Posted on 09/27/2005 12:20:04 PM PDT by indcons
WASHINGTON -- U.S. Rep. Gene Taylor of Mississippi wasn't about to let former FEMA Director Michael Brown get away with blaming state and local officials in Louisiana for the failed response to Hurricane Katrina.
"You can try to throw as much as you can on the backs of Louisiana, but I'm a witness as to what happened in Mississippi," Taylor told Brown during Tuesday's hearing by a House select committee set up to investigate the response. "You folks fell on your face. You get an F minus in my book."
With House Democratic leaders boycotting the hearing while holding out for an independent investigation, Taylor and fellow Louisiana Rep. William Jefferson were the only Democrats who participated. Both appeared to relish the chance to confront Brown, who was removed from control of the Katrina response and later resigned as head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
A third Democrat, Louisiana Rep. Charlie Melancon, also had planned to attend, but was unable to make it when his flight back to Washington was canceled.
Jefferson, whose New Orleans district was home to many of the more than 1,000 people who died as a result of the storm, told Brown he found it "absolutely stunning" that he would try to blame FEMA's failure on Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco and New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin while admitting to only minor mistakes.
(Excerpt) Read more at katc.com ...
Still waiting for the media to call for the resignation of the mayor and the governor then we will talk about brown.
No bias in that headline.
No mention that Brown took blame for his own failings. And gave better than he got from the Dems.
Personally, I never see examples of what he did that was so wrong. What, in your opinion, was his fatal flaw?
The Mayor Lied, People died.
The Media Lied, People died.
How long til we see the wackos with these slogans? Oh never because the ones that lied are on the left.
The NOLA police chief just resigned on the same day that Fox News is breaking a story about hundreds of phantom cops on the NOLA payroll.
We've just started to skim the top of the corruption cesspool here. By the time this is done, the media is gonna be covered with the slime at the bottom of that cesspool, but will still be pretending it smells sweet.
A guy who fails massively on a massive project will fail minutely on a smaller project.
Where is the evidence that Brown failed even a little bit on any of the 40-50 previous hurricanes / other disasters he managed in the last few years?
I don't recalll a single complaint from the "Bush's Fault" contingent, before Katrina.
...the bulk of the blame should be shouldered by Nagin and Blanco and not by the President. I know some FReepers think Mike Brown is beyond reproach; he got what he deserved.
-----
Agreed. The dysfunctional Dems are doing everything they can to keep any focus off of their abysmal performance in governing and planning. So very typical of the liberal losers of the left -- I see it daily here in California, a state held hostage by a radical Dem state legislature. Everything they touch, turns to, well, you know...
IMO Chertoff was a primary cause of FEMA delays. But I'm willing to wait to cast final judgement until we have more facts.
Can't find the news about phantom cops on the payroll on Fox News' website - first I've heard of that story.
Now that the many truths are coming out, we know the MSM will shift to something else rather than take the blame for trying to pin this all on President Bush.
As for the fraud in Florida, that is typically a function of state and local officials acting in a fraudulent manner. FEMA has asked for parishes in Louisiana to return millions of dollars that they have misused over the years.
Rant:
This past Sunday, my husband and I went to East Texas to pick up my parents who live in Woodville, one of the hardest hit towns. They will have no electricity for 2 to 3 weeks. On our way back to Houston we passed a convoy of trucks from a power company, numerous tree companies, and at least 10 of those 18 wheeler refrigerated trucks with the government seal on them (FEMA) as well as some national guard. They were headed to Woodville and surely Jasper which is just east of Woodville.
So last night on the news I hear the whining that "no one has sent any help to Jasper" yada yada yada, the government is not helping.
I can only conclude that FEMA is setting up in these towns and the populace is just sitting and waiting for them to deliver to their door instead of actively getting out of their houses and looking for the FEMA trucks. Yes, these towns have been hit hard, but people can still drive around. Have we gotten such a mindset that we can't be bothered to try to help ourselves? FEMA doesn't have enough people to deliver door to door like a pizza parlor.
The only thing Brown did wrong was not to call the media on their lies. FEMA is and never was a first responder. It's not Brown's fault Nagin and Blanco are complete fools. What exactly do you see that he did wrong?
Michael Brown was right about this: his single biggest mistake was not realizing over the weekend before Katrina just how F-ed up and completely dysfunctional the LA and NOLA leadership was. Of course, even if he had seen what was coming President Bush can't just declare dictatorship and push the local/state governments aside.... but maybe there could have been both public and private hammering for Nagin and Blankhead to request the levels of aid and support that they would obviously need well before they finally acknowledged the needs.....
I blame the 911 Commission. They put everything under one CZAR, including FEMA.
Idiots!
Yes, only the Left can lie big time and the MSM looks the other way. Still waiting for Sixty Minutes and other lefties to investigate Oil For Food, Ron Brown's apparent murder, Sandy Bergergate, Bill's last day's pardons, and many, many more.
What's that? The liberals only investigate Republicans? How do they get away with it? The answer is, they aren't anymore, millions are on to them.
You watch too much TV.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.