Jindal Casts Donor Net Nationwide

POLITICS / JOHN MAGINNIS
OCTOBER 13, 2008
www.lapolitics.com


Bobby Jindal might not be an avid football fan, but he knows this much about the big game: it's where the money is.

So he followed the legions of LSU faithful to Gainesville, Fla., for Saturday's disastrous encounter with the Gators. He had the good sense, however, to skip the mayhem for a fundraising party for himself at a doctor's house in nearby Alachua. There wealthy Floridians paid $1,000 each to Friends of Bobby Jindal (the original ticket price of $2,500 was lowered in order to widen his circle of new friends, according to an event organizer) and more if they wanted to have their picture taken or join a roundtable discussion of "policy and politics" with the rising GOP star.

The governor, who also spoke at a John McCain rally before heading home, has been in great demand as a fundraising attraction for Republican candidates across the land. The Florida party began Jindal's out-of-state outreach on his own behalf.

Friends of Bobby Jindal now has an organizer working exclusively on national fundraising. Last week, the governor's communications director said Jindal would be making more such out-of-state trips soon. Like on Monday, when he helped a congressional candidate in Houston to raise money and then had another event to help himself.

So what is our governor up to? There is his re-election, of course. The $800,000 he began the year with in his gubernatorial account is less than 10 percent of what he will be comfortable with for his 2011 campaign, even against weak, even non-existent opposition. His loyal Louisiana givers are more than happy to share the load with his growing network of contributors.

Beyond then--but actually before then--there is the next presidential race, which begins on Nov. 5 for this year's losing party.

If the Republicans lose, as the polls signal, the GOP starts with a thin bench, anchored by the governor of Alaska and by former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, the nomination runner-up. There will be plenty others.

Yet the veepstakes was also kind to Jindal, with all the panting and sighing over him among true conservatives, and established him as a plausible contender for the top of a future ticket.

The very idea of Jindal 2012 seems unreal for a young governor yet to complete a year in office. Yet we learned in this campaign that the national launching pad doesn't ask when one is ready for blast-off, as evidenced by the current presidential frontrunner, who, four years ago, was a state senator in Springfield, Ill.

The 2012 GOP nomination will be moot if McCain wins or if a President Obama is as popular in four years as he is today. If not, even then Jindal may be seen by many as vice-presidential timber instead. But his career moves consistently demonstrate that he will reach higher than the level deemed appropriate for a man his age.

For now, it's all good for Jindal that politically attuned people in the rest of the country get to know him better and write him checks. As long as he doesn't neglect the day job, his exposure also reflects well on this state. Just the notion among outsiders that a Louisiana politician might serve time in a different kind of federal facility than is often the case would be refreshing.

Since Friends of Bobby Jindal is not a registered federal committee, money he raises now can only be used for his state elections, though he can also contribute to candidates around the country, as he does already. No better way to win friends and influence people in places one might visit again one day.

In running for president, who ends in first place often doesn't start there. Gov. Sarah Palin, if she is not the next vice president, will still be the glamorous new face of the Republican Party. But Jindal has more brains behind his. Whether or not that's what Republicans are looking for in 2012, or whenever, this governor is building to the challenge of a national campaign. He's already figured out the money.