Posted on 04/21/2006 11:11:00 AM PDT by NormsRevenge
SACRAMENTO - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger again blasted President Bush's Cabinet as ``dangerously wrong'' about the condition of California's waterlogged levees Thursday -- a move political analysts say could be a calculated attempt to curry favor with the state's left-leaning voters while stopping just short of alienating the president.
The election-year maneuver has set up a pivotal moment today for Schwarzenegger as the two embattled Republican leaders prepare to meet in San Jose.
If Schwarzenegger fails to persuade Bush to pay for levees, it could be the governor's most high-profile defeat of a campaign promise to act as the ``Collectinator,'' and tap a Republican administration for needed state repairs.
Yet by bad-mouthing the administration and distancing himself from Bush in the process, Schwarzenegger may score crucial points with Democrats. And if he does secure funding, the governor could harness it as a much-need election-year victory.
--snip--
Thursday morning, after a state emergency preparedness exercise, Schwarzenegger offered his most critical comments yet about the federal government's failure to declare a state of emergency for California's century-old levee system, as the governor already has, and to provide funding and environmental permits to expedite repairs.
``We are one big storm or one big earthquake away from a major disaster just like Katrina,'' Schwarzenegger said. ``Everyone seems to understand that but the federal government.''
Schwarzenegger also continued a scathing attack of Bush's acting interior secretary, Lynn Scarlett, who said this week that California's levee problems did not appear critical and don't merit broad federal assistance.
``She was dangerously wrong,'' Schwarzenegger said. He also called out Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff for failing to act: ``He saw for himself how drenched they are, and how soaked they are and how vulnerable the levees are. And so far we haven't seen any action.''
(Excerpt) Read more at mercurynews.com ...
B-b-b-b-but then he'd be a DEMOCRAT! Hitlery! Algore~! Flip flop Kerry!
sure... Arnolds bigger :)
Critical infrastructure is not a party related issue. Thisn is something that should be put before a lot of other issues facing the government. Sounds like the feds are ignoring the state of California's levies just like they ignored Louisiana's for years before Katrina. Pay a lot now or pay a heck of a lot more later. Fix it now or fix it after it fails and also pay for cleanup and rebuilding. plus the damage to the economy.
Ray Nagin, Bill Clinton, and harry reid are doing a heck of a job.
The new orleans levees were built during the clinton years.
Dem enviornmentalists blocked a wall being put up to block the flow from the lake into the canals.
New Orleans sued to block earthen levies being put up.
In 2004 harry reid inspected the levies and praised them.
But heck of a job brownie is the joke while nagin and blanco laugh to re-election. This country's politics suck.
This acting secretary wouldn't be there if it wasn't for landreui holding up all of bush's nominations.
The idaho governor was set to become the interior secretary but landreiu is holding his nomination up.
Score another win for dem obstruction.
Heck of a job party of mckinney, pelosi, kennedy, dean, blanco, nagin.
Well, California could get off its duff, tax itself and pay for the repairs, but noooo. We've got to whine at the feds, just like we do over illegal immigration.
I can't even think how many years that local officials in Louisiana and California had to prepare and make their cases that more needed to be done re; levee and food canal-wise.
Last year , just as a state levee commission board was preparing to finally put some recommendations and findings out for public consumption, the board was gutted by the Gub and his own people put it their place right before their report was issued.
Now we see more finger pointing, handwringing and money grubbing by the latest crop of politicos who look elsewhere when they have had ample opportunitity to address the issues on their own, if they could ever found it prudent to do so , that is, until disaster strikes.
Now we see politics enter into it once again and by who, no less? You're right , it isn't a party related issue, it's business as usual and worse.
Feds didn't ignore louisiana's levies.
Damn it I am sick of the dems getting their lies out there.
The enviornmentalists blocked walls being put up at the canals.
The locals never reported previous water buildups at the other side of the levies.
The locals where the levies broke sued to stop earthen levies that were being put up.
New Orleans levy board was a joke.
These levies were built decades ago and re-enforced during clinton's years.
harry reid prasied them in 2004.
Bush needs to resign and get out of politics before the msm and arnold lie more about him.
Why should I in AZ have to pay for cali dikes, like NO, its a local issue
If Schwarzenegger thinks the levees are no good, then why isn't he fixing them? It sounds like a deliberate malfeasance, to me.
CA is the richest state in the Union. They don't need Uncle Sam to do this, and it would be wrong for them to expect the rest of us to pay for their infrastructure.
If they got rid of the illegals they welcomed with open arms,they would have money to burn.I dont want my money to pay for their sick agendas.The whole state could break off,and I dont think many people would care.
New Orleans is sinking down into a fault.
New Orleans will sink an additional 4 feet in the next 40 years.
The city is sitting in a bowl.
Only in our world of politics could a human being be blamed for this.
Blame the idiots that decided to build a city in this topagraphy.
The problems were never the levies, the problem is new orleans is a swamp.
Actually, all levels of government are at fault here. Politicians just don't see levies as a sexy, vote-getting priority, especially when the costs are like those of sending a man to the moon! But it is basic, needed work. For years levies, in particular thos in NOLA, needed billions of dollars of work to get them to a level for long term functionality and storm resistant strength. No politician wanted to risk voter wrath for a project that was extremely expensive and didn't produce great photo-ops or score political points. As a result, we let a major metropolitan center get drowned and even disaster relief has become a political football with politicians on both sides posturing for political gain rather than getting things done. The plain facts are that the flooding of NOLA was entirely preventable but no one had the will to do it and the same thing is happening in CA. The governments in this country are like the lazy grasshopper from the "Grasshopper and the Ant" As far as I'm concerned, if a disaster is preventable, it's not a disaster. If communities elect leaders that can't get these things done or don't make them a priority, they've earned the catastrophies that befall them. Sorry for sounding harsh, but it's the truth. It's like this. If you don't wear a seat belt and you get crippled in an accident, you have no farther to look than yourself.
If a country the size of the Netherlands can reclaim hundreds of square miles from the sea as inhabitable land, why can't the United States accomplish the same thing here?
Ig uess Arnold needs to campaign for another bond referendum.
Quit whining, Arnold, and just fix the dang levees!
If you delay your half-billion Government baby-sitting program, it would solve the problem.
But noooooooooooooooooo.... that's "for the children"!
If a country the size of the Netherlands can reclaim hundreds of square miles from the sea as inhabitable land, why can't the United States accomplish the same thing here?
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It's not like we don't have the cheap labor already here to do so. ;-)
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