Jun 30 2008
Jindal VETOED!! Asks the people for help!
BREAKING Bobby Jindal will veto the pay raise. The Governor announced his decision during an 11 a.m. press conference. WWL broke the story.
UPDATE x2: Just got word from Steve Sabludowsky - the rally has been canceled.
UPDATE: Jindal’s official press release
Jun 30, 2008
Governor Jindal Vetoes Legislative Pay Raise Bill
BATON ROUGE – At a press conference announcing his line item vetoes in the supplemental spending bill today, Governor Bobby Jindal announced that he has vetoed the legislative pay raise bill to more than double legislators’ pay, SB 672.“I have opposed this pay raise at every turn and from the very beginning. A doubling of legislative pay is clearly excessive and it takes effect prior to the next election, which I believe is bad policy,” Governor Jindal said. “This bill would also have set up a system to give legislators automatic pay raises in the future without additional legislative votes - which is a lack of accountability that we cannot accept.”
The Governor had previously said he would not veto the pay raise to allow the legislature to conduct its own internal affairs. “I clearly made a mistake by telling the legislature that I would allow them to handle their own affairs,” Jindal said. “As with all mistakes, you can either correct them or compound them - I am choosing to correct my mistake now.
“I have said that I was not going to stop legislators from more than doubling their own pay by vetoing this because I did not want to give them any excuse to slow down the momentum of our reform movement here in Louisiana. It turns out this is an unsustainable position. I have come to realize that the reforms I have been fighting for are simply incompatible with this legislative pay raise.
“I was trying to preserve our reform agenda and our momentum by tolerating this legislative pay raise that I knew was completely excessive. But the two cannot coexist.
“The bottom line is that allowing this excessive legislative pay raise to become law would so significantly undercut our reform agenda, and so significantly diminish the people’s confidence in their own government, that I cannot let it become law. So, I have vetoed the bill.”
The Governor continued to say that, “The sideshow over massive legislative pay raises has already taken up far too much time. It’s time to get back to doing the people’s business. There is a tremendous amount of work to be done in our state…there are roads to build, jobs to create, business to open, and kids to educate.”
The Governor also called for legislators to direct any anger over the veto of the pay raise to him, and not the people of Louisiana by impeding future important reforms for the state. Jindal said, “I know that some of the legislators are going to be upset that I broke my word to them to stay out of their business. But I am asking them to take out their anger on me – not on the people of Louisiana.”
The Governor concluded his remarks by calling on the public to continue their close involvement in government and the political process. The Governor said, “to all the citizens of Louisiana who have become so vocal on this issue and so involved in the process - stay involved. There is a lot more to do. Don’t tune out or stop paying attention to the political process now. This government belongs to you; it is your business. I’m going to need your help.”
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The bill is vetoed!!! Thank you, Mr. Governor, for listening to your constituency, and for doing the right thing.
Huzzah! Huzzah! Huzzah!
The Governor does the right thing.
Bravo! Bravo! Bravo! to everyone of you who worked so hard to convince Jindal to make the right decision!!!
Hooray.. Congratulations to everyone who phoned and emailed and worked for this. Good job LEGEWATCH.
The citizens of Louisiana have spoken loud and clearly and their words have been heard. Thank you,Governor Jindal
Woo Hoo Woo Hoo!!!!!!!!!!
<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>
G8trgirl is doing back-flips!!!!!!!
So glad you wised up Governor and congratulations to the citizens of Louisiana for standing united!!!!!
I am elated, and flying high …I believe the rally should go on as scheduled and it should be a THANK YOU GOVERNOR JINDAL RALLY.
Good idea liz!!
I agree with Liz!!!! I’m so happy that Governor Jindal vetoed this pay raise! I still believe that the recall elections for the LEGISLATORS should go on as planned, otherwise, they will try the same thing during the next session until they get their way, so I say we should vote them out NOW!
its hard to thank him for doing what is right..it his job..he should have never let it went this far.
We have them running scared so why let him or the legislature think they are off the hook? I personally think we should inform them that everything they do is under our watchful eye but I can not thank bobby Jindal for what he has put us through.
DeWayne Fuice: I can not fault you for your position…THIS HAS BEEN EXTREMELY STRESSFUL AND KEPT ME AWAKE AT NIGHT TRYING TO THINK OF WHAT ELSE I COULD DO AND SAY TO JINDAL TO VETO THE GREEDY RAISE. However, I am glad that our uproar enabled him to find his spine…
I think the rally should be a victory rally and Gov. Jindal should be invited to the rally as the guest of Honor…I already emailed Steve At Bayoubuzz and asked to hold the rally as a victory rally.. and if any legislators want to come and “mingle with us” so be it….
Let there be dancing and singing at the State Capital on Monday, July 7………Everyone email Steve at bayoubuzz.com
steve@bayoubuzz.com Everyone please email him..thank him and ask him to have a victory rally…we already have a reservation…LET US GO FEAST!!
I AM READY TO SING AND DANCE ON THE STEPS OF THE STATE CAPITAL…..
Liz, I totally agree with you, and unless I hear that it’s canceled, I still plan to show up at the Capital next Monday. I also believe that the recall efforts against the legislators who voted for this POS should absolutely continue. They don’t give a rat’s fart about the people of this state and write us off as ignorant if we dare voice any sort of disapproval of their legislative choices.
Please email Steve who initiated the rally….steve@bayoubuzz.com He needs to hear from all of us now…
Isn’t it a wonderful feeling to know that we counted and our voices were heard? Awesome!!!
I 100% agree that the recall initiatives should continue against those that arrogantly and blatantly voted yes to SB672. They obviously had no regard for the opinions of their constituents.
Hopefully some of the recalls will be successful and will send a loud and clear message to legislators that turning a deaf ear to those that put you in office could be hazardous to your political ambitions.
COngrats to all the people who made sure that their voice was heard.
Thank you Gov. Jindal
Well, Jindal finally found his balls! Now maybe he can stay in the game and we can all work together to make La. a state to be proud of!! (if not for our govenor, for our citizens who stood up and said ENOUGH is ENOUGH!!)
I hope the Governor will go public if the legislators try to derail him in the future as payback for this veto.
Mr. Jindal, you went through a lot of tettering in get to this ending. I congratulate you, I support you, I will support your initiatives for our advancement. If the senators or representatives try to retaliate or otherwise upset valid, functional improvements that you intend to make for the future of our state out of childish spite, they will have another outrage on their hands.
So glad you are man enough to do what they were too greedy, cowardly to do.
You will not be abandoned in the future. We the people are in control of our state.
What great news for this Monday afternoon. It feels incredibly good to be acknowledged by the governor. I also noticed that his liason to the legislature resigned today when reading the T-P. I will personally write Jindal a thank you letter.
God forbid if Duplessis and Tucker try to call a special session to override the veto…
email steve to proceed with rally…steve@bayoubuzz.com Thanks
In the spirit of the 4th. of July and what we have just witnessed, we must never forget why we are free to voice our opinions and not be afraid to do so. What has transpired during this debate about the pay raise should spark people to at least send a card or letter of “Thanks” to those that give us the right to protest. They are sacrificing so much for our freedom……
Please support the troops by visiting ANYSOLDIER.com, ANYMARINE.com, ANYSAILOR.com, ANYAIRMAN.com and ANYCOASTGUARDSMAN.com. These are websites where Americans can show their support to the troops in harm’s way. All it takes is a regular stamp to send a letter or card with some encouraging words to our brave and courageous men and women in uniform. You are allowed to request addresses, free of charge. To request an address, click on “Where to Send” in the menu. The contact person’s names are listed on your left. Pick anyone you want then request the address at no cost. You can also click on “Search” to find a unit that posts a particular word or words that you are interested in. For example, if you type in “LSU”, “ULL”, “Louisiana”, “letters from school children”, “drawings from kids”, “hospital”, “Chaplain”, your family name. The emails from the troops that mention the words you typed in “Search” will come up and show up in red. A lot of them send pictures along with their emails. Please help me spread the word about these websites so they will receive a lot of support. I hope and pray that school teachers, organization, churches, businesses, professionals, anyone that appreciates their freedom will visit these websites and send a card, letter or package. “Freedom Isn’t Free”! They don’t see their children, wives, husbands, loved ones for such a long time. They are sacrificing so much for us. They’re missing birthdays, first steps, first tooth, graduations, weddings etc. When they get a letter from “home”, it really lifts their morale. You’d be surprised how many don’t have families to write to them. If anyone decides to send a package, you can get free Flat Rate Boxes from your local post office. No matter how heavy your box is, it’s a flat rate of $9.80 to send it to Iraq or Afghanistan. A small price to pay compared to what they are doing for us. There are two sizes for this price. There is another one for $4.80 that we use to send a newspaper and CD or DVD. They are all “Priority Mail”. You have to be careful when sending anything liquid. Be sure to tape the cap to the bottle and put it in a Ziploc bag to prevent it from leaking. I try to put everything I can in a Ziploc bag so the smells and tastes of things don’t transfer. When writing to the troops, address the envelope or box to the “contact person” exactly like the address is shown. But it’s best to start your letter with a “generic greeting” like “Hello Brave Soldier” or “Dear Brave Marine”. A lot of times the contact person, after opening the envelope, will give your letter to a “Battle Buddy” that hasn’t gotten any mail from home. This way, anyone who gets your letter or card will feel like it was written to him/her. I usually include a self-addressed envelope (no stamp needed for them to send letters to the states) or write my email address on my letter. But please don’t be disappointed if you don’t hear back from them. They are in a war zone, trying to stay alive and in one piece. These websites are a work of deep love and support for our military forces. It is NOT political. Donations to keep these websites up and running are tax-deductible and can be mailed to:
Any Soldier Inc.
P.O. Box 715
Waldorf, MD 20604
If anyone has any questions, please feel free to call me at 337-406-9647. Cindy Brown
This is an example of what we can accomplish when we work together! For those of you who have lost sleep, made calls, surfed the internet for hours, and committed to our group, I applaude you!!! To the legislators who tried to pass this through, I want to thank you. Without this issue, I would have continued to be blissfully unaware of the dealings of those I trusted to make the “right” decisions for my children and my grandchildren. George Stephanopoulos said that we should “choose our leaders as if your child’s life rested on your decision”. Well, I plan to do just that and the first step will be with the recall petition. So thank you everybody because I believe that now a new day is dawning in Louisiana. To the rally!!!
Monica Alleman: Yes, yes, Yes, I also applaud the creators of this site that enabled me to network…my eyes are bloodshot, my fingertips are numb from keying and dialing, my committment is gelling (like Dr. Scholl’s insteps!) to the state of Louisiana and my beliefs in democracy and ethics….Please email steve at steve@bayoubuzz.com and “beg” him to have a victory rally…i have been emailing him for weeks now and i have sent him 5 emails this morning telling him I am ready to sing and dance…Can’t you just visualize a “second line dance at the capital” Also,go to forgotston.com…CB has a picture and a tape of the secret meeting between Gov. Jindal and the legislators as they conduct their meeting to trade a pay raise for their earmarks….You will laugh!!
Dear Liz,
I still plan to have walk in the Kenilworth parade here in BR on Thursday July 3rd at 6:30. We planned to meet at the Monjuni’s on Highland Rd before the rally (probably between 4:30 and 5:30) p.m. We can always turn it into a celebratory meeting at Monjuni’s and a celebratory march through Kenilworth. Second line anyone? Also, I will go check out forgotson.com. I have been enjoying that site immensely!!! Thanks to you all for every minute of lost sleep. It was worth it!!
http://jeffsadow.blogspot.com/2008/06/jindal-others-win-with-pay-raise-veto.html
Great article posted by Jeff Sadow today……go read it when you have an opportunity. He discusses who the winners & losers are in payraisegate.
This is a victory for the citizens of Louisiana. We put heat on thre governor and he folded. This isn’t Jindal’s day, it’s yours.
Jeff Sadow posted a good article today, it’s titled “Jindal, others win with pay raise veto while others lose” ……..he discusses who the winners and the losers are in payraisegate.
http://jeffsadow.blogspot.com/2008/06/jindal-others-win-with-pay-raise-veto.html
I guess Jindal didn’t want us all showing up on his doorstep next Monday……..LOL.
Jeff Sadow posted a good article today……he discusses who the winners & losers are with the veto and SB672.
http://jeffsadow.blogspot.com/
Yes, now it is confirmed that JIndal also lost sleep over this.
I can only speculate what the poor greedy gator legislators are saying…I bet Duplessis doesn’t have her fist in the air now!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! As for Tucker, he needs to hit himself in the head or on the hand with the gavel…ouch!! Where , oh where did my $70,000 raise go? I hope Duplessis is hiding in the trunk of her BMW. I hope the rest of them are heading for the hills…this is not over yet..our work has just begun..
Many of them had already made their “financial Plans” as to how they would spend their raise…WHICH I AM CONFIDENT “SUPPLENTED THEIR OTHER SOURCES OF INCOME”.
I am also enjoying forgotston.com…as I sat waiting for the tape to download, I sincerely believed that this tape would be of the “real governor and legislators” because I know CB is on top of things…when I first heard the sounds of the _____, I could not stop laughing…for anyone who has not visited the site, go to forgotston.com and view the photograph and listen to the tape of the secret “backyard” meeting….
Please email: steve@bayoubuzz.com to have the rally so we can all network and sing and dance in victory….
G8trgirl: was the rally cancelled? I hope not. I have been emailing Steve and hoping he will proceed so we can celebrate at the capital..
Not only did our grass roots effort stop this payraise, be it has united the states voters. Democrat, Republican, Independant, Black, White, Male and Female. What we have done shows that “we the people” have a say in our government. I can only hope that the leges and our gov. know that we do care and we are paying attention. We will watch every move that they make and we will make sure that they do the right thing or they are out of here. I do believe that Tucker and all the other “greedy gators” still get recalled. They are still only out for themselves and have only change some of their views because of public scrutiny. We need a new Louisiana and today is the first day of making that change! Give yourselves a huge pat on the back!!!
Afraid so liz
Great news! I love it! Thank you Mr. Governor for listening to the people of Louisiana.
I am new to this site only posting my first comments last Saturday. Thank goodness for this site and others like it.
Anything is possible now! The legislators now know that the people of Louisiana will be watching them like a hawk from now on so when they try to pass some stupid law like doubling their pay raise for part-time work, we will raise all kinds of hell and be heard.
Good job to everyone involved in organizing protest and recalls to writing articles and comments on sites such as this.
Now let’s go after the “hard working lawmakers” that are supposed to be in session voting but instead are driving in their cars calling radio shows while others are casting their votes for them!!!!
Suggestion: Keep a list on the front page of this site of the legislators that voted to double their pay and keep it up everyday until the next election to remind us who not to vote for in the next election!
How do you know?
I’ve been trying to post a link to a good article written by Jeff Sadow regarding the winners & losers of the veto and SB672. It’s at
http://jeffsadow.blogspot.com/ and hopefully this post works this time darn it.
lol……..it’s at the top of this article :D……Laura posted it
UPDATE x2: Just got word from Steve Sabludowsky - the rally has been canceled.
Might I suggest sending an e-mail to the governor, reaffirming your support for his position in this? I know he had been threatened by our dear, dear legislators with retribution should he veto this…
(http://www.gov.la.gov/index.cfm?md=form&tmp=email_governor)
Phooey…….I’ve been trying to post a link and for some reason it won’t work but, anyway…….if you google Jeff Sadow it will take you to his blog……he has a great article posted today about the winners and losers relative to the veto and SB672.
I emailed steve and he just answered me. He said he understood that many still want to rally…but he was concerned that turnout would be poor…after the veto was accomplished.
Tucker could save himself a fortune by withdrawing his lawsuit that is currently at the Supreme Court…
thanks G8trgirl: I visited between-line.com to read SAdow’s commentary.
And guess what, Ann Duplessis, he gave us his word too..with his pledge….
and weeny-whinny BAdon from No…oh poor you…Austin Badon..no one feels sorry for you….
Now it will be our responsibility to keep an eye on and an ear to the ground when the Legislature next meets to be sure there is no backlash. Never forget, never let down your guard.
A big thank you to Gov. Jindal for supporting the people of Louisiana.
p.s. I would love to be a fly on the wall at the bank that Ms. Duplessis is a VP of.
and Clancy Dubos…he is siding with Ann Duplessis…. and the legislators…….I am going to write him a letter…. Dubos says Jindal strung the legislators along because he told them to proceed with a raise…they were all in this together with their back room (or as CB Forgotston suggested: backyard) deals……..
So what… if he did not keep his word to them…He pledged his word to us and it was DOCUMENTED IN HIS CAMPAIGN BOOKLET….Long before he gave them whatever word he gave them about whatever…..
….Just go and read the notes from the SEnate Finance Committe when they discussed the raise…the only defiant one in the room was Duplessis and she was hell-bent on sending this bill favorably to the floor for discussion..
Discussed on the floor!!absolutely not..debated? absolutely not…..voted and passed…absolutely! with total disregard of their constituents…with 20 votes to barely get it passed…
I do not buy that Jindal was totally at fault…..I didn’t see Duplessis “raise her fist” at Jindal…That picture will haunt her for a looooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong time!!
Laura, Nick, G8trgirl: thank you so much..I am not sure what your plans are for legewatch.com….If it has to fold, I commend you for all of your diligent wirj and dedication to this cause. If legewatchcom continues to exist, the next most important issue is to build support to make sure that legislators can no longer vote on a raise for themselves.
Any suggestions to where does that path begin? Certainly not with the legislators themselves. I will ask Steve and CB what needs to be done. INPUT?
Thank you for all the kind words, and more than anything, THANK YOU ALL FOR EVERYTHING YOU’VE DONE!!!
LegeWatch is going to keep going. Obviously there is a real need for a watchdog organization to keep after the lege on a day to day basis and we’re ready to do it. We have to figure out a basic game plan, but if you read our Goals page you can see what we have in mind generally.
In any event, keep an eye on the site for more news on the lege.
You are most certainly welcome. It was a joy and a pleasure to be invited in to participate in this endeavor.
I feel great…
Everyone at work seemed to have a big smile on their face after 11:00 today. My phone rang of the hook.
Right now it is time to relax and decompress a bit.
Governor Jindal stepped up to the plate and did the right thing for the citizens of this state. He didn’t wait til the very last minute and by doing so he saved us a lot of time and work over the next week. Thank you for that Gov.
The VETO is particularly sweet since the legislature chose to leave the pay raise for their aides behind on the cutting room floor. (SB543).
liz thank you for your kind words……you have a been a champion of the cause from the get go yourself!!!!! I actually deserve no praise though…….it goes most of all to laura for having the where-with-all to hatch this site and to nick for his absolutely wonderful journalism!!!! Hats off to you both!!!!!
LOL…….this is wayyyyyyyyyyyy off topic but um, how much longer you think Chad is gonna leave that picture of the girl in the bikini on his page? LOL…..gaw Chad…..ya like her or what?
To all of you, thank you for your kind words. It was a heck of a ride..and I am still flying…. I am so pleased that you will keep the site alive.
Do you think that all of the legislators knew what Jindal was going to do this morning the day before the raise was to go into effect? Did he drop a bomb on them?
Also, did anyone of you have any suspicions that he might veto it today since today was June 30? Most of us were praying and hoping for a veto by 11:59 pm July 7th.
Nick, did you mean SB223 was scortched by Jindal’s veto pen also. SB223 was a proposed legislative failure of Derrick Sheppard…Isn’t he in trouble??
For “satisfaction sake’s”, I noticed that WDSU (6) was more pro-citizen than WGNO (26) who entertained the author of SB672. She was so arrogant and made comments like: he is so young and he has lots to learn about relationships….I guess, in
“Duplessis language” that means that he has not become callous enough to learn how to wheel and deal, not care and hide it from the citizens. Her interpretation: his skin is still too thin!!??
Then she had the bold arrogant audacity to say “that several radio talk show hosts orchestrated it and the public bought into it!” This insulted me. No talk show brought me anywhere…My moral compass directed me to my decision to speak up for what I believed was wrong and I let Jindal, and my rep and sen know how I felt about the raise…I also sent emails to legislators who were not my repersentatives….
She is disgusting and repulsive as she sat at her VP desk.
Her words and image just enhance the negative perception the public has of her. And who “authored and orchestrated SB672″ What a hypocritcal statement!!!
All I had to think about were the notes from SEnate Finance Committed meetings and Sen. Broome telling Duplessis: YOu have so much courage to author this bill and get it to the floor favorably for discussion!!!!
I did hear one interesting comment on one broadcast: now that
Jindal did not let them have this raise this year, he will have to find a way to work with them to get one next year…. and I thought….NOT BY THE HAIR ON THE CHINNY, CHIN, CHIN OF EVERY CONSTITUENT WHO IS PAYING ATTENTION!!
So, our vigilance can not stop…
Also, what about the comment from Tucker: the Louisiana constitution allows the legislators to vote on their own raise, and so this needs to change…(something to this effect)
So, would this take a constitutional amendment? How does this develop to bring it to a vote of the citizens?
I will go to sleep early and smile when I know that Ann D., J. Tucker, and all the rest of them will wake up tomorrow (if they sleep) WITHOUT A RAISE THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN FUNDED BY OUR TAXES.
Thanks, Liz
First everyone needs to pat themselves on the back for keeping the pressure on the Governor. This is certain proof that persistence pays off.
Second I would like to thank those who set-up this site and others like it; THANK YOU.
While the rally has been canceled, I would offer this suggestion that perhaps we should have one at the beginning of the next session. It would be a chance to show the Leges that we are still watching them.
[...] we’re finished, we need to consider where we go from here at LegeWatch. Two sentences of Governor Jindal’s statement deserve particular attention: “I know that some of the legislators are going to be upset that I [...]
Email and call Bobby and let him know you appreciate his spineliness. Let him know that you have his back against any reprecussions from legislators.
Remember, the legislators who voted for this didn’t veto it. They will start crawfishing and talking about what a good job they are doing, how they haven’t had a payraise since 1980 (the none that are still there from 1980), and all that other sad stuff.
We eventually will decide on a payraise for our public servants. It will be on a ballot where we will vote up or down. So go back to the commission recommendations, all of them, not just cherrypick the ones you like.
When the payraise comes through in 3 years or so, the legislators who voted for this last one won’t have this job.