I have this terrible Walter Mitty nightmare: Just after Governor Jindal personally asks me to help him with his 2012 campaign, Congressman Ron Paul decides to run for President as well – and wants me to help HIM too!

I am a Ron Paul voter. I was even in a Meetup group for Paul and tried to set up a rally at the state capitol. I collected a few signatures to get him on the ballot and was interviewed by my local newspaper as a leading RP supporter. I think he is correct on just about every question. I have written on libertarian subjects for Style Weekly, the local urban alternative newspaper. However, I support Governor Jindal because of my personal admiration for him and his accomplishments and that he can change the way people feel about Republicans and conservatives. I believe he could implement some of Dr. Paul’s ideas about smaller government and more liberty in Washington.

Let me suggest several ways to try to get some Ron Paul voters to the cause!

Governor Jindal signed into law in 2008 an act making Louisiana the 21st state to refuse to implement the REAL ID (some call it Dangerous ID and they are right ) Act. That act, at Section 1, paragraph 9, refers to the Tenth Amendment:

That the enactment into law by Congress of the REAL ID Act, will cause unneeded expense and inconvenience to those people, and was enacted by the Congress in violation of the principles of federalism contained in the 10th amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America, and thus the state of Louisiana will not participate in the implementation of the REAL ID Act.

Great language! Wait there’s more:

Section 2. The Legislature of Louisiana does hereby direct the Department of Public Safety and Corrections, including the office of motor vehicles, not to implement the provisions of the REAL ID Act and to report to the governor any attempt by agencies or agents of the United States Department of Homeland Security to secure the implementation of the REAL ID Act through the operations of that division and department.

Governor Jindal was lauded by a diverse coalition of groups, from privacy advocates (see the Privacy Lives blog of Melissa Ngo ) to the Best of New Orleans Blog:

(http://blogofneworleans.com/blog/2008/07/20/jindal-vetoes-his-vote/#comment-10900

Even the ACLU of Louisiana commended the governor and the legislature for its bold pro-liberty stand:

“The ACLU of Louisiana commends both Governor Jindal and the legislature for standing up to the Bush Administration in a nationwide movement against Real ID,” added Marjorie Esman, executive director of the ACLU of Louisiana. “The residents of Louisiana should be proud that our state officials honor our privacy and have chosen to protect it in spite of the demands of the federal government for greater surveillance.”

Governor Jindal can strengthen his libertarian bonafides by endorsing Congressman Ron Paul’s leading legislative initiative: HR 1207, otherwise known as the Audit the Fed Act. It has exploded onto the political stage with over 220 co-sponsors. It is obvious from a recent testy exchange between Paul and Fed chairman Ben Bernanke that the Federal Reserve is concerned about this matter:

“I will resist any attempt to dictate monetary policy.”

How can any servant of the people in a democratic republic claim they are beyond the accountability of the people’s representatives? The Federal Reserve is our servant – not our master.

Governor Jindal could simply indicate that if he were still in Congress he would co-sponsor and vote for the Audit the Fed Act (HR 1207) and urge the Louisiana delegation to do so.

Another effort that Governor Jindal could do is work on the elimination of useless, wasteful state governmental agencies. As I wrote in a earlier blog entry (May 13, 2009), Governor Jindal intends to ask the legislature to adopt a “Commission on Streamlining Government” to present a list of governmental cuts with an up or down vote similar to the base closing commission.

This is a key effort. By doing this at the state level, Governor Jindal can show real results transferrable to the federal level.

Governor Jindal also should seek a speaking spot at a future Campaign for Liberty or Ron Paul type event. I think he may find a friendly audience. Tanya Diagle blogged at the Campaign for Liberty website that:

“Recently, Republican leaders got together for a little pow wow in Florida to strategize for 2012. From what I read, the only one with any sense was Gov. Bobby Jindal of Louisiana. Gov. Jindal characterized it best when he said, “When the Republican Party is no longer the party of fiscal conservatism… then clearly I would argue we’ve lost our way. We have to match our action to our rhetoric.” * * * With all the blah blah blah I’ve been hearing, I heard Gov. Jindal LOUD AND CLEAR.”

This is great news for both Governor Jindal and libertarian conservatives. But the governor will have to explain several votes in Congress on items like the original REAL ID act and support for the renewal of the USA Patriot Act. In fairness, most establishment Republicans voted for those acts and some are just now coming around to the harm and threats these increased federal powers bring. Governor Jindal can easily find ways to explain those votes in a more libertarian manner without endangering his standing with national security conservatives.

We’ll see (maybe at this blog first!) how this plays out.

We’ll see if Governor Jindal gives a public statement about this. 

Sandy Sanders/Assistant Blogger/www.jindal2012blog.com