Jindal faces troubles on his home turf

Gov. Bobby Jindal faces deepening troubles in his home state even as he dishes out advice on how the divided GOP can regroup and looks to position himself as a national party front man, The Associated Press reports. The new head of the Republican Governors Association—who also is a potential future White House contender—has made a series of cuts to health services and colleges, drawing criticism from affected constituents as well as from Republicans who say he hasn’t cut enough. And while he delighted conservative policy wonks nationally with his signature measures overhauling education and public employee pensions, those laws are tied up in state court as Republican judges claim constitutional concerns. At the same time, recent polls suggest that Jindal’s once-formidable job performance rating has fallen below 50% just over a year after he was re-elected without serious opposition. “He’s got a large number of people in Louisiana who just do not like him,” says Baton Rouge-based pollster Bernie Pinsonat, not usually a Jindal critic. The question isn’t necessarily how Jindal’s circumstances affect him inside his own party, where he remains popular among vocal conservatives. “He’s done some serious reforms and taken a stand against establishment thinking,” says South Carolina Republican Chairman Chad Connelly, whose state expects to host the first Southern primary in 2016. The full story can be found here.