Posted on 09/03/2005 7:52:14 PM PDT by jmc1969
Bush administration officials blame state and local authorities for what leaders at all levels have called a failure of the country's emergency management.
Behind the scenes, a power struggle emerged, as federal officials tried to wrest authority from Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco (D). Shortly before midnight Friday, the Bush administration sent her a proposed legal memorandum asking her to request a federal takeover of the evacuation of New Orleans, a source within the state's emergency operations center said Saturday.
The administration had sought control over National Guard units, normally under control of the governor. Louisiana officials rejected the request, noting that such a move would be comparable to a federal declaration of martial law. State authorities suspected a political motive behind the request.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
sure sounds like the friday after
NO is obviously a case of when the constitution can be a suicide pact. It is obvious that the Feds were doing all they could to stay within their constitutional boundaries and defer to state and local governments BUT those governments are so criminally incompetent it has heaped one disaster on top of another.
Louisiana Democrats have orchestrated a humanitarian disaster by refusing to allow the Bush administration to provide adequate resources as needed. They then tried to blame Bush for their concocted disaster. These chickens will come home to roost.
At the very least the Mayor and Governor must be impeached. Theirs and the entire Democrat establishment deserve the disgust of the American people.
Excellent news from the White House. Bush knew, hell yes he knew. He never admitted the federal government was not reacting quickly enough, as the MSM has reported. He was talking about the locals
This article clearly states that Blanco refused Fed involvement but they were more concerned about power
BINGO Mo1, The proof is in the pudding
Nagin is a n incalcatrent piss-ant and Brown is working overtime...
Bush must have given those two idiots hell on Marine One...LOL
Email the White House and tell them what you think.
To be honest, I'm not a big fan of the trash talk about the Mayor or the Governor. I don't think they've done stellar work by any means. At a time like this though, it's best to pull together.
Yes the buses should have been utilized. That's behind us. We still need to focus on what needs to be done now.
There will come a time to eviscerate those who have failed La. I just don't think this is the day.
That's one of the major reasons why I find it so despicable to have the media go after Bush the way some of them are. There is nothing, absolutely nothing lower than a reporter.
They may do stellar work at times, but as a profession there simply isn't much redeeming qualities to it, and even those are overshadowed by exploitation journalism.
Some will point out mass murderers as being worse than reporters. Frankly folks, I'd like to remind you that reporters are often the largest single contributing factor behind public sympathy for the killers among us, and the muted sentences they get.
Nope, the MSM slithers on it's belly from one feast to the next.
Bring back Reconstruction with Condi as the Federal Governor. LA gets leadership and stability. Condi gets local exec experience.
2008 - Rice/?
That's my guess, but he probably simply told them the facts and how he will work with them. The Mayor's 180 is proof that something happened. The Governor is simply an air head
"It wasn't ordered by the state. In effect he has federalized it to a certain extent."
Do it now. Apologize later.
The NOLA police RAN AWAY from the thugs, and were overworked. State police were nowhere to be seen. Firefighters were being held hostage. The mayor had no stocks for the electronic evac plan he put out. Guardsmen were shot at in rescue helicopters.
If this wasn't the definition of FUBAR and total CF, I don't know what is.
And, there may be people still alive in some of these places, waiting.
The real shock here is that the WH didn't immediately finger the local authorities, even in the face of their outrageous accusations and tirades.
History will show that, ultimately, timid political mind games in LA are what destroyed them, their city and their people. This is tragedy beyond tears.
Bush could Federalize the NG like Eisenhower did.
Actually, I watched his press conference today, and he was much better than before.
I still think half his problem was that he was getting his input from the state and local officials, since he had a real job to do and couldn't sit around watching CNN. Unfortunately, the state and local officials were idiots, so he ended up not knowing as much as the reporters.
This explains why on Thursday he was surprised to find out that there were refugees in the convention center. NOBODY TOLD HIM!!! New Orleans sent thousands of people to a building, locked them in, and forgot to tell anybody. at least that's what it looks like.
In spite of the Headline, this makes Bush look good.
Kerik made that point today on MSNBC. He kept saying that New York worked after 9/11 because they had plans in place and followed them. The MSM reporter kept saying things like "But you certainly didn't have a plan for a building collapsing", and he said they had plans for a biological and chemical attack and had practiced and it wasn't much different.
His talk made it clear that the problem in New Orleans was a failure to have a plan, or a failure to follow a plan.
This is just an academic exchange so I'll respond that I do agree that it would be better to federalize this and get it overwith, except for the media response.
Knowing what the MSM would do, I still favor not federalizing this situation. That beind said, I think Bush is cleverly nationalizing it without making it official.
I don't think the mayor or the governor are in charge. I think they're along for the ride, and quite content to smile when praise is directed their way, and shut up and allow the feds to cover their rear at other times.
James Witt might be a good additon to the mix. I'm not a big fan, but he does have experience that may come in useful.
Util then, I think the feds are going to run the show, despite the governor and mayor being able to take credit where none is due. I don't like it, but with the media we have, it may be best to work it this way.
If Bush needs to, he'll federalize it officially. If he doesn't, it's going to be because his experts have told him there wasn't much to be gained by doing so at this time.
This one is interesting. More grist for the blame game. But it is also more grist to just turn it over to the US miliary, and get the Blanco's of this earth out of the way, aeo instante. I've had it. Reading the whole thing is bad for my blood pressure.
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