Tancredo slams Katrina spending

thehill.com ^ | 08/31/07 | Klaus Marre

[TornadoAlley3]

GOP presidential hopeful Rep. Tom Tancredo (Colo.) said Friday it is “time the taxpayer gravy train left the New Orleans station” and urged an end to the federal aid to the region that was devastated by Hurricane Katrina two years ago. “The amount of money that has been wasted on these so-called ‘recovery’ efforts has been mind-boggling,” said Tancredo, who is running a long-shot presidential campaign. “Enough is enough.”

Citing administration figures, the lawmaker said that $114 billion has been spent on the effort to rebuild a large stretch of the Gulf Coast after the storm hit New Orleans in August 2005 and claimed more than 1,600 lives.

“At some point, state and local officials and individuals have got to step up to the plate and take some initiative,” said Tancredo. “The mentality that people can wait around indefinitely for the federal taxpayer to solve all their worldly problems has got to come to an end.”

The lawmaker criticized in particular the amount that has been wasted through fraud and abuse, estimated at $1 billion.

“This whole fiasco has been a perfect storm of corruption and incompetence at all levels,” he added.

[jcparks]

Just how long does “disaster relief” last???

[cripplecreek]

They’re waiting to see what public reaction will be before they formulate a popular answer.

[Sender]

If you believe Blanko’s numbers of *only* 60 billion that went directly to LA, that’s only $133,333.00 per resident. Still, our house cost less than that.

[CindyDawg]

Now that is something the “victims” can relate to. Word needs to spread that everyone was sent 230,000 dollars. “where’s my money?” See your governor.

[Paperdoll]

>It’s about time somebody showed some guts.<

Yes, on the heels of Duncan Hunter’s address to New Orleans the other day. It is time for people to look to themselves and accept the consequences for their decisions rather than look to the Federal Government to save their behinds.

Hunter-Tancredo!

[Calpernia]

Bump Tancredo! Send them lettuce too! :)

[umgud]

Let’s be honest, Katrina was a very significant event and did warrant a large federal response, but the only reason the response was as big and long-standing, was entirely due to demographics.

Trust me, if this had happened in my neighborhood, we’d have been lucky to get a fraction of this aid and it no doubt would have been measured in months, not years.

This has gone far past the point of being highway robbery against the rest of us taxpayers.

Go Tancredo.

[Calpernia]

A reminder of how the money was funneled!

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1493302/posts
FR Exclusive: John Kerry, Mary Landrieu, MoveOn DNC and Katrina

MoveOn = CPUSA!

[TornadoAlley3]

NO is a bowl below sea level. Waste of money.

[John Leland 1789]

It’s just too difficult to follow men who are mealymouthed men, like so many currently in the “leadership” (is it really?!), including the president. It’s much easier to follow men who speak what they really believe and are willing to paint a bullseye on their chest, like Tom Tancredo has done. There are a couple of areas in which I don’t agree with Tancredo, but on some critical issues I’m very much with him.

Tom Tancredo is unlikely to ascend to the highest office this next general election, right? I know the man is already in Congress. But what can we do to work together to override the affect of the establishment and the media to put good men like Tancredo in important leading positions for the future, where they will be paid attention to. Why are we allowing the media and the liberal establishment (in both parties) to win ???!

We have good men who will not be president, but they need our help to put them in more affective positions for the future. I’m talking about Hunter, Tancredo and men like them. These need to be in unquestionable leadership after 2008 with our help.

[caisson71]

The reporting at the outset of Katrina and NO was piss poor by everyone including the horrible “show” on FOX by WHoraldo Rivera and less than objective reporting by Shep Smith. The rest of the drive-by media was much, much worse. “Schoolbus” Nagin acted like the criminal that he is. The yelling and screaming by the leftists to include the idiotic celebrities like Oprah - till today - exposed the extraordinary snow job on the American taxpayer. The cultural and political cesspool of NO still consumes huge amounts of tax money and it is never enough. To some and the MSM, no amount of money will satisfy the “needs” of NO.
I refuse to hear any more BS about NO because there never was any truth from the beginning and there is no truth now.

[cripplecreek]

Tancredo is great but I also give Hunter the edge due to past military service and his work on the armed services committee among other things.

[elizabetty]

Yea, everybody knows Louisiana politicians do not waste money.

[LearnsFromMistakes]

$114 billion has been spent on the effort to rebuild a large stretch of the Gulf Coast

the amount that has been wasted through fraud and abuse, estimated at $1 billion.

Fraud & abuse at under 1%? I will see your $1 billion and raise you $15 billion...probably more...

[John Leland 1789]

“Tancredo is great but I also give Hunter the edge due to past military service and his work on the armed services committee among other things.”

---

I’m not talking necessarily about the presidency now. I’m talking about getting any good men — ALL good men, like Hunter and Tancredo, and some others — into better, higher affective positions after the 2008 elections. There needs to be a concerted effort to put ALL of these men in positions where they can’t be ignored any longer.

Whether men get the ear of the American people is (as we all know) much too dependent on the people who run the media. We can’t let the media win any longer when it comes to these good men. But I believe that we must also overrun the Republican Party establishment. The RNC, I believe, is also guilty of keeping the influence of these good men stymied.

A list of up to a dozen men (maybe more, if there are more) who are like Mr. Hunter and Mr. Tancredo need to be especially promoted and put in the leadership of Congress and of the Republican Party.

[Paperdoll]

>We have good men who will not be president, but they need our help to put them in more affective positions for the future. I am talking about Hunter and Tancredo and men like them.<

I am afraid that with the direction our country is heading this will be our last time a true Conservative can ever again be elected. It’s now or never, as I see it. If we can’t elect the best of the best in 2008, we can kiss our country, as we love it, goodbye.

HUNTER-TANCREDO IN ‘08!

[Extremely Extreme Extremist]

Of this, it is estimated that federal commitments to Louisiana are roughly $60 billion. A substantial portion of this assistance was directed to emergency assistance and meeting short-term needs arising from the hurricanes, such as relocation assistance, emergency housing, immediate levee repair, and debris removal efforts, leaving less than $26 billion for actual ‘bricks and sticks’ rebuilding of permanent infrastructure

How much fricking money does NOLA needs?! Is Blanco smoking crack? $26 billion is NOT pocket change. That's probably 2-3 times Louisiana's state budget! Thank God for Tancredo. He is the only candidate in the race who'll call a spade a spade.

[Extremely Extreme Extremist]

I would give Hunter the edge over Tancredo simply because of his military experience. But Tancredo is the better conservative.

[TornadoAlley3]

Agree, but actually LA has a 30 billion dollar budget under Blanco:)

[NewRomeTacitus]

Check it out.