--- title: Bobby Jindal: America's Next Top Columnist description: Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal has used guest editorials for national publications to build his image canonical: https://time.com/3730901/bobby-jindal-columns/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-03-05T17:28:42.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T05:05:15.520Z article:section: Politics og:title: Bobby Jindal: America's Next Top Columnist og:description: The Louisiana governor's 47 guest editorials would be the envy of any pundit. og:url: https://time.com/3730901/bobby-jindal-columns/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt04dfc0be0cf821e4/698782460b72e3fa2d6de026/bobby-jindal.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: CPAC 2015 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Bobby Jindal: America's Next Top Columnist twitter:description: The Louisiana governor's 47 guest editorials would be the envy of any pundit. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt04dfc0be0cf821e4/698782460b72e3fa2d6de026/bobby-jindal.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Bobby Jindal: America's Next Top Columnist by [Ryan Teague Beckwith](https://time.com/author/ryan-teague-beckwith/) ## Ryan Teague Beckwith Mar 5, 2015 5:28 PM UTC  Gov. Bobby Jindal, R-La., speaks at CPAC in National Harbor, Md. on Feb. 26, 2015. Gov. Bobby Jindal, R-La., speaks at CPAC in National Harbor, Md. on Feb. 26, 2015.Bill Clark—CQ-Roll Call/Getty Images by [Ryan Teague Beckwith](https://time.com/author/ryan-teague-beckwith/) ## Ryan Teague Beckwith Mar 5, 2015 5:28 PM UTC If this whole president thing doesn’t work out, Bobby Jindal should consider another career path: columnist. Since becoming the governor of Louisiana in 2008, Jindal has amassed a clip file of guest editorials that would be the envy of any freelance opinion writer. By TIME’s count, he’s been published 47 times in general interest outlets such as the Washington _Post_, CNN and _Politico_ as well as conservative-leaning media such as the _Wall Street Journal_, Fox News and _National Review_. Of those, 41 have been since the start of his second term in 2012. “Whether you’re a fan of his or not, the guy is a one-man think tank,” Curt Anderson, a political consultant who’s worked with Jindal since 2003, tells TIME. It’s a canny strategy for an outside-the-Beltway governor with his eye on the Oval Office and Jindal is using it for three different but related strategies: * **Get attention for his efforts in Louisiana.** Jindal has used several columns to draw attention to issues affecting his state, such as [the expansion of Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act](http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/bobby-jindal-to-fix-medicaid-listen-to-governors/2013/01/28/ff5c8e5e-6711-11e2-85f5-a8a9228e55e7%5Fstory.html), [the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/16/AR2010071605180.html) and [a legal fight over a school choice program](http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/gov-jindal-obama-should-drop-suit-opposing-school-choice/2013/09/04/01fd4d98-14cc-11e3-880b-7503237cc69d%5Fstory.html). That helps promote his record as governor in the Republican presidential primary. * **Comment on national issues.** A former member of Congress, Jindal has also written about issues that don’t always attract a governor’s eye, such as [the fiscal cliff](http://www.politico.com/story/2012/12/bobby-jindal-opinion-fiscal-cliff-diving-84647.html), [sequestration](http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/341834/president-obama-s-legacy-government-greed-gov-bobby-jindal), [Ebola funding](http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/10/the-facts-about-ebola-funding-111820.html#.VOTMozr%5FQgN), [immigration](http://www.nationalreview.com/article/352983/botching-immigration-again-gov-bobby-jindal), [the release of Bowe Bergdahl](http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2014/06/02/bowe-bergdahl-release-good-news-very-bad-deal/) and [the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria](http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2014/08/23/victory-is-not-inevitable/). That helps keep him in the national political conversation. * **Offer Republicans strategic advice.** Jindal has [told Republicans that they shouldn’t panic about Obama’s re-election](http://www.politico.com/story/2013/06/bobby-jindal-opinion-gop-needs-action-92933.html), [given tips on how they can win elections](http://www.cnn.com/2012/11/15/opinion/jindal-gop-election) including for [the White House](http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2013/11/how-the-gop-can-win-100024.html#.VOTLgDr%5FQgN), [argued they should not offer “Obamacare lite”](http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/02/gop-obamacare-alternative-114820.html#.VOTNZjr%5FQgN) and [made the case they should back over-the-counter birth control](http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424127887324640104578163120400999616). That boosts his image as a party strategist. Though his output is unusual, Jindal’s op-ed writing is not unusual among likely presidential candidates. In fact, it’s become something of a rite of passage. ### Behind the Scenes of CPAC  Peter Dudziak of John, Minnesota attends CPAC in National Harbor, Md. on Feb. 27, 2014. Mark Peterson—Redux for TIME  Nine year old Thomas H. from Virginia at his first CPAC in National Harbor, Md. on Feb. 27, 2015. Mark Peterson—Redux for TIME  Sarah Palin at the 42nd annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) at National Harbor, MD on Feb. 26, 2015. Mark Peterson—Redux for TIME  Dr. Ben Carson gives a speech to open Thursday's session at CPAC in National Harbor, Md., on Feb. 26, 2015. Mark Peterson—Redux for TIME  Timothy Flynn from New York City poses in an American flag jacket at CPAC in National Harbor, Md., on Feb. 26, 2015. Mark Peterson—Redux for TIME  Rick Santorum takes a selfie with a supporter at CPAC in National Harbor, Md. on Feb. 27, 2015. Mark Peterson—Redux for TIME  A Rand Paul supporter at CPAC in National Harbor, Md., on Feb. 26, 2015. Mark Peterson—Redux for TIME  Rand Paul speaks at CPAC in National Harbor, Md. on Feb. 27, 2015. Mark Peterson—Redux for TIME  Sen. Ted Cruz shakes hands with a Sarah Palin supporter at CPAC in National Harbor, Md. on Feb. 26, 2015. Mark Peterson—Redux for TIME  A reporter asks attendees to choose their favorite candidate at CPAC in National Harbor, Md. on Feb. 26, 2015. Mark Peterson—Redux for TIME  CPAC attendees listen to Donald Trump in National Harbor, Md. on Feb. 27, 2015. Mark Peterson—Redux for TIME  Jeb Bush speaks at CPAC in National Harbor, Md. on Feb. 27, 2015. Mark Peterson—Redux for TIME  New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie gives a thumb's up at CPAC in National Harbor, Md. on Feb. 26, 2015. Mark Peterson—Redux for TIME  A supporter poses with a life-size cutout of Rand Paul at CPAC in National Harbor, Md. on Feb. 26, 2015. Mark Peterson—Redux for TIME  Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker at CPAC in National Harbor, Md., on Feb. 26, 2015. Mark Peterson—Redux for TIME  Retired neurosurgeon Dr. Ben Carson greets supporters at CPAC in National Harbor, Md., on Feb. 26, 2015. Mark Peterson—Redux for TIME  Former Republican Governor of Texas Rick Perry at CPAC in National Harbor, Md., on Feb. 26, 2015. Mark Peterson—Redux for TIME  Buttons for past Republican campaigns on display at CPAC in National Harbor, Md. on Feb. 26, 2015. Mark Peterson—Redux for TIME  Supporters watch Rand Paul speak at CPAC in National Harbor, Md. on Feb. 27, 2015. Mark Peterson—Redux for TIME  Donald Trump signs a Playboy magazine at CPAC in National Harbor, Md. on Feb. 27, 2015. Mark Peterson—Redux for TIME  Attendees applaud at CPAC in National Harbor, Md. on Feb. 27, 2015. Mark Peterson—Redux for TIME  An empty room ready for the Conservative Political Action Conference in National Harbor, Md., on Feb. 26, 2015. Mark Peterson—Redux for TIME Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul was a regular writer for the [Washington _Times_](http://www.wsj.com/articles/sen-rand-paul-america-shouldnt-choose-sides-in-iraqs-civil-war-1403219558) until his column was canceled over [accusations of plagiarism](http://www.buzzfeed.com/andrewkaczynski/washington-times-ends-rand-pauls-column-after-plagiarism#.lxYokGPOKL). He’s since written for [_Wall Street Journal_](http://www.wsj.com/articles/sen-rand-paul-america-shouldnt-choose-sides-in-iraqs-civil-war-1403219558), [TIME](http://time.com/3111474/rand-paul-ferguson-police/), [CNN](http://www.cnn.com/2012/10/10/opinion/rand-paul-romney-foreign-policy/index.html), [_Politico_](http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/07/rick-perry-is-dead-wrong-108860.html) and [Breitbart](http://www.breitbart.com/national-security/2014/03/10/rand-paul-reagans-foreign-policy/?utm%5Fsource=twitterfeed&utm%5Fmedium=twitter). Texas Sen. Ted Cruz has written op/eds for [TIME](http://time.com/3663623/obama-not-at-paris-terror-march-ted-cruz/), [the Washington _Post_](http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/ted-cruz-regulating-the-internet-threatens-entrepreneurial-freedom/2014/11/13/a0a852e6-6aaf-11e4-a31c-77759fc1eacc%5Fstory.html), [_USA Today_](http://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2014/10/19/ted-cruz-republicans-election-congress-priorities-jobs-obamacare-column/17267261/), [_Politico_](http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/11/president-obama-is-not-a-monarch-113028.html#.VOTPYDr%5FQgM) and [Red State](https://www.redstate.com/diary/ted%5Fcruz/). Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush drew attention for a piece on immigration in the [_Journal_](http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424127887323482504578229660442099732), while Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker has written for the [Washington _Post_](http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/scott-walker-what-wisconsin-can-teach-washington/2013/10/08/95e3efb0-3030-11e3-9ccc-2252bdb14df5%5Fstory.html) and the [_Journal_](http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702303985504579206210388287976) and co-signed two op-eds with Jindal in [_Politico_](http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/07/whats-obamas-problem-with-school-choice-108667.html#.VNO9Plr%5FQ1c) and the [_Journal_](http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424127887324110404578626452647631608). In fact, politicians now get miffed if they aren’t published. When the New York _Times_ [turned down a Walker op-ed](http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2011/03/29/read-the-wis-govs-op-ed-the-nyt-refused-to-print/) on his state’s collective bargaining law, he posted it on his Facebook page with the headline [“The One Opinion Piece the New York Times Didn’t Want You to Read.”](https://web.archive.org/web/20120114002109/http://www.wisgov.state.wi.us/journal%5Fmedia%5Fdetail.asp?locid=177&prid=5712) Still, Jindal’s output is notable. His pieces are on a par with some full-time columnists, often making use of clever conceits like [focusing on how Hillary Clinton opposed the individual mandate in 1993](http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/05/hillary-clinton-1993-106647.html#.VOTYGTr%5FQgN), [outlining ways that President Obama could use his executive powers to improve the economy](http://www.nationalreview.com/article/371785/use-phone-and-pen-jump-start-growth-gov-bobby-jindal) or [tallying up how much the average insurance premium has risen since the Affordable Care Act was signed](http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2014/07/15/obama-18000-broken-promise/). Anderson says that the pieces are all Jindal’s ideas. “Sometimes he’ll write them and sometimes he’ll say we should write something on this and talk for five minutes and we’ll write it,” he says. “It’s different every time.” The most influential column came about almost by accident in late 2012\. Anderson said some Jindal staffers and consultants were having a meeting on some other topic when the governor — who got his start in politics as the head of the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals — started talking about how Republicans should address the politics of birth control, which he thought had become “silly.” “We were all sitting there thinking, ‘Huh,’ — we hadn’t really thought of that,” he recalls. The Jindal column that resulted, [“The end of birth-control politics,”](http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424127887324640104578163120400999616) ran in the _Wall Street Journal_ on Dec. 12\. It called for Republicans to embrace over-the-counter birth control pills as a way of countering Democrats’ “war on women” narrative with a free-market solution. Over the following year, Jindal staffers noticed that more and more Republicans were adopting the platform. By the 2014 midterm elections, Republican Senate candidates in [Minnesota, Virginia and Colorado](http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/gop-senate-hopefuls-favor-over-the-counter-birth-control/2014/09/02/1916bef2-32c0-11e4-a723-fa3895a25d02%5Fstory.html) had adopted it in their campaigns. Though it didn’t help carry the first two states, it arguably helped Sen. Cory Gardner beat back arguments from incumbent Democratic Sen. Mark Udall to win in Colorado. “I believe the pill ought to be available over the counter, round the clock, without a prescription — cheaper and easier, for you,” Gardner [argued in an ad](http://blogs.denverpost.com/thespot/2014/09/02/cory-gardner-birth-control-senate/112040/). It remains to be seen whether Jindal’s columns will help him win his own likely race for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016\. Guest editorials can be a negative, especially when you don’t get to write the headline, as Mitt Romney learned when his 2008 New York _Times_ column headlined [“Let Detroit Go Bankrupt”](http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/19/opinion/19romney.html) [became an issue](http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/the-ticket/romney-detroit-op-ed-2008-jumps-york-times-162603273--election.html) in a debate with President Obama. And former Speaker Newt Gingrich’s long paper trail of punditry weighed down his 2012 campaign. But Shannon Bates Dirmann, a spokeswoman for Jindal, said in an email to TIME that the columns have already served their purpose. “The Governor gave a major speech to the Republican National Committee after the 2012 elections in which he called on Republicans to just not be party of no and have new ideas,” she wrote. “He took his own advice.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3730901/bobby-jindal-columns/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3730901/bobby-jindal-columns/"},"headline":"Bobby Jindal: America's Next Top Columnist","datePublished":"2015-03-05T17:28:42.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:05:15.520Z","description":"How he used freelance punditry to build his reputation","url":"https://time.com/3730901/bobby-jindal-columns/","keywords":["2016 Election","2016 Election topic","Bobby Jindal"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt04dfc0be0cf821e4/698782460b72e3fa2d6de026/bobby-jindal.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Ryan Teague Beckwith","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/ryan-teague-beckwith/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt04dfc0be0cf821e4/698782460b72e3fa2d6de026/bobby-jindal.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"CPAC 2015","caption":"CPAC 2015","creditText":"Bill Clark—CQ-Roll Call/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/2016-election/","name":"2016 Election"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3730901/bobby-jindal-columns/","name":"Bobby Jindal: America's Next Top Columnist"}}]}] ```