Bobby Jindal: GOP Needs to ‘Stop Being the Stupid Party’

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal warned fellow Republicans they “must stop being the stupid party” during a fiery and sharp critique Thursday night at the Republican National Committee’s Winter Meeting.

As Republicans gather in Charlotte, N.C., on Friday, many have focused on how best to reboot the party in the face of a 2012 election cycle that saw Democrats retain the White House and gain seats in both chambers of Congress.

For Jindal, a popular rising star in the party who is thought to be an early contender for the 2016 presidential nomination, that recalibration involves Republicans learning to “stop insulting the intelligence of voters.”

In the address, Jindal outlined at least seven steps that he believes Republicans need to take in order to remain competitive. In a scathing takedown, he accuses the party of “looking backwards” and having an obsession with “identity politics.”

“We must reject the notion that demography is destiny, the pathetic and simplistic notion that skin pigmentation dictates voter behavior,” Jindal said.

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But among Jindal’s most provocative suggestions was the demand that the GOP needed to “stop insulting the intelligence of voters” — and display more intelligence itself. Jindal’s comments seemed targeted squarely at conservative candidates in Senate races whose comments on rape and abortion appeared to torpedo their electoral chances.

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