Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) isn’t sorry for bickering with a Democratic governor during a briefing that was supposed to tout the National Governors Association’s spirit of cooperation.
“I’m not really sorry for saying it, but to those who are offended that I didn’t follow the NGA etiquette book, the reality is the substance is more important,” Jindal said Wednesday on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”
Jindal started a tiff Monday with Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy (D) when he accused the Obama administration of “waving the white flag of surrender” on the economy by advocating a minimum wage increase. Malloy slammed Jindal for turning to partisan remarks, calling the comment “the most insane statement” he’s ever heard.
Appearing Tuesday on “Morning Joe,” Malloy reiterated that criticism.
“It is baseless to equate the talking about the minimum wage with the white flag,” he said, adding that the idea that “somehow we’re becoming a minimum wage society is ultimately ridiculous.”
Jindal criticized his Democratic counterparts for taking offense to that comparison.
“Some of those same Democrats were pretty vocally critical against President Bush. I think this is a new standard,” he said Wednesday. “I know Democrats sometimes don’t like the Second Amendment. I thought they were stiIl for freedom of speech and the First Amendment. So I’m surprised, instead of having a debate about the substance, they just act offended.”
This post has been updated.
