As the arguments rage over who should take responsibility for the Katrina disaster, the role of the Louisiana governor Kathleen Blanco appears to be coming under particularly harsh scrutiny. A reader has sent me the following message from Baton Rouge:
'In our Federal system, the President is and in this case was painfully at the mercy of state officials. Just as President Bush cannot be blamed for the fact that New Orleans was hit by a category four hurricane - global warming or no global warming -- he is not responsible for the fact that the Louisiana National Guard was not in place immediately before or immediately after the storm.
'I should point out that there were National Guard troops in New Orleans before Katrina hit. Many of them were at the Superdome. However, they were unarmed and unprepared to deal with the looting and violence. If anything, this fact only serves to illustrate the incompetence. If the situation was serious enough to warrant placing uniformed soldiers in front of the largest shelter, surely it was serious enough to provide them with the tools they might need if the situtation actually got out of hand. It was a typical liberal response to a crisis. Do something - anything - to show that you are on top of the situation and that you "care" without any consideration as to the effectiveness of your actions.
'Once flood waters entered the city through the Seventeenth Street canal, the New Orleans Police Department was incapable of handling the situation. President Bush does not have the authority to order troops into an American city. Democrat Governor Kathleen Blanco and the (largely African American) New Orleans civil authorities are the real incompetents behind the disastrous aftermath. The poverty of New Orleans itself is largely a byproduct of third-world political systems dominated by Democrats.
'As soon as Ms. Blanco finally conceded that she was way out of her league and asked for full Federal assistance, the immediate problems were sorted out in short order. Of course, you won't find any tapes of her concession speech. Ms. Blanco's capitulation was behind closed doors.
'It now appears that the Governor has refused to sign over full authority to the Federal government. Now that things have stabilized, she reportedly is insisting that the State government retain control over the troops and that James Witt, President Clinton's FEMA Director, be put in charge under her so-called leadership. Just what we need, the Clinton administration and the Blanco administration working hand in hand to feel our pain.
'Further, people need to understand the scope of the problem. New
Orleans is a large city with limited access under the best of circumstances. Everything to the east of New Orleans was completely destroyed and impassable. The remaining thoroughfares to the north, north-west and west were inaccessible to the worst areas of flooding. There is no egress to the south. On top of that, there was a well armed gang and drug addict population determined to take full advantage of the situation by preventing the police from restoring order. The National Guard should have been on the ground in force last Monday evening. The fact that they were not is fully Governor Blanco's fault. I love New Orleans, but any professional person from the city will tell you that the civil catastrophe was foreseeable. New Orleans has been crippled by corrupt and incompetent local leaders for many years. (In fact, New Orleans government has always been corrupt, but fifty years ago it was much more competent.)
'The one criticism of President Bush that I share with you is his poor omprehension of the situation. He stated on television that no one realized the levees were going to break - as if this exact scenario had not been forecast for decades. Unfortunately, we all knew it would happen eventually. Governor Blanco just didn't do anything to prepare for the possibility that last Monday and Tuesday were the days of reckoning.
'Finally, a word about disaster relief. If you were present, you would see the overwhelming generosity and coordination of private citizens in response to Katrina. This is the heart of the American conservative message - government is often incompetent and usually a hindrance. Only private efforts can be relied upon to quickly effect results. The churches of Baton Rouge are the backbone of all local efforts. I'm sure the same is true wherever evacuation shelters have been established. I spent my weekend helping to set up a temporary hospital in Baton Rouge and delivering supplies to a shelter on the Southern University campus. Others were active at shelters in the Baton Rouge convention center and on the campus of Louisiana State University. At least a hundred people from University Baptist Church were involved. Our facility has been designated as a drop off point for relief supplies. We are just one congregation among hundreds in Louisiana working to bring peace and stability to the thousands of American citizens left stranded by Katrina. Our people will be provided with the world's greatest disaster assistance. We did it after the tsunami, we are doing it after Katrina. The initial deadly incompetent response is a national disgrace. But recovery from the sudden destruction of a major city was never expected to be easy.
'I could share much more, but I am busy helping my law partners rebuild our New Orleans firm out of the Baton Rouge office. We grieve for our beautiful city. No-one has yet stopped to comprehend what the loss of New Orleans will mean to our lives in the years ahead. But we will survive, God willing.'
