Any Dem prez candidates besides Wes Clark speaking out?

[gulliver]

Just asking.

http://www.tpmcafe.com/story/2005/9/1/123536/7907

I hope we remember this when the primaries start.

[LittleClarkie]

1. Maybe Kerry would, but he's in Iraq

Kinda hard from there.

[Adelante]

4. That's interesting, LC

Is there a Senate delegation in Iraq? I'm glad to hear our Dems are not vacationing as DU seems to want to think. What's the trip about? Thanks.

[LittleClarkie]

7. I've heard it called a re-assessment tour

He went in January. I think the idea was to see how things have progressed, or more likely, deteriorated.

[Adelante]

20. Well, I'm glad Kerry is in Iraq

SOMEBODY has to fucking be there.

[Totally Committed]

28. Look, nobody here has less affinity for Kerry than I do...

but, part of a Senator's job is to go on these trips to enable them to have first-hand knowledge when it comes time for their "advise and consent" duties.

It is necessary. He was not there on a lark. Who would ever find Baghdad a lark? If he were up on Martha's Vinyard, parasailing, I'd be the first one to let him have it. But, Senators do have duties and this trip is one of his. Let's all be sensible about our criticisms.

TC

[Adelante]

46. You're agreeing with me, right?

That's what I'm saying, only you said it better.

[Dr Fate]

5. LC, that is not somthing I would brag about.

I like & support Kerry just fine, but him being in Iraq right now is kind of symbolic for what is going wrong.

I would like Kerry to do an "about face" on Iraq right now. I dont care if Sean Hannity calls him a flip flopper or not-I think nearly every American will understand.

As a US Senator, he needs to come home and focus on Americans.

I support Democrats 100%- But if he is not aleady on a plane home, then that is not good.

[ticapnews]

8. I'm a Clarkie, but Kerry is not wrong for being in Iraq...

There are Americans there, too, and they need help as well. I applaud him for going in the first place. To hear Hate Radio tell it, he's not very popular among the troops there. :crazy:

As for other Democrats, this week I have received emails from Clark, Kerry, Hillary and the Maine State Democratic Party. Congressman Harold Ford spoke out very forcefully earlier this week. The Congressional Black Caucus held a press conference this morning (that only CNN covered and they left when criticism of the media started) and there are other Dems speaking out.

[Dr Fate]

12. What would we be saying if Bush was in Iraq this week?

this has nothing to do with who you support in '08.

[karynnj]

24. Bush is the President

head of the EXECUTIVE branch. He should be here, comforting the people hurt and using his authority to cut through any red tape to get relief to NO and the rest of the coast. That said Bush is here and doing a very poor job on both of the above.

Kerry is a Senator - 1 of 100 (I would love it if he were President). This is the LEGISLATIVE branch. Kerry has no power to do any of the above. What he can do he can even do from Iraq. He has issued a letter with Sen Landrieu (as ranking member of SBC) to ask that small businesses be given an additional 6 months to apply for disaster loans. He has also written his constituents and he and Teresa wrote to the Johnkerry.com community offering his sympathy and asking people not affected to contribute to various organizations. Even if he were here, it would be crazy for him to go to the Gulf. Right now, the people have felt needs that BUSH is not working hard enough on - their anger and outrage are being heard.

In a strange way, just as Sheehan could change some minds with her simple clear protest on Iraq, the many nameless victims are doing the same in NO. These voices are the ones that are being heard and are having an impact. The truth so many didn't want to believe (because their own sense of wellbeing depended on believing the deception) is becoming too clear to deny - Bush is NOT a strong leader who stands between us and the abbess.

Democratic politicians can be seen as having an agenda. They can and should identify things that can and should be done. They should appeal to any resources they have to offer help - but for now, the voices of the victims are far better in just saying the response has been poor.

[whometense]

29. You know,

he went there before the hurricane hit. The soldiers in Iraq are surely as deserving of his attention as we are.

[karynnj]

10. Wouldn't you want him to have good first hand information

whatever he does. First of all, because it's part of his job as a member of the SFRC and because if he does call for a change having backup will make his reccomendation stronger. I think the source of the information was from someone who called Kerry's office complaining that he should do more than his letters. (Sorry, if that's not the source, LC)

He has written 3 letters to people to offer his sincere feeling and to request people donate. One was from Teresa and John. He has also requested with Sen. Landrieu that small businesses be given an extra 6 months to apply for disaster loans.

Iraq is a very scary place now, Kerry is not on a junket or a PR mission where he is getting TV coverage. As a Senator, he can do very little - beyond lending his voice to a chorus demanding the government do more. So, he really should complete his mission in Iraq and then come home.

[Dr Fate]

13. I dont need one iato of information about that god damned desert.

First hand or not.

I had know idea Kerry was over there- he needs to be back here doing whatever it is that Senators do to help out the coast.

The only first hand info from Iraq I need is a report that the troops are leaving there and coming to LA.

[Dr Fate]

16. Kerry is on a plane back to the US.

So the DUers who called his office are being told.

I'm glad.

[katsy]

2. What's the sound of one had slapping?

If the answer is extending one hand and slapping your master in the face... then I guess I haven't heard one Dem candidate speaking out.

[Totally Committed]

3. Wes is out of the country, too, right now (in Italy, at a conference)...

It's amazing the things thechnology can do these days.

TC

[karynnj]

11. Italy and Iraq share their first letter

but are clearly not the same.

[dogman]

31. Isn't the point that you can communicate from either place?

I would bet that Kerry has access to more PR than Clark and his laptop.

[LittleClarkie]

33. But probably not on a plane

which is where Kerry is at the mo'

[karynnj]

36. and probably not from Iraq

As he was in Iraq, he was more needed doing what he was doing than being another voice speaking against Bush - the victims themselves were more compelling. He did reach out to his constituents and to his JohnKerry.com community to offer sympathy and to raise funds. He also worked with Sen Landrieau to help small businesses hurt by the storm. Seeing that this was the Senate's recess, it looks like he is doing an excellent job.

There is plenty of time when people are safe and dry, for Kerry (and others) to point out that they have spent years demanding emergency plans. Kerry in particular has Senate speeches and campaign speeches dealing with this. Port safety has been a top issue for both Kerry and Lautenberg.

[IChing]

6. I heard a freely elected democratic president say a few things

Hugo Chavez

Oh you mean in this country?

sorry just Clark, Jackson and Sharpton

[Mass]

9. Too bad this is not on a main stream media or a bigger blog.

This would have more impact.

[FrenchieCat]

14. Alas, that is part of the problem....isn't it?

Seem like it always left up to the Internet to get out front those who are speaking for us.

How sad is that? :shrug:

The Google alert that I received this morning (shown below) on Clark's words....

In Iowa, Clark declares Bush mishandled storm
DesMoinesRegister.com - Des Moines,IA,USA
... Wesley Clark, traveling in Iowa on Thursday, was sharply critical ... lined up the evacuation assets," Clark continued ... President Bush, who will tour the Gulf Coast ...
http://desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050902/NEWS08/509020383/1001/NEWS

was made to disappear. I wrote the paper inquiring about this phenomenon. So far, no response.

[Totally Committed]

15. OMG...

Just a big, gaping hole where the article used to be! They didn't even try to replace it with something else or anything!

Now, I really HAVE seen everything. I really have. That scathing article about what Wes wrote about Bush's lack of leadership is GONE? Just disappeared.

Our elected politicians have deserted us and run for the hills. The media is screwing us every chance they get. And, when a Democrat who isn't even an elected, is interviewed in a tough article asking tough questions, it just disappears....

Frenchie, my guess is you will not hear back from them, and if you do, their answer will be a maze of bullshit. They got the memo, and they obeyed.

Kids, I hate to say this, but this is a cold, cruel new world, and we are out here all alone.

TC

[FrenchieCat]

25. oK.....The article was mysteriously "put back".....

Maybe I am a better writer than I thought....

Here it is!

Politics

In Iowa, Clark declares Bush mishandled storm

By JOLENE STEVENS
REGISTER CORRESPONDENT
September 2, 2005
Sioux City, Ia. — Retired Gen. Wesley Clark, traveling in Iowa on Thursday, was sharply critical of the Bush administration's preparation for and response to the Hurricane Katrina disaster.

"I think it's awful that we left 100,000 people stranded in New Orleans," Clark told reporters at a Sioux City news conference.

He said federal officials had plenty of warning and should have been more prepared.

"First of all, we all saw the storm coming. This did not come in the middle of the night like a terrorist attack. It was very clearly presented for hours before it struck," he said.

"We should have mobilized a joint task force, pre-positioned the National Guard, and lined up the evacuation assets," Clark continued.

"We can do much better than this in our country," he said.

President Bush, who will tour the Gulf Coast disaster region today, acknowledged the frustration of people who need food, water and shelter.

"I fully understand people wanting things to have happened yesterday," he said in an interview Thursday with ABC's "Good Morning America" program. "I understand the anxiety of people on the ground. . . . So there is frustration. But I want people to know there's a lot of help coming."

Bush has proposed an initial $10 billion in federal money for disaster relief.

Clark, who ran for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2004, has been traveling in Iowa with Lt. Gov. Sally Pederson, the state party chairwoman, to help stir up support in advance of the 2006 elections.

The Arkansas native has said he's not focused on his political future but hasn't ruled out running for president in 2008. He spoke Thursday morning at a closed-door fundraising breakfast attended by about 50 local Democrats.

Addressing the high gasoline prices in the wake of damage to the oil industry on the Gulf Coast, he said that "assuming we can get the materials out and ease supply restraints," he would support a move to tap into the Strategic Petroleum Reserve at this point to ease gas and oil prices.

"The reserve is for use in times of supply disruption," he said. "We're seeing the impact of this happening now, and spreading from the Gulf Coast into neighboring states in supplies of both car and aviation fuel."

For the longer term, he advocated an alternative energy policy, including using ethanol, to ease the country's reliance on fossil fuels.
http://desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050902/NEWS09/509020383/1056

[Totally Committed]

26. Nice to see e-mails work! n/t

TC

[dorktv]

17. like say Howard Dean? Who canceled next week's meeting?

http://www.democrats.org/a/2005/08/dean_do_somethi.php


Email he sent to the party faithful.

[LittleClarkie]

22. People are determined not to see

even if the Dems are doing anything. Luckily, lack of attention won't stop them.

[Corey_Baker08]

18. Ive gotten emails from

Kerry,Clark,Edwards,Clinton,Dean(DNC) and Elizabeth edwards

[gulliver]

19. Could you post them? What did they say?

So far I haven't seen any actual quotes besides Clark's.

[whometense]

32. I get Kerry's emails too

Dear XXXX,

This is a time for all Americans to pull together and do everything we can to assist people whose lives have been devastated by Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath.

If you haven't acted already, I urge you to join in delivering immediate help to the people who need it most. One way to do that is to support the relief and recovery efforts of the Red Cross with a personal donation.

Donate to the Red Cross

As we hold those who are going through so much pain and suffering in our prayers, I know you'll do everything you can to reach out and help.

Sincerely,

John Kerry

P.S. There are a host of other volunteer relief agencies doing essential life-saving work in this emergency. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which is coordinating the federal government's response efforts, has posted a list of recommended groups on its website.
Paid for by Friends of John Kerry, Inc.

[1932]

34. Here's Edwards', titled "Two Americas":

During the campaign of 2004, I spoke often of the two Americas: the America of the privileged and the wealthy, and the America of those who lived from paycheck to paycheck. I spoke of the difference in the schools, the difference in the loan rates, the difference in opportunity. All of that pales today. Today - and for many days and weeks and months to follow - we see a harsher example of two Americas. We see the poor and working class of New Orleans who don't own a car and couldn't evacuate to hotels or families far from the target of Katrina. We see the suffering of families who lived from paycheck to paycheck and who followed the advice of officials and went to shelters at the Civic Center or the Superdome or stayed home to protect their possessions.

Now every single resident of New Orleans, regardless of their wealth or status, will have terrible losses and life-altering experiences. Every single resident will know and care about someone who was lost to this hurricane. But some, ranging from the very poorest to the working class unable to accumulate a cushion of assets to rely upon on a very, very rainy day, will suffer the most because they simply didn't have the means to evacuate. They suffered the most from Katrina because they always suffer the most.

These are Americans some of whom who left everything they possessed behind in order to save those they loved. These are Americans huddled with their children or pushing a wheelchair between rows of those too beaten or weak to stand. In this moment, we have to remember they are part of us, Americans who love their country and are part of our national community. In this moment, it is hard because our hair is clean and our clothes are washed and our eyes are not glazed with hopelessness. But these are our brothers and sisters, and we have to remember this not just for them, but for us. We must finally recognize that when any of us suffer, we are all weaker; it affects us all.

Commentators on television have expressed surprise, saying they think that most people didn't know there was such poverty in America. Thirty-seven million Americans live in poverty, most of them are the working poor, but it is clear that they have been invisible. But if these commentators are right, this tragedy can have a great influence, if we listen to its message.

The people most devastated have always lived on a razor blade, afraid of any setback, any illness, any job loss that could disrupt the fragile balance they achieved paycheck to paycheck. They didn't leave New Orleans because they couldn't leave. Some didn't leave their homes because they wanted to protect the hard-won possessions that made their lives a little easier.

The government released new poverty statistics this week. The number of Americans living in poverty rose again last year. Thirteen million children -- nearly one in every five -- lives in poverty. Close to 25 percent of all African Americans live in poverty. Twenty-three percent of the population in New Orleans lives in poverty. Those are chilling numbers. Because of Katrina, we have now seen many of the faces behind those numbers.

Poverty exists everywhere in America. It is in Detroit and El Paso. It is in Omaha, Nebraska and Stockton, California. It is in rural towns like Chillicothe, Ohio and Pine Bluff, Arkansas. Nearly half of the children in Detroit, Atlanta and Long Beach, California live in poverty. It doesn't have to be this way. We can begin embracing policies that offer opportunity, reward responsibility, and assume the dignity of each American.

There are immediate needs in New Orleans and the Gulf Coast, and the first priority is meeting those, but after that, we need to think about the American community, about the one America we think we are, the one we talk about. We need people to feel more than sympathy with the victims, we need them to feel empathy with our national community that includes the poor. We have missed opportunities to make certain that all Americans would be more than huddled masses. We have been too slow to act in the face in the misery of our brothers and sisters. This is an ugly and horrifying wake-up call to America. Let us pray we answer this call. Now is the time to act.

- John

[whometense]

39. Kerry's press release just out

http://www.johnkerry.com/pressroom/releases/pr_2005_09_02.html

September 2, 2005
Statement of John Kerry on Hurricane Katrina Relief Efforts
For Immediate Release

Washington, DC - Senator John Kerry released the following statement today on Hurricane Katrina relief efforts.

“Our thoughts and prayers go out to all the citizens of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama as they struggle with the aftermath of this devastating storm, and to their loved ones and families viewing the disturbing photos coming out of the region. I also would like to commend the brave men and women who are leading the rescue operations; from emergency service officers to health care professionals to the power and water crews working around the clock to save lives.

“Hurricane Katrina devastated significant portions of the Gulf Coast and disrupted millions of lives. The situation in New Orleans is heartbreaking.

“We cannot and must not give up on the people left stranded and destitute by this storm. This is a national tragedy and it demands a national response. At home in Massachusetts, citizens and corporations are donating time, money and their expertise to help out and I know the same thing is happening in every state in the country.

“Now is the time for all of us to come together to help our fellow Americans rebuild the communities that have lost so much.

“Elected officials, emergency personnel and incredible volunteers are working round the clock. These emergency workers are heroes.

“While Americans are united and determined to help the people who are suffering, there is no question that we share a collective anguish and frustration over the inadequate response of the federal government over these past several days. Federal officials must act swiftly in coming hours and days to direct more aid to the region as rapidly as possible.

“Last night the Senate allocated $10.5 billion to help fund immediate relief efforts. Although that is a welcome first step, I plan to work in coming days to find more ways that we can help joining with my colleagues in the Senate to support those who have lost so much and those working so hard to help them.

“I am also directing my team at johnkerry.com and my leadership committee Keeping America’s Promise to help. This week we have sent out fundraising appeals for the Red Cross and teamed up to help victims find housing at www.hurricanehousing.org. The response has been incredibly heartening. We will be doing more in coming days as we learn more about the best to provide assistance.

“I just returned from spending the week in Iraq, seeing firsthand the bravery of our troops as they face chaos and destruction. Our country has a huge heart and an incredibly strong spirit. We came together to support of our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan and their families, now we will come together to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina. We will endure and we will survive but we can’t stop working until we get help to all those left suffering. For more information on how to help, visit FEMA’s website at http://www.fema.gov/press/2005/resources_katrina.shtm or visit the American Red Cross at www.redcross.org. Thank you for your support for the victims of Hurricane Katrina.”

[sarahlee]

21. Some great speeches being made

in the House and Senate today - Kucinich, Barbara Lee and otehrs have been outstanding.

Also see:
http://kucinich.house.gov/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=33653

[Lydia Leftcoast]

23. There was another thread somewhere around here

that said Kucinich was on CSPAN saying that "Our troops are stationed in the wrong Gulf."

[ShockediSay]

27. He did well last Sun on Meet the Press, too

Told it like it was.

[sarahlee]

30. Indifference is a weapon of mass destruction

http://www.commondreams.org/news2005/0902-10.htm

[wiley]

35. So are Republicans

[wiley]

37. Wny don't we listen to his answers now?

The man is capable of dealing with events of this nature now.

[ChiciB1]

38. JOHN EDWARDS & He Was Pm MSNBC Before Candy-Condi!

[Clarkie1]

40. Kucinich. n/t

[politicasista]

41. We don't need to think about the primaries right now

Our main goal should be helping the hurricane victims rebuild their lives. Let's focus on 2006, then 2008 later.

[gulliver]

43. Actually, I'm not thinking about the primaries right now so much ...

... as pointing out that people who expect to be considered for the presidency at that time should be acting now.

[Clarkie1]

44. We can do both, and should. It isn't a question of either/or.

This disaster is politically based. We must to do whatever we can to help the dead and dying, but we also need to speak for them.

[FrenchieCat]

42. Personally, I'm glad that the Dems

are starting to speak out! Of course, they are the usual suspects...that are hammering at this administration, while others are being someone more diplomatic or focusing on the human tragedy portion of this disaster....

But in my mind, it's all good.
(But I will remember which of the dems were the first to put this fucking administration on the hot seat again, that I will!)

[LittleClarkie]

45. It seem inappropriate to be asking about which Dem candidates are out

Turns it into one big campaign move really. Cheapens it, if you know what I mean.

Do you think Clark is talking about this stuff with "vote for me 2008" in the back of his mind?