Jindal's keynote speech tells Republicans to 'stop being the stupid party'

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) told a group of Republican leaders on Thursday that the GOP's brand had been hurt by candidates saying "offensive and bizarre comments" and it was time to "stop being the stupid party."

In his keynote address at the Republican National Committee's winter meeting in North Carolina, Jindal insisted that Republicans did not need to change their values, but they "might need to change just about everything else we are doing."

"We've got to stop being the stupid party," the Louisiana governor explained. "It's time for a new Republican Party that talks like adults. It's time for us to articulate our plans and our visions for America in real terms."

Jindal also told attendees that Republicans need to "stop insulting the intelligence of voters" and "stop talking down to them."

"We are not the party of big business, big banks, big Wall Street bailouts, big corporate loopholes or big anything," he asserted. "We must not be the party that simply protects the well off so that they can keep their toys."

"We're a populist party and we need to make that clear to every voter and every American."

In a November interview soon after President Barack Obama defeated Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney, Jindal had also encouraged the GOP to "stop being the stupid party."

But during his political career in Louisiana, Jindal has also taken a number of positions that are out of step with most Americans, including allowing creationism to be taught in biology classes, opposing abortion in all cases, voting against expanding federal funding for stem cell research and supporting a constitutional ban on marriage equality.

Most recently, the Louisiana governor has introduced a plan to replace personal and corporate income taxes with sales taxes that would result in lower-income Louisianans paying significantly more, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy.

But on Thursday, Jindal referred to controversial remarks about rape made by former Missouri Senate candidate Todd Akin and former Indiana Senate candidate as the kind of thing that Republicans should avoid.

"It's no secret that we had a number of Republicans that damaged the brand this year with offensive and bizarre comments," Jindal said.

Watch this video from Politico, broadcast Jan. 24, 2013.