On Fox News Sunday Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal once again distanced himself from Mitt Romney’s unfortunate and divisive post-election remarks, and upbraided two Republican Senate candidates for “saying stupid things” during the 2012 election cycle:
Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal continued his critique of the Republican Party and its 2012 presidential contender Mitt Romney on Sunday as he argued for the GOP to become a larger tent party.Romney drew a firestorm of backlash from fellow Republicans when he told donors on a conference call that President Barack Obama defeated him because of so-called “gifts” that he gave to key voting blocs such as women and minorities.
Jindal, the new chairman of the Republican Governors Association who has been particularly outspoken in his criticism, said again Sunday that he “absolutely” disagreed with Romney’s comments.
“We as a Republican Party have to campaign for every single vote,” Jindal said on “Fox News Sunday.” “We don’t start winning majorities … by insulting our voters.”
Jindal, considered a top 2016 presidential contender, also noted comments on rape and abortion made by Senate candidates in Indiana and Missouri this election cycle and argued that those remarks helped turn away female voters from the GOP.
“We also don’t need to be saying stupid things,” Jindal said of those remarks.
I think Mr. Jindal’s analysis is spot-on. In truth, what’s so disheartening about Governor Romney’s comments (besides the fact that they were cringe-inducing and gratuitous) is that he ran for president in large part to unite the country after four years of division and discord. And his post-election comments, if anything, divided Americans even more along racial and socio-economic lines; a real shame. In fairness, however, I don’t (nor will I ever) fully comprehend the pain and bitter disappointment that ensues from losing a presidential bid -- especially when victory at times seemed almost imminent. But blaming others for what any impartial observer would rightly describe as Team Romney’s own internal failings is not the best way to bring people together, let alone win elections. I genuinely believe (and still do of course) that Mitt Romney would have been a terrific president. But he lost. And so the key takeaway from 2012, I think, is that if party elders can’t find a way to take every vote seriously -- as Governor Jindal seems to suggest -- they might never win a national election again.
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