One Plan That Always Works, Blame Someone Else
As David Sirota says:
the Bush administration had no plan to deal with a massive natural disaster that we knew was coming, has no plan to bring troops home from Iraq, has no plan to deal with skyrocketing energy prices, has no plan to address staggering budget deficits...but the White House is now letting the public know that it has a plan to politically insulate the president from any accountability whatsoever.
Under the command of President Bush's two senior political advisers, the White House rolled out a plan this weekend to contain the political damage from the administration's response to Hurricane Katrina.
It orchestrated visits by cabinet members to the region, leading up to an extraordinary return visit by Mr. Bush planned for Monday, directed administration officials not to respond to attacks from Democrats on the relief efforts, and sought to move the blame for the slow response to Louisiana state officials, according to Republicans familiar with the White House plan.
The effort is being directed by Mr. Bush's chief political adviser, Karl Rove, and his communications director, Dan Bartlett. It began late last week after Congressional Republicans called White House officials to register alarm about what they saw as a feeble response by Mr. Bush to the hurricane, according to Republican Congressional aides.........
In a reflection of what has long been a hallmark of Mr. Rove's tough political style, the administration is also working to shift the blame away from the White House and toward officials of New Orleans and Louisiana who, as it happens, are Democrats.
"The way that emergency operations act under the law is the responsibility and the power, the authority, to order an evacuation rests with state and local officials," Mr. Chertoff said in his television interview. "The federal government comes in and supports those officials."
That line of argument was echoed throughout the day, in harsher language, by Republicans reflecting the White House line.
You know, the party of personal responsibility.
posted by Ron at 10:23 PM
36 Comments:
The donkey speaks as the Donkey because the Donkey knows that it confuses the Lame Game and other slow witted individuals.
The Donkey is a fan of Mrs. Barbara Bush. Their dog, Millie was a smart dog to write a book. What would Millie write now that this has been said:
"Everyone is so overwhelmed by the hospitality. And so many of the people in the arena here, you know, were underprivileged anyway, so this, this is working very well for them," Mrs. Bush told American Public Media's "Marketplace" program, before returning to her multi-million dollar Houston home.
On the tape of the interview, Mrs. Bush chuckles audibly as she observes just how great things are going for families that are separated from loved ones, people who have been forced to abandon their homes and the only community where they have ever lived, and parents who are explaining to children that their pets, their toys and in some cases their friends may be lost forever. Perhaps the former first lady was amusing herself with the notion that evacuees without bread could eat cake.
At the very least, she was expressing a measure of empathy commensurate with that evidenced by her son during his fly-ins for disaster-zone photo opportunities.
On Friday, when even Republican lawmakers were giving the federal government an "F" for its response to the crisis, President Bush heaped praise on embattled Federal Emergency Management Agency chief Michael Brown. As thousands of victims of the hurricane continued to plead for food, water, shelter, medical care and a way out of the nightmare to which federal neglect had consigned them, Brown cheerily announced that "people are getting the help they need."
Barbara Bush's son put his arm around the addled FEMA functionary and declared, "Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job."
The Nation wrote this article.
Like mother, like son.
Even when a hurricane hits, the apple does not fall far from the tree."
Donkey, that was beautifully said!!
This was the same woman who said she wasn't going to worry her "beautiful mind" about the casualties in Iraq because it wasn't relevant.
If it is okay with you, I may quote you in one of the next articles I write for oped and elsewhere.
Your concern for and work on behalf of those suffering is truly admirable. You are a gem.
Lonna
Lonna
Ron!
Who/what do we blame for what happened to the show's transmission failure today? Problems with the equipment? The Patriot Act? Maybe Limbaugh's Law?
(Anytime there is a transmission failure of a political talk show, it can and must be for one of the evil horrible liberals who hate our country and our Christian values. God Bless America!!)
Of course, the right is going to blame EVERYBODY and EVERYTHING but the super rich, the super powerful, and the super religious.
However, MY personal American political idol who isn't as spineless as some might think is fighting back. To sign John Kerry's petition to stop more tax cuts for the rich--
http://www.johnkerry.com/petition/taxcuts.php --The DemoCat
P.S. Ron, saw an article on YOUR political idol-R. Feingold on the editorial page of the RDR today.
The roll of local government:
The primary responsibility for dealing with emergencies does not belong to the federal government. It belongs to local and state officials who are charged by law with the management of the crucial first response to disasters. First response should be carried out by local and state emergency personnel under the supervision of the state governor and his emergency operations center.
The actions and inactions of Gov. Blanco and Mayor Nagin are a national disgrace due to their failure to implement the previously established evacuation plans of the state and city. Gov. Blanco and Mayor Nagin cannot claim that they were surprised by the extent of the damage and the need to evacuate so many people. Detailed written plans were already in place to evacuate more than a million people. The plans projected that 300,000 people would need transportation in the event of a hurricane like Katrina. If the plans had been implemented, thousands of lives would likely have been saved.
In addition to the plans, local, state and federal officials held a simulated hurricane drill 13 months ago, in which widespread flooding supposedly trapped 300,000 people inside New Orleans. The exercise simulated the evacuation of more than a million residents. The problems identified in the simulation apparently were not solved.
Is the fact that cry baby, incompetent democrats were in charge of the situation Bush's fault...nope.
Now Bush and the feds are in charge, and look how well things are being run now.
in addition:
A CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll of 609 adults taken September 5-6 shows:
Blame Game --
13% said George W. Bush is "most responsible for the problems in New Orleans after the hurricane"
18% said "federal agencies"
25% said "state and local officials"
38% said "no one is to blame"
6% had no opinion. --
29% said that "top officials in the federal agencies responsible for handling emergencies should be fired"
63% said they should not
8% had no opinion.
so you partisan political opportunism fails again...as will your hopes of winning anything in 2006, 2008, 2010, ect...
sorry for all those facts about what the local officials were supposed to do...I'll wait for the only thing you guys can say back...which is name calling and insults, since you have no arguement again.
The transmission problem of the show today..as far as we can determine..was caused by Mark and Dick Cheney and the Cheney wave generator. They apparently feared the truth I am about to speak.
Oh my, gamey, your logic stinks worse than Lake Ponchatrain. Of course knowing where you got it it really suprizes me little. What can you expect from a drug addled brain.
First let me say. Things could have been done better by the mayor and governor. The fact remains that this was not a local emergency. It was declared a NATIONAL emergency by Bush himself. Was he just saying that for the "fun" of it or does it really means something? Answer: it really means something. It was something so large that locals (in 14 states by the way) could not deal with it on their own. It would take a NATIONAL effort. At this point it's what the "cry babies" rightly expected and is the implication of a NATIONAL emergency. The feds are to be on it from that point on.
I'm glad you are so sure you have an "unbeatable" arguement. Next time if you wish to have one I suggest you listen to someone other than the propagandists.
Read this if you can bear to:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/08/28/national/main798819.shtml
2006...ONWARD AND UPWARD! :-)
The Donkey appreciates Lonna's comments. Please note the Donkey did not properly give the Nation magazine enough credit for the post. The Donkey did not check his post and incorrectly pasted the article before the source. The Donkey regrets the error.
The Donkey will write opinions made to order for far less than the conservative writers. The donkeys rate is two cups of coffee for two hundred words. If one wants the Donkey to write a conservative article the price is quite a bit more.
The Donkey is tired. The same wave that took out Ron's show, disrupted the Donkey's workplace power supply. The work area has a backup generator, but lack of power causes equipment failures. The machinery the Donkey maintains is very large and heavy, so are the tools needed to repair them. The Donkey must rest his little hooves.
White House: Mrs. Bush Comment 'Personal'
The Associated Press
Wednesday, September 7, 2005; 4:07 PM
WASHINGTON -- Barbara Bush was making "a personal observation" when she said poor people at a relocation center in Houston were faring better than before Hurricane Katrina struck, President Bush's spokesman said Wednesday.
The Donkey is so relieved. If the lame game gets upset, when the Donkey wonders what kind of educational system allows him to teach anything, the lame game can find comfort in that it is a personal observation.
What a wonderful mind the Donkey has. The Donkey is a real problem solver. It is hard work and it takes alot of time. The donkey has a noble cause. The donkey is full of personal observations. The donkey knows every one is entitled to the donkey's personal observations.
FEMA director in March: We are prepared, as never before, to deal quickly and competently with disasters
RAW STORY
The following statement, delivered by Under Secretary Michael D. Brown Mar. 9, 2005 to the Senate Appropriations Committee on Homeland Security, was acquired by RAW STORY Wednesday from a source on Capitol Hill. It follows.
In the testimony, Brown says, "Our Nation is prepared, as never before, to deal quickly and capably with the consequences of disasters and other domestic incidents," which he couched with the caveat, "recovery from - a catastrophic incident is still a challenge to the emergency management community."
This is just a personal observation.
http://news.independent.co.uk/europe/article310803.ece
Embarrassed Merkel admits plagiarising Reagan
By Tony Paterson in Berlin
Published: 07 September 2005
In 1980 Mr Reagan asked Americans facing a choice between himself and President Jimmy Carter: "Are you doing better than you were four years ago? Is there more or less unemployment than there was four years ago? If you answer yes to all these questions, I think it is obvious who you will vote for."
Last Sunday, Mrs Merkel asked German viewers: "Is our country doing better than it was seven years ago? Is there higher growth? Is unemployment lower? If you answer all the questions with yes, I think it is obvious who you will be voting for."
The two speeches also had virtually identical passages. Ronald Reagan: "If you are of a different opinion and you don't want us to continue the course we followed for the past four years, then I could propose another choice which you have." Angela Merkel: "If you are of a different opinion and you don't want us to continue the course we have followed for the past seven years, then I propose another choice which you have."
Plagiarising is very bad when you get caught. Ask Steve Pearce.
The Donkey would think it would be a cheap shot to say;
Is New Orleans doing better than it was four years ago? Is there more or less raw sewage, dead bodies and flooded homes than there were four years ago? If you answer yes to all these questions, The Donkey thinks it is obvious who you will vote for.
If you are of a different opinion and you don't want us to continue the course we followed for the past four years, then I could propose another choice which you have.
The Donkey is underprivileged anyway, and not even Reagan could have anticipated the breech of the levies.
US 'approved' oil smuggling
From: Reuters
By Claudia Parsons in New York
September 08, 2005
The largest oil consignment smuggled out of Iraq took place with US approval just weeks before the April 2003 invasion, according to a United Nations report.
The Donkey has the personal observation that Haliburton did not profit as much as they should have for trading with an enemy. Send you r money to Pat Robinson so he can pray for the other Hurricanes to miss New York.
The Bush administration is being widely criticized for the emergency response to Hurricane Katrina and the allegedly inadequate protection for "the big one" that residents had long feared would hit New Orleans. But research into more than ten years of reporting on hurricane and flood damage mitigation efforts in and around New Orleans indicates that local and state officials did not use federal money that was available for levee improvements or coastal reinforcement and often did not secure local matching funds that would have generated even more federal funding.
"The Donkey" should read Kitty Kelley's book about the Bush family. Perhaps he will not then think so highly of the senior Mrs. Bush.
I certainly agree that this administration is not willing to take responsibility for anything that is bad and likes to blame the opposition as much as possible. I, also, believe that they must be exposed for what they are-corrupt and selfish liars and cheats.
I was listening to the show today when Bob and the caller who calls himself "The Maniac" were speaking. I did not agree with most of what Bob was saying, but must admit that at least he is a THINKING conservative republican which is more than can be said for many of them. I have listened to "Maniac" when he is calm and believe that he is intelligent, knowledgable, and shares many fine insights with the listeners. His self-assigned role seems to be that of the "emotional venter" of the liberal listeners. I am sure that many of the fans enjoy this and get a catharsis out of hearing "Maniac" vent. I do feel, however, that it is most often counter-productive to label individual callers liars, etc. unless it can be proven. "The Maniac" might find that it is more effective to let the other person have his or her say and then to counter it with facts. In addition, Ron's employer has shown that he is unhappy with what he calls "name calling" and wants a diversity of callers to focus on the issues. While I like and respect "The Maniac", I do feel that he needs to exercise some restraint. The important thing is to keep the show on the air, after all.
La Souris
La Souris,
Sarcasm is lost on you. It is ironic, that one can not recognize a pretense of ignorance and of willingness to learn from another assumed in order to make the other's false conceptions conspicuous by adroit questioning -- called also Socratic irony according to the Donkey's Merriam-Webster.
With this in mind, consider the following statement;
The Honorable President George W. Bush having and showing skill, cleverness, and resourcefulness in handling the hurricane situations has stupified the Donkey. The Donkey will now be a Bush supporter. Remember 9-11, it changed everything. No one could have anticipated the breech of the levies.
The donkey is amazed to read this. Oh what a great problem solver Bush is.
http://www.emsnetwork.org/artman/publish/article_18337.shtml
WARNING: Common sense and logic below....partisan liberals may want to take cover
The stories are starting to come in regarding why the relief effort was so poor. Now, these are actual facts, and not blind emotional rants, so any liberals who read this might want to take some Tylenol first, to stop all the migraine headaches that will occur from reading common sense logic:
1. The mayor did not use hundreds of busses that were supposed to be used to evacuate the poor of the city. This is FACT. You have seen the pictures of the buses, and read the part of the New Orleans evacuation plan that says the busses are suppose to be used. Instead the mayor ordered for coach buses to come in to evacuate the people. RESULT: thousands of people died who could not get out of the city.
2. The Red Cross and Salvation Army were ready to go minutes after the hurricane was gone. City officials told them they could not enter because it would hinder relief efforts. RESULT: Hundreds more died because they were not given food and water.
3. Gov. Blanco would not release the National Guard. RESULT: Hundreds looted, obtained guns and caused chaos. Therefore 1500 rescue workers could not continue rescuing the people that the mayor thought were too good to be bussed out on school buses.
4. City officials have been taking money earmarked for updating city flood prevention measures for at least 10 years. RESULT: The levees broke, causing 80% of the city to be flooded.
5. People are now doing a great job helping rescue victims. While this is going on, the main stream media and democrats are on TV trying to politicize this tragedy. Only 13% of the American people blame GWB for what happened. RESULT: Democrats will continue to look like crazy political opportunistic hacks who are so desperate for power they will do anything to get it back…and they will lose more seats in 2006.
6. Moveon.org’s plan to help the victims was to have hundreds of them protest outside the White House….problem is only 3 showed up…surrounded by a few full time protesters. RESULT: Makes the average American want to puke watching how disrespectful and disgraceful the far left is.
Can one of the liberals who comments here answer this…should the CEO of a company with 100,000 employees take the initial blame when someone working in the mailroom does something wrong.
Mistakes were made, mostly on the local level….and yes….there needs to be some investigating done to see how to make things better. We already know the Democrats that run Louisiana are incompetent. New Orleans has one of, if not thee highest murder rate in the nation. I have been told the shootings that were happening after the hurricane are common place in that hell hole run by a democrat.
The second someone starts ripping the President as being the sole problem, they give themselves away as a political opportunist. Maybe we should just say, from now on, that the person is pulling a “Cindy.”
La Souris is blushing. She hoped The Donkey was being satirical, but wasn't sure. She is glad he is not a Barbara Bush fan. La Souris used to like the senior Mrs. Bush
because she looked like everybody's grandmother and advocated for reading and family literacy. La Souris has learned more about her and does not like her at all. She feels that Mrs. Bush failed to instill decency and honor in her sons, and has also learned that she was not well liked by many people in political circles. Mrs. Reagan, for instance, shunned her as much as possible. La Souris should have known that The Donkey who is very knowledgable was being sarcastic.
As for The Game, mon dieu!! It is very tempting to skip over his comments and would, perhaps, be the wisest thing to do. The Game is truly a monstre sacre*!
(a celebrity notorious for his unorthodox life or opinions). Perhaps, he should change his blog psuedo-name to something more descriptive*.
didn't think anyone could repute any of the claims I made...except for whomever posted after me...but that could not have been English..I was I wasn't so educated so I could understand these posts.
I could dispute your claims game. For example 200 school buses moving tens of thousands of people but why bother.
that is the evacuation plan that democratic leaders had in place...they are supposed to take care of their poor helpless people....the picture was just one place where busses were flooded, there were more
1-0 me
blah blah blah ..ok you win you are superior. feel better now?
Monstre Sacre? That's a good one. I agree. Why even bother to read what The Game has to say? Maybe if we just ignore him, he'll go away.
Monstre Sacre seems to fit him, as he is pretty notorious here on the blog. He could just call himself "The blogger formerly known as The Game", but how much better it would be if he was "The former blogger known as The Game"!!
DemoCat
The real blame, and where it should be put:
Five Facts about FEBAR
"1. FEMA has been hackpacked and there has been a brain drain. Add Chief of Staff Patrick J. Rhode and Deputy Chief of Staff Brooks D. Altshuler to the list of names from nowhere.
2. Governor Blanco declared a state of emergency on the 26th.
3. Louisiana didn't have the money because the Feds took it all. Namely the 5 Billion in royalties from offshore drilling.
4. FEMA even held exercises to simulate what would happen if New Orleans took a direct hit. Last year. Speaking of Attention Deficit Disorder.
5. They can't blame Clinton."
Do I hear an "Amen"?
I suspect that The Game possesses les folies de granduer and does not know as much as he thinks he knows. This is, perhaps, an understatement, oui? I am happy to see Ron and others putting him in his place. Ecrasez l'infame!
(trans. Crush the vile thing!)
La Souris
Hey fellow Americanz---did anybody "forget 911"???Funny how things have gotten soooooo much worse in this country and around the world...time for change...Amen
well, people here can speak different languages and name call, yet not one of my points has been proven false...as expected
Game, it isn't worth the time to argue with you. You don't want to find the truth. You just want to argue and be a good little solider.
What college did you go to Lame Game? The Donkey wants to avoid sending any students there.
The lame Game never said why he is too good to join the military. They need smart people to join.
As I said a few times at this blog, Game, you're not worth the attention given you. Maybe people are finally starting to wake up to this fact.
I suggest that instead of playing the "blame game", we play the "Blame The Game" game. (Better him than Clinton!) It's a lot more fun!
Smile face
game one of the stupid slogans the people on the left constatntly use is "speak truth to power" it seems to me you have spoken truth to them and they want no part of it. I guess that speaking truth to people out of power is not something they are interested in huh?
mark
Ding, Ding, Ding(Pun Intended).
Mark,
Puhleeze don't confuse truth with rightwing propoganda and Rush Limbaugh's talking points. Limbaugh and Karl Rove may possibly be pathological liars, or maybe they're just real good at it.
What truth have they told us? That there are WMDs in Iraq? Where are they? That Saddam and Bin Laden were allies and planned the 9/11 attack together? Saddam and Bin Laden hate each other. I am a moderate liberal democrat, but I have voted for Republicans in the past. No more! My mama didn't raise a fool and I don't trust any Republicans who support Bush.
--DemoCat
If you haven't been following "Doonesbury" lately, you should go online to Yahoo comics or whatever and check it out.
Today's has "W" at a press conference saying among other things that he's not willing to get into the blame game with God re: Hurrican Katrina. Pretty good.
Ya gotta love "Doonesbury". I think it might have been Kissinger who said the only thing worse than being in "Doonesbury" is not being in "Doonesbury". Course "W" hates it because of the thing about Daddy Bush agreeing to lock his manhood in a blind trust. Amazing that Dubya hasn't declared war on Gary Troudeau yet.
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