MY HUSBAND THINKS I SEE THINGS IN TEAM BLUE AND TEAM RED!

[julialnyc]

I have a husband who yells at me that I make everything team blue and team red. I argue back that while there may be some things the local government could have done better, it is not a shared responsibility (meaning I don't think at the end of the day everybody made mistakes and we treat it as the same caliber). I argue that government cannot get away with with their inactions which with their resources could have saved countless lives............ he agrees with me, but says my point would be more valid if I just admitted the local government didn't do everything perfect, I say that while the republicans are playing holier than thou trying to make this whole disaster the responsibility of people in local government while the federal had more resources, more authority............ and who could have responded to things they felt inadequate with action (because they shouldn't have just been voyeurs for the most massive disaster we have ever seen in our lives).

My husband is a good democrat, but loooooooves playing devil's advocate.On top of that he has a highly republican father who yells all the talking points at him being 1. What about the buses 2. Don't you know the job of first responders 3. Since LA knew this was coming why didn't the locals have a better plan.

My thoughts are that while I don't agree with the talking points, who gives a flying fuck if they were true. The federal government should have turned on their tv and said WE HAVE TO GET IN THERE TO SAVE PEOPLE! SCREW BUROCRACY.... SCREW MORE TRAINING FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE SUPPOSED TO BE TRAINED, OH........ AND IF WE CAN SEND THE NATIONAL GUARD INTO FALLUJA, WE CAN SEND THEM TO NO!

(sorry to rant, but I feel like part of me is so frustrated with him and part of me thinks he has a point)

[sinkingfeeling]

1. Simple: NO was declared a NATIONAL emergency by * on 8/27!

[julialnyc]

4. his point is mostly what happened before the hurricane

I agree with you entirely (in fact, do you have a link to Gov Blancos request fro me to print?), but he won't back down on me not saying the evacuation could have been better (and I wonder if it could have). He agrees with me completely on the mess the Federal Government made of NO after the levee broke, but he thinks dems should admit there should have been a better evacuation plan in place (to which I argue that local government requested federal assistance for such a massive undertaking to no avail)

[sinkingfeeling]

12. Ask him how many other cities the size of NO could evacuate 80%

of their population in 72 hours? I read that NO's disaster plan only called for like being able to get 60% of the population out alive. Now we know that the most of the 20% left behind were poor and black, but I don't remember wealthy Dade County Florida getting anywhere near that % out before Andrew.

[crispini]

2. There is plenty of blame to go around.

however, Harry Truman had a sign on his desk that said, "The buck stops here."

I agree with Truman.

George, apparently, does not.

[LaPera]

3. Good! BUY BLUE! http://www.buyblue.org/

http://www.buyblue.org/

[julialnyc]

8. wow! Lots of great Blue companies!

N/T

[Bumblebee]

5. same here -- and they do have a point because I also always

think about political advantage, whom it will help and who it will hurt. That's called political polarization, and while our spouses are correct in rational terms, I often wonder how one can actually stay so rational through it all instead of seething with political outrage. So hang in there -- that's what this list is for! :)

[julialnyc]

9. He was emotional watching it unfold with me

but then his family got a hold of him and made him into a punching bag...... which starts the viscous cycle of him "playing devil's advocate"

[Bumblebee]

10. I know -- but then some of us immediately translate it into politics

and some of us don't, despite all the emotion

[kentuck]

6. Then why didn't NYC handle 9/11 all by themselves ?

Or call the state for help? Why did we even need the Feds in there messing up?

[julialnyc]

7. well he's said this but in the opposite way than you

He says that how did NYC manage to get all the local first responders to respond right away without federal assistance.I tell him that there is no comparison. First off, no matter how bad the communication lines were on 9/11, at the beginning the responders could call into their fire houses and there was some communication hubs. Second, New York city didn't need a mandatory evacuation (and if it did trust me Gulliani and Pataki wouldn't have been able to do it on their own). Third New York wasn't under water and forth the disaster (as horrible as it was) was confined to a small smace....... but that doesn't take away from the loss, fear (of being under attack... which was insane) and pain that happened on 9/11


I was in New York when 9/11 happened and it was beyond words how scary, sad and painful it was, but it is too unfair to compare two tragedies each unique in their details and their victims

[UofIDem]

11. Well...

I think that the fact is that for the informed, politics has become a game of sorts. While I am very interested in politics, I think I fall more into the spouses camp on this one. I think the more one becomes entrenched in this Red vs. Blue mindset, it makes it more difficult to separate the issue from how it will play to the voters.

The division in this country is large and growing and the truth is that at least a small part of each of us is willing to accept things going badly right now, and even hope it does (in certain cases) because it will stem a pretty serious Republican tide right now. (Note: I am not accusing anyone of wishing for tragedy or death, but when things go wrong, at least a part of us thinks it is great news). The truth is a large majority of people don't care who is in office as long as their wallets aren't empty and people aren't dying, but many here do.

Look, I am no fan of Bush and a lot of the other right wing nutjobs we have running the country right now, but for the sake of all of us, I constantly hope that they get the next thing right. Hopefully they will discover a way to fix something that they did in the past. I would trade a win in every election in 2006 and 2008 if it meant that we could have even 1 of the Katrina victims back. Even if it ends up getting Republican elected, I would prefer it because I believe that we are all in this together and that at the end of the day, a majority of Americans have a lot more in common than we have dividing us and this country needs help right now, not in two years when we can finally elect someone we think will do the job better.

But it is important to realize that we do have a Red Sox/Yankees mentality when it comes to politics and a Dem win is just as good as a Repub loss. It's the world we live in for better or for worse. I suppose that this is just a long way of saying perhaps the spouses have a point.

[julialnyc]

14. very true

I think much of my frustration is there because I know he is right, but my only point that I can't let go of if that if we were to assign relative responsibility to people I can understand that,but I feel the world doesn't work like that this day in age and I would go nuts if the responsibility falls SOLELY onto the locals........ and with Bush leading the inquiry of course that's where he is going to lead them.I almost feel like team red is sooooooo loyal, manipulative, and most of the time wrong that team blue needs encouragement (but I know I'm not thinking with a level head sometime)

[julialnyc]

17. I do disagree

that anyone would want things top go badly.... and no one in their right mind would want death. I also disagree that this will stem a republican tide.

All I'm saying is that the blame goes on dems too.... but no where NEAR the inadequacy of what could have been a much more successful response by the federal, but they play such a "chose team" mentality that I often feel drawn to route entirely for the other team (the team who is by all accounts is doing things everything better..... but that doesn't make them perfect).

Like Jon Stewart says "If you are constantly accusing people of the "blame game" you are usually to blame.

I guess I am just defensive since I can see the Rovian plan...... that's what makes me so strong willed.....I see where their going, I know their P.R plan..... they are transparent and will take NO responsibility for this

[GreenPartyVoter]

13. It could be worse, you could married a fundagelicalsemi-freeper like I did

But sweetie, I sure do feel your pain! :hug:


------------------------------------------------------
Ditch Bu$h and save the Gulf: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=106&topic_id=22507&mesg_id=22507

Then save the nation!
http://timeforachange.bluelemur.com/electionreform.htm

[julialnyc]

15. that has to be tough!

It is hard living in a courtroom (that's how it makes me feel sometimes!)

[GreenPartyVoter]

16. Yeah, it can be really hard, but as long as they are sweet every so

often they make up for it. :P