For a state legislator in the previous term, it was easy to be a friend of Gov. Bobby Jindal. The governor only asked lawmakers to do nothing that would inconvenience him, such as requiring more transparency in his office, or in any way impinge upon his nearly absolute power over the executive branch, or the legislative one, too, for that matter. Back then, being a friend of Bobby did not get you crosswise with anyone else, except for sexual predators and vendors of bath salts. Those were the days. The new day and term bring some harder choices and greater costs for being “in” with Jindal. Legislators figured as much from early news that the governor seeks to tighten tenure on teachers so that it is harder to get and easier to lose, and to make state workers, not getting pay raises again, contribute more toward their retirement while the state chips in less. Lawmakers have fielded some phone calls and emails on that, but they are bracing for when the pressure comes face to face. “This class of new legislators and the one before them don’t know what’s it’s like to get into a war with the teacher unions,” observed a former lawmaker, recently term-limited. “Like getting lobbied by a first-grade teacher?” surmised the reporter. “Like my first-grade teacher!” recalled the ex-pol with a shudder. Read the full column here.
(John Maginnis publishes LaPolitics Weekly, a newsletter on Louisiana politics, at LaPolitics.com.)
