Posted on 08/28/2007 6:26:38 AM PDT by presidio9
Former Sen. John Edwards said at a Hurricane Katrina conference he would propose what he called "Brownie's Law" requiring that qualified people, not political hacks, lead key federal agencies.
Edwards, who is seeking the Democratic presidential nomination, drew laughter when he spoke on Monday of the proposal at the "Hope and Recovery Summit" ahead of the two-year anniversary of the storm on Wednesday.
"It's an absolute travesty to have people who are essentially political hacks in a very responsible position," he told the audience at the University of New Orleans.
"Brownie" refers to Michael Brown, who was head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency when Katrina struck the United States on August 29, 2005. He was criticized as being a political appointee unprepared to lead FEMA when a floundering government effort stranded thousands for days in flooded New Orleans.
He resigned shortly after President George W. Bush, who appointed him to the post, told him publicly, "Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job" as chaos reigned in the devastated city.
Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Republican presidential hopefuls Mike Huckabee and Duncan Hunter also spoke at Monday's summit. All candidates for the two major parties were invited, but only these four could attend, a summit spokeswoman said.
Clinton, Edward's Democratic rival, blasted the Bush administration's response to Katrina, saying the government has not done enough to help New Orleans recover from the storm that killed more than 1,400 people and destroyed thousands of homes.
"We act like we're not a rich country. I don't understand that," Clinton said.
Huckabee, a former Arkansas governor whose finished second in a recent Iowa Republican presidential straw poll, gave the government a "mixed review" on Katrina and said he would make sure federal aid money was well spent.
After Katrina, "there was a lot of guilt and so the guilt resulted in just putting (in) money, not necessarily strategic money," he said.
Hunter, a U.S. representative from California, said Katrina had proven that "government is inept."
He praised the efforts of average citizens to help storm victims, saying: "I see rising from the destruction of Katrina a new and profound appreciation for freedom."
Vampires do not have reflections.
What a lame excuse for a candidate using such petty language.
Edwards is a never-ending source for comic relief. I’m actually enjoying his campaign, which is something I can’t often say about a ‘Rat candidate. Here are a few highlights:
**Whenever anyone questions his manhood, he sends his wife out to fight for him.
**He lives like the Sultan of Brunei in a lavish mansion while complaining that there are two Americas, one of which is impoverished.
**He whines that he’s being outpolled by a woman and a black guy after years of supporting affirmative action.
**His wife compared him to Jesse Helms, insisting that while Edwards and Helms disagree on the issues, everyone always knows where both stand. This, despite the fact that Edwards was elected to the Senate in 1998 by running as a conservative Christian.
**He spends $400 on a haircut, when he could’ve gotten one just as good by having his wife place a soupbowl over his head and trim off the excess.
And now, this sleazy trial lawyer who once won a multi-million dollar judgment by “channeling” spirits in a courtroom, and used the money to buy himself a senate seat, is complaining about political hackery.
This guy’s a laugh riot. I recommend him for one of the cowboys eating pudding in a comedy remake of Brokeback Mountain.
I think Edwards wants to ban brownies because a Girl Scout beat him up as a kid.
It makes me wonder what Silky Pony has been drinking, because it is hard to be this stupid and sober at the same time.
To state it in terms that even a little pony could understand... Political appointies are appointed to carry out the political will of the President. As such, they are political.
It looks like to me that Brown was the fall guy for Michael Chertoff, Nagin and Blanco’s screw ups.
Browns track record in other disasters was good to say the least but one must remember he was fought all the way by a bunch of incompetents in Louisiana and his own boss.
What mayor in their right mind would leave hundreds of buses parked while people drowned.
Maybe if Mugabee of Zimbabwe had been mayor or governor we could have expected such tribal incompetence.
Maybe you saw Michelle Malkin railing against Bush appointments to INS/ICE because they lacked immigration law experience. She has expressed that criticism before. However, I doubt that is what that agency needs. They probably have thousands of lawyers. They have needed managers who could grow the border patrol and increase the capacity of internal enforcement while updating and improving administration and processing of applications. Someone who has performed those functions in another organization would be better suited to these tasks than someone promoted from within.
Good one!
You are of course correct. I am guessing that view came from Bush’s centerist father and Bush’s business background where you try to work and get along with everyone in your organization.
Presumably from the National Service Academy they proposed a while back. That way, instead of having to win elections every two years all they have to do is take control of one relatively small academic institution. Really, there not even trying to conceal their intentions these days.
I am shocked, SHOCKED to find politics going on in Washington.
So he wants to replace “political hacks” with campaign contributors. What’s the difference?
Besides being an ambulance-chasing shyster, of course...
It’s “political professional”, not “hack”, thank you very much Mr. Edwards. We deserve to be treated with the respect and dignity our profession deserves. We don’t have to take that from an Ambulance Chaser.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to get back to grossly distorting somebody’s procedural votes and before I hit the fundraiser reception circuit. :-)
I think it was really the beginning of the unraveling of Bush’s administration’s second term, ironically it was not too long after getting reelected with record number of votes.
Just after that, in short period of time, he messed up with nomination of Harriet Miers to SCOTUS, mishandled Dubai Ports World P&O deal, went soft on justifications for getting into and being in Iraq (admitting “mistakes” in press-conferences), pushed for Dick Morris’ stupid “corn ethanol” energy policy without getting anything in return, etc. etc.
Don’t know how much of that was the result of fatigue and the Sword of Damocles of Fitzgerald’s “investigation” (which was probably also mishandled internally by lack of communication between the main “players” and/or their attorneys), but that’s not a great excuse - rather more likely just relying on the iffy advice of very few close confidants.
“And as much as I want to, I won’t make a crack about Ho-Ho’s...”
That would account for the other half of democraps.
wow ... whose uniform did Nagin borrow/steal??
No, according to Edwards’ own words, he just wants to bar unqualified and incompetent people from the upper levels of the Federal Government —
which naturally takes him out of the running for President.
Does this mean that he's quitting the campaign?
Florida’s government got things done. Louisiana’s sat on their butts and just cried for more money. They need to fix the damn levees and give folks the help they need to rebuild.
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