Piyush may have accepted $95,000 in laundered money for his 2007 campaign, feds claim; but he’s not giving it back
To be fair: there is no evidence that Jindal or his campaign knew of the shenanigans going on as to the donations. There does seem, however, to be plenty of indications that big donors have had substantial influence; meanwhile, retirees from “rank and file”
state jobs will be made to suffer because the state failed to fund its own mandate with regard to state employee retirement issues. All is well, though: State employees haven’t had a merit increase or COLA in 3 years, HOWEVER - Jindal issued an Employee Appreciation proclamation - state employees were allowed to wear jeans on May 9th and be happy.
Now, where was I? Oh, yes, the money. Here’s the beginning. The rest can be read here.
Just as Gannett has positioned itself to “break” the scandal of American Legislative Exchange Council influence on Gov. Piyush Jindal, it appears it may have missed an even bigger story currently developing in St. Tammany Parish.
It’s taken awhile, but Gannett Louisiana papers have become the first of the metropolitan dailies in Louisiana to finally take notice of the incredible influence that ALEC holds over the legislative process in Louisiana.
Not that Louisiana is the only state in which ALEC’s agenda has surfaced in the form of proposed legislation calling for the privatization of education, prisons and Medicaid as well as radical employee pension “reform,” but it just happens to be the state that LouisianaVoice has been writing about for the better part of a year now.
We were beginning to think no one was listening—certainly not the New Orleans and Baton Rouge dailies.
But in the last few days the Monroe News-Star (and probably sister publications as well) have begun running teasers to that effect that beginning Sunday, Gannett papers in Monroe, Shreveport, Alexandria, Opelousas and Lafayette will launch a weekly series “Education for sale: How big business shapes reforms.”
The promotional blurb went on to say that since Jindal first ran for governor in 2003, he “has been funded by the American Legislative Exchange Council.” It said Jindal’s education reforms “also bear a striking resemblance to ALEC’s model.”
LouisianaVoice, of course, has been saying that all along, even giving examples of model legislation passed at various ALEC conferences from San Diego to Washington, D.C., from Chicago to New Orleans.
We have repeatedly hammered on the tens of thousands of dollars ALEC poured into campaigns of not only Jindal but Louisiana legislators who are members of ALEC. The immediate past president of the national organization is former State Rep. Noble Ellington (R-Winnsboro).
But an even bigger story is that of the possible laundering of as much as $95,000 in illegal money into Jindal’s 2007 campaign for governor.