The Political War Really Begins Now (Vanity)

Wuli

[Wuli]

In politics, especially national politics, perceptions are paramount and facts are secondary in moving public opinion on large issues.

While there is enough blame to go around, regarding official responses to Katrina, the images of what actually took place on the ground to thousands of people, while the National Guard had not yet arrived in force, is simply overwhelming, staggering, horrendous. It would be impossible for it to not to have adverse political repercussions to the national leadership, no matter - NO MATTER - what the facts are. When failures of this magnitude occur, the nation has failed and people turn their attention to their highest leaders; it's only natural.

For conservatives in particular, and for Republicans in general we better understand that, in the political arena, we are now in a similar place as those valiant New Orleans policemen who stayed on the front lines and kept fighting.

Perceptions, harsh totally convincing perceptions cannot be erased with a few intelligent, totally and factually correct and convincing arguments.

If we are unwilling to admit that the damage from Katrina has the ability to put us in the fight for our lives, our political lives, then like so many AWOL New Orleans policemen, we might as well get out of town and leave the work of government to someone else.

For those who think I am overstating the political war we are about to enter, then I would ask you to stay away from this blog for awhile and tune your attention to everything in America outside of this blog. There is a psychological sea change that has already started to take place in public percerptions. There is less anger in it, it is more a resignation and it is deeper, visceral, and beyond the intellect.

I do not have policy or leadership solutions for 2006 and beyond. I only see that Katrina is a national disaster and it is politically a national disaster for us, for the perceptions of the nation will always point to the national leadership - OUR political leadership, simply due to the vast scale and magnitude of the mistakes - perceptions do not need facts.

We are going to have to work harder, politically than we have worked in this century.

The Nixon scandal was emblematic of the problem. The political mindset was set, fixed in the large public perceptions. Jimmy Carter could have ran against anyone and he still would have won.

We could be there again, if we do not buckle up, dig in and work harder, politically than we have worked in this century.

[mc6809e]

The key will be congressional hearings, IMHO.

If the Republican Senators don't have the facts, they'll look like fools.

[stopem]

Truer words were never spoken.

At the risk of repeating a post I just made I will repeat it here as it needs repeating. This is vitally important and bears repeating, it's all very disturbing.

Seriously, we cannot ignore this MEDIA Driven political storm and pretend if we ignore it will go away. It's getting as bad as the hurricane. The media are chewing up and spitting us out, by us I am referring to our party and our President.

I have never seen it this bad and yes while we agree the devastation is very dramatic and very serious the people in N.O. are not helping with their comments. Instead of blaming their own mayor, governor and senators of their state they are turning on the government for the whole world to see.
They are fueling the fire for the MSM to have a field day.

They are being evacuated to a warm dry place, Few, very few are indeed grateful but there are those dissenters even when safe will complain for the media. LA isn't evacuating their own to somewhere in LA they have been welcomed to TX, over 200,000 of them. Than governor Perry says he can't accept anymore we are OVER capacity now! Way over capacity of what Texas can handle. Want to bet there will be those that will still complain for the media,and for ACLU to help them?

[Sender]

I fear that the nation will indeed demand another Jimmy Carter out of a misplaced sense of conscience and a distorted sense of justice.

We already have the Carter gas lines and the MSM cheerleading to get rid of the President. Now all we need is rampant inflation, and the pacifist refusal to prosecute the war against our radical Islamic foes, and we will indeed be time-warped back to Jimmy World.

[advance_copy]

When failures of this magnitude occur, the nation has failed...

There are thousands of troops, massive tonage of equipment and material in New Orleans as well as all over the Gulf Coast today. Order has been restored, and an entire city has been evacuated. The levees are being repaired. All of this has been done in less than one week. That is NOT a failure.

[JudgemAll]

The key will be congressional hearings, IMHO.

---

Stonewalling obstructionist Dems won't letthat happen.

Expect fist fights, sit ins, fillibusters. This is the Democratic party of human genocide, abortion and waste's mask to be unveilled, and they will not go out in peace, I guarrantee you that.

THIS IS WAR TOTAL F'N WAR

[bronxboy]

I believe that as before Bush will turn the dims blind hatred of him against them. This pattern has played out so often it is predictable. You are right, this should hurt the president, but having the mayor cursing, the governer blubbering and the "black" leadership saying Bush hates black people, will turn off the heat on he pres and onto to dims.

[JudgemAll]

If the Republican Senators don't have the facts, they'll look like fools.

---

unfortunately they'd rather look like fools, ask Bush to resign like they did Nixxon, rather than fight the total war ultimatum blackmail Dems and Sharptons are threatening them with.

[Dallas59]

Blame Clinton. He had the money and five years to build the levees. But he cut the money.

[Mr. Bird]

Your sentiments (regardless of their being rooted in truth), will not fly until and unless the Media acknowledge reality. I watched Chris Matthews this morning, and was horrified at the complete abandonment of reason by all of his panelists.

It is as if an entire nation has responded to bad fortune like seven year-olds. Why didn't...why can't...it's your fault.... Whenever a sober analysis is forthcoming (probably months down the road), there will likely be enough blame to share. But it will lack accompanying video, and the political fire, necessary to spur the Media to action.

[Sender]

You know the real tragedy that could arise out of all this race-baiting and demagoguery, other than the demonising of the entire government? It is already creating new racists, and ensuring that racism, both black and white, will now go on for generations.

Millions of American blacks are being brainwashed into thinking Bush and all white people really don't care anything about them and simply let them die, ensuring a critical future Democratic voting bloc, much to the glee of the DNC.

At the same time, millions of whites are seeing the worst one percent of criminal black people take over an American city and hamper rescue efforts, looting, burning, raping and shooting which only fuels the flames of existing white racists and undoubtedly has made many new ones. On top of that, the rest of the flood victims we see are the poorest and most helpless denizens of the welfare state who look like they couldn't walk from the TV to the refrigerator without a government-provided ambulance.

I'm watching CNN right now, with one angry black person after another parroting the same talking points, Bush sent all our resources to Iraq, Bush is doing nothing for us, this is a racial disgrace, Bush doesn't care about black people. Then a black commentator opined that 'just wait until the shock wears off, then you're REALLY going to see some angry people' or something like that.

Yeah, hurricane Katrina may have dissipated offshore, but the real storm is heating up, strengthening, fed by the warm fetid waters of Lake Nagin.

[dawn53]

Let's hold a Congressional Investigation...that would be the best thing because then facts that are buried in stories, even in papers as liberal as the WP, will come to light, and the true ineptness of the Governor and her democratic cronies will come out.

[G.Mason]

"If we are unwilling to admit that the damage from Katrina has the ability to put us in the fight for our lives, our political lives, then like so many AWOL New Orleans policemen, we might as well get out of town and leave the work of government to someone else."

I certainly hate to break the news, but we have been in the fight of our lives for many, many years.

Katrina is but a pimple on the butt of the problems in this nation.

If anything Katrina brought out the ineptness of the elected (reads DEMOCRAT) officials of the sovereign state of Louisiana for the entire world to see.

This will not be successfully spun away and into the laps of the Republicans. The entire United States has witnessed and recorded the events as they unfolded. Day by day. Hour by hour. Minute by minute.

[liberallarry]

Despite your post I don't think you realize how bad this is.
If blacks can't blame white Republicans for the New Orleans disaster then they must blame themselves, their leadership and culture.
They'll never do it...and white liberals will not go against them.

[Wuli]

I believe the nation can chose a Jimmy Carter again in 2008.

But, I hope I am not understating that it does not have to be that way. We can fight Katrina, it's just that it is not the kind of fight we are used to, because it is totally perception based, not fact based.

It means so many things that conservatives forgive their candidates for, because they know how the candidate thinks, must take second place, just to keep enough conservatives in congress - personality, presentation, likeability, charm, easy going, not "arrogant", compasssionate, warm, "roll up your sleeves kinda guy", all - ALL of that kind of stuff is going to matter.

And, grass-roots conservative organization is going to have to be even more robust that it has ever, ever been.

But it can be done, if we have the will.

Just as in Vietnam and now Iraq and now the 2006, 2008 elections. Victory will go to who does not give up the fight.

[Wuli]

Could you really have expected anything else from the media. The media and some aggrieved person who just needs to vent are like two whores in love with each other - they just can't get enough. The media gets someone to fulfill their anti-conservative story line and they will put in on an endless loop. They're in love. It's heaven for them.

[LaineyDee]

That is NOT a failure

We live in an era unprecedented by our "instant gratification" mentality. It's astounding to see the absolute devastation of NO... yet these people expect it all to be cleaned up by the next day? It's obvious our schools have done an extremely poor job in teaching people how government works at higher levels... than the local DHS. Sad.

[LoudRepublicangirl]

We live in an era unprecedented by our "instant gratification" mentality


You are so right! I call it a "microwave mentality".

[Wuli]

No, I agree and that is part of the KATRINA perception; as dispicable as it is.

You and I know that the fact that 67% of New Orleans is black makes no difference nor does the fact that the mayor and the Governor had the means to evacuate the people without cars, and they didn't do it when they could.

None of those facts will ever matter.

[advance_copy]

Ignorance is so very sad, and probably cost lives. Yet I remain astounded that the U.S. deployed over 20 thousand troops with equipment and provisions for an entire city, restored order in the city, and evacuated it at the same time levee repairs were initiated. They did it in less than a week! And, let's not forget that all land operations moved over hurricane ravaged terrain equal in size to the entire country of Great Britain. This is one of the most impressive military operations in history.