Why is Bush blamed for Katerina when local?

Question

and state goverment doesnt get any blame and what about the other states that were effected by hurricanes and no one is blaming Bush on that..what gives..

Answer 1

I have said it before, N.O. was a French mistake to hide what they were doing to the Indians and Slaves. When we got it it was an ill planned dump. It is sinking due to the silt from the Mississippi flooding the Gulf. In the 70-80's the Feds sent money to fix the Levies. Like All federal Monies the state can request it for one project and after it is given the Federal Government has no rights to make sure it goes there! N.O. and LA. spent it all on State Projects and A Stadium and some signs for downtown!!! The federal Government CANNOT just go into a state without invitation! The Army Absolutely cannot go into a state without permission from congress!!! When the N.O. mayor did not Invite the State in for 18 hours they could not just enter. It took 3 Days for the federal government to be given permission by the state!!! The Federal government Spent Hundreds of millions so far and wants rights on how the money is spent before another dime is given (considering N.O. spent part of it already on fixing up the stadium!). The State OF LA. has refused to allow the federal government oversight of the way the money is being spent, I would not send another dime either!!!

Answer 2

Here is whom I blame, in order.

5. Congress. Knew for years that the levees might breech, but did nothing to improve them.
4. Gov. Blanco. She looked like a deer in the headlights. She whined about how overwhelmed she was. She mobilized the Nat'l Guard only after the anarchy started. Horrible job of leadership and crisis management.
3. Pres. Bush. FEMA did a horrible job in the aftermath of Katrina.
2. Ray Nagin. He waited until the last minute to order the evacuation, and left at least 1000 buses in lots. These buses could have evacuated at least 40,000 people.
1. G*d. Hurricanes are an act of G*d.

Answer 3

Part of the reason is that LA politics has been corrupt for years. Read up on Huey Long . . . and the list continues. State politicians are never blamed for the mess they've created.

LA has a major port in New Orleans, natural resources such as oil and natural gas, various successful agricultural products, cultural inducements for tourism - and it's one of the poorest states in the union. It ranks at the bottom of most of the best rankings and at the top of most of the worst. This is the responsibility of state and local government - education, roads, pollution, crime, drainage, health care . . . the list goes on.

Income and corporate taxes are high, social service spending is also high, but non productive. Prior to Katrina, money was spent on tourism and gambling (wait, gambling is illegal in LA per the constitution - gaming is legal per the legislature) - the gaming industry. This is the same legislature that decided that roosters are fowl not animals, so cock-fighting (this got bleeped - make that rooster-fighting) is legal and not in violation of the cruelty to animals statute.

A year and a half after Katrina, federal monies allocated for the cleanup and recovery are still sitting in state accounts. The politicians are still conducting "studies" to figure out how to spend it. Business and individuals cannot get the monies intended for them.

The President of the United States cannot send federal troops to a state unless asked. The Governor of the state didn't even call out the LA National Guard on a timely basis. The Feds shouldn't be blamed for the mess that is LA state government, but it will be because LA politicians never claim responsibility for the mess they've made of the state. The strangest part is they continue to be re-elected - even those under investigation for corruption (money in their freezer).

They had no problem busing in dislocated voters for the elections, but they could not bus citizens out of harms way pre-Katrina. They stuck thousands of the poorest citizens inside the Superdome without provisions made for safety and comfort. The good-old-boy network is alive and well in LA. Perhaps the exodus of voters from the NO area will eventually change the state dynamics. The City will no longer represent the populist voting block that dominated state politics for so long.

LA has been trending more Republican over the last few years. Note one Democratic Senator (Mary Landrieu - from New Orleans and a long established LA political family) and one Republican (David Vitter - from near NO, but outside the City). It will be interesting to watch the finger pointing as Congress begins it's investigations shortly.

Answer 4

Are we admitting that the federal government has no responsibility in the after math of a storm like Katrina . When local services are overwhelmed due to catastrophic natural disasters Is it the duty of the federal government to step in and aide the people .
I am not going to say that the fed took out a calculator and determined that 300,000 people where not worth saving but in fact they did . In this nation it is sink or swim and those people already had on life jackets . Welfare and generational welfare at that .They did not warrant saving because they where already a burden on the system .
So lets scatter this group for good and hope that it does not re-assemble on its own . Allow development to take place that will add tax dollars to the community and not take from it . A plan like this would actually show Bush had a brain . So does Bush have a brain or is he the inept fool everyone takes him for .

Answer 5

Bush is being blamed for Katrina because he can be. The federal government is not responsible for natural disasters that occur in a specific state. Yes there is FEMA, however this is only pulled into action after state and local resources are overwhelmed and need the power of a federal resource 3 to 5 days after something happended

Mayor Ray Nagin failed to evacuate the city and failed to provide transportation (we all saw pictures of 500+ school buses under water) to get the people out who could not afford or did not have the means to get out. New Orleans is a party city and they were all drinking hurricanes waiting for the big one to happen. So he mismanaged the whole thing from the beginning. Where are the questions about the blame for him?

What about the citizens of New Orleans who had a chance to get out and refused? Don't we hold these people accountable for their actions? What ever happended to personal responsibility for these idiots? Where are the quesitons for the blame for the citizens for failing to take the warnings?

Gov. Kathleen Blanco mismanaged the event from the get go. Lack of planning in the beginning of the storm, lack of planning by the state from 1950 or before, lack of planning for the big event for the entire term of her govenorship, lack of properly funding the dams or floodwalls, etc. So the govenors office in the state of Louisana bears a big part of the blame here. She is the head of the state, where is she taking the blame?

The US Corp of Engineers have a big part of this for first of all building the flood walls. They were poorly designed to begin with, but in their defense the warned back in the early 1980's that the flood walls could not take a level 3 or higher hurricane. They bear a big responsibility for this. They built the 1st flood wall in 1873 in New Orleans. Where are the people at the US Corp of Engineers taking the blame?

So to simply blame Bush for something is showing your ignorance of how our government operates and showing prejudice against the President of the United States simply because you do not like him and your beloved Al Gore or John Kerry did not win. What a bunch of sore losers!!!!

George W. Bush was not in office when the flood walls were built, he was not part of the meetings to put the disaster plan in place when it was done in the early 1970's, he was not part of the calls planning for the hurricane before it hit, but he is being blamed for the disaster?

Come on people, you need to really get a grip on reality. There were many players involved in this whole disaster and many factors that caused it. So there is blame to pass onto everyone. Everyone else is too big of a chicken to admit that they were wrong, planned poorly, and George Bush stepped up to the microphone and took the blame, like the person in charge should, even though he had no part of the disaster.

Answer 6

state and local government have been blamed for their roles. That doesn't exempt Bush. Other areas were also hit by Katrina...but their levees didn't break, flooding their entire cities. Which is where most of the destruction took place. But blaming people does nothing. I am ashamed that there is an area of the US that looks like a third world country...an area full of history, art, music, and language.

Answer 7

It is strange that I live in a coastal area that has been flooded several times with great loss and Bush was never blamed for that. I don't understand how anyone could blame him for this type of disaster. I guess as the evolutionist have described, we have evolved into a society that has to blame someone and he must be the one. We are much to be pitied.

Answer 8

Plenty of people were blamed. Ray Nagin and other leaders from Louisiana, as well as Michael Brown, the head of FEMA. I didn't think Bush took much of the blame for Katrina. New Orleans was much worse than the other areas that were hit, as the people were trapped and were dying and nobody came to help for days. There was plenty of blame to go around.

Answer 9

Because Bush created the Hurricanes, and he made sure they didn't blow on Texas all that much. Because local officials in Louisianna aren't capable of thinking for themselves.

As far as FEMA taking weeks to get down there, that's a joke. FEMA has never been a first responder. FEMA has been told to never go into a dangerous situation. FEMA was supposed to go in after the "emergency" has been taken care of, not risk their lives trying to save people. That role belongs to the police, the fire department, and the National Guard (all of which report to the local officials, not the president). The fact that Nagin had over 1000 school buses to get people out prior to the hurricane, and that he refused to use them because they "weren't greyhounds," is ridiculous! None of this was Bush's fault, but since you morons need to blame Bush for everything (got a hang-nail? Blame Bush!), I guess you can blame him for this!

Answer 10

New Orleans contains the biggest pocket of losers and welfare recipients in the whole country,people who can't think for themselves and unfortunately they elected officials with that same mindset.The blame for the plight of the Katrina disaster falls on Nagy and the Louisiana governor.Now with there being over 1 billion dollars in fraud perpetrated by the so called victims,and murder at the highest rate in the free world I think bulldozing the whole damn mess into the Gulf would have been the best idea !!