Letter: Jindal knows what he’s doing

• Published: Nov 24, 2008 - UPDATED: 12:05 a.m.

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If Gov. Bobby Jindal is puzzled about why educated Louisiana citizens are leaving by the thousands, he should look in the mirror.

Louisiana’s problems did not begin with Jindal, but when he had the opportunity to make Louisiana a better place for educated, talented people to live as workers, parents and citizens, he chose instead to cater to the farthest reaches of his Religious Right base.

Jindal understands what he’s doing. However, he apparently hopes no one else understands. He apparently hopes that the people of Louisiana are too busy or too uninformed to pay attention to his actions, rather than merely to his words.

Here are some things he did to make Louisiana a less-desirable place to live:

n He refused to extend Gov. Kathleen Blanco’s Executive Order 2004-54 guaranteeing equal rights to gay citizens who work, pay taxes and improve Louisiana through their talents and skills.

n He signed a bill permitting creationist supplementary materials in public schools.

n He signed a bill outlawing state funding for research using somatic cell nuclear transfer, which offers hope to millions of people with dreadful — and fatal — diseases. He did this even though Louisiana has one of the country’s cutting-edge research facilities, the Pennington Biomedical Research Center.

He did these things not only because of his own extreme rightward views, but because his actions are supported by groups such as the Louisiana Family Forum, to which he is politically allied. And he has stacked his Louisiana Commission on Marriage and Family with people who will promote this right-wing agenda as public policy.

Young, well-educated people don’t want to live in a state where their gay friends and family members — or maybe they, themselves — are not welcome, where they don’t have the same rights as everyone else.

Young, well-educated people cannot confidently build careers in a state where promising scientific research is outlawed by the Legislature and the governor.

Young, well-educated people cannot be confident that their children will get a decent education in a state where the governor signs creationist bills promoted by right-wing organizations such as the Louisiana Family Forum.

Using state helicopters to campaign in north Louisiana churches will not help the people of Louisiana, but it will cement the governor’s Religious Right base.

Signing creationist legislation will not improve Louisiana’s work force, which he says is one of his top priorities, but it will keep the Religious Right happy.