Jindal’s ‘messed up situation’

[ProSense]

Jindal’s ‘messed up situation’

By Steve Benen

It would appear one of the stars of a reality-television show called “Duck Dynasty” has managed to open a new front in the culture war. That wouldn’t be especially noteworthy were it not for the misguided arguments coming from prominent Republican officials...Phil Robertson made a series of offensive comments during an interview, leading A&E, which airs the reality show, to suspend him. This in turn created a conservative backlash, not against the man who went on the bizarre tirades, but against the network that pays him to put him on TV.

Consider this statement from Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R):

“Phil Robertson and his family are great citizens of the State of Louisiana. The politically correct crowd is tolerant of all viewpoints, except those they disagree with. I don’t agree with quite a bit of stuff I read in magazine interviews or see on TV. In fact, come to think of it, I find a good bit of it offensive. But I also acknowledge that this is a free country and everyone is entitled to express their views. In fact, I remember when TV networks believed in the First Amendment.

“It is a messed up situation when Miley Cyrus gets a laugh, and Phil Robertson gets suspended.”

Obviously, folks can draw their own conclusions about the reality-show star’s bigotry and the degree to which it’s offensive. But there seems to be some confusion about what the First Amendment means.

A&E is a television network, not an extension of the government, and this private enterprise decided to suspend an employee who said dumb things to a reporter. But note, Phil Robertson is still free to say whatever he wants to say, to whomever he wants to say it, whenever it suits his fancy. His free-speech rights remain entirely intact....Whether Bobby Jindal understand this or not, the Constitution does not entitle Americans to their own cable reality shows. A&E isn’t censoring anyone; it’s simply distancing itself from a man on their payroll who said offensive things – and since private companies are not required to tolerate bigotry from their employees, the company’s actions are hardly outrageous.

The freedom of speech does not mean the freedom to have someone pay you for your speech. And with this in mind, Phil Robertson’s First Amendment rights have not been infringed, by his employer or anyone else. Either Bobby Jindal needs to brush up on the basics of civil liberties or his willingness to pander to confused social conservatives has somehow reached new depths.

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/jindals-messed-situation

Jindal is a moron. This idiot thinks it's OK to discriminate, and is doing everything to drag his state backward in terms of civil rights.

2008:

Gov. Bobby Jindal said he would not renew an order prohibiting harassment and discrimination at state offices, including discrimination by race, sexual orientation and political affiliation. The order, issued by Mr. Jindal's predecessor, Kathleen Babineaux Blanco, a Democrat, will expire Friday. Mr. Jindal, a Republican, said that state and federal laws prohibited discrimination and that he did not want to create additional special categories by executive order. He also said the order could cause problems with the ability of religion-based organizations to contract with the state.

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9407EEDB123DF932A1575BC0A96E9C8B63&ref=kathleenbabineauxblanco

President of Anti-Gay Hate Group Appointed to Louisiana Law Enforcement Commission
http://www.slate.com/blogs/outward/2013/09/25/louisiana_s_law_enforcement_commission_now_includes_by_tony_perkins_president.html

Bobby Jindal Blames Racial Inequality On Minorities Being Too Proud Of Their Heritages
http://thinkprogress.org/media/2013/08/25/2523431/jindal-race-assimilate/

Louisiana Supreme Court Rules Jindal’s School Voucher Program Unconstitutional
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022809855

[SidDithers]

1. "Jindal is a moron."...

Sid

[ProSense]

3. And that's an understatement. People

in LA are being arrested for carrying a condom.

Police Harassment In Louisiana May Be Increasing The Number Of People Dying From AIDS
http://thinkprogress.org/health/2013/12/16/3068621/police-harassment-sex-workers-louisiana/

[Tarheel_Dem]

6. +1 (n/t)

[JI7]

2. hopefully lousiana will go the way of Virginia one day

and all of these scumbags will go down in history as opportunistic loers .

[Thinkingabout]

4. Louisiana was blue for many years and perhals when the great people of the state wakes up to the

Fact the GOP is just using them and is working against them and vote the reds out of office. Unfortunately the state has followed the Klan runners to follow the TP and they vote on single issues.
Jindal is worried about the First amendment rights but does not allow others the right to e,press their choice.

[Gothmog]

5. The First Amendment only applies to State Actors

Unless a governmental entity is doing the censorship, the First Amendment does not apply. Here the TV network is free to take whatever steps they want and there is no violation of the First Amendment. This is basic constitutional law. Here is a brief explanation of this requirement from Cornell Law School http://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/state_action_requirement

The state action requirement stems from the fact that the constitutional amendments which protect individual rights (especially the Bill of Rights and the 14th Amendment) are mostly phrased as prohibitions against government action. For example, the First Amendment states that “[c]ongress shall make no law” infringing upon the freedoms of speech and religion. Because of this requirement, it is impossible for private parties (citizens or corporations) to violate these amendments, and all lawsuits alleging constitutional violations of this type must show how the government (state or federal) was responsible for the violation of their rights. This is referred to as the state action requirement.

[Cha]

7. Jindal has a rep for being rather stupid on purpose or not. He

thinks it's perfectly alright to discriminate against poor people.. but, A&E they can't exercise their right as a private enterprise to "suspend" who the hell they want.



http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024171509

thanks PS

[ProSense]

9. Yeah, there's that.

Stupid squared.

[spanone]

8. wonder if bobby has the same compassion for martin bashir?

[ProSense]

10. Well, the

competition for a prominent slot in the party of stupid is ongoing: http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024200829