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Now Is Exactly the Time for the Blame Game

By Jeralyn, Section Huricanes Katrina and Rita
Posted on Tue Sep 06, 2005 at 06:15:42 PM EST
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Arianna explains why the new Bush-meme of "this is not the time for fingerpointing" is dead wrong.

Look, if we’ve learned anything from watching shows like CSI, Law and Order, and their endless progeny, it’s that you can’t let a crime scene grow cold. You’ve got to start collecting and analyzing the evidence while the DNA is still fresh and let David Caruso or Vincent D’Onofrio start sweating the perps while the passions are still running high.

And make no mistake, what we saw go down -- and not go down -- in New Orleans was definitely a crime… a crime that is in many ways still in progress.

< Louisiana Superdome to be torn down? | Forced Evacuations to Begin in New Orleans >

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    • Now Is Exactly the Time for the Blame Game | 33 comments (33 topical)
    Re: Now Is Exactly the Time for the Blame Game (none / 0) (#1)
    by yudel on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:03:22 PM EST
    I don't think it's Brown's fault. He's just following in his boss's footsteps. I mean, it's not like his boss called from Crawford 24 hours before landfall, saying, run your plans by me, will ya? And let's get the governor and the mayor on the line, and talk about the worst case scenario? What do you mean there's no plan to evacuate people without cars? If I send a transport full of troops to drive busses, how many busses can you round up? Or did that conversation happen, and Rove just forget to tell us about it? Really, that level of management should be expected of someone in a $400k management position.

    Re: Now Is Exactly the Time for the Blame Game (none / 0) (#2)
    by Edger on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:03:22 PM EST
    WH communications director Dan Bartlett: “If we focused more of our attention on decisions that have already been made, rather than those before us, there’s potential for making far greater mistakes… We really don’t have time to play the political game right now,” echoed Bartlett. White House Director?? "...there’s potential for making far greater mistakes..." ??? Ahem...
    Look George, if we say this right, in a backhanded way, we can look like regular good ole' boys who admit that mistakes can occur, without really admitting we made any... It'll make you look like a reasonable, concerned father figure focused on leading his children out of the mess they've got themselves into, since it would just break your heart to see any more of 'em hurt themselves!" Sh*t, george! It's perfect... they'll swallow it, sinker 'n all! I know it! Just keep that sheepish look on your face... Here... have another drink! ...yer buddy, Karl
    Re: Now Is Exactly the Time for the Blame Game (none / 0) (#3)
    by Edger on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:03:22 PM EST
    How's the foot, Jim?

    Re: Now Is Exactly the Time for the Blame Game (none / 0) (#4)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:03:22 PM EST
    oh geez. You do realize that CSI is fiction? And that real cops don't solve every crime within an hour?

    Re: Now Is Exactly the Time for the Blame Game (none / 0) (#5)
    by Edger on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:03:22 PM EST
    Bush Job Approval Tuesday September 06, 2005--Forty-six percent (46%) of American adults now approve of the way George W. Bush is performing his role as President. Fifty-three percent (53%) disapprove. Thirty-nine percent (39%) of Americans now Strongly Disapprove of the President's job performance while just 23% Strongly Approve. Earlier in the year, those numbers were essentially even. When looking at the disaster in New Orleans and surrounding areas, just 28% of Americans say that the federal government has done a good or an excellent job...

    Re: Now Is Exactly the Time for the Blame Game (none / 0) (#6)
    by Patrick on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:03:22 PM EST
    Look, if we’ve learned anything from watching shows like CSI, Law and Order, and their endless progeny, it’s that you can’t let a crime scene grow cold. You’ve got to start collecting and analyzing the evidence while the DNA is still fresh and let David Caruso or Vincent D’Onofrio start sweating the perps while the passions are still running high.
    Proof positive that some on the left gets their version of reality from fictional TV shows. I'm book marking this thread. It's sad that this is the reality for some. Must be hard to have all those unfulfilled expectations, like solving murder in an hour, without paperwork.

    Re: Now Is Exactly the Time for the Blame Game (none / 0) (#7)
    by Edger on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:03:23 PM EST
    Meet the Press: Transcript for September 4 Tim Russert talking with: Michael Chertoff, Marc Morial, Mike Tidwell, Mark Fischetti, David Wessel, Haley Barbour & Jefferson Parish President Aaron Broussard MR. BROUSSARD: Sir, they were told like me, every single day, "The cavalry's coming," on a federal level, "The cavalry's coming, the cavalry's coming, the cavalry's coming." I have just begun to hear the hoofs of the cavalry. The cavalry's still not here yet, but I've begun to hear the hoofs, and we're almost a week out. Let me give you just three quick examples. We had Wal-Mart deliver three trucks of water, trailer trucks of water. FEMA turned them back. They said we didn't need them. This was a week ago. FEMA--we had 1,000 gallons of diesel fuel on a Coast Guard vessel docked in my parish. The Coast Guard said, "Come get the fuel right away." When we got there with our trucks, they got a word. "FEMA says don't give you the fuel." Yesterday--yesterday--FEMA comes in and cuts all of our emergency communication lines. They cut them without notice. Our sheriff, Harry Lee, goes back in, he reconnects the line. He posts armed guards on our line and says, "No one is getting near these lines." Sheriff Harry Lee said that if America--American government would have responded like Wal-Mart has responded, we wouldn't be in this crisis. Watch CSI all you want... I'd rather know what's going on.

    Re: Now Is Exactly the Time for the Blame Game (none / 0) (#8)
    by squeaky on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:03:23 PM EST
    Ptrik-Fictional TV Shows? The WH has a sad record here.
    their version of reality from fictional TV shows. I'm book marking this thread. It's sad that this is the reality for some. Must be hard to have all those unfulfilled expectations, like solving murder in an hour, without paperwork.
    Nothing has come out of the Chimp King Empire (Smirk, Scowl & Rove) that remotely resembles reality. Their "TV shows" are much more like cartoons mixed with commercials, and to tell the truth , pretty way out there. The "TV shows" you mention are much closer to reality.

    Re: Now Is Exactly the Time for the Blame Game (none / 0) (#9)
    by Edger on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:03:23 PM EST
    Patrick:
    I'm book marking this thread. It's sad that this is the reality for some.
    Here, Patrick... since you're "book marking this thread": "If they’re not driven from power, they’ll kill a lot more of us before they’re done. As history has demonstrated over and over, the greatest threat and the worst enemy is not “over there”—it’s right here at home. And we have never faced a more dangerous enemy than the one that threatens us today. And his name is George W. Bush"

    Re: Now Is Exactly the Time for the Blame Game (none / 0) (#10)
    by jimakaPPJ on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:03:23 PM EST
    edger - The foot is great. Have you tried to get anyone to kill themselves today? BTW - Got anything new to post? My comment remains the same. You just don't ride up in the middle of an operation and announce that the people involved can relax because you are here. They probably have enough on their minds without your posturing. Plain said: They need professionals, not heros.

    Re: Now Is Exactly the Time for the Blame Game (none / 0) (#11)
    by Edger on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:03:23 PM EST
    Jim:
    he foot is great. Have you tried to get anyone to kill themselves today?
    Why bother? George has been doing a fairly good job of it for them. You bursting with pride?

    Re: Now Is Exactly the Time for the Blame Game (none / 0) (#12)
    by aw on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:03:23 PM EST
    So is it a GOOD idea to let a crime scene grow cold and not collect evidence while it's still fresh, before it all gets destroyed?

    Re: Now Is Exactly the Time for the Blame Game (none / 0) (#13)
    by Ernesto Del Mundo on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:03:23 PM EST
    So is it a GOOD idea to let a crime scene grow cold and not collect evidence while it's still fresh, before it all gets destroyed?
    You're wasting your time asking Patrick that. If he can't shoot at it, taser it, or hit it with a baton he's pretty much out of answers.

    Re: Now Is Exactly the Time for the Blame Game (none / 0) (#14)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:03:23 PM EST
    When the entire airwing of North America comes down to TWO Fighter jets -- you turn to Dick Cheney, who said, "We all saw what happened." Same thing here. We all saw what happened. It was on tv, and yeah, it wasn't on CSI. It's this new reality show, Lazy Daze in Crawford, about how an unpopular and justly-hated fake president diddled and fiddled while people jumped out of the buildings, or clung to their roofs while the waters swirled and FEMA blocked any relief. And meanwhile, Bush's mercs and our military are being blown to bits along with their victims, in numbers that make much of America sick. Kids without fathers, widows without their mates, mothers without their children, and tens of thousands of completely innocent children splattered on their kitchen walls. Oh well. It's Bush's Hate America Now! campaign. And it's a doozy.

    Re: Now Is Exactly the Time for the Blame Game (none / 0) (#15)
    by Edger on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:03:23 PM EST
    They’re selling postcards of the hanging They’re painting the passports brown The beauty parlor is filled with sailors The circus is in town Here comes the blind commissioner They’ve got him in a trance One hand is tied to the tight-rope walker The other is in his pants And the riot squad they’re restless They need somewhere to go As lady and I look out tonight From desolation row...


    Re: Now Is Exactly the Time for the Blame Game (none / 0) (#16)
    by kdog on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:03:24 PM EST
    There is lots of blame to go around...local, state, and federal. One thing that must not get lost in the shuffle is how dangerous political cronyism can be when taken to extremes. My #1 question is, how did a horse breeder bueracrat with no disaster relief experience end up in charge of FEMA?

    Re: Now Is Exactly the Time for the Blame Game (none / 0) (#17)
    by swingvote on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:03:24 PM EST
    Kdog, A very good question indeed. Another one would be: Why did the Mayor of New Orleans fail to activate the city's disaster plan to help those who needed help getting out of the city? Maybe Arianna can go down to NOLA and take a deposition for us all, just to be sure the evidence doesn't go cold.

    Re: Now Is Exactly the Time for the Blame Game (none / 0) (#18)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:03:24 PM EST
    1st, I blame Congress for playing partisan games and failing to allocate the necessary funds to New Orleans to strenghten their levee system. 2nd, I blame George Bush for the war in Iraq that took half of Louisiana's National Guard out of Louisiana and sent them over to Iraq. 3rd, I blame George Bush for appointing incompetents to head FEMA and Homeland Security. Those of you who are blaming the Mayor and the Governor fail to recognize when the hurricane first hit they thought they had escaped it. The actual damages didn't become evident until a day later when the levee broke. Power was gone. Phone lines were down. Cell phones didn't work. A National Disaster had already been declared. FEMA had the authority and responsibility to be there and they weren't. They were clueless as to the extent of the devastation.

    Re: Now Is Exactly the Time for the Blame Game (none / 0) (#19)
    by yudel on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:03:24 PM EST
    Bush was too much of a wimp to stand up to his campaign aides who wanted to work in FEMA. He was too much of a wimp to ask tough questions of the state and local officials. He was too much of a wimp to back out of previously-scheduled engagements when disaster struck That seems to be the Party line. Like father like son, I suppose. The Wimp Factor would explain a lot. Dubya was too much of a wimp to fight in Vietnam. He was too much of a wimp to stop reading My Pet Goat. He was too much of a wimp to actually capture Bin Laden "dead or alive". He was too much of a wimp to ask, "hey, dudes, what's the plan for after the war"? He was too much of a wimp to veto a single pork-laden spending bill. And he was too much of a wimp to save New Orleans.

    Re: Now Is Exactly the Time for the Blame Game (none / 0) (#20)
    by swingvote on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:03:24 PM EST
    Gently, So you don't believe that a Mayor who had a disaster survival plan in his pocket, a plan which called for evacuation of the city and which allowed for a method of assisting those in need of help getting out, yet who refused, for whatever reason, to activate that plan, shares any responsibility here? If so, I must admit that I can't help but detect a partisan bias in your position. Your aren't looking for "someone" to blame, you are looking for "Republicans" to blame. So be it. And by the way, half of the Lousisana National Guard is not in Iraq; not even close.

    Re: Now Is Exactly the Time for the Blame Game (none / 0) (#21)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:03:24 PM EST
    Something else I'd like to add for those who keep blaming those who didn't evacuate ahead of time and the Mayor who didn't provide bus service. Where were these busses supposed to drop these people off? Wer'e talking about people living in poverty. Many couldn't afford telephones or televisions or the Internet. They didn't have access to information. You keep comparing Louisisna's response to Jeb Bush in Florida. Why don't you compare city and state revenues between Florida and Louisiana? How many budget cuts has the city of New Orleans had to make since Bush came into office? We're talking about a city mired in poverty.

    Re: Now Is Exactly the Time for the Blame Game (none / 0) (#22)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:03:24 PM EST
    What is this disaster plan? What was the Mayor supposed to do that he didn't do?

    Re: Now Is Exactly the Time for the Blame Game (none / 0) (#23)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:03:24 PM EST
    Before the hurricane hit, I saw the Mayor order a mandatory evacuation, then I watched him beg people to evacuate.

    Re: Now Is Exactly the Time for the Blame Game (none / 0) (#24)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:03:24 PM EST
    I've watched many older people, incapable of walking, being carried off their porches. Does this evacuation plan have a section to remove invalids before the hurricane hits. Where are they supposed to get the volunteers to carry out this task?

    Re: Now Is Exactly the Time for the Blame Game (none / 0) (#25)
    by swingvote on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:03:24 PM EST
    Gently, I haven't compared New Orleans to Florida or Blanco to Bush, so I'm going to ignore that question and leave it to someone else. As for the Plan , however, I'll quote the relevant section: PART 2: EVACUATION I. GENERAL The safe evacuation of threatened populations when endangered by a major catastrophic event is one of the principle reasons for developing a Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan. The thorough identification of at-risk populations, transportation and sheltering resources, evacuation routes and potential bottlenecks and choke points, and the establishment of the management team that will coordinate not only the evacuation but which will monitor and direct the sheltering and return of affected populations, are the primary tasks of evacuation planning. Due to the geography of New Orleans and the varying scales of potential disasters and their resulting emergency evacuations, different plans are in place for small-scale evacuations and for citywide relocations of whole populations. Authority to issue evacuations of elements of the population is vested in the Mayor. By Executive Order, the chief elected official, the Mayor of the City of New Orleans, has the authority to order the evacuation of residents threatened by an approaching hurricane. Evacuation procedures for special needs persons with either physical or mental handicaps, including registration of disabled persons, is covered in the SOP for Evacuation of Special Needs Persons. Major population relocations resulting from an approaching hurricane or similar anticipated disaster, caused the City of New Orleans Office of Emergency Preparedness to develop a specific Hurricane Emergency Evacuation Standard Operating Procedures, which are appended to the Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan. The SOP is developed to provide for an orderly and coordinated evacuation intended to minimize the hazardous effects of flooding, wind, and rain on the residents and visitors in New Orleans. The SOP provides for the evacuation of the public from danger areas and the designations of shelters for evacuees."

    Re: Now Is Exactly the Time for the Blame Game (none / 0) (#26)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:03:24 PM EST
    "V. TASKS A. Mayor * Initiate the evacuation. * Retain overall control of all evacuation procedures via EOC operations. * Authorize return to evacuated areas. " Except for authorizing return, didn't the Mayor do these things? Didn't the Mayor advise holdouts to go to the Superdome? Didn't they all say, before the hurricane, that the Superdome was designed to withstand Category 5 hurricanes? Did you see the bumper to bumper traffic on the freeways caused by those exiting New Orleans before the hurricane? A plan is only a plan. Life rarely unfolds according to our plans. Isn't the purpose of FEMA to step in because the citizens of United States recognize that some disasters are more overwhelming than local and state authorities have resources to handle? Where was FEMA?

    Re: Now Is Exactly the Time for the Blame Game (none / 0) (#27)
    by kdog on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:03:25 PM EST
    Where was FEMA?
    The head of FEMA was probably day dreaming about simpler times regulating the breeding of arabian horses. He obviously wasn't earning his paycheck. Cronyism kills.

    Re: Now Is Exactly the Time for the Blame Game (none / 0) (#28)
    by Sailor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:03:25 PM EST
    Poor trent lott lost his house. And whose fault is that?
    In 1998, deputy assistant Army secretary Michael Davis tried to stop the Army Corps of Engineers from rubber-stamping casino applications without studying the impact dredging would have on marshes that shelter wildlife, purify drinking water and help prevent flooding. This angered Lott, then Senate majority leader, who had recently flown to Las Vegas in a casino executive's jet and had raised $100,000 for Republicans at a casino-industry fundraiser.

    Lott got the moratorium lifted, then he got the Army to launch an investigation of Davis. No wrongdoing was found, but Davis was removed from Gulf Coast permitting issues.
    Re: Now Is Exactly the Time for the Blame Game (none / 0) (#29)
    by Sailor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:03:25 PM EST
    Fafblog on the blame game. Excerpt:
    If only there existed some sort of federal agency for emergency management, perhaps under the supervision of a cabinet-level department for securing the homeland! In the absence of such powers and resources, what is a chief executive to do but bolster morale as best he can through boisterous jokes and heartily-staged photo ops? Indeed, the president even attempted to soften the blow to the national economy by dispatching his secretary of state on a vigorous shopping mission, instead of wasting her time with frivolous international aid offers.

    More importantly, one must recognize that there are limits to what powers the federal government should exercise in a crisis. Yes, it is the right and duty of the president to override state drug policy, to determine who can or cannot marry, to indefinitely detain citizens without due process and to torture and kill prisoners as he sees fit, but disaster relief is a matter that should be left to the states. Yes, the images of the drowned, the diseased, and the desperately dying drove much of the country to outrage, but how much more outraged would America have been if FEMA had fed the Superdome refugees without the full oversight and authorization of the State of Louisiana? Had the president sent rescue helicopters to evacuate New Orleans the day the levees burst, he might have saved thousands of lives, but he would also have overstepped his authority - and if there's one thing George W. Bush refuses to countenance, it is abuse of power.
    Re: Now Is Exactly the Time for the Blame Game (none / 0) (#30)
    by Edger on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:03:25 PM EST
    Sailor:
    Fafblog on the blame game. Had the president sent rescue helicopters to evacuate New Orleans the day the levees burst, he might have saved thousands of lives, but he would also have overstepped his authority - and if there's one thing George W. Bush refuses to countenance, it is abuse of power.
    exactly...

    Re: Now Is Exactly the Time for the Blame Game (none / 0) (#31)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:03:26 PM EST
    Posted by gentlyweepingguitar: "1st, I blame Congress" This is probably part of the feeling of hopelessness you have described elsewhere. To blame the democratic body for a failure is to misunderstand the complexity of that body. It is FAR easier for a single person, such as a dictatorial president or the head of FEMA, to act. Deliberative bodies like the legislature have ENORMOUSLY complex institutional design, that often blocks accomplishments, blocking accomplishments even when a majority of legislators wish them. Does the Congress bear a direct responsibility for the death toll last week? YOU BET. But it must be placed BELOW the single actors who have no such complexities to block their action. They just have to get off vacation, or consult their expertise, and ACT. If they have no expertise, or have no ability to cease vacationing when something happens, as neither Bush nor Brown do, then they will FAIL. That's quite a bit bigger of a failure than Congress failing to overcome the political and structural limits on their democracy.

    Re: Now Is Exactly the Time for the Blame Game (none / 0) (#32)
    by swingvote on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:03:26 PM EST
    Gently, So you believe that the NOLA Evacuation Plan, which apparently boiled down to "Declare an evacuation and sit back to watch the ensuing traffic jam" was adequate? You have no concern that the city officials empowered to come up with a plan to evacuate those needing assistance apparently didn't think any assistance would be required? In your mind, the Mayor did everything the Mayor of a major city sitting in imminent danger of flooding could or should do to limit the loss of life? Fair enough, but I think they could have done better. As could have the Federal government. The only difference is that I think the Feds could have done better in responding to the disaster and the NOLA officials could have done better in preparing for it.

    Re: Now Is Exactly the Time for the Blame Game (none / 0) (#33)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:03:26 PM EST
    None of which local government inadequacy in any way voids Bush's four MAJOR IMPEACHABLE FAILURES, which are entirely his fault: 1) Hiring insultingly unqualified political cronies for critical jobs in disaster management. 2) Sending TWO out of every five Louisiana and Alabama National Guard out of state, in an endless deployment, in an illegal, immoral invasion for profit. 3) Cutting Army Corps of Engineer funding for the Gulf Coast levee projects by FORTY percent. 4) Taking more vacation time than any president in US history. No one makes this guy avoid the responsibilities that attend the OATH he took, and voided, a hundred times over. And the continued failure of the Republican-controlled Congress to IMPEACH over those continued, persistent failures, is going to haunt your party for decades. You have earned the hatred of Americans, and I pray you get what you earned.

    Now Is Exactly the Time for the Blame Game | 33 comments (33 topical)