Gov. Bobby Jindal is firing back at New York Times columnist Charles Blow, who recently ripped him in a column titled “Gov. Jindal’s Implosion,” as well as The Times editorial board, which also recently took the governor to task in an editorial titled “Governors Can Run but They Can’t Hide.”
In a letter to the editor published by the newspaper, Jindal says, “Mr. Blow’s column and your editorial critical of my record as governor provide good examples of how liberals at The New York Times and I have a different opinion on how to measure successful governance and what it looks like in practice.”
Jindal says in the letter that he has kept promises made to Louisiana voters when he campaigned for governor seven years ago.
“I promised to make the government smaller and the economy larger. That’s exactly what I have done,” Jindal writes. “We cut taxes and reduced the size of government. In fact, the government is smaller by more than $9 billion and 30,000 workers. This fiscal responsibility resulted in eight straight upgrades by the major credit agencies.”
Jindal adds, “Louisiana now has higher incomes, a larger gross domestic product, more exports, more jobs and more people than we’ve ever had in the history of our state. That’s a record of which I am proud. I measure success not in the prosperity of government, but in the prosperity of citizens.”
Read Jindal’s full letter to the editor, and check out Blow’s column, as well as The New York Times editorial.
