I'm fucking sick and tired of Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco (D) getting smacked around by these conservative blabber-heads when they haven't the first fucking clue (or wear blinders to avoid seeing the truth) what did, has, and will take plce in Louisiana as a result of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
What I'd like to know, Joe, is what qualifies Blanco as an idiot?
Was she an idiot to believe that a partisan administration would put politics aside and assist her state even though she's a lone Democrat governor in the south?
Was she an idiot to believe that FEMA would serve her state's massive needs efficiently, despite Michael "Brownie" Brown's cronyistic rise to the head of that organization?
Was she an idiot to call the White House to speak with Bush the day Katrina hit, only to have to leave a message with an underling? REPUBLICAN governor Haley Barbour of Mississippi didn't try to call Bush... he didn't HAVE to... Bush called him FOUR times that day. Blanco got no such attention. Why is that?
Was she an idiot to believe that asking FEMA for buses to get stranded New Orleanians out of town were going to arrive one day after the storm? Or two? Or three? Or four? Each day she asked, each day they said "they're onthe way."
Was she an idiot to finally say "screw FEMA's buses, I'm bringing my state's school buses down to do the job instead." I'm paraphrasing, of course, but that's essentially what she did when she realized FEMA wasn't measuring up to expectations.
The only "idiotic" things Blanco did were...
- Believing Bush would approach these disaasters with non-partisan compassion and assistance...
- Believing FEMA, run by an incompetent Bush crony, would be able to combat such a huge natuural disaster...
- Believing that being transparent and cooperative with post-hurricane investigations would lead to White House transparency, as well.
- Believing that such transparency on both sides would reveal, in fact, to the American public, that while, yes, INDEED, Louisiana was overwhelmed (and find me a sttate that WOULDN'T have been overcome by such a massive disaster), it was the FEDERAL response that only made matters worse for Louisiana.