Louisana governor takes aim at Obama, national debt

ROCK RAPIDS, Iowa -- One of a more than a dozen declared Republican presidential candidates, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal is hitting the campaign trail fast after announcing his candidacy less than two weeks ago.
Jindal made several stops in conservative northwest Iowa Friday, outlining his views on everything from President Barack Obama to marriage equality and illegal immigration.
At his stop in Rock Rapids, Jindal met with roughly 35 supporters at Pizza Ranch. In opening his discussion, he wasted little time in criticizing the current administration and the debt the United States has accumulated.
“I’ve been thinking a lot about the damage that President Obama has been doing to our country,” Jindal began, “A lot of damage this president has done can be undone - $18 trillion of debt, an EPA that is trying to strangle our economy .... We’ve got, all across the board, rules and policies and laws that don’t make sense to me. A lot of that can be undone. What bothers me the most is this president is trying to redefine the very idea of America.”
Jindal, the son of Indian immigrants, was vocal on immigration.
“I want to tell you about the American dream my parents have lived - what they taught me,” he said. “My dad is the only one that got past the fifth grade. He grew up in a house without running water, without electricity. I know because we heard these stories every single day.”
“My parents came here legally. … People that want to come to our country should come legally, should learn English, should adopt our values, and should roll up their sleeves and get to work when they get here. It makes no sense to me. Why would we give freedom to other people who want to use that freedom to undermine our freedoms?
“We used to proudly call America the melting pot. It’s common sense to say, if you want to come to America, you should want to be an American. If you don’t want to be an American, don’t come.”
Jindal highlighted a few of his accomplishments as governor of Louisiana.
“There are a lot of folks running for president. There are a lot of folks who will say the right things. There are a lot of talkers, but we already have a talker in the White House,” Jindal said.
“We need a doer, not a talker. If giving speeches was all it took, we’d be in a great place right now. Every Republican will say, ‘Oh, I’m going to cut government. I’m going to fight Common Core. I’m going to protect the unborn.’ They are just talking about those things. We have done them in Louisiana.”
“We cut our budget 26 percent,” Jindal continued. “We cut 30,000 state government bureaucratic positions. We’re the most pro-life state six years in a row since I’ve been governor. We’re a top 10 state for private sector job creation.”
Jindal spoke against the Supreme Court rulings on the Affordable Care Act and marriage equality.
“At the beginning of the week, the court said words don’t have meanings,” Jindal said. “That’s what (Judge) Scalia said when he said, ‘Look, if you’re really going to try to save Obamacare, you say federal and state doesn’t matter.’ Basically, you’re saying words don’t have meanings.
“Then they tried to redefine marriage. Roberts says, ‘Well, this has nothing to do with Constitution. Whatever you want to call it, this isn’t the Constitution.’ So just to recap, in one week the court can’t be bothered to read a dictionary or the Constitution. I don’t know about you, but my views on marriage aren’t evolving. … No earthly court can change my view of marriage.”
If elected, Jindal said he would fight to restore 10th Amendment rights and to have marriage defined as one man and one woman.
Jindal made several campaign stops in northwest Iowa Friday, including visits in Sioux Center, Sibley, Sheldon and Spencer.