Palin, Jindal balk at Gingrich's 'Party of Yes' idea for GOP

NEW ORLEANS — Big-name Republicans aren’t joining Newt Gingrich’s call to rebrand the GOP the “Party of Yes.”
 
The former House Speaker kicked things off Thursday by urging the GOP to ditch the “party of no” label by focusing on its own ideas, rather than merely saying no to the Democrats.
 
On Friday, though, a pair of Republicans mentioned as potential 2012 presidential candidates — Sarah Palin and Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal — both distanced themselves from the concept and said Republicans shouldn’t apologize for being the “party of no.”

Jindal referred directly to Gingrich, saying he was right in some ways. But he also said, in some harsh terms, that Republicans shouldn’t be afraid of the label.
 
“Let’s be clear: A bad idea is a bad idea, and shame on us for being afraid to say so,” Jindal said. He added that, when it comes to bad ideas, “We shouldn’t just be the 'party of no,' we should be the 'party of "hell no." ' ”
 
Palin also weighed in during her speech Friday. She said Republicans should embrace the label.
 
“There is no shame in being the 'party of no' if the other side proposes something that violates our Constitution and conscience,” she said.