I hope for the sake of the beleaguered Gulf Coast that this doesn't come to pass -- but from a realpolitik point of view, there is a potential nightmare for the Republican Party swirling around the warm Caribbean waters right now.
His name is Gustav.
I already thought that the Republicans had unintentionally blundered in choosing St. Paul for its convention, first with the echoes of last year's tragic bridge collapse and the Bush administration's neglect of the nation's infrastructure, and then the moral hypocrisy of Larry Craig and his memorial stall.
But if there's anything about the last eight years that the GOP doesn't want to remind voters about, it's the one inarguably unmitigated disaster of this administration, and that is Katrina. The more than 1,400 who died in the floodwaters of New Orleans -- and the administration's dumbfoundingly slow and tepid response -- are a sad permanent memorial to misplaced priorities, not-always-so-benign neglect of the nation's poor, and the foolishness of a vow to shrink government to the size where you can drown it in a bathtub.
So of course a giant new storm may be bearing down on New Orleans right as John McCain prepares to assume the Bushian mantle:
Aug. 26 (Bloomberg) -- Hurricane Gustav is forecast to make landfall later today in Haiti and may enter the Gulf of Mexico, home to more than a fifth of U.S. oil production.
Gustav's sustained winds strengthened to 90 miles (145 kilometers) per hour, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said in an advisory just before 8 a.m. Miami time. The system, located 75 miles south-southeast of the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince, was heading northwest at 9 mph.
``This time next week it will be somewhere in the Gulf,'' said Eric Wilhelm, senior meteorologist at private forecaster AccuWeather Inc. in State College, Pennsylvania. ``All the states lining the Gulf Coast of the U.S. will be on the lookout.''
In addition to the sad echoes of Hurricane Katrina, a hurricane in the Gulf -- and the threat of disruptions -- could send the price of oil and then gasoline at the pump back to the astronomical levels they're reached after eight years of two oilmen in the White House, another bad message for the GOP. If the networks are going to intersperse McCain's nomination with live shots of sandbags along the Mississippi, the party is in big, big trouble.
For one thing, you'll be sure to see this picture again...A LOT:
Posted by Will Bunch @ 10:02 AM
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51 comments
1,400 people died in the Katrina disaster and all George Bush could do is say "You're doing a fine job Brownie!" If you want more incomptenece, vote McSame. If you want a better America for your children, vote Obama!
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Ha Ha, Gibba is so right. The GOP is a complete disaster. Maybe FEMA should put the GOP up in toxic waste trailers. Mark Foley, Larry Craig, Bob Allen, Glenn Murphy Jr., and Ted Haggard can bunk with male Capitol Hill pages.
Gibba that comment makes no sense, McCain very much so disagreed with the handling and if he were in charge we know it would be better handled, Obama unfortunately only has a history of saying how others handled things wrong but no example of how HE would have handled. You proved this one for McCain Gibba.
Will, you do know that if you have nothing relevant to post, it's OK not to post at all.
If you're gonna use the quote, at least get it right.. "Brownie, you're doing a heckuva job"
Ummmdanny, that pic from the post is Bush and McCain celebrating McCain's b-day WHILE Katrina was happening. He said what he would have done, but unfortunately he preferred blowing out candles with a guy who slandered him in 2000 than actual action.
While thousands were just trying to survive one of the worst natural disasters in our nations history, George Bush and John McSame acted like "let them eat cake."
"McCain very much so disagreed with the handling and if he were in charge we know it would be better handled" --- Everyone disagreed with the handling.. so what? How exactly do "we know it would be better handled"? The same question is valid for Obama, of course, but Obama does not hate government like the GOP does.
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"but Obama does not hate government like the GOP does." The GOP only hates certain kinds of government. They are fine with creating another cabinet level department in Homeland Security, whose main accomplishment was to create color coded threat levels. They are fine with trying to pass amendments to ban gay marriage or flag burning. But when it comes to regulation of business or properly funding federal agencis, heck no!
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Bush & McCain were eating cake while thousands more were busy looting flat screen televisions etc.
"Often wonder how FEMA performed so poorly in LA but so well in MS...I wonder what was different? In N.O. you had people so thoroughly destroyed by generations of government handouts they lost the basic instinct of self preservation." Talk about blaming the victim -- a "self-preservation instinct" only goes so far when you're poor and don't own a car and can't leave the area as more people in MS were able to do. Also, the devastation in MS was from the storm surge, while most deaths in NO were flooding from the failed levees.
dan, somehow your post makes perfect right wing sense. McCain "very much so" disagreed with the handling, but all Obama did was say others handled it wrong. Of course, we know intuitively that McCain would have done the right thing; if only he hadn't been a POW (Prisoner of "W") being tortured with Bush's diabolical "cake-boarding" technique.
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To be fair, I'd argue that the local levels of preperation were probably much better in MS than they were in NO. Nagin is a train wreck.
"In Louisiana, the federal flood protection system in New Orleans failed in more than fifty places. Nearly every levee in metro New Orleans breached as Hurricane Katrina passed east of the city, subsequently flooding 80% of the city and many areas of neighboring parishes for weeks... Most of the major roads traveling into and out of the city were damaged."
Oh for Christ's sake let's just blame everything on Bush. It's so much easier that way. The war, the economy, the weather, political corruption, moral decay, illegal immigration, ........ Did I leave anything out? Oh yeah... and boneheaded journalists
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Talk all you want Dems, your party is an embarassing mess. Obama can't even get the Hillary Democrats to vote for him!
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"How many year's were the levees deemed inadquate to resist a storm surge from a level 5 hurricane, since 1965." . . . . Bush didn't get the memo, it seems. One of Katrina's lessons is that the President of the United States is merely a figurehead; all political power is vested in local mayors. We can never forgive Nagin for not recalling the National Guard from his dumb war in Iraq.
The irony is that the wacko right-wing religious freaks who define and control the GOP have been praying for it to rain in Denver....Now THAT'S funny.....maybe Obama's imaginary friend is stronger than their imaginary friend......Morons.
"Words cannot describe how utterly sad and pathetic these people are." . . . . . . Yeah, the nerve of Will, pointing out to Republicans the political danger of not being prepared for another major disaster, especially if it coincides with their dog-and-pony show. We can just ignore it again, and then blame the mayor and the evil welfare state.
I recall you had TS Chris in 2006 being the next Katrina, Will, from the five-day map. Chris completely fizzled and never even became a hurricane. Anything more than 3 days out has little accuracy. Stick to waving the Obama-poms and leave weather forecasting to the NHC.
"... exactly why I will never pay one dime for either newspaper." . . . Yeah, that and the fact that each one costs quite a bit more than one dime, and anyway I can enrich them more by boosting their ad rates here with free comments.
The Republicans have definitely lost their way in the last few years. How else do you explain their scheduling their national convention to start on Labor Day? It can either only be incompetence, or their desire to suppress the viewership of Independents so the connection of Bush to McCain is not further reinforced.
Will, a more interesting hurricane is starting to brew in the GOP platform committee. Calling for two constitutional amendments that McCain opposes (abortion and gay marriage), and also stripping the federal government of any meaningful power to address climate change, undermining Mccain's own modest environmental agenda. The thing you won't see in the platform is much ebullient praise for McCain, unlike the 2004 version that had one theme: Bush = God.
"Talk about blaming the victim -- a "self-preservation instinct" only goes so far when you're poor and don't own a car and can't leave the area as more people in MS were able to do" Hmm ... I recall reading that half the people who died in NOLA had cars in their driveways, Will. Also, the storm surge in MS was a suprise - it was a lot higher than forecast and set a record (it was higher than Camille's). Just the year before, the 'Hurricane Pam' exercise said that NOLA could face 50,000 dead from a Cat 3, due largely from flooding. But the largest problem in LA was the failure of state and local governments to adequately prepare. Galveston used their school buses to evacate those without cars when Rita was approaching. NOLA let their school buses get flooded. Planning, Will, planning.
"Planning, Will, planning." . . . . . Right. We should have known "hard work" was involved, so why would we expect Bush to plan a massive military airlift, for a city of half a million people surrounded mostly by water, and only one highway heading north?
"Right. We should have known "hard work" was involved, so why would we expect Bush to plan a massive military airlift, for a city of half a million people surrounded mostly by water, and only one highway heading north?"
Spare me. State and local governments have primary responsibility for evacuations. The governors won't have it any other way. The feds actually offered to help get nursing home patients out, and the state turned down the offer until Sunday, when it was too late. I guess in your world, it's the fault of the feds that NOLA never planned to use school buses to evacuate the way Galveston did a short time later with Rita.
And there is one dirty little secret in the failure at the state level to adequately plan to evacuate the poorest residents of NOLA. If you evacuate them, you have to put them somewhere. From what I read, there was resistance upstate to setting up shelters for those residents. I guess that was the fault of the feds as well.
The problem with the Republican Party and the neoconservative members is that they are fine with what happened in NO after Katrina. They couldn't care less about the poor, elderly and disbaled that didn't have the means to evacuate. They can blame the Mayor of NO and the State of Louisiana but that is of little consolation to those that were devastated by Katrina. I want a federal government that will willingly help out a state when they have a natural disaster like this. McShame wants state rights where the states will have to fend for themselves. Shameful....and he calls himself pro life.
"then the moral hypocrisy of Larry Craig and his memorial stall." - Yeah, but can't mention John Edwards, right? Bunch, you're a hypocrite. The Katrina comment just makes you pathetic. Unless you think George W. Bush is God, he can't stop hurricanes. If you want to blame anyone for the deaths due to Katrina, blame the governors and mayors that are responsible for getting those people out of harms way. Also the Minnesota I-35W bridge collapse was the responsibility of the MNDOT. The bridge was built in 1960 and was also owner and operated by the Minnesota Department of Transportation. Your lack of knowledge is just sad. You're just like the rest of this foolish liberals; "blam Bush bahhh" "blam Bush bahhh"; just like the sheep you are.
"I want a federal government that will willingly help out a state when they have a natural disaster like this."
Take it up with Kathleen Blanco. She refused to let the feds take over disaster management after Katrina. While her disaster management team turned the Salvation Army away from the Superdome. But it's all the fault of the feds. Never let those nagging facts get in the way of your opinions.
db...everything George Bush touched in the last 8 years has turned to sh*t including Katrina, Afghanistan and Iraq. The people who died or standed didn't care about politics, they wanted help. Yet good old Georgie gives McSame a cake. Wonderful!
Gibba, I see you are reduced to mindless gibberish when you can't defend your earlier comments. Typical. Have a nice day. Pray that Gustav gets chewed up by the mountains of Cuba and doesn't amount to much of anything, and that Haiti doesn't get it too bad - mere tropical storms can kill thousands there.
Sounds like you are salivating at the fact that Gustav is poised to blast the GOP convention - with no consideration for the millions of lives along the gulf coast that are in its way - I pray that Gustav turns, saunters up the east coast and slams Philly, then see how your statement rings true.
"Spare me. State and local governments have primary responsibility for evacuations." . . . .Sure they do, db, and that implies that someone else has secondary responsibility when the state and local governments fail. In your rush to assign all the blame on the local yokels, you forget why we have a federal government. You might wish that Katrina was just a local disaster, but then how would you explain the spike in gas prices all over the country in its wake? (NOLA's importance can't be exxagerated; at the mouth of the mighty Miss, it is the gulf's shipping gateway to the 3/4s of the continental US. I live at the eastern end of that vast river system in the Monongahela Valley, just a few hours from Philly. It also extends all the way to the Twin Cities to the north, and all the way to Denver in the west. A real leader in the White House wouldn't hide behind inexperienced local politicians for cover, when a national disaster is imminent.
hefela you take Will to task but then you turn around and do the same exact thing.
re dan19148: "McCain very much so disagreed with the handling and if he were in charge we know it would be better handled".
Please, help me Jesus to understand the thinking of so many in this country. And how do we know he would had handled things better? Oh, right, because he said so. He he really cared he would have tried to do something to help while the people
btw, McCain cares so much about the dying people in NO that he didn't show up to access the situation until a whole six months later.
In addition to all the good points Will made, think of this. Right now Gustav is aimed pretty directly at all the oil platforms in the Gulf. If it disrupts them in any serious way, either by causing ecological disaster or greatly reducing their ability to pump oil, then how will that affect McCain's push for more offshore drilling? Might suggest some of the problems it could engender, I think.
" In your rush to assign all the blame on the local yokels, "
Oh, the feds had a lot of problems as well. I was addressing specific points that posters had raised against the fedgov. Those are typically the realm of state and local planning - such as evacuations. And I'm not quite sure what you are demanding of this post about shipping, etc. - that the president outlaw hurricanes? Natural disasters occur all over the country. And the feds do get heavily involved in restoring such. But it is common knowledge that during a disaster, states have to be prepared for evacation and to handle the first 2-3 days themselves. Lousiana failed utterly in that regard. But given the history of corruption and racism in that state, it's hardly a surprise, except for those who don't care to get the facts.
"If it disrupts them in any serious way, either by causing ecological disaster or greatly reducing their ability to pump oil, then how will that affect McCain's push for more offshore drilling?"
Hurricanes Ivan, Rita and Katrina caused no significant oil spills at offshore platforms. And most were back on-line within a few days. There will be disruptions of a couple weeks or so during potential hurricane strikes. But you'd toss out the other 50 weeks of production for that possibility? Absurd.
I hope for the sake of the beleaguered Gulf Coast that this doesn't come to pass.
No you don't. Your entire piece says otherwise. The fact that you wrote something so boneheaded and tone deaf proves the A list bloggers are all too often already conforming to the old media pattern- simply following the chum hoping it feeds their posting cycle and gives them something, even if it's the wrong something, to build a post with. There was a conference in New Orleans this past week- the third annual Rising Tide conference by NOLA bloggers. Too bad you missed the boat- you might have seen what the real realpolitik is: Rising Tide III - New Orleans' Annual Bloggers and New Media Conference Focusing On The Political, Cultural, Environmental and Economic Issues Facing New Orleans And South Lousiana In The Aftermath Recovery From Hurricane Katrina And Beyond
I suggest you make plans to attend next year, if you really want to understand the story.
"I recall reading that half the people who died in NOLA had cars in their driveways, Will." -- I can't find anything that even discusses this. Do you have a link?
"Hurricanes Ivan, Rita and Katrina caused no significant oil spills at offshore platforms" --- That depends on your definition of "significant". The government estimates 750,000 gallons were spilled from rigs (the much larger spills were from onshore holding tanks, and more drilling would likely mean more tanks are needed). There were over 100 platforms destroyed by the storms and many pipelines were closed for months (all info from MMS). This doesn't mean that we shouldn't be drilling, but let's not kid ourselves. Hurricanes are dangerous and do cause significant damage to offshore drilling infrastructure.
Should read "and can cause significant damage to offshore infrastructure."
Honestly, guys, it amazes me how much the populous can speak without knowing anything about the situation. No actual facts. Why was FEMA able to respond better to Mississippi than to Louisiana? Because of the local politicians. Not because of federal or national offices. Thousands of people died, because thousands of people refused help. Not because they couldn't get out... There were buses to transport them, churches that were offering evacuation assistance, and several rescue attempts, but very few heeded the warning. Everyone had a, "It won't happen to me." state of mind.
As for Bush, everyone has ill-timed events. Could this have been handled better? Yes. By all who were involved. Not just those who were obviously available, but local officials, the local law enforcements, and other government officials. Not all of Louisiana was wiped out, so we could have received help from within our own state... But those within the city had already armed themselves and started shooting.
My father stayed behind for Katrina and again for this one. He works very hard at his job and now, of his own accord, stayed to help the city. He knew what he was getting in to when he agreed to help the local police of my home town and he's proud to be there.
Stop all this bashing, assuming you could have done a better job. Everyone thinks they could have handled it better. Everyone knows someone who could have done a better job, but they weren't in the hot seat when the crap hit the fan. Even the most level-headed of people lost their cool. It was a hard time for everyone involved.
Thank you to all those who came to help from other states and cities not already involved with the hurricane. It was a big help and it make a huge impact. What is done, is done. All we can do is try to make the best of it and move on.
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Will Bunch, a senior writer at the Philadelphia Daily News, blogs about his obsessions, including national and local politics and world affairs, the media, pop music, the Philadelphia Phillies, soccer and other sports, not necessarily in that order.
Will Bunch, a senior writer at the Philadelphia Daily News, blogs about his obsessions, including national and local politics and world affairs, the media, pop music, the Philadelphia Phillies, soccer and other sports, not necessarily in that order.
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