Posted on 09/03/2005 9:07:35 PM PDT by aft_lizard
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 sought unified control over all local police and state National Guard units reporting to the governor. Louisiana officials rejected the request after talks throughout the night, concerned that such a move would be comparable to a federal declaration of martial law. Some officials in the state suspected a political motive behind the request. "Quite frankly, if they'd been able to pull off taking it away from the locals, they then could have blamed everything on the locals," said the source, who does not have the authority to speak publicly.
A senior administration official said that Bush has clear legal authority to federalize National Guard units to quell civil disturbances under the Insurrection Act and will continue to try to unify the chains of command that are split among the president, the Louisiana governor and the New Orleans mayor.
Louisiana did not reach out to a multi-state mutual aid compact for assistance until Wednesday, three state and federal officials said. As of Saturday, Blanco still had not declared a state of emergency, the senior Bush official said.
"The federal government stands ready to work with state and local officials to secure New Orleans and the state of Louisiana," White House spokesman Dan Bartlett said. "The president will not let any form of bureaucracy get in the way of protecting the citizens of Louisiana."
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
Blanco was more worried about HER POWER than she was PROTECTING the people of Louisiana! I wonder why she didn't want the Federal government to handle the evacuation, search and rescue since she ADMITTED that she didn't have the resources? Does she have secrets that she was afraid would be uncovered or just too damn POWER HUNGRY?
What's she doing? I have an image of a woman sitting on the floor, rocking back and forth pulling at her hair and mumbling singing to herself. "There's no place like home. There's no place like home."
Blanco made two moves Saturday that protected her independence from the federal government: She created a philanthropic fund for the state's victims and hired James Lee Witt, Federal Emergency Management Agency director in the Clinton administration, to advise her on the relief effort.
That protected her independence from the federal government?
She wants this all on herself? (Fine by me.)
I cut and pasted from the original article, they changed the title.
I haven't seen this news yet so thank for the post.
And if everyone understood they were authorized to take action, why were they still consulting lawyers when Bush called?Indecision and fretting, too afraid to step on toes ...
Simply making the declaration won't stop the hurricane in it's tracks, it still requires that action/orders be 'cut' for various groups and agencies under your control; I say she didn't do this (Blanco has not been a gov very long; elected Nov 2003 is all).
But then he'd be accused of being like Hitler. First Afghanistan, then Iraq....now....LOUISIANA! LOL
Odd. I earlier found an article stating that Blanco had declared a state of emergency at 5pm on the Friday before the hurricane hit. Are there different states of emergency?
http://www.ksla.com/Global/story.asp?S=3771630&nav=0RY5do3o
" Governor Kathleen Blanco issued a state of emergency in Louisiana at 5pm Friday, as state leaders continued to track the path of Hurricane Katrina. "The declaration of a state of emergency is in anticipation of possible damage from Hurricane Katrina should she strike Louisiana," said Deputy Press Secretary Roderick Hawkins. Hawkins said the state of emergency declaration places the Louisiana National Guard on standby. "It puts us on standby just in case we need to mobilize the national guard," Hawkins said. "We are in the strike zone," Governor Blanco said during a late afternoon live interview on CNN. Hawkins said the governor is holding a conference call among state agencies starting at 5pm Friday. He said decisions about possible evacuations will likely be made during that conference call. The governor's office said all state agencies will be fully operational by Saturday morning."
Not when it comes to PAYING FOR IT. She is just trying to say that Pres. Bush was at fault and she doesn't want to be connected to him when HER PARTY & MEDIA gets through trashing him.
I think it's going to backfire, BIG TIME.
Don't kid yourself. She's not a good leader, but she is corrupt as the day is long. Even ex-school teachers know how to stab in the back...
News is just the first draft of history. In a few months we will see some perspective. It really isn't possible to hide the fact that the largest humanitarian rescue effort in history was organized and on the ground in four days. Despite local opposition and hostile fire.
You really would have loved his comment on CNN that 'the CIA was now going to off him' because he had criticized the President.
Excellent insight. No wonder the Mayor the other slave masters wanted to keep their voting slaves in N O's.
"Wake up folks to what is really going on here. The Democratic power structure in Louisiana and New Orleans realizes that the massive evacuation means that New Orleans will not have the population (and the voters) it had a week ago for decades. People evacuated from NO will resettle and put down roots elsewhere. Businesses that get back in business elsewhere is mostly stay there.
New Orleans will be a town of the French Quarter, Garden District, Irish Channel, and Uptown. Gone will be the 9th Ward, Treme, Bywater, Central City, City Park, Lakeview, Bucktown, Gentilly. Give it 150,000 to 200,000 people at most. There just won't be the population there to produce those massive, lop-sided vote totals for the Democrats. There are some members of the Louisiana State Legislative that won't have any constituents to represent or vote in the next election. (How they handle that one will be interesting).
This has the Democrat power structure (of which Harry Connick Jr.'s family is part) scared ****less. That explains the charges of racism, the anti-Bush attacks, the refusal of the Governor to let the feds take over. Their backs are against the levees, and the water is rising."
I'm not sure. From the article you linked, I had the impression that the emergency declaration was to mobilize the local authorities and LA national guard only. Not an actual call for federal assistance of any sort.
When Katrina turned the corner on Friday, she should have taken a couple hours to watch "Volcano".
Nam Vet
Since the Democrats practice projection, what this means (literally) is that "since we can keep the power, and f*ck up the city and the recovery beyond the point of repair, we can then blame Bush."
Bush should declare a national emergency and have Blanco, and Nagin forcibly removed.
OMG!
He has absolutely lost his mind. Throw a net over him, he's done.
They don't have any. They will just deny this ever happened, and somehow, someway they will still try and blame it on Bush!
Thanks, sounds like that may be the difference.
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