The voters of California elected as their governor a sex offender who appears to have helped conspire to destroy the state's energy system. The voters of Mississippi elected as governor someone who is openly racist and who is tightly connected to corporate lobbying interests that have conspired to destroy the nation's democratic foundation. This weekend, the voters of Louisiana will elect a governor. Neither candidate is progressive, but one, Bobby Jindal, is frightening.

Jindal is opposed to abortion under any circumstances, including to save the life of the mother. He has vowed to "aggressively enforce" all abortion reporting laws and all informed consent laws. He is a right-wing Christian who favors the display of Christian symbols in and around public buildings. He enthusiastically supports the Bush administration's constitutionally flawed faith-based initiative and intends to establish it in Louisiana if he is elected. Jindal has also vowed to prohibit anti-discrimination legislation on behalf of gay citizens, and to pass a law prohibiting gays from adopting children.

Just as frightening, Jindal is the hand-picked candidate of outgoing governor Mike Foster, who, during his term in office--when he wasn't fishing--conspired with industry to make Louisiana virtually free of pollution laws, encouraged an effort to remove the boundary between church and state, and bought at least one mailing list from David Duke.

Jindal is running against Lt. Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco, who--despite her conservative leanings--is known as an effective administrator and an honest woman. Oh, yes--and not an insane, misogynistic extreme right-wing Christian.