Posted on 10/26/2005 4:47:34 AM PDT by WKB
WASHINGTON - The capital's cadre of lawyers, lobbyists and politicians who counted Haley Barbour as one of their own before his election as Mississippi's governor turned out Tuesday night to contribute more than $1 million to his state's hurricane recovery fund.
Barbour worked the familiar crowd as few governors could, offering thanks for past support to the Mississippi victims of Hurricane Katrina, seeking continued help for the long recovery ahead and telling story after story about Mississippians who, in the direst of straights after the storm, reached out to help their neighbors.
"It's a great people that are an inspiration to me and that's why we want to do everything we can to help them," he said.
The $500 per person fundraiser drew a bipartisan crowd. One host was Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., who served as chairman of the Democratic National Committee while Barbour was chairman of the Republican National Committee.
"We have our differences, obviously, with politics and a number of different issues, but when tragedies like this confront us, we all come together," Dodd said. "Politics seems so irrelevant when people are struggling and suffering."
Proceeds from the event went directly to the Mississippi Hurricane Recovery Fund, which Barbour created shortly after Katrina hit the Gulf Coast Aug. 29, killing more than 1,000 people causing property damage in Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana estimated as high as $200 billion.
A fund-raising concert in Oxford, Miss., earlier this month raised more than $15 million for the fund. Clips from the three-hour, live television concert were shown at the fundraiser at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
Sen. Trent Lott, R-Miss., who lost a home in the storm, offered Mississippi's thanks to the corporate lobbyists who provided help to the state immediately after the storm and also bankrolled the fundraiser.
"I know, Haley Barbour knows, we in Mississippi, know you helped us," Lott said. "I've never seen corporate America respond better than you have, more than you have, in the past few weeks."
Barbour spent most of Tuesday lobbying lawmakers and administration officials for federal money to help Mississippi recover. He said Mississippi deserves at least $19 billion of the $62 billion Congress already has appropriated for Katrina relief.
"We need the federal government now to follow through and do the things that are called for so we can recover," Barbour said, adding that if the government does its part, the private sector will take care of the rest
Where is monies like this spent. Who really benefits.
Where is monies like this spent. Who really benefits.
Excellent question but it is way above my pay grade. :>)
I don't know where it is being spent, but I can tell you first-hand that this will be a drop in the bucket compared to what is needed. I just got back from a week of doing work down in Gulfport cleaning out houses and prepping them for repairs and Long Beach and the coastal regions are worse than anythign I have ever seen. People scream about New Orleans, but Mississippi was FAR worse than anything I have seen even in Florida. I cannot accurately give you a glimpse of how bad it is down there. The only comparison I can give you is to bombed out photos of parts of Iraq, and even that doesn't do it justice.
Most homes on the first block from the ovean are completely gone, with no trace of them having ever been there, save a foundation remnant. Most 3rd and 4th rown homes, if they are still identifiable, are pushed into the 5th row homes. Most aren't even recognizable. There was a 30-35 foot storm surge. Shipping containers broke loose from the port and were essentially battering rams, destroying everything in their way. I don't know how many there were, but several containers had chicken ready for processing that were left where they were before the storm. They broke open, strewing chicken all over the place to sit and rot. No one would clean it up, so even when we were there, 6 weeks after the storm, the smell was almost unbearable in places.
I salute Haley Barbour for his efforts. At least he isn't like Ray "School Bus" Nagin or that ding-bat governor of La. out there bitching about the US government.
"Former Wa$hington Lobbyi$t Mi$$i$$ippi ping."
That ping is even better!
I knew his former occupation would come in handy. ;o)
Blanco doesn't have any friends.
Where's Thad Cochran? I have seen him mentioned in a Katrina story.
Sen. Cochran has never been one to grab the spotlight - even when it is trained on him - he is working through the Senate appropriations process - where he is chairman of the committee - to get funds expedited to the state...
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