FEMA Head Bears the Brunt of Katrina Anger

AP ^ | Sep 7,2005 | NANCY BENAC

[Anti-Bubba182]

 He's been called an idiot, an incompetent and worse. The vilification of federal disaster chief Michael Brown, emerging as chief scapegoat for whatever went wrong in the government's response to Hurricane Katrina, has ratcheted into the stratosphere. Democratic members of Congress are taking numbers to call for his head.

"I would never have appointed such a person," said New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton.

"Let's bring in someone who is a professional," urged Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md.

A more visceral indictment came from closer to the calamity. Aaron Broussard, president of Jefferson Parish near New Orleans, said the bureaucracy "has murdered people in the greater New Orleans area."

"Take whatever idiot they have at the top of whatever agency and give me a better idiot," he told CBS. "Give me a caring idiot. Give me a sensitive idiot. Just don't give me the same idiot."

Republican Sen. Trent Lott of Mississippi, just back from a week surveying damage in his home state, allowed that "mistakes were made" but tried to counsel restraint Tuesday as calls for Brown's removal escalated. But even Lott displayed some of the potent emotions spawned by the horrific conditions on the Gulf Coast.

"If somebody said, `You pick somebody to hammer,' I don't know who I'd pick," he told reporters. "I did threaten to physically beat a couple of people in the last couple of days, figuratively speaking."

It's not uncommon for the Federal Emergency Management Agency _ and whoever is in charge at the time _ to catch blame in the messy aftermath of disaster.

It happened after Hugo hit South Carolina in 1989 and Andrew struck Florida in 1992.

After Andrew, Mikulski slammed the agency for a "pathetically sluggish" response, and on the ground, Dade County emergency director Kathleen Hale famously summed up the frustration felt throughout the stricken areas when she cried, "Where the hell is the cavalry?"

"There is nothing more powerful than the urge to blame," said Eric Dezenhall, a crisis-management consultant who helps corporate leaders and other prominent figures try to repair tattered images. "It happens every time. It is a deeply embedded archetype in the human mind."

He said the Brown episode is playing out in classic fashion.

"You can follow the steps," he said. "First, outrage. Second, the headline: 'What went wrong?' Third, the telltale memo that supposedly suggests somebody knew and did nothing. I just don't find this to be unique at all."

Brown, a 50-year-old lawyer, in some ways is an easy target.

The former head of the International Arabian Horse Association, Brown had no background in disaster relief when old college friend and then- FEMA Director Joe Allbaugh hired him to serve as the agency's general counsel in 2001.

"There is a Jay Leno-esque comic undertone to his background," said Dezenhall. "It sort of conjures up a who's-on-first kind of thing."

But the dim view of Brown's qualifications by senators seems to have emerged only in hindsight. Members of both parties seemed little troubled by his background at 2002 Senate hearings that led to his confirmation as deputy FEMA chief.

Indeed, Democratic Sen. Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut, who led those hearings, called Brown's long-ago stint as assistant city manager in Edmond, Okla., a "particularly useful experience" because he had responsibility for local emergency services.

As FEMA chief, Brown has pressed for greater attention to natural disaster planning, including strategies for a major hurricane in New Orleans, and he has had to contend with cuts to FEMA's operating budget while more attention was paid to fighting terrorism.

But as the enormity of the Gulf Coast damage gradually came into clearer focus, Brown did not help his case with a number of comments seen as insensitive or ill-advised. For example, he acknowledged last week that he didn't know there were some 20,000 evacuees enduring heinous conditions at the New Orleans convention center until a day after their difficulties had been widely reported in the news.

ABC's Ted Koppel was incredulous as he asked Brown, "Don't you guys watch television? Don't you guys listen to the radio?"

"Forgive me for beating up on you there," Koppel later told Brown, "but you are the only guy from the federal government who is coming out to take your medicine."

The doses keep getting stronger. But, for now at least, President Bush is standing by his embattled FEMA chief.

"Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job," the president told him last week.

And Brown, for his part, is trying to shrug off the criticism.

"People want to lash out at me, lash out at FEMA," he told reporters. "I think that's fine. Just lash out, because my job is to continue to save lives."

[Hillarys Gate Cult]

Was talking to a friend tonight who's a local first responder. He said it makes him mad that FEMA is blamed for things that aren't their responsibility. He also said there are some things that are their fault, but their role is misunderstood and overstated. The MSM doesn't help by reporting the falsehoods as fact.

He said that their fire department was told by FEMA to equip themselves to last five days without outside help. It cost them $20,000 just to upgrade their generator to that standard. It can now fully power their station for 5 days.

He told me that he was surprised when he found out that the radios in NO didn't work. It seems they have no chargers in the vehicles. He saw where the National Guard had to set up a generator and had plenty of power cords hooked up just to recharge their radios. He also told me that emergency personnel in NO can't talk to each other. Fire, police , EMS, and disaster units are all on separate frequencies.

[HAL9000]

James Lee Witt was a county judge in charge of roads and bridges in rural Podunk, Arkansas when Clinton appointed him director of OES - and later to FEMA. He really wasn't qualified for either job, and he never faced an emergency of the magnitude of 9/11 or Katrina during his tenure.

He was the only smoker in the Clinton administration.

[raisincane]

In 1999 the floods on the east coast were Witt's problem after the hurricane. Not on this magnitude, but people in NC suffered terribly under his watch. The floods were not expected. Clinton's media weren't there 24/7 to rub in, either. Now the MSM has selected memory....no mention of 1999. I forget the name of the hurricane.

[Ajay Paul]

The voters of La. will regret the day they voted Blanko in and Bobby Jindal out.

[bd476]

"Brown, a 50-year-old lawyer..."

Wait, are you saying that his resume listed more than "head of the International Arabian Horse Association"?

"But the dim view of Brown's qualifications by senators seems to have emerged only in hindsight. Members of both parties seemed little troubled by his background at 2002 Senate hearings that led to his confirmation as deputy FEMA chief.

I'm shocked. /sarcasm

Indeed, Democratic Sen. Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut, who led those hearings, called Brown's long-ago stint as assistant city manager in Edmond, Okla., a "particularly useful experience" because he had responsibility for local emergency services.

As FEMA chief, Brown has pressed for greater attention to natural disaster planning, including strategies for a major hurricane in New Orleans..."

[Anti-Bubba182]

" He was the only smoker in the Clinton administration."

If MSM finds out he is toast.

Seriously, the pattern of praising a prior head of Fema who was NEVER tested so severely is as predictable as it is unfair.

[palmer]

The hearings will be partisan and vicious.

Considering that the foregone conclusion is that the federal government needs more power and that it's the federal government's responsibility to wipe everyone's nose, I think it will be a veritable love-fest.

[dennisw]

Michele Malkin despises this guy. Called him a cretin in her NY Post column.

[not_apathetic_anymore]

I"m know that we always want to do better. I'm sure that for those who survived Katrina, minutes felt like hours while waiting for help. For those of us watching the 24/7 news reporting minutes felt like hours too.

BUT.

All emergency preparedness stuff I read says that people should be prepared to spend at least 72 hours caring for themselves while help rolls in.

It depends upon when you start counting in NO - but if you start from the time of the real disaster (the levee break) despite all ineptetde of the locals and lawlessness that slowed rescuers, things started to turn a corner at about 72 hours. I've heard that things took about this long for Andrew as well.

We can always look to see how we can improve, but it seems to me the FEDS (FEMA) got there about as planned/promised.

[Chi-townChief]

I was thinking the same thing myself; Jeb Bush, Bob Riley, Haley Barbour, and, now, Rick Perry all managed to maintain control and order in their states in a truly catastrophic situation. Only in LA, and NO, in particukar, were things really entirely out of hand. It brings up a good question, though: does FEMA have the right to go down there and smack Blanco and Nagin out into the street and take over themselves or not?

[newzjunkey]

The sheeple are just parroting what the MSM has told them. Go figure the polls reflect what the Media's propagandist coverage has decided to tell as this week's "it's Bush's fault" tale.

[Peach]

Hillary must have forgotten that nearly one month after Hurricane Floyd, her husband's FEMA director still hadn't provided trailors or housing for those made homeless from the storm. He came under a lot of criticism.

http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1479542/posts

[va4me]

I think within a matter of days, Nagin and Blanco are going to bring each other down. Nagin has already made a few remarks about Blanco and yesterday she pulled rank on Nagin.

Given that Nagin crossed part lines to campaign for Bobby Jindal against Blanco, it is no surprise that there is no love lost.

[FMS5]

Here is a portion of James Lee Witt's background form his bio.

http://www.wittassociates.com/1127.xml

Mr. Witt's professional career includes the formation of Witt Construction, a commercial and residential construction company. After 12 years as a successful businessman and community leader, he was elected County Judge for Yell County, serving as the chief elected official for the county, with judicial responsibilities for county and juvenile court. At age 34, he was the youngest elected official in Arkansas, and was later honored for his accomplishments by the National Association of Counties. After being re-elected six times to the position, Mr. Witt was tapped by then-Governor Bill Clinton to assume leadership of the Arkansas Office of Emergency Services (OES). He served as the Director of the Arkansas OES for four years.

[Peach]

Witt is in charge of LA emergency response too. And I think Blanco has put him in charge of seeing what went wrong! So the guy who wrote the plan is going to evaluate the response. Nice, huh?

[FMS5]

I was trying to find out how much experience Witt had in emergbency managment before being appointed head of FEMA. It looks like 4 years in AR.

http://www.nndb.com/people/058/000049908/

Born in Paris, Arkansas but grew up in Dardanelle, Witt founded Witt Construction in 1968, and then was elected a county judge in 1970. Bill Clinton selected him in 1988 to head the Arkansas Office of Emergency Services, and Witt moved with Clinton to Washington to head FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Administration, which at the same time was elevated to cabinet-level. Clinton used FEMA more than any other president, declaring disasters 348 times. Witt now heads a disaster consulting firm, James Lee Witt Associates, LLC.

[txzman]

FEMA has approximately 2500 employees nationwide - that is it. These idiots expect them to be supermen. FEMA is a coordinator of Federal assistance for state and local efforts only.

But then again, Liberals don't understand the Constitution either.

[Help!]

Poor Mr. Brown is really being lambasted in a forum on Chronicle of the Horse of all places. Can't believe the number of DU regulars currently posting over there.