Posted on 12/15/2005 2:07:59 PM PST by LdSentinal
Gov. Kathleen Blanco’s and New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin’s testimonies in front of the House committee investigating the hurricane Katrina disaster and the aftermath featured a tug of war of sorts, where the testifiers seemed to have one agenda, while the questioners had another. While some may call it political posturing, that misses the point that its leaders living in denial makes the state a poor risk in the investment in its recovery.
Testimony from Blanco and Nagin, both Democrats in front of a committee on which the House Democrat leadership has prohibited its members to serve (but permitting them to make kooky inquiries or grandstanding requests), primarily sought to put their governments’ behavior in the best light possible as a prerequisite to being given funding by the federal government, while simultaneously shifting blame to the federal government. Their Republican questioners stuck more closely to the committee’s actual purpose, which is to study the development, coordination, and execution by local, state, and federal authorities of emergency response plans and other activities in preparation for Hurricane Katrina; and the local, state, and federal government response to Hurricane Katrina.
In particular, Blanco’s testimony (her actual testimony differed in small but significant ways from her pre-hearing published remarks, such as with her lie about not taking “executive privilege”) should be reviewed relative to that of Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour’s the week before. The Republican Barbour made hardly any mention of justifying his state’s response to the storm largely because he didn’t need to. By contrast, Blanco came off as very defensive, and especially in her answering of questions petulant and demanding.
So when Barbour asked the federal government to do more and more quickly for Mississippi, he got a largely favorable response from the committee. By contrast, both Blanco and Nagin received withering questions and comments. Blanco in particular seemed convinced that one can catch more flies with vinegar than with honey, by the pugnacious tone and words of her responses to queries about evacuation plans not followed, communications breakdowns, and failures to act in a timely fashion, bringing in partisan political attacks (such concerning the war in Iraq) at times.
(Nagin, now widely seen as an eccentric with no chance of reelection, further cemented that reputation by indulging racist conspiracy nut Rep. Cynthia McKinney’s fantasies about racial discrimination in response. The condemned enjoy special dispensation to say or do whatever they can get away with.)
But Blanco’s intemperance didn’t stop there. She also found openings with which to whine about having to pay Louisiana’s relatively small share of reconstruction costs (and managed to tell another lie in the process). And she’s doing it outside of the committee was well, such as in today’s letter to Sen. David Vitter where she complains of a double standard between treatment for Louisiana and Mississippi.
Clearly, Blanco neither is informed of the Golden Rule, nor does she begin to grasp that Congress has legitimate concerns about handing over huge sums to money to a political administration and legislative majority whose past record more often promotes politics rather than performance. She cannot understand this because she is so thoroughly part of that ethos. And if nothing else, the tone of the hearings should serve as another wake-up call that “donor fatigue” is present precisely because a growing segment of the country understands this fundamental dysfunction of Louisiana’s noxious mix of liberalism and populism that infuses its government at all levels – a notion she did nothing to dispel, by her words or demeanor, during her appearance.
Given the state’s ills of political patronage to ill-advised spending priorities and everything in between, the last thing Blanco needs to be doing is casting critical and misleading stones at her presumed benefactors when she lives in such a thoroughly glass house to begin with. It shows a desire to continue to live in denial, to stay stuck on stupid, and does not exactly build confidence in the state with the rest of the country.
It’s been a bad week for Blanco, who looked partisan in accepting the recommendation to push back elections in Orleans Parish (even as they will be held on time in even more-devastated St. Bernard Parish), like an opportunist with her watered-down version of levee governance reform, and ineffective in front of the committee in both coping with Katrina and in encouraging federal government assistance after the storm. I’m afraid it’ll be up to more capable folks outside of the Blanco Administration to provide the leadership to help Louisiana recover.
I used to wonder if, when a Rat went to cast his vote for president, he ever asked himself, "Will the candidate I'm about to vote for make a good COMMANDER IN CHIEF?"
I'd venture to say very rarely do these rat-brained voters ever consider the actual job for which they are doing the hiring!
Same here! I wonder if any one of the voters who voted for Nagin (or even Blankie) every said, "Self, is this the person I want leading my city/state in a time of crisis?"
By contrast, I was watching one of Dubya's speeches one time and someone not a particular fan of his said, "You know what? Love him or hate him, in time of crisis, he's YOUR MAN!"
I guess she learned a thing or two when she had that nice visit with her patron Saint Chavez just before the hurricane.
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Yes, she figured she would be thrown out, as she should be. Easy fix -- stop the elections. Liberals are criminal trash...they prove it daily.
Lol, assume that zombie-like thinking has changed forever (providing the average voted IQ breaks 70.
"By contrast, I was watching one of Dubya's speeches one time and someone not a particular fan of his said, "You know what? Love him or hate him, in time of crisis, he's YOUR MAN!""
Gotta give 'em that -- Dubya is convicted in what he says, even the Rats know it.
The people of LA brung her to the party but they have not been enjoying her dance. MeMaw will be turned out to pasture if she ever permits a vote again.
"... Blanco, who looked partisan in accepting the recommendation to push back elections in Orleans Parish (even as they will be held on time in even more-devastated St. Bernard Parish), ..."
Da Parish is holding elections on time? Gosh I wonder why I haven't heard that reported on the news.
"She could at least be humble in ASKING for taxpayers to fork over billion/s of dollars..."
Naw, Democrats have the "world owes me" mentality. How dare you delay forking over the dough--and don't you be asking any nosy questions about how I spend it!
Braux might be a good choice, relatively speaking. He's fairly moderate politically, but has little executive experience that I know of. There's a big difference between pontificatin in the Senate and managing a multi-billion $ operation.
"There's a big difference between pontificatin in the Senate and managing a multi-billion $ operation."
Yes, but compared to the CRETIN that Blank-oh is, Breaux or any high school kid has more common sense.
Billions to enable corrupt LA democrats to recreate their state-sponsored, vote-rich underwater ghetto. In the private sector this would be considered a poor investment.
No man's life or property are safe while Congress is in session. I like the fact that she acted the fool and they treated her accordingly, but I still worry they will hand over oodles of largesse that will never reach its intended recipients and purposes.
The one thing I worry about in not giving the feds more emergency powers is this: Is it fair that Texas and Mississippi, blessed with grownups in charge fared relatively well in hurricane recovery, but in the case of LA, because the pols were so inept, the fed had to more or less stand by wringing their hands because they didn't have the standby power to go in and take over from an incompetent emergency management team? I don't want to federalize disasters, just give the feds more ability to step in if the things that need to be done are not being done.
Blanco Dubois needs to be in Betty Ford, not in the LA statehouse.
Galveston never recovered from the hurricane of 1900. It, as you say, limped along as a port city until the Port of Houston more or less took even that away. One suspects New Orleans, LA is a bit of living history now.
That could be harsh. They may recover somewhat as a party city, having been spared the loss of the French Quarter, but I think the sprawling masses of people will never return. A good thing, really.
I heard a liberal on NPR, man-on-the-street type say that even though Bush was against almost everything he was for, he was going to vote for him because when he says something, the guy knows he means it.
I don't want to federalize disasters, just give the feds more ability to step in if the things that need to be done are not being done.
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I agree, but it should be a strong, two-pronged capability. First, this is what Bush wanted after he saw the total losers that were "running" LA. He wanted to give the Feds that ability (not mandatory) if needed. The other part should be ACCOUNTABILITY of the state officials. This is a HUGE PROBLEM in government today -- there is no accountability for criminal levels of neglect and corruption, per se. The laws need to be tough for obvious thugs like the LA governor and NO mayor. IMHO.
The laws need to be toughened on lawmakers in general. This "lets move on" crap has got to stop. Let's move on this: You can't account for the money you've been put in charge of, you go to jail. But it's hell getting them to penalize themselves, as you know.
But it's hell getting them to penalize themselves, as you know.
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Yes, the Congress too has done a good job of generating legislation to totally INSULATE THEMSELVES from any form of accountability (serious accountability) other than token removal from office, if and only if they feel like doing it. It is sad what Washington has degenerated into. And as you say, government in general.
"Galveston never recovered from the hurricane of 1900. It, as you say, limped along as a port city until the Port of Houston more or less took even that away. One suspects New Orleans, LA is a bit of living history now.
That could be harsh. They may recover somewhat as a party city, having been spared the loss of the French Quarter, but I think the sprawling masses of people will never return. A good thing, really."
Yes...for some reason, schoolbus Nagin thinks everyone is going to come flying back to NOLA and instantly make it all better. It won't ever be the same. The same people won't live there and at best it will get larger and more populated with TIME...lots of time. But I don't see anyone moving back until they shore up those levees first. And they need to do a major job of it.
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