Louisiana GOP Gov. Bobby Jindal blasted Mitt Romney’s assertion that he lost last week’s election largely because of policy “gifts” to minorities and young voters from President Barack Obama.
Jindal is the incoming chairman of the Republican Governors Association (RGA). He was said to be a strong contender for the vice presidential slot this year and is seen as a possible contender in the 2016 presidential contest.
“I think that’s absolutely wrong,” he said of Romney’s speculation at a press conference preceding an RGA meeting Thursday,
Politico reports. “Two points on that: one, we have got to stop dividing the American voters. We need to go after 100 percent of the votes, not 53 percent. We need to go after every single vote.”
He was referring to Romney’s comment during the campaign that 47 percent of Americans are dependent on the government and would never vote for him.
“And, secondly, we need to continue to show how our policies help every voter out there achieve the American dream, which is to be in the middle class, which is to be able to give their children an opportunity to get a great education,” Jindal said. “So, I absolutely reject that notion.” It doesn’t represent where the party is headed.
Obama won 71 percent of the Latino vote, 93 percent of the African-American vote, and 60 percent support from voters 29 and younger.
Jindal attributes Romney’s defeat to his failure to advance a platform that resonated with the public. “Gov. Romney’s an honorable person that needs to be thanked for his many years of public service, but his campaign was largely about his biography and his experience,” he said. “Biography and experience is not enough to win an election. You have to have a vision.”
Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, the outgoing RGA chairman, says there already is one area concerning minorities where the GOP is ahead – the number of governors.
“They have I think two women and minorities. We have seven,” he said. Republicans lead Democrats in the “score that matters,” holding 30 governor positions, compared to 19 for Democrats, McDonnell said. “The point is the people that are coming in and are now the leaders of our party reflect a much more diverse group than the Democratic governors today.”
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