I'm my own man.
Jeb!'s campaign has been releasing some feel-good ads about his handling of Hurricane Katrina (a not-so-subtle way of saying, I'm not my brother). But AJ Vicens
takes a look at Jeb!'s role in a federally funded post-Katrina boondoggle inspired by high-dollar donors close to his campaign and the GOP.
One thing Jeb Bush is not likely to mention on the anniversary is how he helped Carnival Cruise Lines—via a major GOP donor—land a quarter-billion-dollar federal contract to house people displaced by the hurricane. The fast-tracked contract sent $236 million to the Florida-based cruise company, but the ships sat half empty for weeks, according to the Associated Press, which wrote in 2006 that the deal "has been criticized by lawmakers of both parties as a prime example of wasted spending in Hurricane Katrina-related contracts."
The deal exemplified the government access afforded to high-dollar donors, and the big payoff it can generate. Ric Cooper, the ad executive who reached out to Bush to pitch the cruise ships as an emergency housing solution, had donated $65,000 to the Republican Party of Florida in 2002 and $50,000 to the Republican National Committee in 2004. Micky Arison, the billionaire former CEO of the Carnival Corporation, has donated amply to both parties over the years, most recently giving $500,000 to Right to Rise USA, the super-PAC backing Bush's presidential bid.
Cooper didn't know how to reach out to FEMA, but Jeb! did. He forwarded an email from Cooper directly to "Brownie" (FEMA director Michael Brown), who helped fast-track the funding.
Former Rep. Henry Waxman of California, then the ranking Democrat on the House Government Reform Committee, sent a letter to Bush in 2006, shortly before the six-month contract with Carnival expired, calling the episode a "boondoggle" that cost taxpayers roughly $240,000 for each family of five it sheltered. "At this price, the federal government could have built permanent homes for the families," Waxman said, according to Bloomberg.