Excerpts: Jindal's Republican Response To Obama
The speech, entitled "Americans Can Do Anything," includes a section on Jindal's upbringing.
"As a child, I remember going to the grocery store with my dad," Jindal plans to say. "Growing up in India, he had seen extreme poverty. And as we walked through the aisles, looking at the endless variety on the shelves, he would tell me: 'Bobby, Americans can do anything.' I still believe that to this day."
Jindal, echoing Mr. Obama, goes on to make an appeal to bipartisanship, saying that in his state of Louisiana, "we don't care what party you belong to if you have good ideas to make life better for our people."
"The strength of America is not found in our government," he will go on to say. "It is found in the compassionate hearts and enterprising spirit of our citizens."
Jindal will then say Washington must lead, not by raising taxes or putting "more money and power in hands of Washington politicians," but by "empowering you - the American people. Because we believe that Americans can do anything."
He also plans to attack the $787 billion stimulus package passed by Congress with little support from Republicans.
"Democratic leaders say their legislation will grow the economy," he will say. "What it will do is grow the government, increase our taxes down the line, and saddle future generations with debt. Who among us would ask our children for a loan, so we could spend money we do not have, on things we do not need? That is precisely what the Democrats in Congress just did. It's irresponsible. And it's no way to strengthen our economy, create jobs, or build a prosperous future for our children."
Jindal will also argue the Republican Party "got away from its principles" during the address.
"You elected Republicans to champion limited government, fiscal discipline, and personal responsibility," he will say. "Instead, Republicans went along with earmarks and big government spending in Washington. Republicans lost your trust - and rightly so."
He will then move on to a more optimistic note and an implied criticism of Mr. Obama's dire warnings about the economy.
"A few weeks ago, the President warned that our nation is facing a crisis that he said 'we may not be able to reverse,'" Jindal plans to say. "Our troubles are real, to be sure. But don't let anyone tell you that we cannot recover - or that America's best days are behind her."