Posted on 10/25/2007 5:48:57 PM PDT by La Enchiladita
The fires in southern California are still burning out of control in some places. People are still fleeing in advance of the inferno as the blaze has consumed nearly 2,000 homes and threatens thousands of others. A billion dollars in damage so far and there is no relief in sight for the residents and officials who are living this nightmare.
Meanwhile, it’s business as usual for the left, trying to score political points off of tragedy. This time, a couple of right wing pundits have chimed in, to the approving nods of some conservatives who have learned well the lessons of Katrina; it’s never too early to blame someone for nature’s handiwork.
Thousands of our fellow citizens are sitting in shelters not knowing if they have a home to go back to. Firefighters from all over the west and beyond are exhausting themselves to save lives and property. Federal, state, city, and local officials are working around the clock, doing everything they can to alleviate suffering, battle the numerous fires threatening the area, doling out assistance, and planning for the aftermath.
But none of this matters at the moment. Instead of doing everything we can to support these efforts, leaving the finger pointing and political gamesmanship until a decent interval has passed and life has returned to some semblance of normalcy for the afflicted, the professional bomb throwers on the right and the usual suspects on the left (almost everybody) are gleefully throwing around baseless and unproven charges of culpability.
They are enlisting the destruction of people’s lives in their battle to prove one thing or another about the President, or Republicans, or Democrats, or the War, or environmentalists. And for the left’s part, they are employing the age old political tactic of raising the spectre of race and class warfare; that the rich, white residents of San Diego County are being helped in a more timely and significant manner than the poor, black residents of New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina.
First of all, anyone who tries to draw parallels between a Hurricane and a fire is an idiot. Hurricanes tend to be somewhat wetter than fires for one thing. Secondly, the fire is not blocking access to the shelters in the city or other designated areas so that help can get where it is needed when it is needed in a much more timely manner.
....
The authorities didn’t wait to evacuate citizens from endangered areas. And apparently, wonder of wonders, the city of San Diego had a disaster plan and is sticking to it! Amazing what happens when you actually follow a carefully laid out plan rather than wring your hands wailing “Whoa [sic] is us” and go on the radio, blaming your incompetence on the racism of others.
Police roadblocks are preventing wide scale looting – not even residents are allowed back into areas no longer threatened until they can be protected. As far as we know, there have been no mass rapes of babies at Qualcom Stadium where around 10,000 residents have sought shelter. No murders or suicides there either that we’ve heard about. Food, water, and the amenities all seem to be plentiful at the moment.
In short, the difference between the fire and the flood is night and day – partly as a result of the competence of local officials but much more so because the two types of disasters present different types of challenges that are taking place in a different part of the country in different settings (densely populated urban area vs. the more open suburban/rural setting of southern California). Anyone who tries to draw some kind of parallel between the two tragedies or posit some race or class reason for the differences can safely be dismissed as agenda driven screwballs. There’s no “there” there.
But this hasn’t stopped the left from trying for a Katrina repeat. And this time, the right got the drop on the left as far as the race to politicize people’s agony.
Both Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh have made comments trying to blame the left in some way for the tragedy. Beck’s point about the environmentalists opposing the clearing of brush and the deliberate setting of controlled fires may or may not be a valid point. But couldn’t it wait until after the disaster had been dealt with and all people and property were safe and secure?
Similarly, the lefty blogs have been full of comparisons to Katrina, intimations that the response to the tragedy is “proof” of racism and class differences, and the idea that if only we weren’t fighting the Iraq War, the National Guard could have prevented all this or, as Bill Richardson puts it, “Where is the National Guard?”
Richardson gives us a twofer in his article, reminding us that the entire reason so many died in New Orleans and why this fire is still burning is because of the War in Iraq.
I liked him better when he was lying about his Minor League baseball experiences.
There’s no evidence that the National Guard in California would be making a difference if the units serving in Iraq were here at home. But that won’t stop the left from making the argument anyway. Nor will they wait until the tragedy being experienced by the residents in southern California has passed before trying to score their political points with the public.
It didn’t used to be like this. No one would have dreamed of trying to politicize tragedy prior to the presidency of George Bush. But we’re in a different political ballgame now with no boundaries and few rules to live by. So we can expect this kind of idiocy from both sides from now on.
Both sides should be ashamed of themselves.
An outstanding commentary in so many ways, that spares no one and no truth.
I guess it’s now OK that we can’t clear the land around our houses? Sure, good commentary there.
You can’t clear the land around your house? Could you explain that a bit more?
Excellent piece, Moran is right on the mark.
I don't live in CA. I, personally, can hack whatever I want out.
Very little of this Katrina horror story stuff actually happened. Certainly no mass rapes, of babies or anybody else.
These were rumors, published at the time as "reported" to have happened, but since then acquiring somehow the status of facts despite their having been proved to not have happened.
People believing these stories had a lot to do with the slow response. Aid workers thought they needed a massive military escort to enter the jungle.
I don't care much for writers who have to reach like that, just to look "balanced" to their friends in the biz.
I must disagree, we conservatives are a hardy bunch in Ca. But! We can’t control our own destiny, unless we fight back against the liberal spin machine.
I doubt Rick believes that either, but your point is very well taken. The reality of Katrina was soon lost amidst a holocaust of media hysteria, picked up by the Left, and they’re still all harping on it.
A lot of good was done in that situation, both publicly and privately. It’s a shame the stigma has stuck all this time.
I knew this would rub a lot of people the wrong way, because it IS balanced. But I agree with him.
(Randi Rhodes Suggests That Blackwater Started California Fires)
Apparently she claims that Arnolds staff is riddled with former Blackwater guys! I suspected this all along, of course....................
[tinfoil hat firmly in place]
We have to strike back, out of self preservation!
The whole country is sitting back and watching California burn, and saying to themselves...Good riddance! All because of a few elected fools who go running to the nearest microphone to blame US for this!
Thank GOD for Rush, Glen, And any other voice out there who is willing to point out the truth!
I might laugh at Randi Rhodes litte tinfoil trip, but I don’t feel defensive about it. And I agree with Rick that Glenn Beck’s assertions may or may not be a valid point. I don’t like to see conservatives partaking of victimhood (”the enviro-nazis caused the fires!!!”).
The best way to respond is with the facts: record low rainfall, low humidity, an extra long summer and extremely strong Santa Ana Winds combined to create ideal conditions for out of control wildfires.
The response in terms of firefighting, rescues, evacuations and emergency services has been magnificent, something to be proud of.
Remember, when it comes to the Left, you are dealing with children and you must be the adult.
We need fighters who are willing to stand toe to toe, and point out their lies!
I need to know that when the sun comes up (Not at the end of the day!), my country stands as it was when I grew up. I don't want to have to move out of this state because it has been lost to the tax, spend, illegal immigrant loving, land grabbing, lieing scum on the left!
You know the topic is strictly re the CA fires, right?
Yeah, and Jeb Bush had no business letting that Hurricane get past Florida....
Florida had big fires a few years ago.
It's all the Bushes' fault for catching fire!
If shrubs are burning, GWB is also implicated!
Have you been watching your tv?
You better go back and re-read the artical you posted!
It’s not just about the fires in CA!
Lighten up, Randy. Of course I read the article, AND I understand it better than you do.
I live here in southern California... I’ve followed fire coverage almost non-stop. Good grief.
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