to stand for the issues like: cutting taxes, controlling federal spending, personal accounts for Social Security, ending the death tax, eliminating the capital gains tax, fundamental tax reform, providing true school choice and minimizing government's role in our daily lives.
The stakes are mighty high in the Senate elections. That’s why we’re providing you now with our outlook for every competitive Senate race and a list of our top tier choices. The “A” List Candidates make this list because their races are competitive and they are the very best on economic issues. The “B” List Candidates are all in hotly contested races too, but they are not as rock solid on economic growth issues.
OnTheIssues.org interprets the 2006 AU scores as follows:
Americans United for Separation of Church and State (AU) is a religious liberty watchdog group based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1947, the organization educates Americans about the importance of church-state separation in safeguarding religious freedom. AU is a nonpartisan organization dedicated to preserving the constitutional principle of church-state separation as the only way to ensure religious freedom for all Americans.
Americans United is a national organization with members in all 50 states. We are headquartered in Washington, D.C., and led by the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, executive director. AU has more than 75,000 members from all over the country. They include people from all walks of life and from various faith communities, as well as those who profess no particular faith. We are funded by donations from our members and others who support church-state separation. We do not seek, nor would we accept, government funding.