INDIANAPOLIS — Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal closed out the NRA lobbying arm’s leadership forum at Lucas Oil Stadium Friday with a no-holds-barred fusillade on people such as former New York City Mayor Michael I. Bloomberg and Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr., who he says want to fundamentally alter the ideological foundation of the country.
Mr. Jindal said the battle over freedoms in the country will last well past the 2014 midterm elections, and that gun rights supporters and like-minded people need to be ready.
“Our opponents in this fight are prepared for a long conflict,” he said. “They are not merely content to run a few candidates, spend a few bucks and try to win a few elections.”
They will not be satisfied, he said, until they have “fundamentally altered the ideological foundation of our country.”
“If you want to see their vision for America, just have a conversation with Michael Bloomberg or Eric Holder — if you can stomach it, that is,” he said. “They think government should pick your soft drink, your snack food, your vices, your home security system, your health insurance, your electricity source, and your children’s school as well.
“They take perhaps the most pessimistic view of Americans we have ever seen from national leaders in our history,” he continued. “If you listen to them, you get the feeling they’re surprised we can tie our own shoelaces without government intervention.
“The truth is that Michael Bloomberg, Eric Holder, so many of President Obama’s wealthiest liberal backers in Hollywood do not in fact believe in the Second Amendment at all,” he said.
He said if they had their way, they’d get rid of the Second Amendment entirely and probably replace it with a section granting people the right to look at Polaroid photos of their grandfather hunting in 1959.
Mr. Jindal did say that there are a great many legitimate differences of opinion on policy in the country where people can be respectful and agree to disagree, but a widening gulf on the “fundamental question of liberty” is much greater.
“The moment we compromise on individual freedom — enshrined in the Bill of Rights, enunciated in the Declaration of Independence, and bestowed on us by God almighty — the moment we compromise that, we will [have] given away our nation’s soul,” he said. “We’re … a nation created, and united, and built, and rebuilt by a common set of beliefs, values, and principles. The day we give up on these principles is the day we cease to exist as the country we love.”
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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