Bobby Jindal Pitches Himself as a ‘Full-Spectrum Conservative’ Ahead of 2016 Presidential Race
The Louisiana governor says voters are looking for "a fighter."
— -- Louisiana governor and likely 2016 candidate Bobby Jindal says voters are looking for the next Republican presidential nominee to be “a fighter.”
And though he has yet to formally announce his candidacy, Jindal described himself as someone who is “unafraid to tell the truth” even if he’s attacked for doing it.
“I gave a speech in London about the threat of radical Islamic terrorism … I was called racist, an anti-Muslim, it's not true but I think people are looking for a fighter," Jindal said during an interview with ABC News’ Rick Klein on the sidelines of CPAC.
In looking ahead to the future of the party, Jindal said the GOP needs to work on expanding its appeal to people across all socio-economic and age groups.
“We need to be party of everybody,” Jindal said. “We need to fight for a 100 percent of the votes.”
On the topic of Jeb Bush – who many view as the presumptive Republican frontrunner -- Jindal said that voters will ultimately decide who the next nominee is.
“The good news is that voters want to pick their own candidate, their own nominee,” he said. “The establishment, the donors, media, governors, others don't get to decide; let the voters decide.”
Asked about Washington DC’s recent move to legalize marijuana for private use, Jindal said he believes it’s “a mistake” to legalize marijuana for any use other than medicinal.
“I don't think anyone should be legalizing marijuana, I think that's a mistake,” he said. “When it comes to the issue of medical marijuana, I've said as long as it done under tight restrictions, I can be okay with that.”
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