Politicians Passing the Buck

Something tells me that Louisiana's politicians are losing the PR battle.

I listened to Mike Brown's testimony before the House committee looking into what went wrong in New Orleans, as Democrats struggled to blame him for not predicting that Mayor Nagin and Governor Blanco would be derelict in doing what was necessary to let FEMA work, let alone being positively obstructionist, and prepared to work around it.

I think Brown made most of the same points I've made about this debacle: FEMA is not a first responder, it's job is to coordinate emergency responses. But when the local elected officials have no response, or one that makes matters worse, it is not legal for FEMA to bypass them or overrule them. He made the point forcefully, after being called names and accused of forcing people in Mississippi to loot stores in order to survive, that it is not possible for FEMA to have troops waiting outside of people's homes handing out MREs and fresh water. It takes about 72 hours! I thought he must have been reading this blog!

The Democrat attempts to excuse the dismal performance of local authorities (Democrats, btw) and blame Brown for not anticipating all the things that wouldn't be done or would be done wrong, were absurd or downright offensive like a Mississippi representatives charge that Brown was expecting residents to loot stores for food and supplies until he could get to them, and another complaining that FEMA didn't distribute 5 gallon cans of gasoline to every household before the storm.

Brown did admit to some mistakes and failures, but they seemed either like the kind of screwups that happen during every disaster (inadequate communications equipment, inadequate funding, etc.) or they were buckpassing, ass covering and weasely, blaming his problems on higher ups in the DHS and not having enough money.

The major things about this "inquiry" that only a fool could miss was the massive struggle to exculpate one's own party and blame the other. It was like watching 6 year olds. How this will help future responses, I can't see. I'd like to see Congress try to dictate how state and local authorities have to work with FEMA. Obviously, it can't do so directly, but they might be able to tell them that failure to make timely requests and refusal to follow strong recommendations of FEMA officials will be grounds for delaying or withholding funds. Nobody really wants people to suffer because they have elected inept officials, but when they elect fools, there really isn't anything anybody else can do except try to rescue them. However, it strikes me as rewarding foolhardiness to help them move back into the same perilous setting that destroyed all they had.

Sometimes, you just have to make a new life in a safer place. If you aren't willing to do that, I don't think you should ask the rest of the nation to subsidize your risky behavior. Tradition and charm aren't a good enough reason to live that way.