Will Rita be politicized/used to make Blanco and Nagin look incompetent?

[wndycty]

Katrina was a devastating event that taught us lots of lessons. Mistakes may have been made on all levels, but Nagin and Blanco don't get a second chance to do it right and you can only make one first impression. However Bush and FEMA get a second chance to do it the right way, and Gov. Rick Perry of TX is out in front. If Rita is a bad hurricane and levels destruction on Galveston, as predicted, but they get everyone out, will it be politicized to make Blanco and Nagin look bad?

[acmejack]

1. Of course!

These people take the opportunity to politicize literally everything! And goodhair will help as much as he can, he is W's boy.

[wndycty]

2. Well the Nagin/Blanco/Landrieu camp better get their talking points ready

. . .because we all know the GOP has their's written already.

[Arkansas Granny]

16. Nagin, Blanco and Landrieu are undoubtedly going to take some flak.

However, the suffering and death in New Orleans was seen by too many people who kept wondering "where is FEMA?" for Bush and his crew to get off light. Everyone I spoke to wondered why it took so long for any help to arrive at the Superdome and Convention Center. After all, if reporters could get in and interview these people, why couldn't relief services get in there with food and water. We watched it for days on TV and the feds didn't even seem to be aware of the situation.

Even if the local and state government didn't do all they could, the federal government was even worse. All of the prep for Rita just shows me that they are in CYA mode right now.

[cbear70]

3. yes

I was just thinking of this... all of a sudden they are doing everything right, the governor, fema, homeland security, national guards... they are all ready. The same mistakes won't be made. So how does this look for Katrina states.. does this forgive everything this administration did wrong with Katrina because they suddenly get it right? I hope not. I am disgusted how happy everyone is that Bush is doing all he can for Texas.

Don't get me wrong. I want everyone safe in Texas...and I just don't want people to forget the hell this administration put upon the Gulf Coast with Katrina. And just how many people died with Katrina?? Just don't want this to overlooked...

[BleedingHeartPatriot]

4. Well, I think those FEMA trucks loaded up and waiting in case

Key West sustained major damage would be something the LA folks could remark on.

It would have been helpful to have that type of preparation for NOLA. MKJ

[halobeam]

5. Exactly. FEMA is sending busses and planes to Texas right now.

They did shit for LA for five days....

BIG ASS difference.

[Arkansas Granny]

17. What do you want to bet that we'll see all kinds of black folks

getting on those busses, too. They won't miss this opportunity. Why, the Pres might even go down and help carry luggage for them or something (maybe there will be some brush to cut).

[kcwayne]

6. Rick Perry (Tx Gov) bragged on CNN about how prepared Texas is

for Rita, and how they won't have a slow local response like NOLA.

When asked who was in charge of the relief/response effort he blathered on for 2 minutes without naming anyone.

If I had been then cameraman, I would have turned the camera off and washed off my shoes.

[frictionlessO]

10. Yep, he already started the "we're better than them" crap... he doesn't

like black people either.

Makes me want to piss all over his grave. I think he needs a whisper campiagn launched immediately agaist him because of this. He is just another neocon slug in a need of a lot of salt.

[txindy]

27. What we need to do is point out how Blanco did exactly what he's doing

Gov. MoFo and Gov. Blanco prepared for the last two hurricanes in precisely the same way with the only difference being Junior's response. That's what we need to emphasize, early and often.

However, a whisper campaign against GoodHair is fine by me, too!

[maine_raptor]

7. If you question that, then also ask about the Bathroom habits of Bears

Trouble is, it could backfire on Rove and his media minions.

The fact that THEY are ready, shows they COULD HAVE been with Katrina.

Was the problem one of a combination of a political "reluctance" to work with a DEMOCRATIC State and Local administrations have been combined with the absolute idiocy of the placement and performance of Brownie?

If so, and it the media plays it that way, then "Katrina" will still be a problem with * till the end of his reign.

[jus_the_facts]

8. Hindsight is always 20/20.........

....they can try to politicize it all they want...dosen't really matter because it's always gonna be politics as usual with little or no regard for the PEOPLE who have to suffer the consequences of their mistakes....only $$$$$$$$ matters.

[maine_raptor]

13. That Saying is the perfect counter to the RW's upcoming talking point

Don't just know, in your gut, that that argument will be made post-Rita?

Perfect comeback; "Hindsight is always 20/20".

:thumbsup:

[jus_the_facts]

14. just callin' it the way I *see* it...

.....they only see with eyes wide shut...until the $ signs blind them even more to what really matters. :hi:

[SheilaT]

9. One way to look at this

is to think about the Titanic. Nearly 1500 people died because there weren't enough life boats, even though there were more than required by the antiquated laws in effect at the time.

Afterward, all boats were required to have sufficient lifeboats for all passengers and crew, and more rigorous life boat drills are held.

Before Katrina too many people took hurricane preparedness a little too casually, and the federal government blew off its responsibilities in the immediate aftermath. Now, especially with Rita on the heels of Katrina, no one is taking strong hurricanes casually, and the federal government seems to be stepping in and do what it should do better.

At least we can hope that's the result.

But yeah, too many people are going to point to such efficiency as proof that Nagin and Blanco are the ones responsible for what happened with Katrina.

[demo dutch]

11. It can go two ways, either they'll point the finger at TX and tell

everyone how well TX did with Rita and that it had nothing to do with FEMA, or.... the conclusion is, look what the Feds do, or rather don't do for you, if you're poor and black and live in NO. That will be the division in the opinion. People will fail to realize that NO is a special situation not to be compared to any other city because of the percentage of poor and overall low income percentage

[SheilaT]

15. Absolutely.

The response to Rita will be used to vilify Democrats such as Blanco and Nagin.

Another aspect of all this is that the Gulf Coast of Mississippi was also devastated, but the Governor of that state is a Republican. So he's been praised and lauded -- and I'm not sure he had a lot of complaints about the Fed's response in his state.

of course, we cannot begin to lose sight of exactly how unusual the situation in New Orleans was: a major U.S. city 80% under water for a week or more, thousands of people left stranded at the very places they'd been told to evacuate to, no re-supplies of food or necessities, police preventing those desperate people from leaving.

It's the flooding more than anything that made New Orleans so bad. Which is not to make light of the other destruction from Katrina that occurred, nor to dismiss the enormous damage Rita is likely to inflict wherever she makes landfall.

[demo dutch]

19. Sad thing is that MS governor is not complaining but many

of the coastal areas in MS have yet to see FEMA or the Red Cross. Anderson Cooper is covering that story quite well.
Rita is growing and surely become a 5. She's still forcasted to come ashore between Corpus Christi and Houston, probably around Matagorda TX. That means Houston will be to the right of the storm which is very bad. Due north of Matagorda lies Crawford, TX. Ain't life a bitch! (Ye think he'll now get the whole global warming thing?)

[Bridget Burke]

12. Rita preparations are being handled by locals.

Nobody in Galveston, Houston or surrounding areas cares what the bozos in DC or the bozos in Austin are planning. Perhaps you've heard different on national news--but local news focuses on local planning.

Bush & Co have been trying to make Blanco & Nagin look incompetent for some time. But eveyone saw what happened to New Orleans while Bush considered cutting his vacation short. "Politicization" will not erase those images.

[demo dutch]

21. Pointing fingers won't change first impressions, the * polls will

will continue to stay low.

[peekaloo]

18. Galveston has a history of hurricane destruction whereas N.O. was

a potential disaster lying in wait. The fact that Bu$h did NOTHING for days is burned into all of America and the world's psyche. Shit there are still people WAITING on FEMA's help in Miss./La.

I wish those in the path of Rita good blessings for they know now they are their own keeper.



Screw Governor Goodhair.

[rainbow4321]

20. It already has been:

See this thread from yesterday:


http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=4832311&mesg_id=4832311

Perry's office: "Texas is not Louisiana. You won't see that breakdown occurring here.''

[bunny planet]

22. yup!

[Blackwater]

23. To the knowing observer

It is clear that Blanco and Nagin were incompetent...and so was Bush...and so were many the people who failed to evacuate.

Things will definitely go better this time around because everyone gets the benefit of 20-20 hindsight.

[Bridget Burke]

25. To the really knowing observer....

Nagin & Blanco may have not been 100% correct in their planning & response.

But Bush did Jack Shit.

[never cry wolf]

26. To the really, really knowing observer...

Blanco and Nagin are heroes. The house report said Blanco did everything she was supposed to do in the proper order at the correct times. 80% of NOLA was evacuated, which is an unprecidented success for a major american city, 60% is considered good. Nagin ran all the busses he could that he had control over all day on sunday shuttling all the remaining people he could to temporary shelters to weather out the storm and wait the couple of days until the promised federal relief came.

I guess that was their mistake, believing the feds would do their job.

[OneBlueSky]

24. wait for this one . . . "see how well behaved these white folks . . .

in Houston are" . . . count on it . . .

[Blue_In_AK]

28. I'm still worried about the poor (black AND white) people

in Houston and Galveston. Not everybody is rich down there. I sure hope Governor Perry doesn't have to eat his words.

[wndycty]

29. Kick

:kick: