This is cross-posted from The Daily Kingfish.
The political oligarchy continues tofeed and fester. And as usual, it's a family affair. The rumors of the death of the "old way" of doing things are greatly exaggerated, especially by Jindal himself:
First, the Governor said he worked to clean up Louisiana’s historical image of government corruption, and he called the Legislature into special session and asked them to pass the strongest governmental ethics laws in the country.
Yes, this has been written before. Jindal's highly-praised, world-beating ethics laws apply to everyone but Jindal. Beyond the obvious hypocrisy, Jindal has taken his innovation one step further. He has perfected world-beating corruption:
Louisiana’s biggest corporate players, many with long agendas before the state government, are restricted in making campaign contributions to Gov. Bobby Jindal. But they can give whatever they like to the foundation set up by his wife months after he took office.
So how does this scheme work? By the most obvious method possible:
The foundation has collected nearly $1 million in previously unreported pledges from major oil companies, insurers and other corporations in Louisiana with high-stakes regulatory issues, according to a review by The New York Times.
Who benefits? The same big businesses that always do:
AT&T, which needed Mr. Jindal to sign off on legislation allowing the company to sell cable television services without having to negotiate with individual parishes, has pledged at least $250,000 to the Supriya Jindal Foundation for Louisiana’s Children.
Who else, perchance?
Marathon Oil, which last year won approval from the Jindal administration to increase the amount of oil it can refine at its Louisiana plant, also committed to a $250,000 donation.And the military contractor Northrop Grumman, which got state officials to help set up an airplane maintenance facility at a former Air Force base, promised $10,000 to the charity.
But if it's his wife's foundation, how is Bobby involved?
While the charity is named and led by Mrs. Jindal, the governor has not entirely distanced himself: a photo of him alongside his wife is on a corporate solicitation page on the foundation Web site, andhis chief fund-raiser is listed as the charity’s treasurer on its most recent tax return. A state employee from the governor’s office who is as an aide to Mrs. Jindal is listed as the contact for the foundation’s books.
And Gov. Bobby "Gold Standard" Jindal's office is justifiably worried that it may have a major PR disaster on its hands in an election year. They're in full freak-out mode:
“It is a completely nonpolitical, nonpartisan organization created by the first lady, who as an engineer and the mother of three children, has a passion for helping our young people learn science and math,” said Kyle Plotkin, the press secretary. “Anything other than this reality has plainly been dreamed up by partisan hacks living in a fantasy land.”
Yes, the giving is for "good works" that the foundation engages in. But it looks exactly like a quid pro quo:
“The motives might be good,” said Melanie Sloan, director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics, which has also examined public records detailing the operations of Mrs. Jindal’s charity. “But the donations that come in to charities like this are almost always from folks who want something from a politician. It is a troubling phenomenon.”
If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, then it must be...
“It may be a good cause, but it creates the appearance he is being bribed,” Ms. Rolfes said. “And if you are truly committed to ethical behavior, you just need to stay away from it all together.”