Blanco Wants to Hear Brownie Sing

On Saturday, edicius and McGirk published diaries noting Michael "Heckofajob" Brown's comments to a Metropolitan College of New York audience that "certain people in the White House" nixed the idea of federalizing Hurricane Katrina response Gulf-wide and sought to limit the federal takeover to Louisiana in an attempt to embarrass female, Democratic governor Kathleen Blanco.

Now, Blanco wants the whole story told--under oath.

As Chris Rose has said more than once, don't mess with MeeMaw.

This morning's Times-Picayune has an article on the dustup from its very talented Washington bureau reporter Bill Walsh that gives a lot more detail than the AP story on Saturday.

Brown said Monday that the decision to use federalization as a political tool occurred during a meeting aboard Air Force One, probably on Sept. 3.

While Blanco and New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin were meeting with Bush in a conference room, Brown said he and some administration officials he declined to name talked in an adjoining office. He said that White House political adviser Karl Rove was not part of the discussions.

"It became apparent during the conversations that there were political considerations. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure that out," Brown said. "For someone to come out and say these are false allegations, it ticks me off. I'm willing to stand up and tell the truth, why don't some others?"

Blanco is calling for Congress to convene a bipartisan hearing into whether politics played a part in the federal response to the storm, something Joe Lieberman, chair of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, refuses to do.

But. . .

Landrieu might. Her office wouldn't comment, but she is expected to be named this week to head up a new subcommittee to oversee disaster response. As chairwoman, she would likewise have the power to issue subpoenas for White House records.

Brown himself appears to be saving some of his juiciest dishes for a book he's working on, scheduled for release next year "before the presidential elections."  But, if Landrieu should convene hearings--with subpeona powers--we may learn more of Brown's secrets before then.

So pull up a chair by the TV and grab some popcorn, folks.  This show could get really interesting.

And who knows?  We may even come to say, with a straight face

Odd note:  In responding to Walsh's questions about the Brown allegations, WH spokesdroid Blair Jones said, "Finger pointing more than a year after the tragedy of Hurricane Katrina does not help to rebuild a single home, a single school or a single church."  Since when is it the government's job to build churches?

Update:  RichM notes that TIME has a good story on Brown's allegations up now.  Thanks, Rich!

Another:  Rich's diary's made the rec list.  Right on!  Don't let this issue fade, friends.  Get 'em under oath!

•  Tips for subpeona power!

  by Crashing Vor on Tue Jan 23, 2007 at 07:21:10 AM PDT

  •  I wanna hear Brownie sing, too

    and I don't mean "Let the Eagle Soar."

    I'm writing Senator Landrieu today. Thanks.

    by Forsapphus on Tue Jan 23, 2007 at 08:16:35 AM PDT

•  good!

  this is long, long, long overdue

  let's hope something comes of it

  by cookiebear on Tue Jan 23, 2007 at 07:24:06 AM PDT

•  Excellent idea

  Put Brownie under oath.

  He's not the main villain here, of course... but he's gotten away with a little too much media redemption, just 'cause he'll obliquely trash-talk his former bosses.

  We want it ALL on record now, Brownie.  THAT is how you earn true redemption.

  by chumley on Tue Jan 23, 2007 at 07:29:53 AM PDT

  •  Oath

    Put them all under oath.  First Brownie to determine who "those other people" were in AF1, then Nagin (who would never have been re-elected if this info had been available, Rove and Blanco, who should not be re-elected if Mee Maw is lying, which I seriously doubt.

    by chigh on Tue Jan 23, 2007 at 09:40:13 AM PDT

    •  Near as I can tell from the story,

      the hatchet job was proposed in another room from the one in which Blanco and Nagin were conferring with Junior.  Brownie, in said other room, heard the discussion with "certain people in the WH."

      He needs to be sworn to find out who they were (he says Rove wasn't there) and what they said.  

      by Crashing Vor on Tue Jan 23, 2007 at 09:47:23 AM PDT

•  Argggg...

  You beat me by a couple minutes.  My diary is here.  Feel free to beg, borrow and steel from it - and I will delete mine.

  by RichM on Tue Jan 23, 2007 at 07:30:39 AM PDT

  •  Didn't even know about the TIME article.

    Thanks.  I'll include a link (and, of course, a big shout out) in the diary.

    by Crashing Vor on Tue Jan 23, 2007 at 07:37:25 AM PDT

  •  Hey RichM

    Leave your diary up.  Your angle's good and getting some attention, and the more light shining on this the better.

    by Crashing Vor on Tue Jan 23, 2007 at 07:51:44 AM PDT

    •  Thanks!

      Important issue; we need to make sure it is heard.

      by RichM on Tue Jan 23, 2007 at 07:59:03 AM PDT

•  Might save Landrieu's seat.

  She really needs to have hearings to show how bad it was and how that the local players (Nagin, Blanco) didn't totally screw the pooch the way the Feds did.

  We'll see if that is even possible, but Landrieu needs it to keep her job.

  by polecat on Tue Jan 23, 2007 at 07:35:58 AM PDT

  •  Color me cynical nt

    by polecat on Tue Jan 23, 2007 at 07:36:27 AM PDT

    •  Me, too,

      but I'm afraid Mary's about the only kind of Democrat (the barely Democratic kind) Louisiana's going to elect.  Sigh.

      by Crashing Vor on Tue Jan 23, 2007 at 07:42:27 AM PDT

      •  I think Landrieu thinks that herself

        which is why her record is as bad as it is, if she could get away with being more liberal, I rhink she would.  
        But I'm not sure that her thinking is right, my guess is that Louisiana is receptive to electing a Huey Long type populist, if the case is made correctly.  We'll see what Foster Campbell can do.

        by IhateBush on Tue Jan 23, 2007 at 09:00:18 AM PDT

        •  The biggest problem: abortion.

          Between the downstate Catholics and the upstate Baptists, the "pro-life" stranglehold is unbreakable, which advantages Republicans.  In many ways, it's amazing that Landrieu has retained her seat this long, but she does have a record of bringing home the bacon (even if the oil cos. get the first bite).

          The same general comment could be made about Blanco (in re: your comment downstream).  A DINO, yes, but if Jindal replaces her--and he will, unless she drops out and gives Mitch a chance--we'll look back to the days of our DINO nostalgically.

          by Crashing Vor on Tue Jan 23, 2007 at 09:07:14 AM PDT

          •  Stem Cells

            Might be a way to wedege the life issue.  People in LA have very poor health due to pollution and bad died.

            by chigh on Tue Jan 23, 2007 at 09:43:09 AM PDT

            •  Katrina Brain

              bad "diet"

              by chigh on Tue Jan 23, 2007 at 09:46:43 AM PDT

              •  there's something to your first draft, though. nt

                by Crashing Vor on Tue Jan 23, 2007 at 09:48:14 AM PDT

          •  I can tolerate a pro-lifer from the state

            but not a corporate whore.  There is no reason why one cannot be a pro-labor populist.  Landrieu can be a lot better on that front.

            On the issues, how is Blanco different than Jindal?

            by IhateBush on Tue Jan 23, 2007 at 11:35:13 AM PDT

            •  Jindal is the corporate whore

              Blanco has come out swinging today after the Brown confirmation of events.  She needs to go on Today, MTP, Hardball or better yet Keith.  

              by chigh on Tue Jan 23, 2007 at 06:37:59 PM PDT

              •  Both of them are

                and quite frankly, any rehab of Blanco helps Jindal, because if it is Blanco v Jindal in the runoff (if Jindal doesn't win it outright), Jindal wins easily.  Someone else needs to go to runoff, and I really like Foster Campbell who seems Louisiana's version Jon Tester.  He is the only one who will shake things up.

                 

                by IhateBush on Wed Jan 24, 2007 at 11:52:26 AM PDT

•  Finger pointing

  "Finger pointing more than a year after the tragedy of Hurricane Katrina does not help..."

  I get it. When the disaster happened it was not the time to play the blame game, and after the tragedy pointing fingers does not help.

  This could be the Bush Doctrine for his whole presidency, or his whole life for that matter... unless the fingers are not pointing his way of course.

  by End game on Tue Jan 23, 2007 at 07:47:18 AM PDT

  •  We have to

    "look forward".  Not back at my disasterous missteps.  Look forward to what I have not yet screwed up.

    by beemerr90s on Tue Jan 23, 2007 at 07:49:46 AM PDT

  •  Both you and beemerr90s

    have him pegged:  "The time for finger-pointing would be. . . I'm thinking never.  How's never for you?"

    by Crashing Vor on Tue Jan 23, 2007 at 07:54:02 AM PDT

  •  Time for finger pointing is NOW

    If not a year-and-a-half ago.

    We need to fix FEMA.  That apparently can't happen without some major bitch-slapping.

    So let's get the slapping started.

    by polecat on Tue Jan 23, 2007 at 07:55:23 AM PDT

    •  Ain't that the truth! And baby,

      I wanna hear Brownie sing, too, and I don't mean, "Let the Eagle Soar!"

      by Forsapphus on Tue Jan 23, 2007 at 08:14:43 AM PDT

    •  Is there a statute of limitations

      on finger pointing?

      by nolalily on Tue Jan 23, 2007 at 12:46:15 PM PDT

•  I'm not impressed by Blanco

  she is the biggest major DINO in the country, more conservative than even Ben Nelson.  Landreiu and Breaux were flaming liberals in comparison. Blanco is a corporate whore as well as an extreme social conservative.  

  by IhateBush on Tue Jan 23, 2007 at 09:02:17 AM PDT

  •  Jindal

    Has just announced, although he did vote for the 100 hour bills except for stem cells - looking to get elected governor.     Blanco is a Mee Maw, a common folk hero in LA.

    by chigh on Tue Jan 23, 2007 at 09:45:36 AM PDT

    •  On the issues

      how is Blanco different than Jindal?

      by IhateBush on Tue Jan 23, 2007 at 11:36:50 AM PDT

    •  And why not support

      Foster Campbell, who is a real Democrat.

      by IhateBush on Tue Jan 23, 2007 at 11:47:04 AM PDT

      •  Primarily,

        because he is largely unknown in his own state.  Secondarily, because he is, as you say, true blue, in a state that leans red.

        I believe the only hope we have of retaining the gov's office is for Blanco to step aside and give Mitch a shot.

        by Crashing Vor on Tue Jan 23, 2007 at 12:35:27 PM PDT

        •  Well some things are weird

          Campbell appears to have been elected and fairly popular in a deep red area, Northern LA, where David Duke is more popular than Bob Dole.  Jindal did very poorly in Northern LA because he is not white.  This time around, Northern Louisiana will likely vote for Jindal over Blanco, but not enthusiastically.  

          But given the option of a conservative elitist Indian-American,  an perceived incompetant conservate Dem Gov, and a homegrown populist from Northern LA, I think the "rednecks" will go for the last.  They don't particularly care for Jindal, and won't vote for them if there is another option that is not incompetant.  It isn't the best way to win (due to racial bigotry), but it the fact of life.  
          If Campbell can put together a redneck/liberal/black coalition (he is reporedly trying to win Nagin's edorsement and appeal to blacks in New Orleans) in the first round (reportedly, hold Jindal below 50, and beat out Blanco, I think he has a decent chance in a runoff with Jindal, it is likely that Campbell will portray Jindal as an elitist Ivy leaguer, and himself as a native Louisianan.

          It is kind of like the Democratic primary nationally, the conservative Dems will probably go to Edwards by default, not because he is particularly conservative (it can be argued that Edwards is the most liberal of the three), but because he is the one who they are the most comfortable with.  
          Do remember that pro-choice Clinton won LA by 52-39 margin in 1996, sweeping Northern LA as well as Cajun country.  

          by IhateBush on Tue Jan 23, 2007 at 01:40:17 PM PDT

          •  Well-thought out

            but I don't think Campbell's chances are that good.  Poor name rec starts him out with one foot in a bucket.  Then, when people find out he's Public Service Commissioner, in goes the other one (for better or worse, people blame the PSC for their power bills as much as they do Entergy, LPL, etc.).

            OTOH, I believe you're dead on with you analysis of bigotry being Jindal's problem.  Oddly, though, it is a strength for Mitch outside New Orleans.  Here, the yat-crackers tag him as the son of Moon, "who let all them into gummint in the first place."  They'd vote for Jindal over Mitch for that.

            However, outside the city, racism ironically works in Mitch's favor, not just because of Jindal's Indian background, but because Nagin's reelection is perceived as the result of a one-time, weekend-long return of NO residents who came in, voted on the basis of color, and left again.

            (For those tempted to flame me for that last graf, all I can say is you had to have been here.  During that weekend, the streets were more packed than they've been any time since the storm.  I saw three people, on three different news broadcasts, look into television cameras and say--verbatim, "I don't think he's the best candidate, but we have to make sure the office goes to one of our own.  We can't let it go back to white people."  This said with as little embarassment or irony as any segregation supporter in 1960).

            Strangely, Mitch, who really is about as unprejudiced a white Louisianian as there is, could benefit from the sympathy of upstate crackers who feel he was "cheated" in the mayor's race.

            Add that to the advantage the Landrieu name has in the city proper (not West Bank/Jeff) and in Cajun Country and I think Mitch is the strongest Dem in the race.

            If he's in the race.

            There's my 25-cent handicap of LA-Gov '07.  Rip it to shreds.

            by Crashing Vor on Tue Jan 23, 2007 at 03:23:06 PM PDT

            •  Landrieu

              He was actually the "black" candidate and Nagin the DINO owned by the business community.

              by chigh on Tue Jan 23, 2007 at 06:43:39 PM PDT

            •  Well

              but I don't think Campbell's chances are that good.  Poor name rec starts him out with one foot in a bucket.  Then, when people find out he's Public Service Commissioner, in goes the other one (for better or worse, people blame the PSC for their power bills as much as they do Entergy, LPL, etc.).

              Campbell can easily answer this since he has basically voted against everything that the PSC has approved.  Name recognition is a problem, though.  Landreiu, while he could beat Jindal, has two handicaps, one is that he is from New Orleans, which might not play too well outstate, and that his sister is senator.  The latter might not hurt that much considering that the Longs owned the state for many years, but it also has the potential for hurting Mary Landrieu in 2008.

              I think Nagin's reelection was an utter disgrace.  He is nearly the incompetant corporate whore DINO that Blanco is.  To tell you honestly, I'm not interested in rehabing Blancos image, I want to see her not making it to the runoff in favor of a better Democrat.  The best that can be said about her is that she is an incompetant conservative who can't do that much damage, compared to a ruthlessly competant
              wingnut like Jindal.
              Foster Campbell seems like Louisiana's version of Jon Tester, 100% homegrown authentic populist.  We need to be running more of them in red states. Jim Webb's message yesterday sells.

              by IhateBush on Wed Jan 24, 2007 at 11:38:04 AM PDT

        •  Blanco

          She seems to be in I'm as mad as hell and not going to take it any longer mood today.

          by chigh on Tue Jan 23, 2007 at 06:39:50 PM PDT