The Swiftboating of New Orleans--what has your Democratic rep. done?

From the moment it became apparent that the federal government dropped the ball on Katrina, they succeeded in the swiftboating of an entire major US city. Focus was immediately placed on the "looters" on Canal St. Our history of corrupt politicians was used against us to establish that we weren't worth giving aid to. New Orleans was put on trial, and found to be guilty for its own demise.

It was much like a whistleblower whose psychological profile is questioned as soon as they come forward. In the storm's aftermath, the focus was placed on those who were trying to milk the disaster for "handouts", instead of rebuilding the city.

So now, since the right was allowed to control the perception that New Orleans is one big rotting welfare state that is better off being washed away, the Democrats have to play according to the terms the Republicans have set up. Since they succeeded in swiftboating the entire city, the Democrats seem to be backing away from the issue. It seems like they don't want to be associated with helping all those whining, looting welfare queens, so they're going to cut and run on the issue of rebuilding. It doesn't poll well, and we're in an election year. I'm sick of this pattern with the Democrats--let the Republicans set up the terms of the debate, then let the public perception that the Republicans created dictate their actions.

Which prominent Democrats have stood up and said "Enough! We need to help those people! It's been nine months and they are still finding dead bodies. Working families' lives are still in chaos. People still don't know where they're going to live." Which prominent Democrats have said anything at all about Katrina?

I know a lot of people outside of the area have Katrina fatigue (or outrage fatigue in general), but please help us by staying on top of this. I don't think a lot of people can really wrap their heads around the enormity of what happened, and how poorly America is responding, but it happened. And now, like some bad Twilight Zone episode, a few of us are jumping up and down screaming about it, but no one can hear us--on either side of the aisle.

Don't think it can't happen to you. Contrary to what some would have you believe, we do not spend every summer dodging hurricanes. It is not just part of our culture that we're used to. When a hurricane does hit, it usually doesn't dump the contents of a large lake into a major metropolitan city. Please do whatever you can to make sure this issue doesn't slide off the map. I am eternally grateful to those who have helped. Let's let our voices be heard by Democrats in power, so this doesn't just go away.

And then put it on at the end of the Hannity and Colmes. They covered it up for 6 weeks that Dean spoke out on this in an interview with Colmes.

http://www.newshounds.us/2006/06/04/sean_hannity_attacks_howard_dean_for_helping_new_orleans_ninth_ward.php



There is more there. Hannity was insulting.

The media did not cover much of it at all, so people put their own pictures up here.

http://www.flickr.com/groups/48849913@N00/pool/page3/

Good post, and I share your frustrations.

He did the right thing, but, media rarely acknowledges the important work done by Dems.

:shrug:

If Alan Colmes is the one who goes there to interview you in the Lower 9th Ward....and others don't offer or don't care, then you let them.

If you think it was wrong, so be it. There are more arguments going here today than I have even seen.

Perhaps you could at least take what Dean said as being good, and saying it was wrong for them to suppress the info for 6 weeks.

:shrug: :shrug: :shrug:

I don't think I have said anything right here today. If I say the sun is shining, someone would jump in and call me a name and say it is raining.

What a grouchy bunch here today.

:shrug: :shrug:

If anyone posts what someone says after someone else says where are the Democrats...then that person gets things said that are just overboard.

Of course they need to go on Fox now and then.

make any mistakes, ever ever ever, just like most people who criticize him never make any.


Yeah - that's an answer for America's problems.


;))))

.

Today I duck and cover when I come to DU. Weird place today.

But, I've got some tough skin built up.

Right after it happened - the bill passed on Sept 15.

09/09/2005
John Kerry Offers Major Package of Legislation to Help Small Businesses, Others Devastated by Hurricane Katrina




WASHINGTON - With estimates that more than 400,000 jobs will be lost as a result of Hurricane Katrina, Senator John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) today unveiled a package of emergency economic aid and federal assistance for small businesses and others reeling from the destruction in the Gulf Coast.
“It is clear that our government failed the people of the Gulf Coast. In time, those responsible will be held accountable for what has gone right and what has gone wrong. Right now, we need to make up for lost time and help any way we can, and that means targeting the fastest relief possible,” said Senator Kerry. “Every small business we can help will help a hard-working family start to put the pieces of their lives back together. We should help small businesses rebuild themselves and these communities.”

Senator Kerry is the Ranking Member of the Senate Small Business Committee. He will offer this small business-related relief package today with his colleague Mary Landrieu (D-La.) as an amendment to the Commerce, Justice, Science Appropriations Bill currently pending in the Senate. A vote on the measure is expected next week. Kerry authored a similar assistance package to small businesses recovering in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks.

One of the most far-reaching pieces of the Kerry relief package will give small businesses across the country access to low-interest disaster loans to cope with the increased costs of oil and gas. This will especially benefit farmers, truck drivers and others whose livelihood relies heavily on the price of gas.

In addition, the Kerry relief package also provides small businesses in the Gulf Region: · Access to short-term loans that will be rapidly approved to help businesses that are waiting for SBA loan approval begin rebuilding immediately

· A two-year assumption of payments and interest on loans provided through the Small Business Administration (SBA) for working capital and fixed asset loans, known as 7(a) and 504 loans, to help small businesses that are unable to make payments with their existing loans

· A two-year deferral on the interest and payments for SBA disaster loans · Access to 30 percent of all federal contracts and 40 percent of subcontracting dollars · Expanded Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone) status, which gives small businesses in the area a preference when bidding on federal contracts

· Increased counseling and business assistance provided through the SBA’s entrepreneurial development centers, including Small Business Development Centers, SCORE, Women’s Business Centers, and Veterans Business Outreach Centers

· Greater opportunities for small construction companies to receive SBA bonding assistance, which is a type of financial loss insurance on the contract

· The ability to refinance existing disaster loans and existing business debt with low-interest disaster loans

Kerry is offering additional hurricane-response legislation, including:

Improve Coordination, Planning, and Execution of Disaster Plans: Senator Kerry is offering legislation to improve several steps, including formalizing the National Guard’s role in the homeland security mission, by creating a Standing Joint Task Force commanded by a National Guard officer responsible for coordinating preparedness and response between the national, state and local governments involved. Given the National Guard's unique responsibilities to both federal and state governments, it is well-positioned to coordinate the planning and execution of disaster contingencies whether caused by an act of nature or an act of terrorism. Moreover, the Department of Homeland Security currently lacks a deliberative planning process, like that used in the Department of Defense, which is essential for disaster response.

FEMA Regional Emergency Evacuation and Preparedness Centers: The response to Hurricane Katrina has revealed serious shortcomings in planning and infrastructure for disaster preparedness and relief. Thousands of displaced Americans are living in sports arenas and National Guard armories. Instead of relying on ad hoc solutions and improvisation, the federal government should establish regional facilities to help prepare the federal response and assist the citizens affected by disasters - whether natural or man-made. In the event of disaster, these facilities will provide temporary or, if necessary, long-term shelter for displaced persons. Medical supplies and facilities at each site can treat people in need of care. Functional spaces, including the capacity for plug-and-play data and communications networks will facilitate the provision of all types of disaster relief services.

Helping Deployed National Guard and Reserve Troops: Tens of thousands of troops have been called up for service in Afghanistan, Iraq and now the Gulf Coast. Many of these troops are in the National Guard and Reserves, and when they’re called to active duty, they and their employers struggle financially. Senator Kerry’s proposal would provide tax credits to small businesses employers of National Guard and Reserve members called up to help lessen the burden on small businesses, our troops and their families.

Help Youth Rebuild Their Communities: YouthBuild is a federal program that helps disadvantaged young people learn responsibility, leadership and a skill by working with their peers to build homes in their communities. YouthBuild is an ideal program to help the young people of the Gulf Coast, who will need employment and whose community has been severely damaged. Senator Kerry strongly believes the recovery effort in the Gulf Coast could be dramatically helped by an expansion of the YouthBuild program in the region, and his legislation expands the program as part of the long-term response and recovery effort.

Providing Housing as Part of Long-Term Recovery: Senator Kerry believes that the federal government should take an active role in the rebuilding of the thousands of homes and apartments destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. Two housing production proposals he has authored are ideally designed to help those in the Gulf region who have lost their homes. First, the National Affordable Housing Trust Fund Act will create an affordable housing production program for those who most need assistance. Second, the Community Development Homeownership Tax Credit Act will encourage the construction and substantial rehabilitation of approximately 500,000 homes for low- and moderate-income families in economically distressed areas over the next 10 years. Both bills can provide critically needed housing and help the long-term recovery of the region.

The following is a statement from John Kerry, Ranking Member on the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, as prepared for delivery today on the Senate floor:

Mr. President, last Friday, May 5th, I took my second trip to Louisiana since Hurricane Katrina, I wanted to see the recovery effort up close now that we’re eight and a half months into the process. Senator Landrieu has worked tirelessly to help rebuild the city she grew up in, and she took me around New Orleans East before we sat down to hear first hand accounts of the challenges small business owners are facing eight months after the storm.

We have all heard the statistics: Before Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, Louisiana had 86,000 small businesses employing more than 850,000 people and contributing $22 billion to the local economy. Of those, 71,000 were in the disaster zones and nearly 20,000 were catastrophically destroyed. More than 365,000 residents were left homeless.

But those statistics don’t tell the story of what’s happening to New Orleans today.

I wish I could come to the floor today and talk about the great progress being made since September. But instead, what I saw in New Orleans East and what I heard during my trip left me stunned by how little is happening compared to how much more must be done.

When I went to Louisiana the first time, I saw a region damaged by a storm, but strong in spirit. I talked to people who proved their resilience and their love of their state when they committed themselves not to give up, not to leave – to rebuild their homes and businesses. On this trip I met people who feel little more today than disappointment in the federal government’s inadequate response

I met people in New Orleans who were afraid, angry, and disillusioned.

I was reminded by small business owners and homeowners last week, New Orleans doesn’t only have a hurricane problem, it also has a levee problem. But little has been done to guarantee the strength of those levees in the future.

And I left New Orleans convinced that the Gulf coast doesn’t have a morale problem, Washington has a leadership problem. It’s up to us to change that before it’s too late.

We all understand the inefficient, ineffective, mismanaged federal response in the immediate aftermath of Katrina. We’re all angered by it.

But what is most distressing to the people I met in New Orleans, is that they were fed empty promises after the initial shock of the Superdome. They believe promises have been broken and more mistakes have been made, after they’d been promised that mistakes would not be repeated.

On September 15, the President spoke to the nation from Jackson Square and made a series of promises. He said:

“Throughout the area hit by the hurricane, we will do what it takes, we will stay as long as it takes, to help citizens rebuild their communities and their lives.”

“When the streets are rebuilt, there should be many new businesses, including minority-owned businesses, along those streets. When the houses are rebuilt, more families should own, not rent, those houses. When the regional economy revives, local people should be prepared for the jobs being created.”

Well, over eight months later, history is repeating itself. Too little has been provided in real response, and too much time wasted without real solutions for getting the Gulf Coast back to business.

Eight months after the president stood in Jackson Square, there aren’t trucks lined up to haul debris out of New Orleans East. In fact, there seems to be little activity from the federal government. Piles of debris remain standing before every building as a constant reminder of the devastation Katrina and Rita left behind. Local officials told me of their fears that mosquitoes and rodents are carrying diseases as a result of the piles of garbage on the streets. In the richest country on the face of the earth, we shouldn’t have Americans abandoned to worry that their children will be at risk for third-world health problems because Washington didn’t meet its most basic obligations to its citizens.

More than $10 billion in contracts have been awarded for debris removal, emergency response, and reconstruction efforts. But tens of thousands of abandoned cars litter the streets of New Orleans. Garbage, hurricane debris, and trash were in front of virtually every home or business that I saw. Katrina pulled back the curtain and revealed poverty and squalor many didn’t believe could exist in our country. But eight months later, after so many said ‘no more’ and ‘never again,’ after the cameras went away, these images are still there on the streets of the New Orleans I visited. I don’t know any Americans who remember what they saw in the Superdome feel that their dues have been paid as citizens with a one-time donation to the Red Cross. But if they saw what I just saw they might wonder whether Washington has come to a different conclusion.

Eight months after the President promised the revitalization of “new small and minority owned businesses,” the businesspeople who have shown great courage staying in New Orleans are still fighting to keep their doors open in the face of a slow and woefully inadequate federal response. Orleans Parish, the center of Louisiana’s economy, had 12,695 small businesses, employing 245,000 people, in operation before August 29, 2005. Today, it is estimated that only a little more than 2,000 have re-opened. Where is the response from Washington? What about the promise to do what it takes and stay as long as it takes? The President seems to mean these words when he speaks them about Iraq, but they appear to be hollow right here at home when he talks about New Orleans. One person I spoke with confirmed what I could see with my eyes. He said that “basic services in 70 % of the city do not exist. In these areas there is no fire protection, police presence is minimal. Garbage, hurricane debris, and trash are in front of virtually every home…billions have been spent but yet the city is piled high with debris of every kind.”

The residents of New Orleans are beginning to put their hopes elsewhere, to put their futures in a new place. Over 3,400 private homes are for sale in New Orleans – more than at any other time since we started tracking this indicator six weeks after Katrina made landfall. This is up from approximately 2,800 homes for sale in February and is the highest number since October 2005.

Jim Funk, CEO of the Louisiana Restaurant Association said that the pre-Katrina restaurant workforce of New Orleans has been reduced from 133,000 to 22,000. Only 1,500 of the 3,400 pre-Katrina restaurants are back open. And the unemployment rate of those who remain displaced jumped to nearly 35 percent in March, a 54 percent increase from the month before.

I met Pat Murphy who owns United Cab, a sixty-six year old business. After wading through red tape and months of administrative delay, in a process that he described as “turning into harassment,” he finally received his SBA loan. Why does a small business that’s been up and running for sixty-six years have to go through such a painful process to receive assistance from the federal agency that’s sole reason for existing is to help small businesses in need? And the worst part is, Pat Murphy will tell you he’s one of the lucky ones who actually received a loan, he knows many more who are still waiting.

You may have heard the Administration brag about the $9 billion in disaster loans they have approved. In reality, as of today, only $1 billion of that money has actually made it into the hands of Gulf Coast businesses and residents to help rebuild their communities. That’s a mere 11 percent. In addition, what’s more, about half of those who applied for disaster loans were denied. What are they going to do? Where are they going to turn?

For many fortunate enough even to receive housing assistance, they’re living in front of their damaged homes in trailers sitting on concrete blocks. Some fear for the safety of those trailers. The National Weather Service is predicting fourteen named storms to hit the gulf during the next hurricane season – which begins in three weeks. How will those trailers stand up in severe weather? How safe will they be when 60 and 70 mile per hour winds throw around the remaining debris? When 2 by 4s and household items are turned into projectiles by strong winds?

What type of leadership results in spending $900 million to buy 25,000 manufactured homes and 1,300 modular homes, most of which cannot be used because FEMA rules say they are too big or unsafe in flood zones? What type of leadership results in spending $249 million to secure 8,136 cruise-ship cabins for six months, at a cost that Inspector General Richard L. Skinner estimated at $5,100 a month per passenger –six times the cost of renting two-bedroom apartments.

Eight months after promises were made, New Orleans has only one Level-1 trauma center. The largest medical complex, Charity Hospital, needs to be rebuilt, but FEMA will only fund repairs. What will the residents of New Orleans do during the coming hurricane season if one of those named storms is severe?

Eight months after promises were made to expand local business participation in the recovery, why is FEMA continuing its business model of hiring mega contractors to oversee the recovery efforts? Why is it that debris removal contract dollars are not making it to the local businesses? Why are so many local contractors still waiting for FEMA to pay them millions of dollars for work already completed?

Some progress is being made in the Congress, but Washington has miles to go to the urgent needs in the Gulf Coast. Last Thursday, the Senate passed an emergency spending bill that includes $2.2 billion for levee reconstruction in southeast Louisiana, $1.5 billion for Orleans Parish levee projects, and $1.3 billion for the disaster loan program. Senator Landrieu sponsored, and I cosponsored, two key amendments to the bill.

– The first, to make sure the SBA sends up its disaster response plan to Congress before June 1st – the start of the 2006 hurricane season.

– The second, to require the SBA to report to Congress monthly the status of the disaster loan program now and after future disasters. Senator Landrieu, Senator Snowe, and I also cosponsored an amendment by Senator Vitter that declares areas hit by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita as Historically Underutilized Business Zones (HUBZones) and makes sure small, local businesses get first consideration for federal contracts. This is something we have been trying to get done since September and so I hope it survives conference.
But that’s only part of the story. The Senate has passed legislation, S. 1807, that offers a more comprehensive approach to get small businesses back on their feet, but it’s being blocked by the Administration. This legislation includes essential bridge loans and grants that would help those suffering the most, the local small businesses, keep their doors open. The Senate has yet to take action on S. 2482, a bill introduced by Senator Landrieu which I cosponsored, a follow on bill to S.1807, which has additional provisions recognizing the situation and needs on the ground. We must pass this legislation now and action must be taken to implement these initiatives now – not after another storm hits.

I don’t just want to talk about the slow response that I saw in New Orleans, but to demand an increased sense of urgency here in Washington to correct it. We need to offer leadership that solves problems, not that talks about them.

The businesses in the Gulf Coast cannot continue to face red tape and delays. Many simply can’t last much longer. Many of the businesses that didn’t have business interruption insurance and the significant resources needed to weather an extended hiatus are already gone. Many others are on the verge of closing unless they are able to secure much-needed financial assistance in an expedited manner. These companies can’t continue on empty promises, they need action from this Administration, and they need it now – not after they close their doors and declare bankruptcy.

What Louisiana and Mississippi need are solutions, not excuses – leadership, not bureaucracy. We need to come together with creativity and ingenuity to rebuild the region. We must tap into the goodwill and hard work of the American people – people who desperately want to help New Orleans recover from this disaster. We could create civilian assistance corps — one group of volunteers from every state could take responsibility for a block or a neighborhood to clean up and help rebuild. We need a disaster “ombudsman,” a citizen general who can direct, organize, and structure a recovery effort. We know it can be done because in the aftermath of Katrina we saw General Honore, a career solider in the Army, demonstrate how an organization with clear lines of command, organization, and structure could bring order, hope, and assistance to the chaos faced by the citizens of the region.

I came to the floor today to talk about the people of New Orleans and about rebuilding their lives and their city. But this is about more than just the future or a government in Washington that has failed. New Orleans is one of the great cities in this country with an extraordinary history, a diverse and ethnically rich population, and a wonderful culture. All Americans have a stake in its resurrection.

In closing, I would like to thank Senator Landrieu again for inviting me to New Orleans for a first-hand look at what she has been living and breathing over the past eight and a half months in a city she loves. Every step of the way she’s been and continues to be an incredible leader and advocate for Louisiana. We owe it to her and to the people she fights for to get this recovery in gear. We should start by passing the legislation, S, 2482, that Senator Landrieu has offered, and we need to hold the Administration accountable for the promises they made and the actions they must take to assist the Gulf Coast region

Eight months ago, we saw too many people left on rooftops and in the Superdome because of poor planning and incompetent response.

We said ‘never again.’ The clock is ticking in New Orleans to learn whether Washington was ashamed of that failure, or just embarrassed by it.

New Orleans, the Gulf Coast, and our country need to know that when we said never again, we meant it. Let’s take action to prove we will not let New Orleans wait any longer. Let’s make it clear that our word is still good.

The president made some flat out empty promises, and no one is calling him on it. Kerry gets my props, but speaking alone, he can be written off pretty easily.

If a group of top Democrats got together and made this an issue, this could not be buried on the back pages. I sense that the reason they aren't is that New Orleans doesn't poll well with swing voters due to the swiftboating of the city's character and history.

back up. He didn't get it on Tora Bora, firing Rumsfeld, terror as a law enforcement issue, Downing Street Memos investigation, his Iraq withdrawal plan, Alito filibuster, and the list goes on...... he's not an establishment Dem and never has been, so many feel no need to back him on anything.

Funny, since he's the one who always ends up taking the most blame from DU, too.

It's the Kennedy Democrats versus the Clinton Democrats is basically what it comes down to. And corp media gives most airtime to Clinton Dems.

"Shhhh. You don't want the Republicans to hear us, do you? You're gonna get us all beaten up!"

He brought up the idea of what would happen if a major earthquake hit Southern California and billions were needed to repair Los Angeles. Basically, the same thing would happen as would happen with New Orleans: nothing meaningful would happen because people don't care. After so many years of the politics of selfishness, of a near-fanatical hatred of government and taxation, people just don't care anymore if it doesn't happen to them. We have become an incredibly self-important and self-absorbed culture, unwilling to help those who need help the most.

People just don't care about the people here and it breaks my heart.

was in office and his FEMA was actually geared for the job. Another point is that if it wasn't for all the Mexican immigrants helping hour by hour, day by day, the city could NEVER have rebounded as quickly as it did.

The fed (FEMA) continues to royally screw things up, but Nagin and Blanco did not rise to the moment and I think failed their own prior to the storm hitting.

We Dems like to play fair, and call out our own, and that's great. I strongly dislike our Gov. Blanco, and I do believe she displayed some incompetence, but she was framed like the Mona Lisa. She was a key facet of the swiftboating of New Orleans. All the feds needed was an opening, a way to make it seem plausible that it was the local's fault, so they just latched onto Blanco and Nagin.

No, they could've done much better (especially Blanco), but you can't tell me that state and local officials have the resources to deal with this like the feds do. My cell phone service was out for about 5 months after the storm, and I'm a ways away from the damage.

Ever see Bush get as much flak for VIOLATING the IWR to go to war as Dems attack Dem lawmakers for supporting the resolution?

of course local and state officials had fewer resources than the fed, but we should never forget that they didn't use what they had fully to evacuate. I will never forget Blanco's letter to the Fed just before the storm hit where she asked for temporary housing and cleanup money. There was nothing in there about send every bus and truck available to haul people out because they are going to drown.

And now we have the videos of brownie warning about impending death toll and bush eqivocated. It just makes me sick thinking about it.

Yes, the fed gave blanco and nagin enough rope to hang themselves, but I'm not ready to cut them down.

It sounds much easier than it is in reality. I'm not giving our officials a free pass (especially Blanco), but really, we only had a day and a half to get everyone out of there.

Some people just were not going to leave. Some people had nowhere to go, and no money to take with them. Some people stayed because they didn't want to leave their pets. They look incredibly foolish in retrospect, but Katrina was unprecedented. We don't have that much practice with hurricanes--they're not as common down here as you would think. When they do hit, they usually knock the power out for a few days, knock over some trees, and cause some temporary damage. We've never seen anything like this.

You can find fault with anyone during a crisis. I still maintain that Louisiana was swiftboated above and beyond what we deserved. This was a storm the size of Great Britain that hit three states. The flooding of New Orleans was caused by the Army Corps of Engineers' shoddy levee design. This was a federal problem, and required federal intervention.

I dont live within the state currently and it shocks me that my friends are 'over' Katrina. Its just a dead issue, someone else will take care of it.

They let an American city die, they aided in the murders of countless people and no one talks about shit anymore.

BushCo the lot, should all be the fuck out of office for Katrina, top to bottom.

...and welcome to DU ;)

:kick: