Hurricane Isabel: How Bush could lose North Carolina in 2004

[bluestateguy]

NC appears to be Ground Zero for Hurricane Isabel, which should be a safe state for Bush in 2004. On the other hand, this "president" has packed up and shipped off so many National Guardspeople to Iraq that the state may not be able to deliver emergency services to its people. Bush will have a lot to answer for to the people of North (and maybe South) Carolina if the state is devastated by a category 5 hurricane and the delivery of state emergency services is in a shambles because the National Guard was in Iraq. Of course Karl Rove will then be likely to ochestrate a smear campaign against "DemocRATic" Governor Mike Easley (who is up for reelection in '04). But we'll see.

[ShaneGR]

1. Well, here's to hoping that doesn't happen

I want to win the election, but I don't want it to be because a whole state got destroyed.

[rock]

4. Not to worry

Whatever you do will have no effect on what the hurricane does.

[morningglory]

6. Wherever it hits, the National Guard is a tremendous help

handing out ice and commodities. They will be missed.

[amazona]

2. FEMA emergency fund almost broke

When Tropical Storm Bill hit our town on June 30, FEMA refused to recognize it as a federal disaster, and we did not even get one kind word of acknowledgement for our disaster. Whistleass was too busy causing trees to be cut down in Africa apparently. We were told that the Republican Congress had greatly underfunded FEMA's disaster fund and that is the reason why we could not get aid or acknowledgement.

As far as I know, Tropical Storm Claudette, which hit in Texas, killing two, was also denied recognition by FEMA.

I heard that Memphis had a delay in receiving FEMA disaster aid and recognition for its unnamed storm which caused a disaster there a short while after Bill and Claudette.

If FEMA has no funds, they are going to refuse federal recognition or else downplay the severity of the event to delay passing out funds.

After Hurricane Andrew, under Poppy, FEMA was so ineffective that people who lost their homes waited MONTHS for aid.

Quite a contrast with the Clinton years.

I hope the hurricane does not make landfall, because I do not believe there is enough money in the budget to help those people. There was no money in the budget for St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana, supposedly a Republican stronghold. People need to wake up. There is no use having a GOP governor if he can't even get Whistleass on the phone during a natural disaster.

One thing is clear to me: Whistleass doesn't care about the victims of natural disaster. And the GOP Congress doesn't care either!

[morningglory]

7. Joe Bastardi said this morning that it could just sideswipe the NC

coast and then sideswipe Long Island. Hoping for minimal damage. It is a moultin' gator.

[leftchick]

3. it does not matter, the voting machines matter...

I live in NC and vote on those magical vote disappearing touch screens.....poof, your vote is gone into the "trusted" world of corporate ownership!
For more information on what is happening to our Democracy go to:

http://blackboxvoting.com/

[jiacinto]

5. Well

that assumes that Isabel hits NC. And I don't want people to be hurt by the Hurricane.

[mlawson]

8. I am by no means conceding my state to bush next year!

I do not know that NC is a 'safe state for bush' in 2004. I have seen no polls one way or another, but I personally do not know one person who can stand Junior, much less vote for him. This may well be one time when NC goes Dem at the national level.

And obviously I do not want the hurricane to hit the Outer Banks. Now, Crawford, TX, that would be a different thing.

[Kamika]

9. its all clintons fault

Remember that

[electricmonk]

10. I was thinking something along those lines

After watching NBC news tonight. Not from an election point of view but more of what a fuck-up in general Whisleass is. If the storm does hit the states hard it's going to be a mess and the people trained to deal with it are in Iraq and the local authorities left behind are operating on a such a tight budget they don't have the resources or people to handle it.