Given a chance to stand up for religious liberty, Bobby Jindal takes a pass

Raw Story: The administration of Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal on Tuesday broke its silence over a public school that allegedly advised a Buddhist family to change their beliefs if they didn’t want their child to face harassment.

In a statement to The Times-Picayune, executive counsel Thomas Enright said the Jindal administration had no comment until both sides of the case were known. He also warned against the government restricting religious speech.

“Religious freedom is foundational to liberty in America,” Enright said. “In this case, the plaintiffs are alleging violations of the establishment clause not the free exercise clause. We don’t want to comment on this particular case before hearing the defendant’s side of the story, but as a general rule, government needs to be very careful before making decisions that restrict any American’s religious freedoms.”

The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Louisiana filed a federal lawsuit against Negreet High School in Sabine Parish in January. A teacher at the school allegedly taught that the universe was created by God about 6,000 years ago. The same teacher is accused of calling 6th grade student “stupid” because he is a Buddhist and consequentially doesn’t believe in God.

When the parents of the students complained to Sabine Parish Superintendent Sara Ebarb, they were allegedly advised to change their faith or relocate their son to another school with more Asian students.

Here’s the fun part: “The Times-Picayune noted the Jindal administration commented on the case just days after warning of a ‘silent war’ on religious freedom in a speech at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Library.” So Jindal’s not overly concerned about speaking out about other cases, just this one in particular. And even if he did have a reasonable excuse to not weigh in, it wouldn’t be at all out of bounds to add a “If these allegations are true” remark, which for all intents and purposes would be a discussion of a hypothetical.

But let’s be honest: Jindal’s “silent war” fairy tale isn’t about religious liberty. It’s about forcing non-Christians to abide by Christian doctrine — the opposite of religious freedom. It’s the same strategy as Fox News’ phony “War on Christmas” — it’s propaganda designed to force people who aren’t Christian to act like Christians, to foster a sense of victimhood among Christians, and to paint everyone but Republicans as the enemies of the faith. If Jindal really did believe in religious freedom, he’d be as passionate in defending the rights of Buddhists in a very real situation as he has been in defending Christians in totally made up ones.

For conservative Christians like Bobby Jindal, “religious freedom” means you’re free to choose any of the delightful assortment of many Christian denominations. When it comes to defending other faiths, the best you can hope for is “no comment.”

Romney gets slight post-convention likeability boost -- then screws it all up

Reuters:

Mitt Romney emerged from the Republican convention with an overall improvement in his image among voters but no significant change in the number who say they will vote for him, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Friday.

Republicans nominated Romney on Thursday after three days of testimonials from friends, relatives and supporters, many aimed at showing the candidate in a more informal light. Romney has struggled to shake off perceptions of being stiff and aloof.

[…]

Thirty-one percent of the registered voters responding to the survey found Romney “likeable” in Friday’s poll, up from Monday’s 26 percent. Obama enjoys a 48 percent likeability rating.

However, there is a Romney pattern. We saw it during the primaries; Mitt would get a good night, then immediately blow it with a gaffe. This kept him just ahead of the other Republicans (and, let’s face it, that’s not much of an accomplishment. They were a pack of lunatics), but never got much of a shiver in the needle against Obama. Now he comes out the the convention with a bounce.

The problem with a bounce is that it will fall again — that’s why they call it a bounce. What you want to do is tread very, very carefully, in hopes that the numbers don’t fall back to where they were. If you keep a point or two after the smoke clears, that’s success.

And this brings us to part two of our little saga:

ThinkProgress:

Yesterday, GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney visited Louisiana, where much of the state was flooded due to Hurricane Issac. While visiting the Pelican State, however, Romney had some odd advice for one victim of the hurricane who had lost her home due to the flooding. According to Jodie Chiarello, a suddenly homeless resident of the state, Romney advised her to “go home and call 211.” 211 is a telephone number in Louisiana that provides information to residents about health and human services programs.

Mittens comes out of the convention more likeable, so of course the very first news story he has to generate afterward shows him being a dick who doesn’t really get what “homeless” actually means. “Here’s a quarter,” he might as well have said, “Call someone who cares.”

There’s probably some deep psychological explanation for why Romney has to follow every triumph with a humiliating self-defeat. But I’m not qualified to dig very deeply into that question. Suffice it to say that Romney is obviously inept.

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Griper Blade: Obama Shines, Jindal Flames Out

There wasn't much mystery preceding President Obama's address to a joint session of congress last night. Everyone knew it would be about economic stimulus, everyone knew it would involve cheerleading America, everyone knew it would be pretty damned good. Obama used the constitutional requirement that the president address congress on the state of the union "from time to time" to get both houses together in one place. Not specifically a state of the union address, it still filled the bill. The state of the union is not strong and Barack Obama -- as we've come to expect -- asked us all to roll up our sleeves and strengthen it.

Republicans -- still patting each other on the back for their near-universal opposition to Obama's stimulus -- were forced to face the undeniable fact that there was no victory here for them. The bill passed and the obstructionism of they were so proud of had cost them dearly. Polling shows that voters see the party as out of touch and just "not getting it." But, as I've pointed out before, in the House of Representatives at least, only the farthest right wing reps from the very reddest districts remain after two consecutive Democratic election cycles. They are the crazies, those for whom ideology borders on religious belief, those who are lost causes. Reality doesn't bother them, since it's not where they live. Being forced to face it the way they were must've been painful.

In this party made up of the surviving nuts, leadership has been hard to come by. They've elected party leadership, but no one pays any attention to them. "I don't even know the congressional leadership," says Utah's Republican Governor Jon Huntsman Jr. "I have not met them. I don't listen or read whatever it is they say because it is inconsequential -- completely."

Given this lack of leadership, the big celebrities in the GOP have been Sarah Palin, Joe the Plumber, and Rush Limbaugh. Seriously. They desperately needed someone serious to become the face of the party. Someone who wasn't a national joke or a divisive figure. Since only the crazies are left in Washington, they needed to go outside DC. They found Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal... [CLICK TO READ FULL POST]