Blame conservative thought

Daily Illini - University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign ^ | September 8, 2005 | Matt Simmons

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Hurricane Katrina has left the Gulf coast devastated. Thousands are feared dead, homes are destroyed and lawlessness has gripped New Orleans. The tragic situation on the Gulf Coast, however, cannot be blamed on nature alone. The dominant political ideology in this country has exacerbated the problem.

This ideology is not racism, hate or greed. I am talking about good old Ronald Reagan conservatism. This ideology has permeated our country far too long, and as we now see has weakened our national cohesion and our ability to meet the needs of all Americans.

Conservative ideology promotes disregarding and alienating the poor and disadvantaged. Republicans use every opportunity they can to demonize minorities and those in poverty. They have effectively silenced the poor by consistently supporting laws that hinder their voting rights. The fact that officials reacted so slowly to a disaster that is affecting mostly poor black people is a byproduct of this same ideology. In this country, conservative leadership promotes a culture of individualism so extreme that it reaches the point of state-sanctioned selfishness. Many conservatives have no sense of community or responsibility for the less fortunate. Republicans are more likely to condemn victims of extreme poverty rather than sympathize with them. Under such leadership, this country has abandoned the most vulnerable members of society. Why should we expect them to efficiently handle a natural disaster that victimizes the same people?

More importantly, their lack of concern for the poor is what created this mess in the first place. Many of those who remained in New Orleans do not own cars and have no access to public transportation. Maybe if the people in New Orleans were not dirt poor they would have the means to be able to heed the warnings and evacuate the city. The right wing of this country has aggravated the effects of poverty by continually nibbling away at the safety net that aids the poor, while doing nothing about the lowest inflation-adjusted minimum wage in nearly fifty years.

The most crippling consequence of this conservative ideology is the way our resources are used. Conservatives support spending money to "liberate" foreign countries, rather than ensuring the safety and security of American citizens. Our involvement in Iraq has stretched us thin in terms of resources and funds. An editorial that appeared in The New York Times estimated that 30 percent of our National Guard and 50 percent of its resources are preoccupied in Iraq. I always believed that the National Guard should guard the nation, not secure a foreign country. Furthermore, the funds that are being spent in Iraq could have been used to ensure the safety of New Orleans. Last year, the Army Corp of Engineers requested millions to fix the levees and secure the city, but they were denied. The administration and the Congress chose not to make the security of New Orleans a priority.

Aside from the war, other conservative priorities have enhanced this problem. The conservative goal of giving more power to the states put control in the hands of Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco. The top priority of this incompetent woman is making sure officers "shoot to kill" when they face looters who are in desperate need of food, clothing and supplies. The fact is conservatives have decided to give billions of dollars in tax cuts to the wealthy, rather than making sure our states can handle emergencies. Conservatives are more concerned with capital formation and economic efficiency than they are with ensuring that every citizen is taken care of.

While the American people are so obsessed with values, conservative policies are beginning to damage the security of our nation. Conservatives cannot say a word about the federal government's inability to handle this problem. When you support a party that advocates a weak federal government and allocates money to those who need it the least, you can point the finger at only one person - yourself.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

***The fact is conservatives have decided to give billions of dollars in tax cuts to the wealthy, rather than making sure our states can handle emergencies. Conservatives are more concerned with capital formation and economic efficiency than they are with ensuring that every citizen is taken care of. ...***

A fine Hillary wannabe. Yesterday Rush played an audio clip of Hillary dodging a question by wailing about tax breaks for the wealthy.

Of course missed by these political spinners is that Bush's tax cuts have stimulated the economy - unemployment is way down, revenues are way up.

And from watching the evacuation coverage, we all can see how the Democratic Party welfare state has taken care of the poor. It's crippled them.

______________________________________________________________

***....As a student of the left, Jamie Glazov, has observed in an article about the middle-class defenders of recently captured Seventies terrorist Kathy Soliah: "if you can successfully camouflage your own pathology and hatred with a concern for the 'poor' and the 'downtrodden,' then there will always be a 'progressive' milieu to support and defend you."* Huey Newton, George Jackson, Bernadine Dohrn, Sylvia Baraldini, Rubin Carter, Mumia Abu-Jamal, Rigoberta Menchu and innumerable others have all discovered this principle in the course of their criminal careers. ...*** Source

[Cincinatus' Wife]

...More importantly, their lack of concern for the poor is what created this mess in the first place. Many of those who remained in New Orleans do not own cars and have no access to public transportation. ...

I thought the Left wants us all to move to the city and use public transportation.

[MNJohnnie]

Nonsensical, hysteric political posturing. Just why is Bush to blame for a situation that Gov Blanco and Mayor Nagel were, and still ARE, in charge of?

Why is the Hate Filled Left ignoring the fact that Gov Blanco did NOT ask the Feds for additional help UNTIL Thursday?

Why is this political bigot ignoring the COMPLETE failure of the 1st Responders (City of NO) and the 2nd Responders (State of La) to freak out at the 3rd Responders (The Feds)?

Why despite billions in Federal Dollars give to City of NO and State of LA by the Dept of Homeland Security since 9-11 to equip 1st Responders and prepare for this exact disaster were neither the State nor the locals able to meet even 1 of their basic requirements in the joint contingency plan?

Does this pseudo Intellectual even have ANY clue of the legal authority and responsibilities entrusted to each level of Govt in such a situation?

Note to moron Bush Basher. Do ANY of you even know that the Gov of Louisiana, NOT the President, is in command of NG units? It WAS HER decision that sent a pathetic 300 armed NG troops into New Orleans ON THURSDAY finally?

The so called "Intellectual" do not even rate an F for their writing on this story. They get an I.

Incompetent, Incomplete and Ignorant

[King Prout]

PFFT!

the philosophy to blame, which has indeed dominated this culture for FAR too long, is the one which trains citizens to be serfs dependent upon daily support from Big Guv: Leftism, in all its grotesque flavors.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Maybe if the people in New Orleans were not dirt poor they would have the means to be able to heed the warnings and evacuate the city.

Associated Press New Orleans school buses, which many say should have been used to ferry out residents, didn't move from the parking lots

City had evacuation plan but strayed from strategy***....City officials had 550 municipal buses and hundreds of additional school buses at their disposal but made no plans to use them to get people out of New Orleans before the storm, said Chester Wilmot, a civil engineering professor at Louisiana State University and an expert in transportation planning, who helped the city put together its evacuation plan. ...***

[advance_copy]

This would be a brilliant article, if it weren't utterly stupid.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

......................Incompetent, Incomplete and Ignorant

And Democrat.

[zip]

This would be a hilarious article if it wasn't for the fact that the poor-by-choice (aka welfare/freebie/takers) believe this crap.

[ohhhh]

When I read articles like this, I remember why I dispise the illuminated left wing. They are a plague and there methods are disaster.
The thought police at work remind me so much of the nazi facists and the communists who destroyed and killed so many people.

[Deetes]

Was this written by a angry high school student ?

[Larry Lucido]

The conservative goal of giving more power to the states put control in the hands of Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco.

Most creative attack on state's rights I've ever seen. State's rights results in incompetent dem governors.

[Recon Dad]

We can all feel good about the educational system in the United States. All these years of liberal indoctrination and this is all the logic that could be mustered up.

I thought there might be some original thought or ideas but alas we can all rest easy, this gentleman is no Bill Buckley.

[muir_redwoods]

This is a college newspaper. The places are full of skulls full of mush, without real education, given to puerile pursuits of hedonism and lacking in significant real-world experience. The student are even worse.

Nothing this nitwit says has any meaning to anyone beyond his psychotherapist. He needs to grow up and soon. He'll understand when he starts paying his own bills.

[Iris7]

Still a lot of Marxist - Leninist - Stalinist believers out there. A whole bunch, if you include the feeble minded. A clear political majority, for sure.

Remember I include the "feeble minded" in this majority. By "feeble minded" I mean most of the people you meet everyday, those who cannot and will not attempt independent and critical thinking.

[Uncle Ike]

Just tossing the same old pig into the air hoping it will fly this time.

"Them as can't do, teach. Them as can't teach, criticize"

[Cincinatus' Wife]

....This ideology has permeated our country far too long, and as we now see has weakened our national cohesion and our ability to meet the needs of all Americans. ...

Democrats do nothing but divide the country to their own political ends and then accuse conservatives (who are being praised for their loving, skilled care of the evacuees) for the division. They are truly awful, awful people.

***........On Sunday, he was praising the Lord, saying the ordeal was a test that ended up dispelling his lifelong distrust of white people and setting his life on a new course. He said he hitched a ride on Friday in a van driven by a group of white folks.

"Before this whole thing I had a complex about white people; this thing changed me forever," said Brant, 36, a truck driver who, like many of the refugees receiving public assistance in Houston, Texas, is black.

"It was a spiritual experience for me, man," he said of the aftermath .........*** Source

[pillbox_girl]

Puh-freaking-leeze!

Who fled the city and abandoned its poorest and most vulnerable to fend for themselves? The liberal socialist democrat mayor and governor -or- the conservative christian churches and congregations?

Who stood their ground and acted to help and coordinate help for the poorest and most vulnerable? The liberal socialist democrat mayor and governor -or- the conservative christian churches and congregations?

The answers to these few simple questions utterly debunk and disprove this shamefully false and dishonest article, but here's another one:

The natural disaster was bad enough, but why did the resulting human created disaster only happen in the state and city run by liberal socialist democrats?

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Most creative attack on state's rights I've ever seen. State's rights results in incompetent dem governors.

They argue in circles.

[wingman1]

bump

[saneright]

Notice the author does not back up anything he wrote with facts.

I do find the article interesting. The author opens up a window into his brain for all the world to see. He has constructed a reality that is not supported by the truth but as to what he chooses to see and believe.