‘Politico’: Jindal using La. as testing ground for 2016

A recent Politico report says Gov. Bobby Jindal is “laying the groundwork for a likely presidential run—and using his state as a testing ground for policies that play well with national conservatives.” The magazine cites as examples Jindal’s passage of education reform and statewide school vouchers, his rejection of the Medicaid expansion, and his new push to scrap state income taxes. “But political observers who’ve watched Jindal up close for years say it’s become increasingly fuzzy where his governing ends and his presidential ambitions begin—whether the 41-year-old policy wonk’s plans are aimed at Louisiana’s problems or future GOP voters in Iowa and New Hampshire,” says the report, which quotes the likes of LSU professor and frequent Jindal critic Bob Mann, as well as Daily Report contributing columnist and longtime political observer John Maginnis, who writes LaPolitics. “By any objective measure, Gov. Jindal has set the standard for policy accomplishments from the perspective of a forward-thinking conservative,” says Phil Musser, a former executive director of the Republican Governors Association—of which Jindal is currently the chair. You can check out the full story here.