Hurricane Katrina: The Scandal Karl Rove And The GOP Want Us To Ignore
Editorial by Balletshooz
George Bush's approval rating has sunk even lower in the midst of the Katrina crisis and a solid majority disapprove of his handling of the situation. While many pundits have bashed Bush for not leaving his vacation until several days after the disaster struck and for giving a campaign-style speech in San Diego (unrelated to the crisis) even after Governor Blanco had called a state of emergency in Louisiana, the real scandal in the midst of the crisis has largely been overlooked.
While Karl Rove and the Republican spinners continue to point fingers down the chain of command, predictably to local Democratic officials, and make a mockery of the "personal-accountability" that Republicans used to gain power a decade ago, the real tragedy and a major cause of the massive deaths that are sure to be uncovered, is the wrongheaded priorities of George Bush and the Republican-led Congress.
Their wrongheaded priorities in the last several years, about how this country should be run and how our money should be spent, contributed to the gravity of this disaster in a number of ways.
Here is how:
1. The President and Congress knew this was a growing problem yet still thought our money was better spent removing Saddam Hussein and "stabilizing" Iraq with the National Guard.
The devastation that we saw was not unexpected in any way, shape, or form. On a PR appearance, Bush said, "I don't think anyone anticipated the breach of the levees." This is a lie. Everyone involved anticipated the breach of the levees.
A year ago the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers proposed to study how New Orleans could be protected from a hurricane, but Bush ordered that the research not be performed. In early 2001, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) issued a report stating that a hurricane striking New Orleans was one of the three most likely disasters facing the U.S. Even so, two years later the federal funding for flood control in the area dried up as it was diverted to the Iraq war.
The very next year, the Bush administration cut by more than 80%, the funding requested by the New Orleans district of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for holding back the waters of Lake Pontchartrain. Additional cuts at the beginning of this year forced the New Orleans district of the Corps to impose a hiring freeze.
2. George Bush and the Republicans anti-environmental policies ravaged the wetlands that were the first line of defense from this disaster.
It is well known that the Republican agenda favors corporate interests and money over preserving wetlands. Typical Republican talking points are to bad-mouth wetlands as useless swamps that are not needed and not useful. It is clear now, more than ever before, that this anti-environmental stance is wrongheaded. Louisiana's wetlands, which would have helped absorb some of the brunt of the storm, were making a comeback until Bush turned over the wetlands to land developers in 2003.
3. Bush and Republicans cut funding for the levee projects and diverted it into Iraq.
Last year, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers essentially stopped major work on the levee system after Bush cut funding for the project. It was the first such stoppage in 37 years. Federal flood control spending for southeastern Louisiana was chopped nearly in half in 2005.
When area lawmakers fought to restore the funds, the same lawmakers the GOP is now pointing fingers at, the White House rebuffed the requests. In 2001, the New Orleans district of the Army Corps of Engineers had $147 million to spend on flood and hurricane projects. This year, after budget cuts, the district has about half that. In fact, the Bush administration proposed further cuts for the district for fiscal year 2006.
4. George Bush demoted FEMA from its prior status under Clinton and appointed political hacks to lead the agency with no experience handling disasters.
Bush has almost completely decimated FEMA since taking office. In particular, Bush slashed funding for the agency's mitigation programs, which include measures taken in advance to minimize the damage caused by natural disasters.
After years of steady leadership under former FEMA chief James Lee Witt during the Clinton years, Bush tapped two completely inexperienced FEMA heads since taking office. Indeed, the current head of FEMA was an estate planning lawyer in Colorado before taking over the agency. The New Orleans district of the Army Corps of Engineers was preparing a study to determine ways to protect the region from a hurricane. Because of budget cuts, the study was shelved.
While no one, except perhaps Pat Robertson, blames any American, including the President, for a hurricane, and many fault George Bush about how he handled himself after the hurricane, the real scandal is how the Republicans managed our Government in the years before the hurricane. While this list is not exhaustive, it is clear that Republican priorities have contributed to weakening this country, by diverting our money to foreign ventures, by political cronyism and corruption, and by wrongheaded policies that make disasters like this more likely.
Now Republican officials are pointing fingers down the chain of command, just as they did in the Abu Graib torture scandal. While a lack of accountability may be a staple of this Republican administration, the voters will have the final say on whether they will be accountable. Most Americans understand in a business, as in Government, when things go wrong it is the boss that must take ultimate responsibility. When a boss starts pointing fingers down the chain of command when things go wrong, that is typically a boss that will soon be looking for a new job.
This Blog along with other primitive, left-wing discussion is available at Alpha Liberal: Blogs, News, and Opinion.
Editorial by Balletshooz
George Bush's approval rating has sunk even lower in the midst of the Katrina crisis and a solid majority disapprove of his handling of the situation. While many pundits have bashed Bush for not leaving his vacation until several days after the disaster struck and for giving a campaign-style speech in San Diego (unrelated to the crisis) even after Governor Blanco had called a state of emergency in Louisiana, the real scandal in the midst of the crisis has largely been overlooked.
While Karl Rove and the Republican spinners continue to point fingers down the chain of command, predictably to local Democratic officials, and make a mockery of the "personal-accountability" that Republicans used to gain power a decade ago, the real tragedy and a major cause of the massive deaths that are sure to be uncovered, is the wrongheaded priorities of George Bush and the Republican-led Congress.
Their wrongheaded priorities in the last several years, about how this country should be run and how our money should be spent, contributed to the gravity of this disaster in a number of ways.
Here is how:
1. The President and Congress knew this was a growing problem yet still thought our money was better spent removing Saddam Hussein and "stabilizing" Iraq with the National Guard.
The devastation that we saw was not unexpected in any way, shape, or form. On a PR appearance, Bush said, "I don't think anyone anticipated the breach of the levees." This is a lie. Everyone involved anticipated the breach of the levees.
A year ago the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers proposed to study how New Orleans could be protected from a hurricane, but Bush ordered that the research not be performed. In early 2001, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) issued a report stating that a hurricane striking New Orleans was one of the three most likely disasters facing the U.S. Even so, two years later the federal funding for flood control in the area dried up as it was diverted to the Iraq war.
The very next year, the Bush administration cut by more than 80%, the funding requested by the New Orleans district of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for holding back the waters of Lake Pontchartrain. Additional cuts at the beginning of this year forced the New Orleans district of the Corps to impose a hiring freeze.
2. George Bush and the Republicans anti-environmental policies ravaged the wetlands that were the first line of defense from this disaster.
It is well known that the Republican agenda favors corporate interests and money over preserving wetlands. Typical Republican talking points are to bad-mouth wetlands as useless swamps that are not needed and not useful. It is clear now, more than ever before, that this anti-environmental stance is wrongheaded. Louisiana's wetlands, which would have helped absorb some of the brunt of the storm, were making a comeback until Bush turned over the wetlands to land developers in 2003.
3. Bush and Republicans cut funding for the levee projects and diverted it into Iraq.
Last year, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers essentially stopped major work on the levee system after Bush cut funding for the project. It was the first such stoppage in 37 years. Federal flood control spending for southeastern Louisiana was chopped nearly in half in 2005.
When area lawmakers fought to restore the funds, the same lawmakers the GOP is now pointing fingers at, the White House rebuffed the requests. In 2001, the New Orleans district of the Army Corps of Engineers had $147 million to spend on flood and hurricane projects. This year, after budget cuts, the district has about half that. In fact, the Bush administration proposed further cuts for the district for fiscal year 2006.
4. George Bush demoted FEMA from its prior status under Clinton and appointed political hacks to lead the agency with no experience handling disasters.
Bush has almost completely decimated FEMA since taking office. In particular, Bush slashed funding for the agency's mitigation programs, which include measures taken in advance to minimize the damage caused by natural disasters.
After years of steady leadership under former FEMA chief James Lee Witt during the Clinton years, Bush tapped two completely inexperienced FEMA heads since taking office. Indeed, the current head of FEMA was an estate planning lawyer in Colorado before taking over the agency. The New Orleans district of the Army Corps of Engineers was preparing a study to determine ways to protect the region from a hurricane. Because of budget cuts, the study was shelved.
While no one, except perhaps Pat Robertson, blames any American, including the President, for a hurricane, and many fault George Bush about how he handled himself after the hurricane, the real scandal is how the Republicans managed our Government in the years before the hurricane. While this list is not exhaustive, it is clear that Republican priorities have contributed to weakening this country, by diverting our money to foreign ventures, by political cronyism and corruption, and by wrongheaded policies that make disasters like this more likely.
Now Republican officials are pointing fingers down the chain of command, just as they did in the Abu Graib torture scandal. While a lack of accountability may be a staple of this Republican administration, the voters will have the final say on whether they will be accountable. Most Americans understand in a business, as in Government, when things go wrong it is the boss that must take ultimate responsibility. When a boss starts pointing fingers down the chain of command when things go wrong, that is typically a boss that will soon be looking for a new job.
This Blog along with other primitive, left-wing discussion is available at Alpha Liberal: Blogs, News, and Opinion.
VIEW 3 of 3 COMMENTS
thanks for your kind words.
[Edited on Sep 13, 2005 12:36AM]
found something or someone better to do perhaps?