The Political Chase

Time Person of the Year

Okay, dispense with the committee; they’re no longer needed.  Michael Brown has to be chosen for Time’s Person of the Year. If Brown has the chutzpah to start a consultancy  in disaster preparedness, he deserves to win.

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Hello, We Still Have to Deal with Katrina

How is the recovery of the Gulf Coast region progressing? To fairly and accurately answer the question, there must be a reference point, something from which we can measure progress. There are many analytical methods experts could suggest and employ, but how do we know who has the best standard of reference for what was to be accomplished versus actual progress. When in doubt, always go to the top. In this case that is clearly the President of the United States.

President Bush on September 15, 2005 from Jackson Square, New Orleans, LA

“Our first commitment is to meet the immediate needs of those who had to flee their homes and leave all their possessions behind. For these Americans, every night brings uncertainty, every day requires new courage, and in the months to come will bring more than their fair share of struggles.”

The president’s statement is broad, but it is clear; meet the immediate needs. Food, shelter, and money are three of the four critical elements of human survival — immediate needs.

The Washington Post has a piece in today’s edition that provides a “status report” on the Gulf Coast region. This certainly sets the stage. Following is the WP’s description of the emotional state of many in Pass Christian, MS.

“The personal shock of it all hasn’t subsided. Locals say it’s not uncommon to hear perfectly rational people talk of suicide.”

Is it possible there could be a more significant indication of desperation? Does that provide you with a sense of people whose immediate needs have been met? The obvious question is what takes them to such a low level?

The situation in Pass Christian:

No new houses are framed out. No lots cleared. There is just devastation and a lingering stench and a tent city in which hundreds of residents huddle against the first chill of winter and wonder where they’ll find the money to rebuild their lives.

“FEMA continues to be able to mess up a one-car funeral — we don’t begin to have enough money for major reconstruction,” said Rep. Gene Taylor (D), who lost his own home in Bay St. Louis. “We’re going to have a lot of defaults and bankruptcies.

“The federal response, from highways to housing to trailers, is completely unacceptable.”

“The response of the federal government is bewildering and deplorable,” said Bruce Katz, director of metropolitan policy at the Brookings Institution, who has written two studies of the Katrina response. “We know how to deliver quality affordable housing in the United States — we just need the will and leadership to do it.”

Public housing authorities along the Mississippi coast lost 2,000 apartments and suffered $155 million in damages. But the federal government, which expects to spend close to $2 billion on temporary trailers, has not offered a dime to rebuild public housing.

Roy Necaise, chief operating officer of a regional Mississippi housing authority, said: “We have no federal funds, absolutely none, to rebuild. There’s absolutely nothing standing on the coast right now, and it’s going to be a long time before we’re able to bring folks home.

“Washington has totally let us down, and it’s a disgrace.”

After Andy Card provided the president a DVD summary of several nightly newscasts, he realized a tragedy beyond one’s imagination happened in his back yard. The entire nation screaming helped a little I suppose.

When Bush realized his political capital was operating at deficit greater than or equal to the nation’s deficit, he went into full campaign mode. The man could not make enough photo-op trips to the Gulf Coast. And then Plamegate raised its ugly head courtesy of Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald.

Thanks to Fitzgerald and meeting the milestone of 2,000 troop casualties in Iraq, the president had to deal with an additional public outcry. Katrina was a big problem, but it did not have the word impeachment as closely associated. Real personal liability and establishment of a legacy no president ever wants, was looking George Bush directly eye to eye. What is he supposed to do? As always; hit the campaign trail and oops that little problem of Katrina is barely visible from the rear view mirror.

At a time when the president could have been making a useful trip or two to the region (not every third day), Bush heightens the rhetoric on what is most important — his critics.

And our debate at home must also be fair-minded. One of the hallmarks of a free society and what makes our country strong is that our political leaders can discuss their differences openly, even in times of war. When I made the decision to remove Saddam Hussein from power, Congress approved it with strong bipartisan support. I also recognize that some of our fellow citizens and elected officials didn’t support the liberation of Iraq. And that is their right, and I respect it. As President and Commander-in-Chief, I accept the responsibilities, and the criticisms, and the consequences that come with such a solemn decision.

While it’s perfectly legitimate to criticize my decision or the conduct of the war, it is deeply irresponsible to rewrite the history of how that war began. (Applause.) Some Democrats and anti-war critics are now claiming we manipulated the intelligence and misled the American people about why we went to war. These critics are fully aware that a bipartisan Senate investigation found no evidence of political pressure to change the intelligence community’s judgments related to Iraq’s weapons programs.

They also know that intelligence agencies from around the world agreed with our assessment of Saddam Hussein. They know the United Nations passed more than a dozen resolutions citing his development and possession of weapons of mass destruction.

Saddam Hussein has long since been deposed. Iraq has transformed into a breeding ground for terrorists. Admit it or not, a civil war exists in Iraq today — we don’t have to worry about one starting tomorrow. And, we continue to have a third world nation situated on our own southern border. What a mess.

What are the solutions?

• Develop a plan to win the war — a novel idea. Implement the Powell Doctrine. We broke it, now we have to fix it. Immediate withdrawal is not the solution and staying the course is worse.
• Dispense with the tax cuts implemented in 2003 — that alone will provide more than enough funding for the Iraq mission we won two years ago.
• Implement Management 101 — Literally start managing. That too is a novel idea. Clean house — forget all the loyalties and put responsible people in responsible positions. Make them accountable.
• Launch the crooks and liars. The president absolutely cannot focus on doing his job while being shot at from every direction because he is surrounded by corruption. No more Dick Cheneys, Michael Scanlons, David Safavians, Scooter Libbys, Karl Roves, etc.
• Until Cheney is rightly behind bars, Congress should not even think about impeachment nor should the president resign under pressure.

No Resolution for the Boss

What a sad, sad state. There could not be a better example of how far the the Republicans will go to deny and oppose Democrats. Last week, the Democratic Senators from New Jersey, Corzine and Lautenberg, sponsored a resolution to honor Bruce Springsteen’s contribution to music, but Senator Frist or one of his compadres, would not allow it to come up for consideration. It does not matter whether it is a significant issue to the security of this nation or to lend a helping hand to the elderly trying to go walk up two steps. If the Democrats propose it, it’s wrong and most especially it’s not going to happen. Moreover, as far as Bill Frist is concerned, Democrats might as well not even be allowed to enter the Capitol.

Now, before you start thinking I have really gotten picky and just want to whine, let’s take a quick look at the record (yes, pun intended). Bruce Springsteen has been a considerable force in the music industry for many years. 30 years ago, Springsteen released his album “Born to Run.” That was not his first album, just the one that sent him to the top.

On May 26, Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) sponsored a resoltuion congratulating Carrie Underwood for winning the “American Idol” TV program. Senator Bill Frist sponsored resolutions recognizing “Sun Studio’s Contribution to the Birth of Rock and Roll” and commending the Grand Ole Opry on it’s 80th anniversary. Other resolutions have been made by the House and Senate recognizing artists, musicians and athletes — Chris LeDoux (a rodeo champion and musician, the New Zealand golfer, Michael Campbell, and Siegfired and Roy.

Why was Springsteen denied? In the eyes of Frist and his compadres, Springsteen committed the heinous crime of supporting John Kerry in 2004.

Congresswoman Jean Schmidt (R-OH) was recognized by the Speaker of the House, allowing her to spread her venom against Rep. John Murtha (D-PA), an honorable Marine veteran of 37 years who also visits the Bethesda Naval Hospital every week. But, not the Boss. He was not even given the opportunity for consideration.

Last night, I updated TPC’s About section, which includes TPC’s history. TPC was started because I was deeply concerned about the way the country was being managed and especially its outlook for the future. How much worse can it get? The enmity has risen to the level that the Senate Majority Leader will not allow a musician of longstanding to be considered for recognition - a non-controversial issue, yet places in the Congressional Record congratulations to Carrie Underwood for winning a television contest a few months ago.

Senator McCain’s (R-AZ) detainee abuse bill passed the Senate by a 90 to 10 vote. If Sen Kerry or Sen. Carl Levin had sponsored that bill would it have passed? No, the vote would have been at least 55 to 45 not in favor of the bill.

I would like to refer you to a post from a few months ago — A Republican Who Has Come to His Senses. It is rather long, so I will only post an excerpt. The following was written by a Republican attorney in Eugene, Oregon.

[W]e have compromised our international integrity by sanctioning torture, [we] are systematically dismantling the civil liberties that it took us two centuries to define and preserve, and [we] have substituted bullying, brinksmanship and “staying on message” for real political discourse.

We need to find a leader that is a “uniter, not a divider.”