Is It Not About Time That Jefferson Parish’s Voters Turned On Newell Normand?

The business with Robert Frenzel last fall was a good indication that Normand is not the stable, judicious and wise figure you would expect as the sheriff of a wealthy, populous suburban parish, but if you thought Normand was justified in violating Frenzel’s civil rights for the “crime” of recording open conversations in public place perhaps there can be a debate about the propriety of his actions.

But this? This has to be beyond the pale, no?

Jefferson Parish Sheriff Newell Normand on Tuesday (Feb. 23) said Bobby Jindal was an “idiot” that he regrets endorsing and admonished fellow Louisiana Republicans for resisting proposed tax increases aimed at closing the enormous budget shortfall left behind by the former governor.

Normand, the most popular elected official in conservative Jefferson Parish, lamented the state’s budget crisis and its potential effects on law enforcement during a speech at the Metropolitan Crime Commission’s annual awards luncheon.

“The state budget, what a mess,” Normand said. “Bobby Jindal was a better cult leader than Jim Jones. We drank the elixir for eight years. We remained in a conscious state. We walked to the edge of the cliff and we jumped off and he watched us.

“And guess what? Unlike Jim Jones, he did not swallow the poison. What a shame.”

Sounds a bit like a veiled suggestion a former governor commit suicide, no?

There’s more…

Normand accused Jindal of “trying to rewrite history” since leaving office, attempting to deflect responsibility for budget gaps estimated at $943 million between now and the June 30 end of the fiscal year. The state is also estimated to face a $2 billion shortfall in the 2016-17 budget year.

“He’s trying to get everybody to believe that he did a phenomenal job. We have to just say no,” Normand said of Jindal. “I’m a Republican. But I’m not a hypocrite. … We did this to ourselves, myself included, because I endorsed that idiot. And now we’re going to try to play partisan politics as it relates to this.”

Normand endorsed Republican Lt. Gov. Jay Dardenne for governor in last year’s primary race, and is a member of the Louisiana Sheriffs Association that endorsed Democrat John Bel Edwards before his runoff victory over Republican David Vitter. Normand announced in June 2014 that he was not going to enter the governor’s race himself.

But Normand sounded very much like a future candidate for state office Tuesday as he implored the state’s Republican Party leaders to set aside partisan pledges to oppose tax increases and help close the budget divide for the good of the state’s citizens.

What state office he’d be a candidate for is a good question. For a guy who likes to call others idiots, Normand might want to read some polls. The voters are pretty clear in saying they’re not interested in tax increases.

And now…Grover Norquist. Of course.

“We’re facing enough challenges today,” Normand said. “We do not need to face the stupidity of our leadership as it relates to how we’re going to balance this budget, and talking about silly issues, because we’re worried about what Grover Norquist thinks. To hell with Grover Norquist. I don’t care about Grover Norquist. Give me a break.”

And Grover Norquist doesn’t care about Newell Normand.

He wasn’t done…

“We have to look at ourselves critically as a party, and figure out where we are and what we’re going to be about,” Normand said Tuesday. “The fact that the Republican leadership in this state is now trying to blame Gov. John Bel Edwards, who’s only been in office a little over 40 days, is absolutely incredulous to me.

The word is incredible, not incredulous. If you’re not capable of using four-syllable words properly then don’t try. And the Republican Party is about opposing tax increases, whether some of its elected officials aren’t all that good at it or not. There doesn’t need to be a lot of critical analysis of that. It’s fairly straightforward and it usually works pretty well, particularly when RINO loudmouths like Normand don’t sabotage the agenda.

“We are at a crossroads in the state of Louisiana as to who we’re going to be, what we’re going to be and how we’re going to be. We have some systemic issues that need to be addressed, and they can’t be handled by parties. What’s really incredible to me is that ‘compromise’ is now a dirty word.”

This from a guy who tries to arrest the employees of people who disagree with him. He’s all about compromise, you see.

If you’re in Jefferson Parish and you still support this buffoon…why?

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