House cancels hearings on Katrina response (Delay: blame starts @ bottom)

[sabra]

http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/09/07/katrina.congress/

House cancels hearings on Katrina response

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The House majority leader late Tuesday tried to deflect criticism of the federal response to Hurricane Katrina by saying "the emergency response system was set up to work from the bottom up," then announced a short time later that House hearings examining that response had been canceled.

Rep. Tom DeLay, R-Texas, said House Republican leaders instead want a joint House-Senate panel set up to conduct a "congressional review" of the issue.

Tempers flared Tuesday during a contentious closed-door meeting between House members and Cabinet secretaries in charge of directing Katrina relief efforts. A Republican representative stood up and said, "All of you deserve failing grades. The response was a disaster," CNN was told by lawmakers emerging from the meeting.

But DeLay countered that assessment later in a news conference by saying that the onus for responding to emergencies fell to local officials.
"It's the local officials trying to handle the problem. When they can't handle the problem, they go to the state, and the state does what they can to, and if they need assistance from FEMA and the federal government they ask for it and it's delivered," DeLay said.

[FormerRepublican]

1. This is such BS that it enrages me to even read it!

Everybody, start contacting your elected officials again. Spam them to death, phone them and rant. DeLay is an embarassment to our country.

I've never seen such an obvious power play cover-up in my entire life!!

CALL YOUR ELECTED OFFICIALS!!!

[nookiemonster]

2. Tommy, Tommy, Tommy,

doth protest too much.

Scared shitless, aren't you bugman?

[saigon68]

12. Delay= Another pile of cat Vomit.

[ptolle]

30. cats

Please, please do not be so disrespectful of cats.

[saigon68]

59. I'm sorry

As a cat owner, every now and then "Snowball", eats a few leaves and they don't agree with her stomach. And I am forced to "clean up".

In deference to you I will now call Delay "The Diarrhea feces in a filthy toilet bowl".

[Bernardo de La Paz]

32. Delay Snoozed and Snoozed

[The Backlash Cometh]

3. How does Delay keep a job at the federal level with that kind

of mentality?

[ToolTex]

10. Because he answers only to South Texas voters.

And they seem to get their news from some other planet down there.

[Judi Lynn]

4. Would having Tom on your side look bad, if you're Bush? Evidently not.

These stupid criminal types have managed to steal our country. They're playing their cretin games with our lives.



Gonna getcha, Tom.

[FormerRepublican]

5. Contact form for Tom DeLay.

http://www.majorityleader.gov/CONTACT.ASP?a=form

The Office of the House Majority Leader | H-107 The Capitol| Washington, DC 20515
p. [phone] | f. [phone]

[texpatriot2004]

13. Thanks for the contact info for this scumbag Delay n/t

[terip64]

16. My email to Tom Delay EVERYBODY EMAIL OR CALL HIM!!

Nice try cancelling the investigation but I don't think so. The American people are a compassionate people and if you really think that they are going to let you sweep this under the rug you are dellusional, which of course everybody with a brain realizes that you are. You are an embarrassment to this country and so is this entire adminstration and Katrina is the evidence. Hang your head in shame.

[complain jane]

53. done

[jsamuel]

6. Why is Delay so scared of an investigation if it is the bottom that failed

[Art_from_Ark]

78. Same reason why * was scared of a 9-11 investigation

even though "Osama" did it

[applegrove]

7. I think I heard the Senate is ready to go.

[Spinzonner]

8. We can't have FEMA going around willy-nilly doing disaster relief

we need them to standby because we may need them to track down wayward texas legislators.

[Gelliebeans]

9. my little note to bugman

As a citizen of the USA, I want a hearing now on the Federal Government's response to hurricane Katrina. I have informed my Senators and my Representative and you need to conduct a hearing now. I don't want excuses, I WANT IT DONE NOW. Those people that waited for FEMA to get off their dead asses deserve an answer NOW. Not when you get around to it Tom, NOW. Get off your dead ass and get back in the meeting room and pencil in a date for this hearing because I and thousands like me are DEMANDING the truth. We aren't going away.

hope I don't get a visit from the bugman :scared:
oh well, fuck him.

damn I had a typo fixed it for DU.

[bluedog]

46. and........ delay ............I want to know

why you wanted to use the Homeland Security people to chase down Democrats in Texas who would not go along with a vote you wanted on redistricting!....you tried to use them to the advantage of your party.you should have been called on this matter before and tossed out of Congress!

[ToolTex]

11. Can Americans really be this gullible?

They are going to get away with it! I didn't believe it was possible that the news could get worse. But this morning I see this crap. They are actually going to spin the loss of New Orleans and the deaths of thousands and thousands, blame the victims and local democrats, and by god get away with it!

Can Americans really be this gullible?

[Skittles]

14. it remains to be seen if they will get away with it

I know past experience is not promising for truth and justice but we have to believe decent people will draw the line at dead and suffering BABIES AND OLD FOLK ON TV

[MN ChimpH8R]

41. Yes the populace is exactly this gullible

and white suburban/exurban Amerika will not fail to notice that those are black babies and old folks. The posts recapping Freeptard rants merely scratch the surface of how a lof of middle Amerika feels: the victims deserved what they got.

[enough already]

17. That Washington Post/ABC Poll was very discouraging

I can't believe Bush is going to skate on this one, but he just might. I'm beyone disgusted. I would bet just about anything at this point that Rove manages to get all the blame directed to Nagin and Blanco. I hate these pricks.

[anitar1]

60. I don't trust the polls. Bill Schneider was spinning for

the Pugs with the latest Gallup poll today. I believe more people have compassion for the victims pf Katrina than this poll indicated. I think they call Pugs for their polling. I know there are a lot of racists but not this many. If so , beam me up.

[JugDack]

22. Is Bush president? Then yes, they are this gullible...

Unless the MSM comes through more like they did at Scotty's press conference yesterday, which seems highly unlikely given the SCOTUS stuff.

But I think this game is already over. The question now is how badly the Dems will pay for "politicizing disaster and human suffering".

[converted_democrat]

24. I don't buy it.............

Dems are not going to pay for this, they had nothing to do with it. I live in a super red area, and the people I go to church with are koolaid drinkers of the highest order, and they are ALL pissed. This was the biggest topic of discussion in our sunday school class, and everyone knows exactly who deserves the blame. These people never said a word about DSM, or Plamegate, but they are beyond pissed about this. None of them think * is a good Christian boy anymore, and most think he is the reincarnation of the devil. People are really embarrassed and upset about this. I had three people come up to me between sunday school and church, and tell me that I was right about Bush all along. They feel duped, and they are pissed about it.


edit- for my awful spelling

[JugDack]

27. Hope you're right, but think you're wrong.

Check the latest CNN poll. Bush isn't going to get the blame, Dems are, or nobody is. The country is in denial about Bushco, and DU'ers are in denial about the country.

Most of the country now feels the Katrina relief is on track, and it's time to go back to figuring out who's going to win the Superbowl.

Rove & Co. have spread enough counter-info to confuse the public and the Supreme Court will distract the MSM. They'll promote Brown out of FEMA (after giving him a medal), and most people will forget all about this in a few weeks.

This story is already over, whether we at DU want to admit it or not.

[enough already]

29. Unfortunately, I think you're right

Post/ABC poll seems to bear it out, and Rove is now in a full court press to blame Blanco and Nagin and it's starting to take. This is fucking unbelievable.

[Zodiak]

35. That is five days old

That poll may be brought up ad infinitum, but it was a small sample, it was a snapshot poll, and there have been subsequent polls that show that Americans are pissed off.

What do the Reukes have?

A picture of school-busses (refutable b/c bussing out of the city wasn't part of any diaster plan).

A bullshit poll that is five days old, taken with a small sample.

A media that is used to repeating their lies without checking.

Repubican allies that will sell out their own citizens to provide cover for Bush.


In this analysis, it is only the last two facts that we need to worry about, and we are keeping up the pressure on the MSM to report. The rest is bullshit.

[LisaLynne]

42. Right -- that poll was more meaningless than most.

The sample size was, if memory serves, a couple people over 500. And it's old. We are learning more and more every day about what really went on and the suffering that fellow Americans endured -- needless, preventable suffering. No one could have stopped the hurricane, but the response to it was abysmal.

Yes, BushCo might still get away with this, but that poll doesn't mean anything.

[JugDack]

48. Well certainly today's press conf is a good sign!

They really stuck it to Scotty - two days in a row now. But the "no press in NOLA" thing is a scary attempt to shut off any further debate. And who knows how long the press will be able to stay focused on this once the Roberts hearings start up?

[converted_democrat]

45. We'll see. Every Christian I know are horrified by this man and his

actions. They bought his B.S. about protecting them, and they feel foolish. This coupled with gas prices are to much for any party to bear. They are in charge, they are fucking it up. They control everything, we control nothing, this is all on them. Period.

[JugDack]

50. Yeah, the gas prices are a big deal

And gas prices hit everybody, not just welfare bums in NOLA (as the right see them). But, I also know that the Rove machine is spinning this as the Dems fault, or at least "everybody's" fault, and I do think they're getting some traction on that, sadly. And I don't know what's going to happen after they start the Roberts hearings - the press may not be able to resist that, and Katrina may move to the 'old news' pile.

[sarcasmo]

25. The Kool-Aid drinking sheep are this gullible.

The polls no show that only about 25-35 percent still support the boy King. This tells me that there are only 25-35 percent still drinking that Kool-Aid

[terip64]

15. NOT THIS TIME!

Did you guys see him? It was gross and CNN did a good job reporting it, believe it or not. The guy who was reporting to Aaron Brown was almost laughing when he said it and then explained that Delay didn't know that it was a republican who asked for the investigation. They are going to start eating their own, as they should!

[cthrumatrix]

47. can they "hold off" an investogation like this???? is it possible?

[Blaq Dem]

18. The Bush Cult never admits to any wrongdoings...

A hearing investigation doesn't matter to them. They'll blame anyone but themselves. Hell, they'll blame Bill Clinton just as they did for 9/11 terrorist attacks.

[JugDack]

19. Why would anyone be surprised??

Time and again this happens and we act like it's a total surprise? C'mon, this is the world now, people. They get to hide the pictures, classify the documents, rig the investigations, cheat the elections and continue to loot the treasury. Not a dang thing we can do to stop it until one of them oversteps and is actually caught on film having sex with a goat or pocketing cash from a terrorist. Short of that, they'll continue on their merry way with at least tacit support from the "silent majority". Our problem is not the people who respond to polls - we're clearly winning them. No, the problem is the vast majority who don't vote, don't know, don't care. TV and religion keeps them nicely drugged and unless we can wake them up somehow, we have no chance at all.

[leesa]

20. I don't want these people doing an investigation either. I don't trust

them. They will try to do their usual whitewash and "not assign blame"

[kstewart33]

21. The Senate is the place for the investigations.

The House is more partisan and generally crazy.

[Roland99]

23. Can't exterminate this bug, Tommy boy

[Prisoner_Number_Six]

26. Doesn't "FEMA" have the word FEDERAL in it somewhere?

Delay must have been involved at some point to want to stop this. What does he have to hide?

[Danieljay]

28. and this jewel....from the bugman...

http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/09/07/katrina.congress/index.html

"It's the local officials trying to handle the problem. When they can't handle the problem, they go to the state, and the state does what they can to, and if they need assistance from FEMA and the federal government they ask for it and it's delivered," DeLay said.

He added that Alabama and Mississippi did a much better job of responding quickly than Louisiana. Alabama and Mississippi have Republican governors.

This pisses me off to no end.

[Patchuli]

31. My letter to the Bugman

Dear Mr. DeLay,

Your attempt at shifting the blame for the disaster of a relief effort by the Federal Government and FEMA to the lower elected officials is transparent and dishonest. The fact is the whole bunch of you need to be held accountable for the fact that many people died in Katrina and the aftermath UNNECESSARILY due to the incompetence of the government. The mayor and the governor of Louisiana were calling for help and they got too little too late! It is NOT their faults!

For once, the American People are going to hold accountable you and Congress (who should have immediately come into session when Katrina hit!) and the agencies who are responsible for protecting Americans should have been rolling immediately. Most of all, the President of the United States should have been working around the clock to save lives and mitigate the suffering! You all need to be ASHAMED OF YOURSELVES and you are not going to snake your way out of accountability this time.

I expect something for my tax dollars other than lies and complete incompetence!

Not this time, not again!

[Joe Chi Minh]

33. Ah, the chronically eponymous DeLay.

Perhaps he should be nick-named CEDric.

[wildflower]

34. But what does this mean? --->>

Rep. Tom DeLay, R-Texas, said House Republican leaders instead want a joint House-Senate panel set up to conduct a "congressional review" of the issue.

I don't understand what they're doing.

[Helga Scow Stern]

37. Maybe get Frist and others involved, dilute power of Black Caucus...

just speculating.

[wildflower]

43. Looking at it again, I'm thinking...

They're changing it to a panel rather than the entire House. Does that mean Republican leaders appoint the panel?

wildflower

[TankLV]

56. The "Do you see anything here? - I don't see anything here!"

Cased closed.

That kind of hearing.

[Jo March]

36. Don't bother writing the Bugman - write your Dem Reps

Light a fire under the Dems. Bugman could care less what we or anyone else thinks of him.

Send your outrage in whatever form works to your DEM leaders. Tell them that you won't stand for this. Tell them that you know that FEMA failed and you want justice for the dead.

That's my new motto: I want justice for the dead.

That's what I'll be writing to my Dem leaders.

[Nothing Without Hope]

38. Nauseating, literally. But this time they aren't going to get away with it

Recommended and bookmarked.

Let's keep these dreadful statements and use them against these monstrous creatures.

[bushisanidiot]

39. The governor asked for fed help before, during and after Katrina!!

talk about passing the buck!!!

what a worthless group of partisan hacks!

mayor nagin had to have his radio interview played on t.v. asking for an S.O.S. from the government before they got off their asses to bother to help!!

what if the mayor had been killed in the hurricane? would AWOL bush have just shrugged his shoulders and said "ah well.. you win some, you lose some" and stayed on vacation through september too???

[Sgent]

40. Delay

doesn't want a house committee investigating...

Its not the fact that they might find something wrong, its just that only a House committee can issue Articles of Impeachment -- against Horsey and Jerkoff if nothing else.

[auburngrad82]

44. The buck stops WAY OVER THERE! nt

[RageFist]

49. So why did Bush come out 2 days before Katrina...

and declare a nat'l emergency?

[Josh Portis]

51. Local Response

This is the evacuation plan for SE Louisiana which was made in 2000.
Evacuation Plan
Why did the Mayor Nagan not enact this plan? He ordered a mandatory evacuation knowing about 100,000 residents could not leave (poor, sick and elderly). Why would he choose to send them to the superdome?
The local government seems to be very corrupt or inept or both. This does not overshadow the grossly incompetent Federal response, but thousands of lives could have been saved if Nagan had properly evacuated the poor and prepared for the storm.

[sabra]

52. He did! In fact 80% evacuated was over the projected 60%.

He worked with the resources he had. BTW, welcome to DU!

[TankLV]

57. Nice try - now get lost!

We all know the truth - maybe you should shut up and read instead of spewing repuke bullshit about something which you obviously don't know jack shit about.

[oldhippie51]

62. Burn

Way to make a guy feel welcome with his first post. Do you know Jack Schitt?

<http://www.barry.fireflyinternet.co.uk/JackSchitt/Jack_Schit.htm>

You say "We all know the truth"? How do we alll know the truth? Where do we all find the truth?

[Changenow]

54. The link leads to a scrubbed story

It's all love now.

[samsingh]

55. now delay, don't play the blame game.

[expatriot]

58. Does this mean Nagin can blame the Neighbood Watch? nt

[tsuki]

61. Yep, DeLay. That's how it worked in Florida in 2004. Thank

you, Reps. Wasserman Schultz and Meeks for pointing out that 2004 was also an election year in a critical state. 2004 election year=the feds in charge with open wallets. 2005 election over year=the feds could care less, blame the victims.

[UpInArms]

63. Congressional Republicans consolidate investigations into response

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/politics/12584331.htm

WASHINGTON - (KRT) - Republican leaders halted congressional investigations into the federal government's response to Hurricane Katrina on Wednesday and announced a new joint Senate-House of Representatives inquiry that won't convene for weeks and will deliver its conclusions in February.

President Bush asked for nearly $52 billion in additional relief, his budget director promised that even more will be needed within weeks, and some lawmakers estimated that the total cost will reach $200 billion.

Congress' budget watchdog predicted that the disaster would slow U.S. economic growth to an annual rate as low as half a percent in this year's final half, sharply down from the 3 percent-plus rate in the first half.

With Democrats condemning the Bush administration's initial response to the hurricane and several Senate and House committees calling for separate investigations, Republican congressional leaders said they'd consolidate all inquiries under one joint committee.

The last such joint investigation was the 1987 Iran-Contra inquiry during the Reagan presidency.

"We all agree that in many areas the initial relief response to Hurricane Katrina was unacceptable at the local, state and federal levels," said Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn. "This joint committee will be tasked with reviewing at all levels of government the immediate preparation and recovery from Hurricane Katrina. Americans deserve answers."

...more...

[merwin]

64. And look at how many people were punished during Iran-Contra

Oh wait... they were promoted. Sorry.

[madaboutharry]

66. And some got their own

radio and tv shows. Maybe Mike Brown could host a program on DIY.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

68. Xtreme Survivor

[Triana]

65. whitewashing the dead black bodies...

...is what they'll do. I'm sick and tired of these dirtbags 'investigating themselves' and whitewashing everything.

We need INDEPENDENT investigation and we need SOME HEADS TO ROLL...

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

67. They wanna hurry up and finish it before next November

[skooooo]

69. Hope they investigate the POS that hired Brownie.

[AlGore-08.com]

70. So... what's in February that could distract all of us and the media?

[Joebert]

71. True

AND they can say oh, people are just saying mean things about these guys because of the elections later this year.

Look! Something shiny!

[Scooter24]

72. Well it could be a setup.

What if the report somehow comes out critical of the Mayor and Governor and dissolves Bush of any blame? It could be an useful tool to give political opponents (like Harris in Florida) the needed boost to get a Republican senate seat.

The timing of this has Rove written all over it.

:tinfoilhat:

[Joebert]

73. Absolutely.

if REPUBLICANS had been in office, this wouldn't have happened! Look how Jeb handled things in 2004!

Um, you guys moved heaven and earth to make stuff happen in an election year, in a swing state.

No, it was the leadership!

YES, it was the leadership choosing where they wanted to be.


We really need to pick a state and secede.

[OneBlueSky]

74. "joint Senate-House of Representatives inquiry" = COVERUP! . . .

NO NO NO NO NO!!! . . .

we do NOT need another inquiry where the investigators are in the business of horse-trading and covering their asses . . . we must demand an impartial INDEPENDENT investigation by a panel of distinguished Americans . . . who don't have the CYA motive . . .

[Judi Lynn]

75. GOP leaders agree to joint Katrina hearings

GOP leaders agree to joint Katrina hearings
Administration asks for $51.8 billion in Katrina aid

Thursday, September 8, 2005 Posted: 1227 GMT (2027 HKT)

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A bipartisan joint congressional committee will review the response at all levels of government to Hurricane Katrina, the leaders of the House and Senate said Wednesday.

House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Illinois, and Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tennessee, said in a written statement the joint committee would report its findings to Congress no later than February 15 next year.

Critics argue the federal government took too long to mobilize aid, causing thousands of storm victims to languish for days without food, water and other necessities.

Frist told reporters during a brief appearance that the new committee will be composed of senior members of Congress, with Republicans in the majority.

A high-ranking House Democratic aide said lawmakers from his party had not been contacted yet.
(snip/...)

http://edition.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/09/07/katrina.congress/

[shoelace414]

76. Bi partisan?

oh..I see.. because they have Republicans from both the house and senate.

[DBoon]

77. Dilbert ' "Bring me the head of Willy the Mailboy"

"blame starts at the bottom" is a standard though morbid joke in corporate America. Even Dilbert skewers this common practice, by having the mailboy responsible for the failure of a corporate strategic initiative.

It's called "finding a scapegoat". Anyone who has worked in a large organization is familiar with this practice. Your blame (and your punishment) is inversely propertional to your salary level.

DeLay is clueless enough (or brazen enough?) to outright make this his call.

What an ass.

[samsingh]

79. since delay is an ass himself, he may be onto something.

[Yoda Yada]

80. ...just like Abu Graib

...the blame starts at the bottom, and this administration will investigate itself!

[WhiteTara]

81. Bush only has bucks, no buck...may he rot

in hell.
IMPEACH BUSH AND SEND THEM ALL TO THE HAGUE!

[Tight_rope]

82. Fuck tom delay...fucking useless crooked bastard..... n/t