It is time to federalize the relief effort in New Orleans
Faced with state and local officials whose main contribution to efforts to evacuate New Orleans has been to insult the President and federal authorities while avoiding any responsibility what so ever for the mess they made of their own evacuation plan, it time to get Nagin, Blanco and Landrieu out of the way of the clean up effort and get on witht he work at hand with out having to drag them along too.
The whiney threesome have about as much political skill in working with people trying to help them as the ever undiplomatic Hugo Chavez. Why is it that Mississippi, which took the brunt of the storm has not had the same problems as this incompetent trio? Nor has Alabama. While there is still a massive clean up effort underway in both those states, the political leadership in those states is able to work witht he same people that the LA trio cannot.
The bottom line is that if Bush is going to take all the heat for their mess, he ought to take control of the entire effort. At this point they have not given him any reason to believe that they will deal with him honestly.
One of the reasons for the anxiety of the trio of Democrats is that their base has just been handed to the care of Republicans in Texas and other states. Naglin no longer has any constituency in New Orleans other than the thugs trying to thwart the recovery effort. Most of his voters are in Texas and other states. These are the same voters that gave Blanco and Landrieu their thin majorities. Many may never return. Entrepenurs will start new business in their new communities and will be reluctant to give up going concerns for the risk of starting over in what is left of New Orleans. Many of the lower paid workers from New Orleans will probably find better paying jobs elsewhere and have no reason to return. All over Texas and as far away as Illinois these people are saying they want to settle down and not return. New Orleans is looking at a problem that Galveston had after the 1900 hurricane killed several thousand people. Even though it was rebuilt the driving force of business wound up in Houston.
Hounston's business is likely to expand at this time, particularly in the oil service business, where scores of offshore rigs are going to need significant repair and replacement. Even if the insurance does not cover the replacment cost, witht he current price of oil, any additional investment should pay for itself fairly quickly. It is not like they will be wildcatting and taking a big risk on what production will be. It is possible that they can even increase production with more modern equipment. High energy prices sould also provide the petrochemical business with additional funds for investment. This activity should create more jobs in the Houston area.
It is also interesting to contrast the competance of Texas political leaders with the LA trio. Faced with an enormous problem not of their own making, they have not whined or complained. They have organized and executed. Just contrast they effectiveness of operations at the Astrodome with those of the Superdome on even shorter notice. It should also be noted how auickly other facilities were brought online around Houston and the entire state. This should also be contrasted witht he whining now from Baton Rouge which has had a similar influx of refugees. Texas politicians saw the situation as an opportunity to help a neighbor in need, and Baton Roge is looking at it as an opportunity to grab more federal dollars.
I will take the can do attitude of the Texas politicians as well as Haley Barber and Trent Lott over the whine and raspberry crowd anyday.
Democrats needs to stop looking at natural disasters as a political opportunity and start trying to fix the problem instead of blaming it on someone else.
Faced with state and local officials whose main contribution to efforts to evacuate New Orleans has been to insult the President and federal authorities while avoiding any responsibility what so ever for the mess they made of their own evacuation plan, it time to get Nagin, Blanco and Landrieu out of the way of the clean up effort and get on witht he work at hand with out having to drag them along too.
The whiney threesome have about as much political skill in working with people trying to help them as the ever undiplomatic Hugo Chavez. Why is it that Mississippi, which took the brunt of the storm has not had the same problems as this incompetent trio? Nor has Alabama. While there is still a massive clean up effort underway in both those states, the political leadership in those states is able to work witht he same people that the LA trio cannot.
The bottom line is that if Bush is going to take all the heat for their mess, he ought to take control of the entire effort. At this point they have not given him any reason to believe that they will deal with him honestly.
One of the reasons for the anxiety of the trio of Democrats is that their base has just been handed to the care of Republicans in Texas and other states. Naglin no longer has any constituency in New Orleans other than the thugs trying to thwart the recovery effort. Most of his voters are in Texas and other states. These are the same voters that gave Blanco and Landrieu their thin majorities. Many may never return. Entrepenurs will start new business in their new communities and will be reluctant to give up going concerns for the risk of starting over in what is left of New Orleans. Many of the lower paid workers from New Orleans will probably find better paying jobs elsewhere and have no reason to return. All over Texas and as far away as Illinois these people are saying they want to settle down and not return. New Orleans is looking at a problem that Galveston had after the 1900 hurricane killed several thousand people. Even though it was rebuilt the driving force of business wound up in Houston.
Hounston's business is likely to expand at this time, particularly in the oil service business, where scores of offshore rigs are going to need significant repair and replacement. Even if the insurance does not cover the replacment cost, witht he current price of oil, any additional investment should pay for itself fairly quickly. It is not like they will be wildcatting and taking a big risk on what production will be. It is possible that they can even increase production with more modern equipment. High energy prices sould also provide the petrochemical business with additional funds for investment. This activity should create more jobs in the Houston area.
It is also interesting to contrast the competance of Texas political leaders with the LA trio. Faced with an enormous problem not of their own making, they have not whined or complained. They have organized and executed. Just contrast they effectiveness of operations at the Astrodome with those of the Superdome on even shorter notice. It should also be noted how auickly other facilities were brought online around Houston and the entire state. This should also be contrasted witht he whining now from Baton Rouge which has had a similar influx of refugees. Texas politicians saw the situation as an opportunity to help a neighbor in need, and Baton Roge is looking at it as an opportunity to grab more federal dollars.
I will take the can do attitude of the Texas politicians as well as Haley Barber and Trent Lott over the whine and raspberry crowd anyday.
Democrats needs to stop looking at natural disasters as a political opportunity and start trying to fix the problem instead of blaming it on someone else.
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