Gov. Bobby Jindal’s call last week for fellow Republicans to start saying what they’re for in health care reform got backing from an unlikely source—President Barack Obama. That put Jindal in an uncomfortable spot, says John Maginnis. “Jindal’s remarks were likely galling to many Republicans, including the one who succeeded him, Rep. Steve Scalise of Metairie, who has written the president asking for a meeting to discuss areas of agreement and to offer alternatives,” Maginnis says. One reason for Jindal’s conciliatory tone is the fact he needs the White House to help him out on a number of big issues, including a $1 billion fix in the Medicaid match rate and money to replace Charity Hospital in New Orleans. “Success greatly depends on cooperation from the Obama administration and, whether conservative voters like it or not, a good working relationship between the governor and the president,” says Maginnis. Read the full column here.
(John Maginnis publishes LaPolitics Weekly, a newsletter on Louisiana politics, at LaPolitics.com.)
