President Obama is going to deliver his first address to a joint session of Congress this evening, and the GOP has selected Louisiana Governor Bobby “The Exorcist” Jindal to handle the response.

Gee, I wonder why he was selected? Since he and Michael Steele about about the only dashes of pepper in the Republican salt shaker, it’s no surprise. Anyway, the fundie governor, who believes that the exorcism he took part in cured a woman’s cancer, seems to be more unsure when it comes to taking federal dollars during a time of crisis. Think Progress:

On Friday, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) announced that he would reject roughly $100 million in unemployment assistance from the federal recovery package, claiming the aid would lead to a tax hike on businesses. Jindal’s decision ensured that at least 25,000 unemployed Lousiana residents would not be eligible for unemployment insurance.

As the congressman representing parts of Lousiana devastated by Hurricane Katrina, Jindal actively sought assistance from the federal government. Yesterday on MSNBC’s Countdown, Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz (D-FL) called the Republican Party a “heartless and insensitive organization” and criticized Jindal for rejecting the unemployment funds. Jindal, she noted, was singing a different tune about unemployment aid when Katrina hit his district:

   WASSERMAN-SCHULTZ: This is a guy, who while I served with him in Congress, voted for that [unemployment] assistance twice, and is certainly willing to take funding from the federal when people are out of a job and out of their home as a result of a hurricane, but not willing to take that assistance when his constituents are out of a job and out of a home as a result of this economic crisis. I’m not sure what the difference is. A crisis is a crisis.

UPDATE: CBN’s David Brody goes into the details of Jindal’s exorcist experience today, documented in the future Lousiana governor’s 1994 article on the matter, “BEATING A DEMON: Physical Dimensions of Spiritual Warfare.”

In 1994 when Jindal was in his early 20’s he wrote an article entitled, “Beating a Demon: Physical Dimensions of Spiritual Warfare.” In it he describes being present for what many would refer to as a spiritual exorcism. It involved his best friend  at the time “Susan.”  It is a truly captivating read full of talk of demons, screaming, praying, crosses, peace, etc. In many ways the whole experience left Jindal with more questions than answers but you can bet that if Jindal runs this topic will come up big time.

And here’s an excerpt of the batsh*ttery from Jindal, amateur exorcist:

Whenever I concentrated long enough to begin prayer, I felt some type of physical force distracting me. It was as if something was pushing down on my chest, making it very hard for me to breathe. Being a biology major at the time, I greeted this feeling with skepticism and rational explanations. I checked my pulse for signs of nervousness and wondered what could cause such a sensation. Shortness of breath is a common symptom that can mean very little or may signal the onslaught of a fatal stroke. Though I could find no cause for my chest pains, I was very scared of what was happening to me and Susan. I began to think that the demon would only attack me if I tried to pray or fight back; thus, I resigned myself to leav­ing it alone in an attempt to find peace for myself.