Jindal's "Battle": The Cultural Logics beneath Bobby Jindal's Pathetic Terrorist Metaphor

Abstract

In August of 2014 the Governor of Louisiana, Bobby Jindal, released a statement declaring his intent to sue President Obama and the Department of Education. This article analyzes the pathetic language used in that statement and finds a surprising metaphor comparing the President to a terrorist, as well as a parallel with a pattern Kenneth Burke found in his analysis of Hitler’s Mein Kampf. I include research on emotion and affect theory in my methodology and show how Jindal’s rhetoric could benefit from a more invitational approach than the extreme persuasive approach he has taken. I conclude by calling on rhetoricians to take note of discourse that follows such a pattern and for public speakers to consider invitational rhetoric as a means of opening a dialogue and working towards solutions.