Firing 'Blancos' Part I

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I need someone to explain to me why Gov. Kathleen Blanco (D) does not know how to formally request the 40,000 Federal troops she claims she requested from the Government on Tuesday evening? Why on earth did it take Blanco three long days, until finally shortly before midnight on Friday the Government had to send a proposed legal memorandum showing her how to formally request a federal takeover of evacuation of New Orleans.

The Washington Post has a very good explanation,
And so does our friend Jeff Goldstein over at Protein Wisdom. You are right Jeff it's pathetic.
Rick Moran has an excellent 'Katrina Response Timeline', clearly outlining the chain of events thus far.
Michelle Malkin has the latest update on another Blanco Blunder.

You know what I think? I think Gov.Blanco was too busy thinking of her next election, her position  and less about the people dying in her state. Yes, I believe she asked for help, yes I believe she asked for 40,000 troops, but I also believe it simply did not suit her to phrase the request as a 'federal takeover', which she was required to do. The Government's position on this subject is not that simple. You can't just have the Governor pick up the phone and say "Hey George send me some troops, we need help". There is a legal requirement for her to officially request for a federal takeover of the evacuation, taking on a specific format which includes giving  formal reasons for doing so. Otherwise can you imagine the kind of outrage it would have caused , if Bush simply sent in the Federal troops to an independent state. We are not under a totalitarian government, therefore there are simple but necessary proceedures to follow. 

But here is what I think: I think she did not wish to be seen to 'formally' request for a federal takeover of the evacuation, in a bout of sheer stupidity, and selfish concern of 'protecting her independence'. Bush, in a desperate attempt to expediate matters sought unified control over all  police and state National Guard units reporting to the Governor.

The consitution is clear on the matter. It places the primary authority in each state with the Governor. Well, Gov. Blanco as of Saturday had still not declared an official state of emergency. In fact when Bush finally lost his patience and probably threatened her with a forced hand, shortly before midnight on Friday, she spend the entire night huddled up with her advisors, 'suspecting' foul play from the Administration, and a political motive behind the request. She rejected the request, concerned that such a move would be comparable to a federal declaration of martial law. Some Louisiana officials suspected a political motive behind the request: "Quite frankly, if they'd been able to pull off taking it away from the locals, they then would have blamed everything on the locals."

Are these people quite mad? Blanco was busy wrestling for power and positioning, whilst people were dying out there. She finally acknowledged on Saturday: "We did not have enough resources here to do it all" Really? She knew that since at least Monday! If people died, they died because of her ambition, and sheer incompetence, and not for any other reason. How can you be concerned about your political standing and how it would look if you requested federal intervention which you clearly were in urgent need of.

Rick Moran has an excellent 'Katrina Response Timeline', clearly outlining the chain of events thus far.

Bush will undoubtedly take the fall, and hey who really wants to get bogged down in anything so rhetorically retrograde as FACTS. It's important to find someone to blame, and preferably throw some heavy racist issues in there, in fact I fully expect my favorite hyena Rev.Al Sharpton to turn up at any moment, with Cindy Sheehan in tow, for some extra performance induced hysterics.

I truly believe the President tried to circumvent the bureaucracy, an was utterly hampered by an incredibly stupid Governor with organisational skills of a Mexican on acid, with ambitions that  clearly clashed with Bush's idea of wanting to get the federal intervention in as quickly as possible. We really needed the likes of Giuliani there. Failing that, perhaps in this situation Bush needed to be channelling Gengis Khan, and simply setting aside his deference of the local government, exercise his right under martial law. Unrest was present, he could have chosen to invoke the Insurrection Act (rebellion), but that is a politically dangerous stretch, and one which would have had potentially serious reprocussions.

Blanco's reluctance to cede control to the Feds held up additional military support and, along with the desertion of two thirds of the NO police force, led to the breakdown of social order.

Gov. Blanco apparently made two moves on Saturday to protect her independence from the federal government: she created a philanthropic fund for the state's victims, and hired James Lee Witt, federal Emergency Managment Agency director in the Clinton administration, to advise her on the relief effort. That she apparently knows how to do, only too well.

As Jeff Goldstein points out: "... Bushco failure is already too woven into the public’s consciousness to be overcome by anything ..."
" ....Whereas, Bush did what an (ostensibly) conservative President simply MUST do:  he deferred to the local authorities and continued to use the powers of the federal government to assist the local authorities in the ways THEY THEMSELVES REQUESTED.  And it’s my position that in doing so, the President did the right thing—even if the locals in question weren’t up to the job.  Which shows not the failure of federalism, but rather that local elections have material (and potentially dire) consequences.  And if we don’t make that case over and over again, I fear MORE federal control, where less federal control—and better local preparation—is the answer."

The disaster plan was: no plan at all. Perhaps channelling Gengis Khan was not such a bad idea after all...

Comments

[Lilly]

So clearly and extensively researched. I totally agree that politics have been the main concern and not the people who were and still are suffering. Who is going to do something about it?