Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal on Thursday blasted Republicans in Washington for giving up the fight against Democrats on ObamaCare and immigration.
“At the same time that Republicans in Washington are about to wave the white flag on amnesty, they’re about to wave the white flag on repealing ObamaCare,” Jindal said in a speech Thursday at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC). “We’ve got to tell them we won’t stand for that.”
{mosads}Jindal said Republicans campaigned in 2014 on repealing “every single word of ObamaCare” but have abandoned the fight now that they have majorities in the House and Senate.
“I don’t remember them saying in their 2014 ads ‘we’re just going to repeal parts of ObamaCare,’ ” Jindal said. “One of the most important promises they made was if we gave them the majority they’d repeal every single word. It’s time for them to govern the way they campaigned.”
He also had harsh words for congressional Republicans who are struggling to pass a bill that funds the Department of Homeland Security while eliminating President Obama’s executive actions on immigration.
“When we elected these Republicans, they promised they’d stand up to this unconstitutional, illegal act,” Jindal said. “[Obama] broke the law … it’s time for our Republican leaders in Congress to grow a spine and do the job we elected them to do.”
Jindal has been a frequent critic of Republican leaders in Washington, who he says are governing differently than their campaign promises. At a swing through Washington last month, he called GOP leadership “Democrat-lite,” a term he used again on Thursday.
“This wasn’t about getting a nicer office for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell or a bigger office for House Speaker John Boehner,” Jindal said. “This was about taking our country back.”
Jindal is considering a run for president in 2016 and has said he’ll decide in the coming months. He has a leadership PAC to raise money and has made trips across the country and abroad to raise his profile.
Still, he’s buried in the polls. The most recent Fox News survey showed him taking only 2 percent support and trailing nine other potential candidates.
“In 2016, it’s not an option for us to win,” Jindal said. “This president is bankrupting us financially and morally. He’s degrading our international standing.
“We have to win this election,” he said. “We can win this election, and we will win this election.”