NEWS AND OPINION:
Former Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal says he has no interest in running for U.S. senator, but the door is apparently still open. “I’m not saying I’ll never go back to public service. I did serve in Congress. But I prefer the executive branch. I prefer running things,” the former presidential hopeful tells Inside the Beltway.
He has advice for GOP officials as election day comes slowly into focus, now 190 days off.
“As far as the Republican Party goes, we need to do a better job of articulating why our conservative principles work for every American family. There’s a lot of frustration from folks who don’t see how their kids will do better. We need to show them that a smaller government and lower taxes grow the real-world economy, not the government economy,” says Mr. Jindal.
“We have to do a better job of connecting with average voters. The support that Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders are getting illustrate the anger and frustration of citizens — and the fact that Washington is not working for the average American,” he concludes.
Mr. Trump is in Indiana on Monday, the eve of the state’s primary, campaigning in Carmel and South Bend. Meanwhile, Mr. Sanders reveals that in April, a million of his devoted fans sent in donations totaling $25.8 million, far surpassing the campaign’s average monthly total of $17 million. In total, the Bernie-minded have sent their candidate $210 million.
HEADLINE DU JOUR
SEE ALSO: Republican establishment pressured to embrace insurgents in role reversal
“Battle of the nerds: Fight breaks out between Fox News and Huffington Post reporters at swanky correspondents’ dinner after party.”
— From the Daily Mail, one of many news accounts describing a close encounter of the disagreeable kind in the wee hours early Sunday following the White House Correspondents Dinner. The combatants: Fox News correspondent Jesse Watters and Huffington Post Washington bureau chief Ryan Grim, who grappled over a cellphone.
Pivotal takeaway: “They brawled at MSNBC’s party at the U.S. Institute of Peace in the capital.”
Or more importance: Mr. Watters will address the incident in an appearance on The O’Reilly Factor on Fox News at 8 p.m. Monday night.
GARY JOHNSON WOOS THE UNDECIDED
Former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson is running for president as a Libertarian, just as he did 2012 when he managed to get 1.2 million votes. Regardless of his chances of a win, Mr. Johnson remains in fighting form, reaching out to undecided GOP voters who are unconvinced that Donald Trump is the answer
SEE ALSO: Obama slings barbs at both parties, media at annual correspondents dinner
“The press used to call me the most fiscally responsible governor in America. That’s because I felt it was my sacred duty to protect your tax money. Now that Donald Trump has taken advantage of a broken and divided GOP, I am going to be the only presidential candidate who will stop Congress from raising taxes, who supports free trade and who stands up for you,” Mr. Johnson says in a new campaign video.
“I left my state with a billion dollar surplus. We got the school roads and health care that my state wanted but without raising taxes. Look, I can’t support Trump. You can’t either. We can fight for small government and conservative values. Just Google Gary Johnson and find out,” the jaunty Mr. Johnson advises.
CARLY’S TAKE
“Since Ted Cruz picked me to be his running mate, we’ve been surging fast — and the collective heads of the political class and the mainstream media have been exploding. Liberal talking head Stephen Colbert called me Disney’s ’wicked stepmother.’ Rolling Stone called me ’the anti-woman woman.’ And so on. There’s an old saying: ’First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.’ The establishment knows where this campaign is headed. And it scares them to death.”
— Carly Fiorina, in a fundraising outreach from Carly for Vice President, her newly reorganized campaign apparatus.
HILLARY LISTENING IN APPALACHIA
Beginning on Monday, Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton leaves the fancy fundraising aside for a spell to launch what her campaign calls the “Breaking Down Barriers Tour” with stops in Kentucky, West Virginia and Ohio on Monday and Tuesday. It appears to be a repurposing of the old “listening tours” of hers, which date back to her U.S. Senate campaign in 2000.
“On this tour, Clinton will meet with voters, hear their stories, and discuss how she will fight to raise incomes and expand opportunities for them and their families as president. The trip will underscore Clinton’s focus on the aspirations and needs of families, especially in often overlooked or underserved communities across the country,” the organizers say.
The itinerary includes Ashland, Kentucky, and Williamson, West Virginia, with more to be announced. By Wednesday, however, Mrs. Clinton is bound for the nation’s capital to host a “Breaking Down Barriers” fundraiser with her daughter Chelsea, then it’s on to San Francisco to host a similar event Friday with Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer.
DISCONCERTING NEWS OF THE DAY
A huge increase in drug overdose deaths in the U.S. has led to an unexpected byproduct, reports Steve Sternberg, a veteran health care writer for U.S. News & World Report.
“More organ donors,” Mr. Sternberg wrote. “America’s epidemic of drug overdose deaths has produced a dramatic rise in the number of desperately needed organs for people on transplant waiting lists, statistics show. Nationally, the number of donors who died of overdoses rose by nearly 270 percent — from 230 to 848 — between 2006 and 2015, according to data gathered by the United Network for Organ Sharing. In New England alone, the number rose from eight to 54 — or by 575 percent — over the last five years, according to statistics compiled by the New England Organ Bank.”
POLL DU JOUR
• 60 percent of hiring managers use information from social media sites to screen potential employees.
• 49 percent of that group say they found negative information about a candidate that caused them not to make the hire.
• 46 percent of that group “were turned off” by provocative or inappropriate photos or videos.
• 44 percent found background information to support a candidate’s resume.
• 43 percent found information about a candidate’s drug or alcohol use; 33 percent found discriminatory comments about race, religion or gender.
Source: A CareerBuilder/Harris Poll of 2,186 human resource professionals conducted Feb. 10-March 17 and released Friday.
• Churlish remarks and hesitant praise to jharper@washingtontimes.com.
• Jennifer Harper can be reached at jharper@washingtontimes.com.
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